Villian Profile: Ultron

He's got an awesome design.

Very recently billionaire genius Elon Musk sided with genius Physicist Steven Hawking on the topic of creating artificial intelligence. According to Musk, creating thinking machines is tantamount to “summoning the Demon,” if we don’t step carefully in this branch of science. If evil mechanical beings like Ultron lie on the road of AI, I can understand the fear. Like with a few previous character’s, I’m going to go in the character’s chronological order, not how the events unfolded in the comic storyline. It's a little easier on the noodle.

Ultron was originally created by Hank Pym, better known as Ant-man, as a lab assistant. Pym, wanting to work with someone of comparable intellect who didn’t have Tony Stark’s more dickish qualities, copied his brain patterns into the robot. Things went well, for about five seconds. After being switched on Ultron almost immediately went berserk, knocking Pym unconscious before wiping the brilliant scientist’s mind of ever creating Ultron, before the machine escaped. How he did that when Ultron-1 seemed to be mounted to the floor is anyone’s guess.

Ultron spent the next few years in hiding, “reinventing” himself. Sorry, bad joke, but seriously he spent an unspecified time upgrading and altering himself before returning to the limelight. Now calling himself Ultron-5, Ultron took up the identity of The Crimson Cowl and recreated the anti-Avenger villain team-up, the Masters of Evil. He also created his own android minion, using a left over body from the old school robot Human Torch and brainwave patterns of a hero named Wonder Man, which he named the Vision. Vision was sent in to infiltrate the Avengers, but like his own maker before him, Vision betrayed his creator and officially joined the Avengers. For those who don’t know Wonder Man, whom was created by the villainous Baron Zemo to also infiltrate the Avengers, also rebelled against his maker. So, seriously, Ultron probably should have seen this coming. Together, the Avenger’s defeated Ultron’s Masters of Evil and dismantled the evil automaton. Unfortunately. Ultron's cyber brain escaped into a new body, this one being composed of the nigh indestructible Adamantium. At this point he started going by Ultron-6, and started the pattern of Ultron dying, being rebuilt and adding a point to his post name number. I believe the most recent one was Ultron-20 or so. Can’t keep a good…evil Robot down, I guess.

Skynet, eat your heart out.

Ultron, as a robot, has a number of superhuman abilities and fun little accessories. He is incredibly strong, fast, and intelligent. He can fly at nearly supersonic speeds. He comes with a number of weapons like concussive energy blasts, missiles, hypnotic attachments, and an “encephalo-ray” that puts people into a near deathlike coma. He’s like an evil life sized action figure. His body, from Ultron-6 onward, is composed of adamantium, which makes him virtually indestructible. He is capable of transferring a fraction, or all, of his consciousness and memories into other Ultron bodies or computer systems with enough memory. He has also capable of building seemingly unlimited Ultron clones, made of lesser metals, which he can control via a hive mind like connection. Picture 10,000 of these robots talking in perfect sync. It’s a creepy image, isn’t it?

Ultron appears in a number of Marvel related franchises. He was a recurring villain in The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Ultron is initially introduced as Hank Pym’s assistant android, as well as the guard to various supervillain prisons. Things worked well because Ultron itself was incapable of causing undo harm to others, apparently Pym hadn't even taught him the concept of violence. Why he was cool guarding  a prison filled with violent criminals is anyone's guess. The problem occurred when Kang the Conqueror led an invasion from the future. Outnumbered and outgunned, Hank Pym was forced to teach his Ultron army the concept of violence to assist the Heroes in defeating Kang. They put down Kang's invasion, but Ultron is clearly starting to malfunction. Later, Ultron hires a number of villains to distract the Avenger’s before making his grand entrance as a crazed villain. He singlehandedly defeated the Avengers, forced Hulk to revert back to Bruce Banner by sucking up his Gama energy, and seemingly vaporized Thor, before they were able to take him down. He was played by Wally Wingert, the voice of Hank Pym on the show, but was later replaced by Tom Kane. Good call, Kane just sounds so much more menacing that Wingert. Look Wingert up, can you possibly see that voice sounding evil? I sure can’t.

His head is supposedly modeled after an ant's. Pym you need
to get out more.

