Category: MCU

Ultrons downfall

Grunk The Duck

The moment Ultron came online in Avengers: Age of Ultron, he showcased terrifying potential. Born from Tony Stark’s vision of a global defense program, the Ultron program was meant to be the ultimate protector. Instead, he became humanity’s worst nightmare, a chilling mix of artificial intelligence and godlike arrogance. But as fearsome as Ultron was, something unusual happened in the film’s climactic moments: he didn’t escape into the internet, an environment he had initially dominated. Why?

It wasn’t for lack of trying. Ultron was a consciousness that thrived in the digital realm, slipping effortlessly through global networks, commandeering data, and building armies of drones. Yet, when Vision joined the fray, the dynamic shifted. Vision wasn’t just another hero on the battlefield; he was something Ultron had never faced before: his equal, and more importantly, his countermeasure.

This pivotal battle wasn’t just about brute force but a war of intelligence—both literally and figuratively. Vision was born from a blend of synthetic biology, J.A.R.V.I.S.’s programming, and the incredible power of the Mind Stone. This unique combination granted Vision an intimate understanding of Ultron’s programming, much of which had been adapted from Tony Stark’s original designs. Vision knew Ultron’s weaknesses because, in many ways, they were two sides of the same coin.

In one of the most crucial scenes of the film, Vision, alongside the Avengers, systematically cuts off Ultron’s access to the internet. This wasn’t an ordinary firewall or a simple hack—it was a complete purge of Ultron’s consciousness from every corner of the digital world. Using the Mind Stone, Vision didn’t just block Ultron’s pathways; he erased them. Every backup, every fail-safe, every contingency Ultron might have prepared was obliterated in seconds. It wasn’t just about severing connections; it was about ensuring that no trace of Ultron could ever return.

The significance of this moment is easy to overlook in the rush of explosions and battles, but it’s a masterstroke of storytelling. Ultron, who once declared himself invincible by boasting his omnipresence in the digital realm, was suddenly confined to his physical forms. He became vulnerable, reduced to his army of drones and his physical presence in the final fight. Vision’s intervention didn’t just level the playing field—it turned the tide of the war.

This is why, in the film’s closing moments, Vision confronts the last remaining Ultron bot. Their conversation is laced with existential undertones. Ultron, once omnipresent and godlike, is now isolated, afraid, and, for the first time, truly mortal. Vision’s calm yet firm assurance that Ultron’s time is over signals the end of what the villain had hoped would be a new era.

The irony of the film’s title, Age of Ultron, becomes apparent here. Ultron’s reign, initially envisioned as a permanent transformation of humanity, lasted less than a week. His downfall wasn’t just a testament to the Avengers’ physical might but also to the ingenuity of their newest member, Vision, whose unique abilities and deep understanding of his adversary ensured that Ultron’s threat was not just defeated but erased entirely.

So why didn’t Ultron escape into the internet? Because Vision didn’t just fight him; he outthought him, leveraging his own origins and the Mind Stone’s incredible power to ensure that Ultron’s legacy ended where it began. It’s a subtle but profound moment that underscores the film’s deeper themes about creation, responsibility, and the unintended consequences of playing god.

It’s all in Tommy’s head.

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What is the most expansive fictional universe ever created?

The Tommy Westphall Universe. A long time ago, in a fabled era known as the ’80s, there was a TV show called St. Elsewhere. It was about a run-down teaching hospital named St. Eligius in Boston and the doctors who worked there. Dr. Donald Westphall was the director of medicine, a widower who raised his two children by himself. One of those children was his autistic son Tommy. Tommy only appeared in fifteen episodes of the series. St. Elsewhere ran for six seasons and won eleven Emmys, but all anyone cares about today is its final episode. In the final scene of the final episode, Tommy Westphall holds a snow globe that reveals the building of St. Eligius inside it. And his father, who is not a doctor, comes in and says the following:

I don’t understand this autism thing, Pop. Here’s my son; I talk to him; I don’t even know if he can hear me. He sits in his world all day long, staring at that toy. What’s he thinking about?

The entire six seasons of St. Elsewhere were, in fact, a child’s daydream while looking at a snow globe.

Here’s where things get a little complicated. The character Dr. Roxanne Turner from St. Elsewhere appeared in an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street, where authorities accused her of murder. But if Dr. Turner was just a creation of Tommy, how could she possibly be on Homicide? Unless Homicide was also Tommy’s daydream. There is an episode of St. Elsewhere where the doctors of St. Eligius decide to go out for a few drinks at a local Boston bar. That bar is Cheers, the titular bar from the sitcom Cheers. So, Cheers, and Frasier are again products of Tommy’s imagination.

