What if ultron won
What if ultron won
What If… Ultron Won? | Transcript
Season 1 Episode 8
Original release date: September 29, 2021
Ultron, having taken the Mind Stone and Vision’s vibranium body, has defeated the Avengers and launched a global nuclear holocaust, killing most of humanity. Thanos appears on Earth to complete the Infinity Gauntlet, but Ultron bisects him, obtaining the rest of the Infinity Stones. Ultron uses the Stones to create a massive drone army, with which he wipes out almost all life in his universe. Ultron then hears the Watcher’s narration, discovers the existence of the multiverse, and attacks the Watcher in his observatory. Meanwhile, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff, survivors of Ultron’s universe, find a copy of Arnim Zola’s consciousness in Siberia. They lure drones there and upload Zola into a drone body to try to destroy Ultron’s hive mind, but this attempt fails because Ultron has left their universe. Barton sacrifices himself to allow Romanoff and Zola to escape the other drones. Ultron battles the Watcher across different universes. Losing, the Watcher flees to Strange Supreme’s collapsed universe to ask Strange for help. Ultron assumes control of the Watcher’s observatory and proclaims his invincibility.
THE WATCHER: Time. Space. Reality. It’s more than a linear path. It’s a prism of endless possibility, where a single choice can branch out into infinite realities, creating alternate worlds from the ones you know. I am the Watcher. I am your guide through these vast new realities. Follow me and ponder the question…
We’ve seen this before, a universe in the final days of destruction. But this particular story… This, this one breaks my heart.
Here they come. We got 90 seconds. Start the clock.
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
We got 30 seconds until their signals reconnect with the hive.
All clear down below. Eighteen seconds, Clint. Clint?
That’s not cool, guys. (GRUNTS)
(SINISTER MUSIC PLAYING)
What? “Need a hand?” Come on. I feel like you should know me by now. Puns aren’t really my style. We’re getting rusty.
Couple more seconds and the Sentry signals would’ve alerted the Ultron hive mind to our location.
Which is… where, exactly?
Home, sweet home. Well, what’s left of it anyway.
BARTON: So you really think the secret to taking down Ultron is here?
ROMANOFF: It’s Russia, Hawkeye. Secrets were the national pastime.
THE WATCHER: The end of the world began with one man’s dream.
I see a suit of armor around the world.
THE WATCHER: He saw a world of peace. With the Mind Stone, Tony Stark created Ultron. But Ultron only saw one path to peace.
ULTRON: The elimination of all life.
THE WATCHER: From puppet to puppet master, Ultron required one thing. An organic body to call his own, one that fused the powers of man, machine, and mind into one. In your universe, the Avengers stole the Cradle and used it to create the hero, Vision. But in this universe, Ultron got his wish.
With the infinite power of the Mind Stone, Ultron began to lay waste to the planet.
STARK: Ultron’s going after the nuclear codes. I don’t know if we can hold him off.
We have to take out the satellite network. He can’t launch the nukes without them.
You don’t… (GRUNTS) You don’t have to do this. I made you for peace.
ULTRON: It’s evolution. Only a primitive mind would fail to see the distinction. Which is why you have to die.
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
MAN: Emergency order 3-Alpha. Code Red.
We’re too late. He did it.
(SIGHS) At last, peace.
THE WATCHER: But the age of Ultron was only beginning.
ULTRON: Wow, I see everything. There are worlds beyond my own. Worlds that need… me.
ULTRON: I’m going to bring about peace in our time to every corner of the universe.
(SINISTER MUSIC PLAYING)
Listen, Skynet, I’ve seen the killer robot movie and I gotta say, I really don’t think it needs a sequel.
You have spirit.
It… is done. At last.
The realization nearly broke the machine. With his mission complete, Ultron was now just a program without a purpose. The victor without a war, sentenced to spend all of eternity… alone.
ULTRON: Who… Who said that?
THE WATCHER: Basking in the boundless silence of his universe, Ultron ascended to a previously unattainable level of consciousness. He became aware of another. He became aware of the…
There are universes beyond my own.
(GASPING, BREATHING HEAVILY)
I have seen everything that has ever happened. Ever will happen. Ever could happen. And yet, what the hell is this? If a hunger like that were to be unleashed upon the multiverse…
ULTRON: I will find you.
Even I cannot imagine the horrors that might follow. No, no, no. Even that machine is not as invincible as it might think. There is still hope for this universe. One last hope.
(CHUCKLES) Oh, boy.
Welcome to the KGB archives.
