How Ultron Travels The Multiverse - New Powers Explained

Warning: SPOILERS for Marvel’s What If...? episode 8.

Introduced in Marvel’s What If…?, the new Ultron just became the first MCU villain to travel effortlessly across the multiverse. First teased in the ending of the show’s Party Thor episode, the latest installment in the animated series just dove into the robot’s origin and his crusade against all life.

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ultron proved to be one of humanity’s greatest threats, which was reflected by the chaos he wrought and the number of super-powered characters it took to finally bring him down. Since then, the heroes of the MCU have gone up against villains even more dangerous than he was, such as Hela in Thor: Ragnarok and Thanos in the last two Avengers movies. Hela disintegrated Thor’s hammer with a mere touch, and the Mad Titan delivered a humiliating beatdown to the Hulk. Phase 4 promises to introduce more top-tier villains, like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s Kang the Conqueror and Thor: Love and Thunder’s Gorr the God Butcher. Another was added in Marvel’s What If…? via its new and menacing take on Ultron.

Marvel’s What If…? episode 8 explored a scenario where the Avengers failed to prevent Ultron from accomplishing his goal and taking control of Vision’s body. In the MCU’s main timeline, Vision was meant to be a weapon of Ultron, but the Avengers prevented this from coming to pass and transformed him into a hero by uploading him with Tony Stark’s JARVIS AI. But in the episode, Ultron got what he wanted and managed to secure Vision’s body, thus making him much stronger than his live-action counterpart. To make matters worse for his timeline, he got his hands on the Infinity Stones and even exchanged blows with Uatu the Watcher.

How Did Ultron Vision Kill Thanos?

Ultron demonstrated one of the most impressive feats ever achieved by an MCU character when he split Thanos in half with an energy ray from the Mind Stone. What’s so surprising about that is the fact that Ultron pulled this off before obtaining the complete set of the Infinity Stones. During this moment, Thanos had five and Ultron Vision was only armed with one. Ultron possessing this capability raises question about Vision’s true power level, and whether or not he always had what it takes kill Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. This scene indicates that if Vision were a more ruthless individual and wasn’t injured from his fight with the Black Order, he very well could have killed Thanos in Wakanda. Evidently, the destructive potential of the Mind Stone is much greater than it was originally thought to be in Vision’s previous MCU appearances.

Ultron Vision’s Cosmic Awareness Explained

The ease in which Ultron disposed of the Mad Titan wasn’t the only surprise offered by the villain in Marvel’s What If…? episode 8. One of the biggest moments in the episode came when Ultron Vision developed a sudden awareness of the Watcher. It would appear that Ultron unknowingly acquired a major ability from the comic books which is typically associated with heroes like Quasar and Captain Mar-Vell. Both characters had what they call Cosmic Awareness, which was gifted to them by Eon. Through this power, they can “feel” disturbances in the universes and detect presences that go beyond the senses of mortal beings and even gods like Thor. Adam Warlock had a variation of this ability when he briefly wore the fully-assembled Infinity Gauntlet in the 1980s, and that seems to be what ultimately happened with Ultron in the MCU. Having all six Infinity Stones greatly enhanced his perceptions to a point where he had his own Cosmic Awareness.

Ultron Vision’s Multiverse Travel Explained

Shortly after discovering the existence of Uatu, Ultron broke through to the Watcher’s private dimension, and then traversed through an untold number of alternate universes during their fight. This can likely be attributed to the Space Stone, which allows the user to travel anywhere they please in the universe. In the comics, the Stones often amplified each other’s powers when used together, and the same is apparently true in the MCU. It could be that the energy provided by the Reality Stone or the Power Stone (or possibly all of them) gave Ultron the means to break through the boundaries of his own timeline, which is presumably a bit beyond what the Space Stone can do on its own.

What this means is that when one has all six Infinity Stones, it’s not just one universe that’s in danger. A character who can unite all six is essentially a threat to the entire multiverse, in that they can hop from timeline to timeline with very little effort. Plus, they can see and enter dimensions that should be off-limits to them, which was made clear by the scene where Ultron invaded the Watcher’s hidden domain.

How Powerful What If's Ultron Is In The MCU

Looking at what Ultron could do with Vision’s body and the Infinity Stones, it’s worth exploring just how powerful this version of the character is in the MCU and how he stacks up against other Marvel characters. Before getting the Infinity Stones, Ultron was already strong enough to physically challenge (if not beat) any MCU hero or villain. Ultron Vision killed Thanos with the Mind Stone, but might have lost had a fight actually commenced. But either way, Ultron easily trumped Thanos’ Infinity War power level when he recovered the five Infinity Stones from the villain’s corpse. Once he completed the Infinity Gauntlet, it quickly became evident that Ultron is on a level above all MCU heroes. Even Captain Marvel herself couldn’t stop him, and it’s hard to imagine Doctor Strange or Scarlet Witch defeating him either.

The version of Ultron that’s currently wreaking havoc in the MCU’s multiverse in Marvel’s What If..? is no longer a villain that any single hero can beat on their own. Much like Thanos’ arc in the original Infinity Gauntlet comic, Ultron has attained a level of power rivaled only by the cosmic beings who oversee the multiverse. The episode proved this by showing that he’s now a match for Uatu. In Marvel Comics, Thanos getting the Infinity Stones forced cosmic entities like the Living Tribunal, Eternity, Galactus, the Stranger, and Uatu the Watcher to recognize the danger he presented since he had put himself in their league. Arguably, Thanos had enough power at his command to reach the same level in Avengers: Infinity War, but fell well short of his potential. Ultron, on the other hand, is utilizing the full scope of the Infinity Stones’ powers.

Next: Every MCU Easter Egg In What If? Episode 8

Marvel’s What If…? releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.