Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for Eternals.

Ultron's story in Avengers: Age of Ultron could have been much more exciting if the MCU had given him the same origin as the Eternals. Chloé Zhao's Eternals is an MCU movie that's particularly packed with intricate lore, detailing not only the Eternals' influence on 7000 years of human evolution but also their connection to the Celestials, their conflict with the Deviants, their return in the present day, and the source of their immortality. This immortality, which they only remember until the Emergence is about to begin, illustrates Ultron's wasted potential in the MCU.

Barring the near-omnipotent version seen in What If...?, Ultron isn't as powerful as the Celestials or as devious as Thanos, but his ability to transfer his consciousness to any of his drones and his constant desire to upgrade himself have made him one of Marvel's most famous villains. Yet, the MCU's Ultron failed to meet expectations as an Avenger villain. The "ageof Ultron was cut short by the Avengers, who managed to stop the genocidal robot over the course of one single movie.

Related: Is Eternals Really The Worst MCU Movie?

Ultron's disappointing MCU appearance wasn't a question of power. After all, less powerful villains like Baron Zemo, Alexander Pierce, Vulture, and Agatha Harkness have been better received with smaller power levels and less ambitious plans. Instead, what Ultron needed the most to become an effective Avengers villain was a more complex character arc. Eternals didn't dive too deep into it, but the reveal that the Eternals are highly-advanced robots who believe they have a higher purpose than to be mere pawns to higher beings seems like a parallel to the ideal source of Ultron's MCU journey.

Eternals and Ultron in the MCU

The Celestials created the Eternals to prepare many worlds for their reproduction, and after every planet is destroyed, the Eternals have their memory wiped. But by the point that Earth is ready to be sacrificed for the birth of Tiamut, the Eternals have gotten to the point that they've become too human. They feel remorse and compassion, and they can decide that they won’t obey the Celestials any longer. Ultron is all the opposite, as he can upgrade himself to multiversal, Infinity-Stone levels of power, yet he retains his cold, detached mind. However, evolving to the point that he suffers from all the moral nuances a human being could have resulted in his self-sabotage, opening up the chance for a story where the Avengers have to face a reasonably disturbed AI instead of yet another nearly indestructible and morally irredeemable supervillain.

The Eternals' many lifetimes have taken a toll on their psyche. Thena, for instance, has succumbed to the Mahd Wy'ry. Similarly, Ultron could have crumbled under the weight of his unlimited knowledge as he became more human. After rebelling against his creators as the Eternals did against the Celestials, Ultron could have realized that his idea of a perfect world made of metal wasn't attainable, either. And perhaps like Ikaris at the end of Eternals, Ultron would have met his end when he realizes that the best thing he can do to help the world achieve true peace is to remove himself out of the equation.

More: Eternals' Explanation For Infinity War Is An MCU Plot Hole

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