Age of Ultron #3: Review

In Superior Spider-Man #6AU we find the answer to a question I posed last time. It's the Otto Octavius Spider-Man we've got here. The story takes place in the middle of AoU#3, between the decision to send Luke and She-Hulk into Ultron's den and the actual execution of the plan. Here Tony Stark recruits Spidey and Quicksilver for another scheme that may make Jen's sacrifice unnecessary. Back when he was Director of SHIELD he created devices that could be used to send an area into the Negative Zone. But he needs some Neg Zone tech to control it. With the Baxter Building gone the only such tech he knows about is in Horizon Labs where Peter worked. Quicksilver rushes to surround Ultron's HQ with Stark's devices while Spidey goes to get the Neg Zone tech. But Ock figures he's cleverer than Stark. He uses his ubiquitous Spider Eye devices to take over Ultron robots and use them to invade Ultron's HQ, intending to replace him as the (benevolent) ruler of the world. But what he finds isn't Ultron (but we don't see clearly what it *is* until AoU#3). The real Ultron takes back control of his drones, and Spider-Man has to retreat, and return to the others without the Neg Zone tech. Stark is understanding, because Quicksilver reported the massing of Ultrons. And Doc Ock learns the true value of teamwork. (But obviously not enough to tell them it's not Ultron in the HQ.) I can combine 2 comments in one here. We don't know exactly where in the career of Spider-Ock this fits. But if it follows the real #6, then the Avengers have put behind them the fact that they decided to throw Spidey off the team at the end of that issue. Also there's no sign of the 'ghost' of Peter in Otto's head in this issue. Otto thinks he recognises the figure at the heart of Ultron's HQ as the one that rendered him unconscious in flashback last issue. But this silhouette with missing legs doesn't look like the cloaked form then. Maybe that flashback figure was the drone in

I got cocky again and tried to put too much in a comment box. The last sentence in the following box should be:- Maybe that flashback figure was the drone in Doom's cloak from the FF issue?

In that issue the FF, far away in space and time, get a chronostellar radio message from Black Panther telling them how bad it is on Earth, and it's all hands to the pumps. The situation is so dire that the FF leave their kids behind in their (intelligent) spaceship, and take a shuttle through a space-time-warp back home. They arrive at what remains of the Baxter Building to find Medusa dead, and the rest of the Future Foundation missing and probably dead also. The 3 male members are quickly overwhelmed and killed by a horde of Ultron robots, 1 of which wears Dr Doom's cape and mask. Only Invisible Woman escapes, buried under rubble. She is dug out 3 days later by She-Hulk (presumably the only surviving member of the Future Foundation). Which is why they both are present in the current series. (But I'm still convinced I see Thing's head on one of the bunk beds in #1.) This 1st tie-in still leaves us with the question of how exactly it fits in the current FF sequence. The FF have been travelling in space-time for several issues, ans will continue to do so. The normal #5 doesn't end with any lead-in to #5AU. The FF will be back in space in #6, and I doubt there'll be a scene where they say to the kids "Hi! We're back! Than goodness that Ultron thing's over!" Not to mention 3 of them are dead. This just reinforces the idea that the Age of Ultron will have to wipe itself out in a time paradox.

This Event is more user-friendly than most in that it has few tie-ins. But it is unlikely that I'll put them on the database. Partly because their #nAU numbering would make it awkward. A problem that my comic-shop guy tells me also affects Diamond's ordering form. So for instance this month's Fantastic Four #5 and #5AU were both just listed as #5. He says it's not just AU that's not catered for. They haven't even got round to handling decimal points yet. So May's Iron Man #258.1-4 are just 4 different #258's. (I may be overmaligning Diamond here. It may just be a problem with Diamond UK here in Britain.) However, the tie-ins will be so few I can easily summarise them in my comments to AoU itself. Anyway there were 2 tie-ins this month, and because FF#5AU was late they've both come out this week.

The tie-ins that have started coming out confirm that this series is happening at the current Marvel time. But is it in the real Marvel timeline? In so then it's a wonder no-one comments on Emma Frost being one of the mutant 'terrorist' Uncanny X-Men. But I suppose a disaster like this makes for strange bedfellows. Taskmaster is less unlikely. Although most often a villain, he's dabbled on the side of good occasionally. Eg being an instructor for the Initiative (before Norman Osborn took over). And in the current Secret Avengers he's a SHIELD mole in AIM. We don't see Dr Strange and Quicksilver among the NY team this issue. Earlier writers have said that Ultron was built to *really* have emotions, but that it focussed on hating it's 'father'.