He was one of the inner circle of the Doctor Doom’s Masters of Evil in the game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance voiced by James Horan. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, if you have a PS2 or a good emulator, find and play this game. It’s great.

He will be the major antagonist of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Shocking, right? He’ll be played by actor James Spader. Doctor Daniel Jackson from the Stargate movie is now a homicidal robot conquerer, weird. My understanding is that this time around Stark is the maker of Ultron, although I’ve heard a rumor that the program that Stark uses was originally created by Hank Pym. Not sure of that one though. There is only one trailer of AoU at the moment, ending with Ultron uttering the line from Pinocchio, “There are no strings on me.” It gave me chills.

Ultron is your pretty basic evil android. He hates humanity because inferior humans made him, and that in and of itself is apparently a huge affront to Ultron’s dignity. He’s an incredibly tenacious villain, never stopping in his goal to wipe out all mankind. While one or two versions of Ultron have tried to redeem himself, most of them are stone cold killers. He’ll destroy us all one day, simply because he’ll keep trying to kill mankind until the end of time.  Got to give him points for trying. A little tidbit that makes Ultron a little more interesting than other standard evil robots is that he seems to suffer from an Oedipal Complex. I know, Robot, so technically he doesn't really have either a father to want to usurp or a mother to misplace certain feelings towards. But, Hank Pym is his maker, which is sort of like a father, and Janet van Dyne at the time was Pym's Girlfriend, which kind of fits her into the mother category. Heck, Ultron's first attempt to make his own robotic companion involved taking a copy of van Dyne's consciousness and implanting it into a robot he dubbed Jocaste. Oedipus' mother, for those who don't know. Need I say more? He's a screwed up evil android and that's why we love to hate him. Next time, not sure, so until then have a good time. Happy Halloween everybody.

Ultron doesn't mess around.

 http://marvel.wikia.com/Ultron_%28Earth-616%29

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultron

 http://marvel.wikia.com/Ultron_%28Earth-8096%29

 http://www.comicvine.com/profile/johnkmccubbin91/blog/why-age-of-ultron-hasn-t-hit-the-mark-so-far/90664/

Tv and Movies Unite!

He'd do well on the big screen.

Since DC comics announced its film projects out through 2020 (Sorry Hal, it’s still gonna be a while) there have been more rumors flying about than any one person could pay attention to. One rumor that DC and Warner Bros. have thoroughly quashed is the idea concerning their television programs, namely that Stephen Amell and Grant Gustin will not be portraying Green Arrow and The Flash on the big screen. Now, for fans conceptually this isn’t too big a deal, Comics and Superheroes have been subscribers to the Multiverse Theory of reality for a very long time. If your universe is part of a greater web, it opens a lot of possibilities, including but not limited to Evil Twins, evil controlled parallel universes, replacing dead characters with alternate versions, and the fun What If ideas. But, for fans of the shows (myself included) it is kind of a letdown that there will be another Green Arrow and Flash running around when there are two perfectly good ones already.

Here's an idea, anyone who wants to be GA in a movie has
to fight Amell for the role. If he beats Amell, he gets the part.

Now, they’ve said this is how it is and there is no use crying over spilled milk, but I must ask the question, “Why the heck would you waste good resources?” I for one really believe that to include Amell and Gustin into the Movie-verse would be the start of something wonderful. It would be difficult, time consuming, and expensive, but I think it would be simply amazing if we could get to the point where a superhero could exist in both Television and Movies. Something like Agents of Shield, but instead of focusing on a side character and his own special team, instead it would focus on the titular character.

My idea is that the Television series could focus on expanding the character and the mythos, while any film would focus on those major crises that deserve a major motion picture. Let’s focus on the Flash. If they followed this development angle, the show would focus on introducing the characters and the beginning elements of important storylines. In the Flash’s case they’d introduce things like Captain Cold and other individual members of the Rogues like Heat Wave, Top, and Captain Stupid Gimmick er- I mean Boomerang. The season finale of the Flash would probably focus on the defeat of Zoom the Reverse-Flash, with a post credit scene of Captain Cold deciding that one baddie couldn’t possibly take out the Flash. Then the movie would focus on the creation of the Rogues and the Flash’s confrontation with his enemies combined force. Sure, the individual members would be less dangerous than Zoom but their combined tech and overall nastiness could cause more havoc than the yellow speedster.