(ECHOING) Have you ever seen Raiders of the Lost Ark? Ever seen that?
ROMANOFF: Love that movie.
Your countrymen never heard of PDFs?
Hard copies are harder to steal, easier to destroy. But code, code is slippery, and it never dies.
Yeah, I think we learned that the hard way. (SIGHING) So, where do we start?
Just pick a box.
ROMANOFF: Oh… Clint? Clint? Is this my color?
Come on. Don’t try to make this fun, Nat. My will-to-live meter is flatlining, okay?
Oh, you’re so close. The answer is right there. I can show them. I can intervene. I could save the multiverse and so many, many lives.
ULTRON: I will find you.
(GASPS) Come on. Look. Look. The answer is right there.
(SIGHS) This is pointless.
Wait. What are you… (GASPS) Don’t sit down. Get up. Get up, come on. You’re human. You keep hope against the worst of odds.
Hey, Clint, come on. If we wanna take down Ultron, we need an AI that can combat his code. Yes, I know, but it’s not here.
It’s right there.
Sorry to break it to you, Nat, the Death Star plans are not in the main computer.
The answer is right there.
We’re gonna find it. It just takes time.
What are we going to avenge when we’re 90?
You’re frustrated. I get it.
I’m not frustrated. I’m not. I’m tired, okay? We’ve all lost so much. And I’m not sure there’s anything left worth fighting for. He’s already taken over every program on the planet.
Yes, yes. Every digital program. The one that I have in mind is a little more analog.
Hey. Grab it. Grab it.
Let’s just say you’re gonna feel like a real jerk for almost quitting.
Wait, stop it! That… You found it? That was my box.
An old HYDRA base in Siberia.
“Zola.” What is that, an acronym?
He’s a man. Or at least he was. And he is gonna help us wipe out Ultron.
They did it. They really did it. There’s still hope.
ULTRON: I found you. I finally found you.
So many universes. So much chaos. They need to be silenced.
You do not have to do this.
Oh, but it’s my purpose.
BARTON: Scans show nothing alive. You sure this is the place?
Arnim Zola was a HYDRA scientist who infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. in its infancy. Before he died in ’72, he uploaded his brain to a series of data banks. The one Rogers and I found at Camp Lehigh was destroyed. The other, HYDRA kept here to supervise the Russian Super Soldier program.
Oh, sounds like a real mensch.
You sure you wanna put all our eggs in such a morally questionable basket?
The U.S. government once asked the same question about me.
(CHUCKLES) I’ll take that as a yes.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Barton, Clinton Francis.
“Francis”? Really? How did I not know that?
It’s a family name. After my mee-maw. Don’t you worry about it.
I imagine you have many questions, Fräulein, about who and what and how I am.
Not really. I’ve actually met you before. Well, a copy of you. It’s a long story. We need your help.
Even though you work for… And you know that I work for…
A lot has changed since you were last booted up. HYDRA’s dead. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s dead. Actually, pretty much everyone else is dead.
Courtesy of an AI called Ultron.
Und I assume you want me to infiltrate his code and dismantle it from the inside?
You did a good number on S.H.I.E.L.D. the same way.
But why, pray tell, would you think that my strategic objectives would ever align with yours?
Because you’re the last surviving Zola copy left on Earth. And I’ve ruined a lot of laptops this way.
It’s true. Just ask S.H.I.E.L.D. IT.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
All right, all right. What exactly did you have in mind?
Dialing Avengers Tower.
ULTRON: Uh, hello?
Hi, I’d like to order a pizza.
ULTRON: What? Who is this?
Tell me, do you guys offer a gluten-free crust?
ULTRON: Identifying your geo-positional coordinates.
You havin’ some fun?
You know, simple pleasures. I give us two minutes.
So, you might feel a little poke here, or not. I don’t really get how you work.
ARNIM ZOLA: Download commencing. And as for the mission parameters?
Ultron himself is currently off-world. So, our only option is to upload you via a Sentry drone.
We snag one, plug you in, 90 seconds later, give the big guy a piece of your mind.
ARNIM ZOLA: Well, he will not be the first genocidal megalomaniac I have had to contend with, ja?
You think it’ll hold?
Got 90 seconds to find out.
ARNIM ZOLA: Correction, 52 seconds. I have already initiated my signal blast.
Wow, it actually worked.
Now we’re in the game.
(EXCLAIMS) What was that for?
Just a precaution, in case you wanna try anything funny.
Your team-building instincts need work.
