Random Happenstance

Some 'Ultimate' Ultron; that's not even an A-cup.

Admittedly, the above isn't even my favorite Ultron model; he has a better design in the crotchless Ultron-6...

By now most of you have probably seen the solicits for Mighty Avengers #2 and it's female-Ultron cover. (I found it over at Comics And... if you haven't.) And probably like most of you, I thought it was no doubt a borderline moronic idea meant to give Frank Cho two more boobs to draw...

But, I'll admit I could very well be wrong on that.

Consider: there was a discussion a while back at Dance of the Puppets regarding longtime Dr. Who villains the Cybermen. Not to bag on the old show's "special" effects, but the old Cybermen looked like robots made of cardboard boxes, tinfoil, and tubing. Sexless. The new, Cyberwoman? Attractive young woman dressed in tinfoil with a fair amount of exposed skin. Sexy. Why the difference?

OK, yeah, young male demographic. But if you think in terms of the story, that, and a lot of similar nonsense, could be written off as psychological warfare. Previously, when Ultron attacked, he was a pissed off, insect-looking robot; with antennae and that mouth that looked like a can opener. (Or is that just Annihilus?) In such a situation, you or I or the Avengers would go with our first instincts, i.e. Kill it!

But an Ultron that looks like a supermodel, or even just like a human female, could possibly get that second of hesitation that it can exploit. For example, Iron Man may falter, only for a second, before unleashing a full repulsor blast in a face that looks like he should be taking it to dinner. And for a computer mind like Ultron's, that second may be all the time he needs.

This idea might be from the old Alex Ross Terminator: the Burning Earth miniseries, but I haven't read it in maybe what, fifteen years or more? (Holy sod!) Anyway, I'm still not sure I'm going to part with any cash regarding Mighty Avengers, but I'm not going to condemn it without reading it. Today.

From Avengers #68, "...And We Battle for the Earth!" Written by Roy Thomas, art by Sal Buscema. Reprinted in Marvel Super Action #29.