Avengers #162
The Bride of Ultron!
Captain America, the Beast, and the Scarlet Witch have been seemingly killed during an attack by Ultron. As their bodies are being carted away by ETM’s, Jarvis is relived when Thor arrives on.[1] Inside, Wonder Man and the Black Panther are busy trying to re-energize Iron Man’s armor. While they are doing so, the three Avengers get Thor up to speed on what happened: How Ultron somehow made Hank Pym forget everything after he formed the Avengers as Ant-Man and seemingly killed the others.
Elsewhere, Ant-Man wakes up in a lab more confused than ever. Ultron uses this to convince Pym that he rescued him from the rogue Avengers. He also tricks Hank into thinking that the Wasp was seriously injured and the only way to save her life is to transfer her essence into a robotic body he has created.[2] Little does Ant-Man know that Ultron intends to make the robot his bride and that the transferral process will become permanent once complete. Unaware of this deception and desperate to save Jan, Ant-Man begins the process to transfer her life essence to the robot.
Meanwhile, at the Cherry-O Dude Ranch, Hawkeye and Two-Gun Kid spend some downtime with a poker game with their co-workers. Two-Gun amazes Clint with the poker skills he learned from his friend Boom-Boom back in 1873. Their boss, Mister Rockwell, then tells Hawkeye that someone called for them but he doesn’t remember who it was or what it was about. Clint figures if it was important, whoever it is will call back and heads out with Rockwell to feed the horses. Left to read an old Rawhide Kid comic book, Two-Gun doesn’t know what the phone is when it starts ringing and shoots it with his guns to make it stop, unaware that it was a desperate call from the Avengers for help.[3]
Back in New York, Thor has given up on reaching Hawkeye while Iron Man and the Black Panther scour the city to find Ultron’s current hideout. While back at the lab, Ant-Man continues to monitor the lifeforce transfer. Janet can feel something wrong as her essence begins to be transferred and begins speaking partially out of the robot’s mouth. Still oblivious to Ultron’s true plans, Ant-Man tells her to remain calm and presses forward. By this time, the Avengers have found no trace of Ultron and Wonder Man is starting to become impatient.[4] That’s when a bunch of ants enter the room and form a message telling Thor and Wonder Man that Ultron can be found at the old Stark Industries facility on Long Island. Relaying this to Iron Man and the Black Panther, the four Avengers head to Long Island.
When they arrive, Ultron attempts to use his encephalo-beam to take down the remaining Avengers. However, Iron Man was prepared for this and immunized himself and his teammates from the weapon’s effects. As Wonder Man and Thor battle Ultron, the robot lets slip that the other Avengers aren’t dead but in a death-like coma using technology he developed for the Grim-Reaper. While they are brawling, Iron Man and the Black Panther fight past Ant-Man and try to figure out how to shut down the process that is transferring Jan’s essence to Ultron’s Bride. They can’t figure it out, so Iron Man threatens to destroy the female robot. Not wishing his bride to be destroyed, Ultron instructs them on how to shut down the transfer. While they are busy saving the Wasp’s life, Ultron manages to break free and escape.
Although Janet is saved, Ant-Man is still a victim of Ultron’s mind tampering. Still convinced that Ultron was an ally, he accuses Janet of betraying him and questions why he ever loved her. This deeply upsets Janet, but the Avengers vow that they will do whatever it takes to restore Hank’s mind back to normal. When they ask Jan if she was the one who sent them the message in the ants, they realize she did not. This leaves them wondering who could have done it and realize that it was Ultron’s Bride that sacrificed her own existence in order to save Janet’s life.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, the Vision, the Beast, Wonder Man), Ultron, Jacosta (unnamed), Two-Gun Kid, Edwin Jarvis
Continuity Notes
As explained in Avengers #175, Thor’s appearance here is due to the machinations of the Collector who has plucked him out of time to assist the Avengers before he is ready to add them to his collection. He is doing so in order to protect them from destruction at the hands of Korvac.
The robot here is only referred to as the “Bride of Ultron”, it is named Jacosta in Avengers #171.
Two-Gun is reading an issue of Rawhide Kid and enjoys the artwork of Jack Kirby. In the real-world, Kirby drew selected stories in series from issue #17 through 35. Per Fantastic Four #10, the adventures of Marvel characters are adapted into comics books in-universe. Also, Jack Kirby exists in the Marvel Universe, see below.
Simon mentions how he was originally created to destroy the Avengers. That happened in Avengers #9. This story incorrectly attributes this to issue #8.
Topical Reference
While most real world people appearing in Modern Age stories are considered topical references, Marvel creators are exempt from this as they all exist in the Modern Age in the relative prime. As such, reference to Jack Kirby here are factual. Although Kirby died in 1994, he is still alive and well in the Marvel Universe.