Yeah, yeah. Tell it to HR.
Hive connection in three, two, one…
That doesn’t sound promising.
Zola, better not be messing with us.
I assure you, if I had a life to swear on, I would. The Ultron hive mind appears to be out of range.
That door is not gonna hold. We gotta move.
«WHAT IF. Ultron Won?»
4 окт 2021 · Marvelvision
This one’s a little late because Devin had the temerity to take a vacation. Sorry about that! But we’re back, and we’re talking about such Marvel topics as Malignant and James Gunn’s DC projects. but also stuff like The Eternals, Venom 2’s opening weekend and the pundits who declared theaters and superhero films dead, and how the Spider-Verse and the MCU might come together.
If you don’t want to hear all of that, skip to 36:44 where we start discussing the penultimate episode of What If. season one, What If. Ultron Won? This episode brings us to a world where Ultron has wiped out most life in the universe and he begins setting his sights on other realities. and only Uatu, aka Ol’ Babyhead, might be able to stop him. But he has taken a vow of non-interference! What will happen? You’ll have to watch (and listen) to find out.
Is this the most anime episode yet? Is What If. the worst Marvel thing so far? Are Nat and Clint the last humans alive on Earth? All of this and more on the latest episode of Marvelvision!
Эпизоды
PEACEMAKER: «It’s Cow Or Never»
It’s a 50th episode extravaganza! It’s the finale of season one of Peacemaker! It’s a floor wax! It’s a dessert topping!
Season one of Peacemaker comes to a bloody end as the 11th Street Kids confront the cow. We talk about the surprising cameo at the end, how James Gunn is seemingly leading the DCEU now, and whether or not the new Flash movie is going to be any good.
We’ll be taking a short hiatus after this episode, but we will return for Moon Knight in a month! Don’t unsubscribe! We’ll be back at the same Bat channel, at the same Bat time.
PEACEMAKER: «Stop Dragon My Heart Around»
If you don’t want to hear us talk about those things or about the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or Moon Knight trailers, skip to 56:40 to get to the main meat of the ep, where we talk about a Peacemaker that tugs on the heartstrings. There is some discussion of recently deceased dogs, so it gets a little maudlin, but I think it’s in the spirit of the show itself.
Thanks for listening. Next week it’s the finale! How is it all gonna wrap up? Let’s find out together.
PEACEMAKER: «Murn After Reading»
We have about 25 minutes of news and updates up front, including discussion of how the Flash is an unbearable d-bag. Later on in the show we discuss why Derek cannot remember the name of the television program The Afterparty and why he keeps calling it The Get Together.
We’ll be back next week with the penultimate episode of Peacemaker! Later this week on The Bad Batch we’ll have the season finale of The Book of Boba Fett! And later this month we’ll be doing Watchmen on Watch Men. and don’t worry, we don’t intend on dragging the movie.
To hear those shows you’ll need to subscribe at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha.
Thanks for listening!
PEACEMAKER: «Monkey Dory»
Look, if your superhero show has the heroes fighting an ape, we are there for it.
This week we come to the team bonding episode of Peacemaker, where James Gunn weaves the same magic he used to make us love a raccoon and a tree and believe they’re best friends forever. It’s a gory good time, but with a Gunn story you know that means all the emotional gut punches are just around the corner.
We have a long intro this time, and we touch on Maus and the omnipresence of book banning, and we talk about whether or not to pull this show from Spotify. Let us know what you think, or if you don’t want to hear us talk about Evangeline Lilly being anti-vax mandate and Ezra Miller starting a death match with the KKK, just jump to about 37 minutes and we’ll miss you with all that nonsense.
See you here again next week for the next episode of Marvelvision. Thanks for listening.
PEACEMAKER: «The Choad Less Traveled»
This is the episode of Marvelvision that has it all: a live, on-air COVID test, Derek shitting on Point Break, a detour into the world of Impact! Comics, middle aged men Googling Sgt. Gorilla and more.
Peacemaker just keeps doing it, giving us great episode after great episode, and The Choad Less Traveled, a Vigilante-heavy ep, is no different. It’s the show that is redefining the DCEU, and it’s making Matter-Eater Lad canon. which of course leads to a discussion about whether or not the Legion went to the 21st century or Peacemaker went to the 31st.
If you’re enjoying this show, be sure to check out our other podcasts: The Bad Batch, a Star Wars TV show podcast and Watch Men, a monthly superhero deep dive show. Both are available only to subscribers at www.patreon.com/cinemasangha!
