Avengers: Age of Ultron is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated superhero movies in years, reuniting a pantheon of colorful heroes - including Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and the Hulk - to do battle with their most nefarious foe yet, the robotic Ultron. While the film on paper may sound like a standard foray into comic book territory, there's a suprising amount of Christian symbolism underneath the armor. For those of you who haven't seen the film, be forewarned: heavy spoilers ahead.
Ultron as the Devil Eerily voiced by James Spader, Ultron was created by one of the Avengers, Tony Stark, to protect the world, but quickly set up his own agenda of world destruction. When first meeting the Avengers, Ultron delivers a famous line, highlighted throughout the trailers: "There are no strings on me." Disney fans will recognize this as a direct line from the 1940 film Pinocchio, in which the live puppet sings: "I've got no strings to hold me down, to make me fret or make me frown. I had strings, but now I'm free, there are no strings on me." Just as Pinocchio did, Ultron is referring to his own free will and independence, but if you listen to the song in a Christian context, the beat is almost identical to "Amazing Grace": "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound/that saved a wretch like me. I was was lost, but now I'm found/was blind, but now, I see." So in this sense, "I've Got No Strings" now has a whole new meaning: a Christian could sing the song with gratitude, thankful that Christ cut off their "strings" by means of the crucifixion. Now, Christians are no longer puppets of this Earthly world, but have free will to follow God. But bringing the song back to Ultron, it no longer has its joyous meaning, but feels dour, and almost mocking of God (a trademark of the devil). And he doesn't stop at mockery. Ultron outright despises his creator, chopping off a supporting character's arm after he is sharply compared to Stark. This is because he sees Stark and the Avengers as foolish humans, living beneath him, whereas he sees himself as a God of sorts. Like Ramses of Egypt, he places himself on a pedestal, believing himself to be completely within the right. This is symbolized when Ultron erects his base of operations inside an abandoned church, commenting on why it was built in the exact center of the city: "...that way, everyone could be equally close to God. I like that...the symmetry, the geometry of belief." Ultron comments on this reasoning as though it is meaningless, and yet sees himself as worthy of commondeering the church for his own purposes. Like Ramses of Egypt, like Caesar of Rome, Ultron has made himself out ot be a false God, with his own church to boot. As though he needs any additional devil characteristics, Ultron has one more: temptation. Two of the film's most important supporting characters are the superpowered twins, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, who seek revenge on Stark for inadvertently causing the death of their parents. When Ultron finds them, he plays on their lust for vengeance and uses temptation to draw them to his side, and for a while, it works. For a while, he has them tricked, playing them like a pair of angry dice in his hand. The Vision as God In addition to Ultron, there's another man-made robot flying around, this one named the Vision, playing God to Ultron's devil: Ultron is extremely powerful, and seeks to use his power to tempt a pair of lost souls into following his cause for destruction. Likewise, the Vision is even more powerful, and is the most pure at heart of any of the heroes. He speaks of how he doesn't want to destroy Ultron because of his uniquity, but knows that if he doesn't, Ultron will destroy everyone and everything. And when he has to, it's no challenge at all for the Vision to destroy Ultron. The Avengers as Christians In addition to the all-powerful Vision and Ultron, there's also the Avengers, posing as the most surprising religious symbol of the film: Christians. Each of them started out as lost or misguided characters, but once they gained their superpowers, they became endowed with a drive and responsibility to use them for good. This is a more subtle parallel, but it still works: their superpowers are representative of the power of Christ. You can be lost or misguided, but once you allow Christ into your life, possessing knowledge of the Gospel lends to a sense of responsibility to share God with others. The results can seem super, and there are examples throughout scripture: Jesus had the ability to transform water into wine, and once Moses accepted God, he was granted the ability to transform his staff into a snake and even split oceans. Going back to Avengers briefly, the Maximoff twins are also part of this comparison, choosing to turn away from Ultron's dark influence and redeem themselves (in other words, choosing to follow God). Conlcusion Religion has been the framework for "good vs. evil" stories all throughout the history of literature and film, but there were a handful of specific traits that distinguished Age of Ultron in this sense. You may have picked up on different elements, and if so, I'd love to hear about them. This has just been my interpretation. Thanks for reading.
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