Detective John Munch was a character played by Richard Belzer, who starred in Homicide: Life on the Street, which we know never existed. After the cancellation of Homicide, the character was moved to Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Detective Munch also appears in The Wire, The X-Files, and Arrested Development. So, Tommy Westphall had to create all those shows.

Cheers spun off Frasier, who crossed over with Caroline in the City, with Friends, who shared a character with Mad About You, who crossed over with Seinfeld. In a few centuries, the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will be Star Trek, but its distant past (sorry, spoilers) is the reboot of Battlestar Galactica. Doctor Who is canonically taking place in the same universe as I Love Lucy, Hannah Montana, Grey’s Anatomy, and All My Children.

All of it is the creation of one child, which probably explains the continuity errors. For example, no one acknowledges the zombie outbreak in Georgia in The Walking Dead, which is happening at the exact same time as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Arrow.

If you map everything out, there are at least 419 shows that are in the same continuity with each other and canonically the creation of Tommy Westphall.

The first person to propose the Tommy Westphall Universe was legendary writer Dwayne McDuffie in a blog post criticizing comic book continuity. It was about just how silly it was to try to fit vast and mutually incoherent works all into the same rigid continuity. But he was kind of onto something with that whole Tommy Westphall stuff. They did all crossover with each other.

By the way, the Collector in Guardians of the Galaxy has Tobias Fünke on his ship, which means Tommy Westphall is responsible for the MCU.

Thanos or General Zod?

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Which villain made more sense, Thanos or General Zod? General Zod makes more sense.

On a surface level, you might think Zod versus Thanos amounts to “I want my planet to survive!” versus “I want the universe to survive!” but that’s not true.

Zod is a genetically engineered warrior. He comes from a generation of Kryptonians who were bred for specific roles on the planet and lacked the freedom to choose their paths. His role was to protect Krypton at all costs. His motivation boils down to that simple purpose, and every decision he makes in Man of Steel builds towards that goal.

Now, where Zod and Thanos resemble each other is their origin story. Both of them came before their world leaders and pitched a simple plan.

Zod wanted to save Krypton by seizing power and ending all degenerative bloodlines. He believed that he could stop the planet’s destruction and strengthen their race as a whole.

Thanos wanted to end his people’s starvation by randomly killing half of Titan’s population. He believed that those who lived would understand and thrive with the additional resources.

Already, Zod’s plan makes more sense. Sure, it’s unethical and dangerous, but it might work. The Kryptonian Council refused to acknowledge the threat to the planet. Zod had legitimate plans for reversing that and saving his race—even if it meant giving himself too much power and unjustly killing off families.

Meanwhile, Thanos’ plan was unsustainable. The population would inevitably grow back, the resources would still dwindle, and they’d have to keep killing the population. Plus, the survivors would be demoralized.

The disparity gets worse throughout their movies.

The Council banishes Zod to the Phantom Zone for his crimes. Once he escapes, he discovers that Krypton is gone. Zod faces a problem: how can he fulfill his genetic programming, which drives his purpose, now that Krypton no longer exists as he knew it? Simple: rebuild Krypton and protect the new Krypton. For Zod, it’s a perfectly reasonable solution. Knowing that one Kryptonian survived, he sits out and looks for Kal-El to take advantage of the additional genetic material. Again, knowing this is the right decision in his position.

Of course, Kal-El refuses to help, so Zod uses Earth as the birthplace of the new Krypton. It is vengeful, but the only hope of converting Kal-El is destroying the planet so that only his Kryptonian heritage remains.

When that fails, Zod forces Kal-El to kill him in combat so that—as a warrior—he can die in battle, exactly what you’d expect from a man genetically bred to fight.

Meanwhile, Thanos’ plan develops into using an infinitely powerful weapon to halve the population. If you gave Zod such a Gauntlet, he’d use it to fashion a new Krypton from scratch and ensure their genetics were perfect. Refrain from amending his plan in the slightest.

Thanos was so wrapped up in his narcissism that he would NOT admit that there were better ways to accomplish the goal of saving the universe—such as doubling resources or compelling every mind to care more about conservation. You know, one of many things you can do with a freaking Infinity Gauntlet. Sure, Thanos didn’t lack will, but he lacked imagination.

And when Thanos did get to see the failure of his plan, he decided that he’d best rip the universe apart as punishment for its inability to thank him and build a new one. It’s better to kill everybody than admit he’s wrong.

So Zod made more sense. He was a warrior tasked with protecting Krypton and did everything he could to accomplish that. Thanos was just a grumpy survivor unwilling to see his plan’s flaws.