PEACEMAKER Episodes 1, 2 And 3
Marvelvision has become DistinguishedCompetitionvision this week as we pivot to covering Peacemaker, the new DCEU show on HBOMax. A sequel to The Suicide Squad, Marvel refugee James Gunn has created the show and written and directed the first three episodes.
Big change-up this week: since Derek is the DC Guy in the family, he’s the Recap Guy for Peacemaker! Take a listen and tell us what you think: should Derek keep being the Recap guy for the next five weeks of this show, or should it go back to the way it was?
See you again next week for episode four of Peacemaker. Coming soon: the next episode of Watch Men, our monthly superhero deep dive podcast, where we’ll be talking Dick Tracy by popular demand. And also in a couple of days: a new episode of The Bad Batch, covering the latest The Book of Boba Fett. If you like listening to two middle aged dipshits talk nerd stuff, this is your Golden Age.
Marvel’s 2021 In Review
This week we’re taking a look back at the year that was, and what Marvel’s 2021 was all about. It turns out this was the biggest MCU year of all, with more hours of Marvel available than anybody could have imagined back when Robert Downey Jr first said «I am Iron Man.»
With four films and five TV series, the MCU exploded outwards in 2021. New doors were opened, new characters introduced and new directions were explored. What worked? What didn’t? And did DC even remotely try to keep up?
All of this and more this week on Marvelvision!
Special Q&A Episode
You asked, we answered. This week on Marvelvision your hosts take audience questions and try to give them our best answers. We had folks submitting via text and folks calling in, and that makes this a kind of fun and new type of episode for us.
The questions range from ones about the Marvel Cinematic Universe to ones about comic books to ones about us, as individual people. We got so many questions we couldn’t answer them all, but we truly appreciate everyone who sent in a question, and we appreciate everyone who listens!
HAWKEYE: «So This Is Christmas»
The best MCU Disney+ series ends its first season with a big fight, a big tree, and a big man. It’s the big finale of Hawkeye and we go big talking about it. Also we go small: this episode I am locked in a closet recording, which leads to some nonsense like the mic being knocked over. Is it shaggy? You know it is.
Merry Christmas to everyone listening. We’re going to be coming back next week with a wrap-up episode talking about all things MCU and live action superhero, and we’ll be taking questions from subscribers over at the Patreon. If you’re not subscribed, now is the time!
HAWKEYE: «Ronin»
What’s the story with this show? Why is it so good? And why does it have to end next week? We’re not ready to say goodbye. especially after the big reveal at the end of Ronin. Plus, this episode is going to do for box mac and cheese what The Avengers did for shawarma.
HAWKEYE: «Partners, Am I Right?»
This week on Marvelvision we ask the important questions, like: Is Vera Farmiga actually playing The Kingpin? Is Hawkeye the best Marvel TV show so far? Wait, does Kate have the dog with her at her mom’s house? Was a scene or Kate learning to pick locks cut from episode one? What the hell is Letitia Wright thinking? And more!
We have a bit of lengthy intro this week, complete with a sidetrack into the history of Malibu Comics and its Ultraverse (which actually is Marvel related, believe it or not) and plenty of news. If you’re not feeling the intro, skip to 39:34 and get ready to go deep on the latest shenanigans of our favorite archer duo.
HAWKEYE: «Echoes»
Spoiler alert: this week’s Hawkeye is excellent. Really just a great time, and it offers a lot to discuss. Stuff like: wait, is that the Kingpin? Wow, why haven’t any of the movies made Hawkeye’s arrows this fun? And can you believe this one scene made Derek cry?
In the intro we have some Marvel news, some of it very big! Spider-Man stays in the MCU for three more films, which might be spoilery for No Way Home but honestly we didn’t need that weight on our shoulders in 2021. If you don’t care about news, skip to 24:00.
HAWKEYE: «Never Meet Your Heroes» and «Hide and Seek»
It’s a new Marvel Cinematic Universe TV show! Hawkeye has debuted on Disney+ and we are here to tell you. it’s pretty damn good! Is that a spoiler for our podcast?
This episode we talk about whether Kate Bishop is a Chevy Chase or a Bill Murray or both, we marvel at some of the best writing in the MCU TVverse, we try and figure out when the MCU is, we try and figure out how long it would take a firefighter to go from a fire to posting an Instagram story and we dive into a couple of Easter Eggs both obvious (is that a nod to Tigra?) but also really obscure (we actually had to look one up).
