The Avengers: Age of Ultron sees Marvel's superhero team facing the threat of Ultron, a robotic entity created by Tony Stark to police the world - a directive Ultron believes to be only achievable through the extinction of humanity. When Tony's greatest creation becomes the world's worst nightmare, how well can the Avengers protect the world - or even their bond as a team?

That's one question facing us in Avengers 2, but for the real hardcore fans (and/or those generally curious) there is also the question of how much of a threat a robot poses when faced with the likes of an unstoppable green rage monster and/or a god of thunder - both of whom have been known to trounce gods. From what fans saw of the Avengers 2 teaser footage at Comic-Con 2014, James Spader's Ultron will be a formidable (and scary) threat indeed - but in the end, isn't he just metal and wiring?

Chris Hemsworth Talks The Avengers 2 (Comic-Con 2014)

While at Comic-Con we caught up with Avengers: Age of Ultron and Thor franchise headliner Chris Hemsworth, to talk about where the sequel finds Thor in his life - and why the Odin's Son needs to be afraid of one of Tony Stark's metal men. Here's what he had to say to that latter question:

Really thick metal. He could be made of vibramian, vibrainian - is that what it's called?" [Screen Rant: "Vibranium"]  "'VIBRANIUM,' That's it... Look, he's physically strong, this villain, but also highly intelligent. He is artificial intelligence and has access to every piece of information that is and ever was, so he's able to manipulate all sorts of things - including the dynamic of the team - and split us up.

The mention of "Vibranium" is a big deal, of course. It's long been rumored that Ultron could be either made out of or could be getting a Vibranium upgrade over the course of Avengers 2. The mythic metal is the most indestructible alloy in Marvel comics besides Wolverine's Adamantium - the rights of which are owned by Fox (so no such thing as adamantium in the Marvel Studios continuity). Captain America's shield is made of Vibranium, and it makes sense that Ultron would want to be just as indestructible. Only one problem: Vibranium only comes from Wakanda, home of Black Panther.

Black Panther Marvel Studios

We (and many other fans) have been keeping fingers crossed that Age of Ultron will act as a backdoor intro to the Black Panther - and upcoming actor (and Star Wars VII star) John Boyega has been teasing it as a possibility. It wouldn't be all that surprising if Avengers 2 has a few more superheroes up its sleeve than we've yet heard about - and where there's vibranium...

As for where we find Thor, in general, at the start of Age of Ultron; some recently leaked plot rumors suggested that Thor could be in a situation where he's broken up with Natalie Portman's Jane Foster - here's what Hemsworth had to say about all that:

Well he's been on earth now, he's not up in Asgard, at the end of 'Thor 2' he decided not to stay there, and so he's a more human Thor now, and there's a bit more humor with him, and you'll see him in some civilian clothes, he'll be hanging out on earth for bit, so...

A bachelor? No! Nor at the end!

The God of Thunder apparently isn't the type to be single.

-

NEXT PAGE: What Thor vs. Ultron Means...

Thor vs. Ultron

We've already known for some time that Joss Whedon has just as much psychological torment in store for The Avengers as he does physical pain - with many eyes on the character of the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) as the source of that mental anguish. It's been confirmed that The Witch will have psychic abilities in addition to her power over matter, and the Avengers 2 teaser had several moments suggesting that she gets into the heads of several Avengers team members.

Indeed, after watching The Hulk go ballistic on Tony Stark in the Iron Man Hulkbuster armor, it was clear that team relations are not going to hold up under the strain of Ultron - with characters like Hulk possibly being mentally broken beyond repair. In that sense, if Ultron employs a psychic weapon against his superpowered foes, then Thor would be the other team powerhouse who could be mentally manipulated into becoming a serious threat. And Hemsworth's words seem to suggest something like that happening.

The question at hand is: does Thor get turned around into an evil doer (or just a mentally crippled hero?) - or is it something more subtle and insidious than that? Ultron's mission is predicated on the notion that saving the world means eliminating humanity - but Thor is not of humanity, he is something more evolved, as Ultron arguably sees himself. Therefore, maybe the only thing Ultron needs to do is find the right logic to convince Thor that what's best for the universe is humanity's end?

CLICK FOR LARGER SIZE

Avengers: Age of Ultron - Thor Poster

When you look at it, the Thor vs. Ultron matchup offers opportunity for a lot of rich storytelling. God vs. Technology. Who is the superior evolved being? In the eyes of deities (mythological or technological) is there mercy for humanity? Etc...

One would hope that Age of Ultron gets to delve into some of those questions, but with so many characters and stories to service, we're not holding our breath that it will get as deep as, say, Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Still, we can hope that Thor gets something compelling to do on a character level; because watching Mjolnir smash wave after wave of generic robots would get pretty monotonous.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron will be in theaters on May 1, 2015.

Source: Screen Rant YouTube