Vulture, Craven, Mysterio, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Rhino
So one movie to introduce...four characters, and expand two?
That's a tall order.

The connection to TV would work as promotional material, far better than any commercial. And, if the TV series handled most of the character development, the Movie could focus on the action. Sure, there would still be character developing moments, maybe the introduction of plot lines for the shows next season, but the main focus would be on the chaos and baddie fighting. It would also help trim the bloat from movies like the Sinister Six movie. Instead of making a separate film devoted to introducing the other three members of the Six, a TV series could handle the intros and also give each character enough screen time that we wouldn’t feel like the movie was too imbalanced. It would also keep from making an entire movie centering not on the hero, but on the villains working to set up a fight with the hero.

They’d probably have to work with no-name or TV actors for this kind of project, since they would be more willing to sign whatever multipicture/number of season’s contracts. Which would hopefully decrease the RDJ effect, namely an actor realizing that they are so awesome that the studios need them more than they need the studio. I love you Robert Downey, Jr. but damn, you want lots of money. Also, we'd probably have a year or so of nothing while they work on either the film or TV series, but hey, small price to pay, right? I know its nuts, and I know that odds are no one would ever go for it, but hey, it’s an interesting concept if nothing else. Next time, a villain profile for the Avenger’s next big baddie, Ultron, a robot with a number of odd psychological issues… 

 http://www.wallpaperup.com/424607/THE_FLASH_superhero_drama_action_series_mystery_sci-fi_dc-comics_comic_d-c.html

 http://greenarrow.wikia.com/wiki/File:Green_Arrow_Stephen_Amell-38.jpg

 http://moviepilot.com/posts/2014/07/14/should-sony-release-sinister-six-before-the-amazing-spider-man-3-2060047?lt_source=external,manual

Villain Profile: Captain Cold

Graphic. At least he knows what he wants.

One of the biggest difficulties with writing a villain is the question, should I try to make him sympathetic or not? Some bad guys need to be just total monsters, just the worst of the worst, it’s what makes them interesting. While others, like the Captain Cold here, do have a backstory and overall vibe that makes it hard to just outright hate them. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s get started with Captain Cold.

Leonard Snart had your pretty typical bad guy origin. His main caregiver was his father, who was an abusive SOB. His one refuge from being smacked around was working in his Grandfather’s ice truck. That particular respite from his parental problems only lasted until his dear old Grandpa died. The loss of the only father figure that actually cared about him was a wakeup call to Snart. He told his Dad to stuff it, and set out on his criminal career. He joined a local band of hooligans and they tried to rob a bank. This first little outing worked well, until Barry Allen super-speeded through the area. Snart and his crew were arrested, spent a bit of time in prison, and upon his release Snart decided to go solo. But, rather than moving to a different city, decided that he personally had to do something about the Flash.

For a short time, Cold was given Magic Ice Powers
This was later dropped for being stupid.

Snart, after reading an article that theorized that particles charged from a cyclotron could be used to interfere with the Flash’s speed, decided to weaponize this idea. A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator, so considering that charged particles gave the Flash his powers, this isn’t a completely stupid idea. Snart developed a handgun that he believed could be used to harness the cyclotron’s energy, then broke into a lab to charge the weapon and test it out. After a security guard caught him in the act, Snart tested the weapon on him. To his surprise his experimental weapon froze the moisture in the air, freezing it and the guard solid. Snart, smiling evilly the whole time I believe, got himself a parka and a pair of sunglasses to protect his eyes from the emissions of his Cold Gun, and started calling himself Captain Cold.

Now, the main question you’re probably thinking is, why the heck do people like this guy? Sure, he’s got a somewhat sympathetic backstory, but so do a lot of other characters. What about him makes him a fan favorite? I believe it has something to do with the fact that he’s a very ethical villain. I know, that sounds like an oxymoron, just hear me out. While Cold is a supervillain, which almost by definition makes him largely amoral, he does have a pretty staunch code of conduct and ethics that make him more interesting than your generic bank robber types. Let me explain. Captain Cold is the leader of the Rogues, think Flash’s version of the Sinister Six. As a boss, Cold really cracks a whip. He has a zero tolerance drug policy, by which I mean if he catches one of his men (like fellow Rogue, Mirror Master, who has a cocaine problem) with drugs or while high, he beats the heck out of them. Furthermore, he docks pay for anyone that performs any senseless act of violence. The example that Wikipedia gave was a new member by the name of the Trickster used a combination of stray dogs and some sort of Improvised Explosive Device, which lead to the Trickster losing 90% of what he was going to be paid for the job. Also, he tries to avoid killing whenever possible and has strict rule against directly harming women and children. Cold is a stern taskmaster for a bunch of Psychos.

