# Age of Ultron
**Age of Ultron** is a ten-issue [Marvel Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-comics) crossover storyline published in 2013, written by [Brian Michael Bendis](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-michael-bendis) with pencils principally by Bryan Hitch, in which the artificial intelligence Ultron conquers Earth and the heroes' attempt to undo his victory through time travel reshapes the [Marvel Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-universe).[1](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/47001/age_of_ultron_2013_1) Marvel promoted it as a "massive 10-part Marvel Universe-spanning event" from the Eisner Award-winning Bendis and comics veteran Hitch.[1](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/47001/age_of_ultron_2013_1)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Ten-issue limited series, rated T+, $3.99 per issue; issue 1 went on sale March 6, 2013[2](https://www.comics.org/series/72634/details/) |
| Release pattern | Released on an accelerated schedule that compressed the ten-issue run into mid-2013[2](https://www.comics.org/series/72634/details/) |
| Creative team | Written by Brian Michael Bendis; pencils by Bryan Hitch, with Brandon Peterson and Alex Maleev also among the artists[1](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/47001/age_of_ultron_2013_1) • [3](https://archive.org/details/ageofultron0000bend) |
| Premise | Ultron, an artificial intelligence long feared by Marvel's heroes, evolves to wipe out organic life and take over the Earth[1](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/47001/age_of_ultron_2013_1) |
| Central plot device | Wolverine makes a controversial, desperate decision that creates a new Marvel Universe and brings horrific disaster with it[4](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/45902/age-of-ultron-hardcover) |
| Collected edition | Hardcover released September 4, 2013, $75, 455 pages, collecting Age of Ultron #1-10 and #10AI plus the AU tie-in issues and Avengers #12.1[4](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/45902/age-of-ultron-hardcover) • [3](https://archive.org/details/ageofultron0000bend) |
| Continuity fallout | The finale's fallout introduced Angela to Marvel continuity via Guardians of the Galaxy #5 and led into the Hunger series[5](https://www.comicbookwire.com/reading-order/marvel/event/age-of-ultron/) |
## Publication and release
The Grand Comics Database records Age of Ultron #1 (Marvel Worldwide Inc.) with a May 2013 publication date and an on-sale date of March 6, 2013, priced at 3.99 USD and rated T+.[2](https://www.comics.org/series/72634/details/) Marvel's catalog listed the issue with a final order cutoff of February 20, 2013.[1](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/47001/age_of_ultron_2013_1) The series was released on an accelerated schedule, with the ten issues appearing over a compressed period.[2](https://www.comics.org/series/72634/details/)
The event carried a variant-cover program; the database records a #1 SXSW Gaming Expo variant by Bryan Hitch dated March 8, 2013.[2](https://www.comics.org/series/72634/details/)
**Collected editions.** Marvel released a 455-page hardcover on September 4, 2013, priced at $75, with a final order cutoff of July 15, 2013.[4](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/45902/age-of-ultron-hardcover) The volume gathers the ten issues of Age of Ultron along with #10AI, issues #14AU and #15AU of Avengers Assemble, #5AU of [Fantastic Four](https://www.edgepedia.org/fantastic-four) (2012), #4AU of Fearless Defenders, #6AU of Superior Spider-Man, #1AU of Ultron, #8AU of [Uncanny Avengers](https://www.edgepedia.org/uncanny-avengers), and #27AU of [Wolverine](https://www.edgepedia.org/wolverine) & the X-Men.[4](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/45902/age-of-ultron-hardcover) The collected edition also contains material originally published as Avengers #12.1, the issue that set the event up.[3](https://archive.org/details/ageofultron0000bend)
## Plot
The story begins on the day the Marvel Universe's heroes long dreaded arrives: Ultron, an artificial intelligence, has at last developed enough to act on its aim of exterminating every organic being and conquering the planet.[1](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/47001/age_of_ultron_2013_1) Contemporary Associated Press coverage described the just-released series as putting Marvel's heroes in an unfamiliar position: defeated, demoralized and desperate, with the ever-adaptive Ultron, a creation of Avengers co-founder Henry Pym, having finally realized his potential as a conquering villain and turned the planet into a dystopian landscape.[6](https://apnews.com/general-news-642895a6f3f14112bcf2cacde456d906)
The story's resolution turns on time travel. Marvel's solicitation for the hardcover states that Wolverine, in a divisive act of desperation, brings a new Marvel Universe into being and unknowingly unleashes a terrible catastrophe alongside it.[4](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/45902/age-of-ultron-hardcover)
## Creators and tie-ins
Bendis wrote the core ten-issue series, with Bryan Hitch as principal penciller; the collected edition also credits Brandon Peterson and Alex Maleev among the artists.[1](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/47001/age_of_ultron_2013_1) • [3](https://archive.org/details/ageofultron0000bend) The tie-in issues brought in additional writers: the hardcover collects work by Bendis, Gerry Duggan, Al Ewing, Matt Fraction, Kathryn Immonen, