For the past year, fans have been eagerly awaiting their first look at villainous A.I. Ultron from next summer's blockbuster sequel, "Avengers: Age of Ultron." It was assumed that Ultron's look would be revealed at Comic-Con 2014, but an image has been revealed ahead of time that unveils the robot baddie.
Entertainment Weekly scored the exclusive, with Ultron sharing the cover with Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man and Chris Evans' Captain America. In the background, multiple Ultron copies can be seen, no doubt constructed by the genius robot himself.
The magazine also reveals the basic plot of the film. Joss Whedon's story finds the Avengers team exhausted after having saved the world so many times, both together and separately. Tony Stark hatches a plan to take the pressure off of the weary superheroes, involving an artificial intelligence of his own design. (Ultron's origins have been tweaked for the movie to excise the presence of scientist Hank Pym, aka Ant-Man.) It's intended to function as a sort of uber-drone, monitoring the earth and commanding a squadron of autonomous Iron Man suits called the "Iron Legion." A pseudo replacement for S.H.I.E.L.D., they police the globe looking for trouble and taking care of it. In theory, anyway.
The problem is, Ultron is so smart that he follows his mandate to save the world through to its most logical conclusion. Since human beings are the most destructive force on the planet, Ultron decides to eradicate them in order to save it. Complicating matters is Ultron's ability to learn and replicate; when the heroes destroy one body, he builds a stronger one and uploads his software to it.
The magazine, which is a special Comic-Con preview issue, has eight more new pictures from "Age of Ultron." They include looks at the heroes' new costumes; Captain American in particular has a noticeably updated design that's sort of a modern hybrid of his WWII outfit and the sleeker uniform from the first "Avengers." Black Widow's leather catsuit is more detailed and stylized (and she's gone back to the shorter hairdo from the first "Avengers," rather than the long, flat locks from "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"). Iron Man has new red-and-gold armor that looks like a step up from the armor he sported in "Iron Man 3." The uniforms worn by Hawkeye and Thor appear largely unchanged, though there are subtle tweaks.
The magazine also provides a few peeks at new additions Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" will be in theaters on May 1, 2015.
