There are a lot of characters in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and while the gorgeous looking concept art shown off at last year's Comic Con confirmed that Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, and The Vision will all end up joining the ranks of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, we've seen and heard enough to know that Ultron will be their first ally. How he recruits The Twins is unclear (could he rescue them from The Avengers' custody after they take down Baron Von Stucker?), but we do know thanks to recently leaked promo art that Ultron creates The Vision just like in the comic books. Throw Andy Serkis' Ulysses Klaw into the mix, and you have all the makings of Ultron's sinister Masters of Evil!



Ultron led the team in the comic books, with the roster made up of Klaw, Melter, Radioactive Man and Whirlwind. Black Knight was also present, but only to betray the team, and The Vision - who will likely get an upgrade from being J.A.R.V.I.S. considering the fact that he's being played by Paul Bettany - fits that role perfectly. So, will the three characters llisted above who we have yet to meet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe be introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron? It seems unlikely, even though Melter was seen in the pages of the Iron Man 3 prequel comic book. However, there are already enough members here without them, and including the Masters of Evil also gives Joss Whedon a chance to tell a vaguely faithful version of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch's origin story, replacing Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants with Ultron and the Masters of Evil.

Something very interesting which many of you have pointed out is that Ultron's voice appears to fluctuate between sounding robotic and human in the trailers (particularly during that "In the flesh..." line). Surely Marvel wouldn't put out incomplete dialogue which has yet to be made more android sounding? It could be then that Ultron's voice becomes more human-like as he continues to upgrade, but what if he takes on a human form at some point? That means we'll get to see James Spader on screen, and it would certainly make it easier for the villain to hire a man like Klaw to help him get his hands on Wakanda's Vibranium (that's what we're assuming happens anyway). This again brings us back to the Masters of Evil, a team which saw Ultron disguise himself as the Crimson Cowl, so even if he doesn't get a human form, he may still disguise himself.



So, if they are in the sequel, how much of a role will they end up playing? I can't imagine Ultron declaring his possible team as the "Masters of Evil" at any point, but the fact that Joss Whedon and Marvel were at one point talking about bringing Tim Roth back as The Abomination may be an indication of the kind of plans they have/had for them. There's every chance that CGI baddie could still appear, but that's unlikely. You never know though; just look at how Whedon and Marvel covered up the awesome Helicarrier battle between Thor and Hulk in promotion for The Avengers! Either way, the inclusion of a version of the Masters of Evil is just another example of Joss Whedon's bringing ideas he loves from the comics and reimagining them for the big screen...