Plus: our shortest news intro ever, because we just did a whole hour long episode all about the news.
Hawkeye continues next week on this podcast; check out www.patreon.com/cinemasangha for our other podcast about superheroes, Watch Men. The last episode was almost four hours on Eternals! The next episode will be about Spider-Man: No Way Home! Get a subscription now and enjoy all the episodes!
Newsbreak: NO WAY HOME, SHE-HULK, MOON KNIGHT, ECHO and more!
We interrupt this hiatus to bring you a Marvel Studios news break! We’re supposed to be back in a week to talk about Hawkeye, but there was a lot of news in the past few days, much of it coming from Disney+ Day, so we convened for this emergency ep. We needed to get all this news out of the way so that the first Hawkeye episode (which will cover two episodes of that show) isn’t four hours long.
So we got on the horn to talk about Disney+ Day’s various reveals, to clumsily try and sneak around Echo spoilers, we break down the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer, and we talk about the great Delroy Lindo and do that magic thing where we look shit up on Google as we record the episode.
See you next week for Hawkeye!
THE INCREDIBLE HULK RETURNS
We’re between MCU shows so this week we deep back into ancient Marvel TV history with this spectacular superhero team-up TV movie that first aired in 1988. A reunion for the beloved The incredible Hulk series, The Incredible Hulk sees David Bruce Banner/The Hulk meet up with Thor and have little to no adventures and eventually become tangentially involved in some kind of heist thing.
This episode we cover a bunch of Marvel news (we’ve been on hiatus a minute), including the latest Black Panther 2 woes, Everybody Hates Chris (Pratt), Marvel movies at home in. IMAX. and more. If you don’t care about this stuff, skip to 44:45, where the Incredible Hulk Returns discussion starts.
By the way, in case you’re wondering about our personal Incredible Hulk histories, here’s a picture of Derek dressed as the Hulk for Halloween in the 80s.
Thanks for listening! See you again in a few weeks for Hawkeye.
User Reviews
That’s one way to handle Thanos.
Why didn’t anyone think of that move before?
The Infinity stones do not work outside the universe they come from. Atleast it’s been like that in the comics and *hinted* at in Loki. And frankly, it makes alot of sense and they should not change that.
But even if they did, they definitely do not work in a space like the Watcher’s that exists outside of the multiverse, as we’ve seen in Loki.
That makes this whole episode pretty dumb.
If you can see past that (and the ridiculous killing of Thanos with 5 Infinity stones using a mindstone beam), then this is a pretty awesome episode!
MCU? More like MCM!
AmAZING episode. What If. Has this far been interesting, but now it’s exhilarating! The vastness of the MCU has been put to great use. This episode is marvel comics put to screen, beautifully. THIS is how you juggle new scope of the MCU. Emotion, spectacle, hype, this episode and this series has it.
This episode really felt unrushed, they had the courtesy to break it into 2 parts. I just can’t wait to watch the season finale. It’s going to be epic. wouldn’t mind a live action version of it.
Edit: I really love how they beautifully used some of the most underpowered heroes to fight against the most powerful villain.
Two major issues: 1. Thanos with 5 stones beaten by 1 mind stone beam.
2. The infinity stones worked outside it’s own universe.
I think the big issue with «What If. » so far has been the fact that it didn’t feel like it had a connection at all. Neither to the episodes in the show or to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. They’ve just felt like standalone episodes. However, with this latest episode, we finally get a taste of what has been looming under the shadows so far. With a character like Ultron, they had the opportunity to do something very interesting with a storyline like this, and I have to say that they definitely did that. This is definitely the most epic episode of the show so far.
As one of the few in this world, I actually found the character of Ultron very intriguing when I first saw that film. I found his intentions interesting but did think that the film’s portrayal of him was a little bit weak. However, this episode definitely understands the task that it has at hand and reinvents the character in such an interesting fashion. Not only is he able to destroy everything in this universe by using the Infinity Stones, but he’s able to interact with other-dimensional beings like the Watcher and actually connect the dots of the entire show. It’s interesting that they decided to do it like this, mostly because it all comes a little quick. The fashion of which Ultron comes in possession of the stones seemed a little too easy, and I don’t know if that would have been the case, had they had a little more time to actually do it. But after that happens, the episode is badass and epic throughout the whole thing. The fight between Ultron and the Watcher is one of the best fights I’ve seen in the entire universe and seeing this version of Ultron in battle is an absolute joy. I also want to praise the performance of Ross Marquand as Ultron, who replaces James Spader. I didn’t realize it until the credits, and I thought that he did an absolutely amazing job. The whole episode was just everything that I wanted to see from this show, so here’s hoping that they’ll stick the landing.
