Ultron may have actually been one of the MCU’s most destructive villains

If there’s one criticism fans tend to have about James Spader’s Ultron, it’s that we didn’t get enough of him. The artificially intelligent antagonist only stuck around for the Avengers epic bearing his name, where he was swiftly dispatched by the time the credits rolled.

Fans got their hopes up when scuttlebutt hinted Spader would be returning for a WandaVision cameo, but all we ended up with was a one-scene reference to Tony Stark’s misguided creation. The Blacklist star didn’t even return for What If…?, either, leaving Ultron enthusiasts more disappointed than ever.

He may have been a one-and-done big bad within the context of Age of Ultron, but a new sentiment sweeping Reddit has laid out the facts, and it looks as though the sentient android harboring a desire to eradicate the human race sent shockwaves through the Marvel Cinematic Universe that continue to reverberate to this day.

Sure, it’s hardly a watertight theory, but it does make some semblance of sense. If Quicksilver hadn’t died, Wanda Maximoff’s arc would have turned out completely differently and possibly led to much-changed versions of WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The Sokovia Accords were introduced as a direct result the Avengers sequel, and ended up factoring heavily into the remainder of Phase Four from Captain America: Civil War to Avengers: Endgame. Thor’s visions saw him foresee Ragnarok, which went on to become the title of his third solo blockbuster (which also culminated in the destruction of Asgard), so perhaps Ultron deserves more credit than he gets.