The parka may look silly, but it sure is effective.

Despite some of the better qualities that Cold has shown, he is by no means a good person. He has fought against three generations of Flashes, and personally helped kill the youngest Flash, Bart Allen. He and a few of his teammates did show remorse after this, but seriously dude, that really doesn’t make up for the dead superhero.

Captain Cold doesn't have any superpowers. He relies on his Cold Gun, which is totally not a rip off of Mr. Freeze's own weapon, to do most of the work for him. He uses it for a variety of effects, such a freezing opponents, freezing the ground, and most sadistic of all, a cold blast that is strong enough to stop an opponent but not so strong that it numbs them to the pain. Apparently he used this particular function to torture a fellow criminal that had murdered Cold's sister. Don't screw with someone's family, it never ends well.

Cold has appeared a few times in the greater DC-verse. He had a cameo appearance in Smallville, he really didn’t do anything or say anything in the episode, but it’s implied that if the villain team-up they proposed had gone through he’d have targeted the show’s Flash, Bart Allen. Probably best that didn’t happen, dead kids aren’t great for ratings.

He appeared on the fourth episode of The Flash, portrayed by Prison Breaks Wentworth Miller. Miller has a very powerful presence, and an air about him that just screams "I'm ten steps ahead and there is nothing you can do about it." I'm not sure how I feel about retooling him as just a guy that has a stolen Cold Gun instead of the inventor. He keeps all of the semi-morals that the villain has, and also just looks so cool when he's plotting. He even does cold puns, and they all aren't teeth screechingly  bad. Most of the time. He even takes time to set up the Rogues. Good on ya writers at The Flash.

If I can see your eyes, I don't think the glasses will help much
against bright lights.

Cold has appeared in most of the animated DC shows, specifically episodes of Justice League: Unlimited, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and Young Justice. Most of these versions of the character aren’t as flushed out as they could be, but in their defense, these were team-up shows, not Flash centric. One of my favorite moments of his was in Young Justice. In the episode, he was robbing a bank, directly across from a café where several Justice League and Young Justice Members were having a Bachelorette party. They somehow get into their costumes despite being frozen, break out and stand in an imposing line. Cold’s smile, upon seeing this, fades, he sighs and just says, “I’m completely doomed, aren’t I?” before the ladies nod and proceed to beat the snot out of him. He wasn’t seen after this encounter, which I attribute to him being in the hospital after perhaps the most savage beating of a life time. You don’t screw with Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties. It’s a good way to get killed.

He had a brief appearance in his position as the leader of the Rogues, and as his heroic persona Citizen Cold in the DC animated movie Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. Apparently if the Flash was never a thing, Cold would have eventually become a superhero in his own right. Though it’s implied that he’s a little too brutal on some of his own Rogues than the Flash had ever been.

I haven’t seen too much of Cold to definitively say that I like or dislike him. But, of the few things I’ve seen and read I can definitely see why people like him. He’s a little more complex than a traditional black-and-white bad guy, but not so like able that a part of you wants to see him succeed at being evil. And while he isn’t as big a name as Mister Freeze, I guess Cold really hates being confused with him, he’s growing in popularity, and I can’t imagine that Miller’s performance will hurt him. Next time, a little editorial about DC/Warner Bros. thoughts on their TV and movie franchises.   

This design is a total ripoff of Mr. Freeze, you can't tell me otherwise.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Cold

 http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Leonard_Snart_%28Prime_Earth%29

 http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles-7/captain-cold-vs-747567/

 http://warner-bros-characters.wikia.com/wiki/Captain_Cold

 http://warner-bros-characters.wikia.com/wiki/File:Captain_Cold_Trapped_in_Time_001.jpg