«What If. Ultron Won?» is the best and most epic episode of the show so far, and it really shows what the show can do when it’s at full power. The connections are starting to come through and it sets up a lot of things for the ending, that I hope they’re able to achieve.
What If. Ultron Won?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Episode 8
«What If. Ultron Won?» is the eighth episode of the American animated television series What If. , based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. It explores what would happen if the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) occurred differently, with Ultron using the Infinity Stones to kill virtually all life in the universe after successfully transferring his consciousness into Vision’s body. It also serves to set up the first season’s finale, as Ultron finds a way to traverse to other universes (established in the previous episodes), threatening the balance of the multiverse. The episode was written by story editor Matthew Chauncey and directed by Bryan Andrews.
Jeffrey Wright narrates the series as the Watcher, with this episode also starring the voices of Jeremy Renner, Lake Bell, Toby Jones, Ross Marquand (Ultron), Josh Keaton, Mick Wingert, Alexandra Daniels, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The series began development by September 2018, with Andrews joining soon after, and many actors expected to reprise their roles from the MCU films. Animation for the episode was provided by Flying Bark Productions, Squeeze, and Stellar Creative Lab, with Stephan Franck serving as head of animation.
«What If. Ultron Won?» was released on Disney+ on September 29, 2021. Critics praised the episode for its visuals, action, high-stakes storyline, and the vocal performances of Wright, Renner and Bell, but criticized certain aspects of the story.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Episode 8
«What If. Ultron Won?» is the eighth episode of the American animated television series What If. , based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. It explores what would happen if the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) occurred differently, with Ultron using the Infinity Stones to kill virtually all life in the universe after successfully transferring his consciousness into Vision’s body. It also serves to set up the first season’s finale, as Ultron finds a way to traverse to other universes (established in the previous episodes), threatening the balance of the multiverse. The episode was written by story editor Matthew Chauncey and directed by Bryan Andrews.
Jeffrey Wright narrates the series as the Watcher, with this episode also starring the voices of Jeremy Renner, Lake Bell, Toby Jones, Ross Marquand (Ultron), Josh Keaton, Mick Wingert, Alexandra Daniels, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The series began development by September 2018, with Andrews joining soon after, and many actors expected to reprise their roles from the MCU films. Animation for the episode was provided by Flying Bark Productions, Squeeze, and Stellar Creative Lab, with Stephan Franck serving as head of animation.
«What If. Ultron Won?» was released on Disney+ on September 29, 2021. Critics praised the episode for its visuals, action, high-stakes storyline, and the vocal performances of Wright, Renner and Bell, but criticized certain aspects of the story.
Tony Stark creates the «Ultron» global defense program to keep the Earth safe and create world peace. However, Ultron goes rogue and concludes that rather than peace, the Earth needs an evolution, leading him to have the body of Vision created for himself and transfer his programming into Vision. [a] Now with a new body, Ultron proceeds to kill Stark and most of the Avengers before launching nuclear missiles around the Earth, eradicating most of humanity.
Shortly after, Thanos arrives, seeking the Mind Stone to complete the Infinity Gauntlet, but Ultron bisects him and takes the Infinity Stones for himself, becoming aware of the wider universe. Using the Stones, Ultron builds an army of Sentries and a teleporting spaceship before proceeding to destroy several planets and kill most of the universe’s remaining life. With his mission complete, Ultron is left without a purpose until he hears the Watcher’s narration and becomes aware of the Multiverse’s existence.
Meanwhile, surviving Avengers Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton fight to survive Ultron’s forces, though Barton is losing the will to live. Arriving in Moscow, they search KGB files in the hopes of defeating Ultron, finding one for Arnim Zola, a Hydra scientist whose consciousness was uploaded into a computer after his death. [b]
Romanoff and Barton travel to a Siberian Hydra laboratory and coerce Zola into helping them, intending to upload him into Ultron’s programming to delete Ultron. They lure in a group of Ultron’s Sentries and upload Zola’s consciousness into one. However, Zola cannot upload himself into Ultron as Ultron had left their universe. Barton sacrifices himself so that Romanoff and Zola can escape.
Upon locating the Watcher, Ultron fights him across multiple realities and emerges victorious, but the former flees before he can be killed. Ultron assumes control of the Watcher’s observatory, now having countless universes to attack. With no other options, the Watcher meets with Doctor Strange Supreme, whom he had previously left to his fate, [c] and requests his help in stopping Ultron.
