MCU Theory: Ultron Wanted To Destroy Sokovia To Get Rid Of Mutants

The eventual arrival of the X-Men in the MCU could reveal that Ultron's hidden motivation during Avengers: Age of Ultron was to eliminate mutants before they could appear. The first sequel to The Avengers tackled two ambitious concepts. First, it attempted to adapt Ultron's conquest, which actually doomed the world in the comics but failed to have the same scope in the MCU. Second, Avengers: Age of Ultron introduced Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, who could be called the MCU's first two mutants, without labeling them as such. Unfortunately, Age of Ultron's place between the Avengers first mission and Avengers: Infinity War meant that Ultron's robot uprising and the rise of mutantkind needed to take a back seat to the main plotline of the Infinity Saga.

In Marvel comics, mutants existed long before any major superhero became known to the world. They have a long and complex history, and their birth doesn't depend on a major event caused by the Avengers. Although the MCU has made many retcons to its history, it seems that mutants will inevitably be considered the successors to Earth's Mightiest Heroes. This will involve many changes to mutant lore, but it could actually be an advantage for future movies and Disney+ shows in the long run.

Marvel mutants have starred in so many iconic storylines that they might need an entire MCU saga to do them justice, hence why Marvel Studios has refrained from fully introducing them despite Disney already having the rights to the X-Men. With the MCU focusing on the Multiverse in Phase 4, it's safe to say that there's still a long wait ahead until characters like Wolverine, Magneto, and Jean Grey return to the big screen. However, that doesn't mean that the MCU hasn't already set up their introduction as early as Phase 2. Here's how Ultron may have tried (and failed) to avoid the birth of mutants.

Sokovia May Have Been The Cradle of The X-Gene

Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in Avengers Age of Ultron and X-Men

There are several different ways mutants can appear for the first time in the MCU. They could come from another reality through the multiverse, a powerful character such as Scarlet Witch could create them in a reverse "House of M" situation, or they could have coexisted with regular humans all along. Although the latter option sounds like a stretch, it could work well if it follows what WandaVision revealed about Wanda Maximoff's magical powers. While showing Wanda her own memories, Agatha Harkness explained to her that she always possessed the ability to cast probability hexes, and that HYDRA's Mind Stone experiments only allowed her to reach her full potential. Given that every single superpowered being in the MCU has obtained their abilities from a specific event, an artificial enhancement, or their extraterrestrial/supernatural nature, Scarlet Witch is the first known human to develop superpowers naturally.

It would then be logical to assume that Pietro, being Wanda's twin, also shared her genetic traits. Perhaps the rest of the Sokovian candidates in HYDRA's experiment died because their regular physiology didn't have the potential to develop superhuman abilities. HYDRA established their research base in Sokovia because they could manipulate the country's protesters into participating when they were at their most vulnerable, but it's also possible that HYDRA knew that Sokovia had certain special individuals they could use to kickstart, as Baron von Strucker says, “the age of miracles”. The Avengers were too busy fighting Ultron to investigate everything HYDRA knew about the Mind Stone and its effects on the Maximoff Twins. Perhaps Baron von Strucker and Doctor List were only beginning to understand the possibility of mutants when Ultron started to wreak havoc.

Ultron May Have Known A Lot About The Future of The MCU

Ultron’s unparalleled intellect and near-unlimited access to information could have allowed him to connect the dots about the dormant mutant genes of the Sokovians. After acquiring the intel HYDRA gathered about Sokovians and setting his sights on the power of the Mind Stone, Ultron may have aimed to become invincible not only to wipe out humankind but also to prevent the rise of mutantkind. Ultron's line about God “winding up” to throw a stone on Earth could suggest that he knew a threat like Thanos would eventually come. Similarly, he could have conjectured that mutant genes could be awakened, to catastrophic consequences.

Since Ultron hated everything about humans, the thought of an even more powerful and unstable species would be terrifying for him. It would be easy for Ultron to predict that mutants could create their own teams like the Avengers, which would bring all kinds of undesired effects such as their conflict with regular humans, the creation of the Sentinels, and the birth of Omega-level mutants like Dark Phoenix and Apocalypse. As for why Vision doesn't seem to see that far ahead, it has been established that he doesn't fully understand the Mind Stone. And not unlike powerful beings like the Eternals and The Watcher, Vision's moral compass also doesn't let him use all the world's knowledge to intervene in human affairs.

Why Ultron Would Want To Get Rid Of Mutants

Ultron in the MCU and the X-Men in Marvel Comics

Ultron’s reasoning is fairly simple. In fact, he had roughly the same motivations as Thanos: reset the world and shape it to his image. It only took Ultron a small peek at human history in the MCU to convince him that humans deserved to die to make space for a better species. When he threatened the Avengers during their final battle, Ultron promised that "when the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal". Mutants, who are basically regular humans with superpowers, are the complete opposite of his ideal world filled with cold-thinking robots. Ultron couldn't afford to let humans evolve, so he may have taken advantage of the location of the Mind Stone to destroy Sokovia and all the potential mutants along with it. Ultron may have recruited the first two MCU mutants to ensure that they wouldn't escape, and it was clear that he was going to dispose of them as soon as he defeated the Avengers.

Ultron’s Hatred of Mutants Improves Avengers: Age of Ultron

Sokovia's complete destruction would seem more justified if this theory is proven to be accurate, as Ultron would have tried to ensure that no Sokovian could survive long enough to develop their mutant genes. It would also originate an ironic twist on Ultron's comment that "everyone creates the thing they dread". By attempting to eradicate human beings, he could have set up the next step in human evolution — a world full of Avengers. To add insult to injury, Vision (who was supposed to be the perfect Ultron) is the father of two of the MCU's earliest mutants, the Young Avengers Speed and Wiccan. Fittingly, the predecessors to the mutants would have been martyrs who were exterminated while they were protesting. All of this, of course, added to the fact that the Maximoffs’ first mentor, made of metal and willing to exterminate mutants, is the complete opposite of their father, Magneto. In short, Avengers: Age of Ultron presents an opportunity to establish stronger foundations for the introduction of mutants and to incorporate the least popular Avengers movie into the bigger picture.

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