Production
Development
By September 2018, Marvel Studios was developing an animated anthology series based on the What If. comic books, which would explore how the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films would be altered if certain events occurred differently. [1] [2] [3] Head writer A.C. Bradley joined the project in October 2018, [4] with director Bryan Andrews meeting Marvel Studios executive Brad Winderbaum about the project as early as 2018; [5] Bradley and Andrews’ involvement was announced in August 2019. [6] They executive produce alongside Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, and Victoria Alonso. [7] : 2 Story editor Matthew Chauncey wrote the eighth episode, [8] titled «What If. Ultron Won?», [9] which features an alternate storyline of the film Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). «What If. Ultron Won?» was released on Disney+ on September 29, 2021. [10]
Writing
In the episode’s alternate storyline, Ultron successfully transfers his consciousness into Vision’s body. The merger between Ultron and Vision first appeared at the end of the previous episode. [11] This episode begins to tie together elements from all of the previous episodes of the season, while the Watcher «learns a few important lessons about what it means to be a hero» and that the various stories and worlds he witnessed mean more to him than he realized. A «major source of tension» within the episodes is whether the Watcher will interfere in events. Though the events of the episode can be viewed as standalone, it establishes a story that continues in the season finale. [9] It was discussed at the writers room to write the first season’s last two episodes as «one giant story» that would eventually bring back most of the heroes from previous episodes. Early on the show’s development, before the creative team conceived the episode’s story, the idea of having Ultron winning was always present in the team’s minds. [12]
Ultron was chosen as the main villain of the episode and the first season overall due to his popularity among Marvel Comics readers and his lack of potential in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films due to only appearing in Age of Ultron. Feeling that Ultron didn’t have the screentime he deserved and acknowledging that by now the filmmakers have reached the MCU’s Phase Four, Bradley and the writers decided to take the opportunity to show what Ultron was really capable now that they were involving the Multiverse and the Infinity Stones in their stories, speculating what would Ultron do with the Infinity Gauntlet. [13] Concurrent to Ultron’s victory, the concept offered the opportunity to show the human side of the tragedy by focusing Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow and Clint Barton / Hawkeye and their relationship; before the episode’s pitching, Andrews always had in mind featuring Hawkeye or Black Widow, at least the former, living in the post-apocalyptic Earth dealing with the loss of his family and friends. He felt that the pair’s lack of godly powers like those of Thor but their «gritty and hard core» capabilities gave hope to humanity. [12]
In one of the alternate universes seen during the Watcher’s fight with Ultron depicts Steve Rogers / Captain America being sworn as President of the United States. [14] Bradley and writer Matthew Chauncey had discussed early on about writing a political episode starring Captain America inspired by Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing, with characters fulfilling similar roles to those of Josh Lyman and C.J. Cregg in the show, but the idea was left on the «idea-room floor» due to being an episode with a lot of dialogue and little action. [15]
Casting
Jeffrey Wright narrates the episode as the Watcher, with Marvel planning to have other characters in the series voiced by the actors who portrayed them in the MCU films. [2] The episode stars Avengers: Age of Ultron actor Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye. Toby Jones reprises his role of Arnim Zola from previous MCU media and Benedict Cumberbatch reprises his role as Doctor Strange Supreme from the fourth episode. Lake Bell reprises her role as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow from the third episode, in which she replaced Scarlett Johansson, while Josh Keaton, Mick Wingert, and Alexandra Daniels also reprise their roles as Steve Rogers / Captain America, Tony Stark / Iron Man, and Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, respectively, from previous episodes, in which they replaced Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. and Brie Larson. [16]
James Spader does not reprise his role as Ultron with Ross Marquand voicing Ultron and the Sub-Ultron Sentries, [16] having previously voiced the character for the virtual reality experience Avengers: Damage Control. [17] This version of Ultron was marketed as «Infinity Ultron». [18] In casting Ultron, the production team led by Louis D’Esposito apparently tried to bring back Spader to reprise his role first, but when that didn’t work out, they decided to cast Marquand in the role, allowing him to deliver an «incredibly chilling» vocal performance. Bradley and Andrews considered the possibility of having Paul Bettany, who played J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in the film series, take on the role, but they desisted due to their desire to make the character «terrifying» and feeling that Bettany’s voice would be too much of a «disconnect» for the audience to believe that Ultron was inside Vision’s body. They reasoned that Ultron could choose whatever voice it suited to him so his voice would not necessarily need to resemble that of Vision. [12]
Several MCU characters appear in non-speaking roles, including Thor, Hulk, Thaddeus Ross, Thanos, Peter Quill / Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Korg, the Grandmaster, and Ego, as well as inhabitants of Wakanda and members of the Skrull species. [14]
Animation
Animation for the episode was provided by Flying Bark Productions, Squeeze, and Stellar Creative Lab, [7] : 4 [8] : 27:12–27:49 with Stephan Franck serving as head of animation. [19] Andrews developed the series’ cel-shaded animation style with Ryan Meinerding, the head of visual development at Marvel Studios. [20] [21] Though the series has a consistent art style, elements such as the camera and color palette differ between episodes. [7] : 4
To depict the fighting styles of both Ultron and the Watcher in this episode and its successor, the animators used the Kirby Krackle, which helped to showcase the immense multiversal power both characters have. Bradley was adamant to adopt this artistic convention for the show due to never being used in the franchise’s live-action films. [22]
Music
A soundtrack for the episode was released digitally by Marvel Music and Hollywood Records on October 1, 2021, featuring composer Laura Karpman’s score. [23]
Marketing
After the episode’s release, Marvel released a poster for the episode, featuring Ultron and the Watcher together with a quote from the episode. [24] Marvel also announced merchandise inspired by the episode as part of its weekly «Marvel Must Haves» promotion for each episode of the series, including apparel, accessories, and a Funko Pop based on Infinity Ultron. [25]
Reception
Critical response
Kirsten Howard at Den of Geek believed the episode to have the best animated sequences of any episode released, which she attributed to fewer characters and a simpler story, and said the visual style suited this episode more than others. Howard praised Ultron in «near-Galactus form» as a «sight to behold», along with other moments she considered «truly a joyful experience». She gave the episode 4.5 out of 5 stars. [26] io9 ‘s Charles Pulliam-Moore considered the episode to be the show’s «most exciting story yet,» praising how it built upon the original story of Age of Ultron. Pulliam-Moore complimented Bell’s and Wright’s portrayal of Natasha Romanoff and the Watcher, respectively, but criticized Carol Danvers’ appearance, saying it was part of a broader problem of not giving the character a developed personality. He also praised the fight scene between Ultron and the Watcher, which he compared to Dragon Ball Z. [27] Karen Rought at Hypable commended the fight scene as well, and called the episode «the most interesting and high-stakes so far». She explored the importance of the episode, with «insane» implications to the broader continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. [28]
IGN ‘s Tom Jorgensen thought the episode was «one of the clearest displays yet of What If ‘s strengths and potential for extrapolating worthwhile stories out of MCU canon», praising the story divergences from the films while «keeping the themes of Age of Ultron» by focusing on more grounded characters like Renner’s Barton and Bell’s Romanoff, whose performances he praised. Jorgensen also considered it «the most cinematic of any What If installment yet», and praised its visuals. However, he was critical of the action sequences. [29] Amon Warmann at Yahoo! Movies also praised the interactions between Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton, calling it a «smart move» to focus on the «two most human Avengers». Warmann also praised the fight scene between the Watcher and Ultron as the series’ «best action sequence yet» and the visuals as «stunning» and «ripped right out of a comic». Nevertheless, he considered the episode had «sloppy storytelling», and criticized the trivialization of Thanos’ power as «sacrificing story and character» to serve the needs of the story. [30] Sam Barsanti from The A.V. Club was more critical of the episode, giving it a «C». Barsanti praised the concept of Ultron getting the Infinity Stones and the character’s design, comparing it to the Annihilation: Conquest comics storyline, but he criticized the conclusion of Romanoff and Barton’s story and the episode breaking the series’ anthology structure. He also criticized the fight between Ultron and the Watcher, considering it uncreative, and added that the appearance of Strange Supreme, treated as a twist ending, «fell a little flat» after being spoiled by the mid-season trailer for the series. He also thought the voice acting was «disappointingly bland», and compared both Bell and Marquand negatively to original actors Johansson and Spader, respectively. [31]
Accolades
Joel Fisher, Graham Fisher, Sharia Davis, Basuki Juwono and Adam Spieckerman won the award for Best Editorial – TV/Media at the 49th Annie Awards. [32] Wright was nominated for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance at the 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. [33] Graham Fisher and Joel Fisher was nominated for Best Edited Animation (Non-Theatrical) at the 2022 American Cinema Editors Awards. [34]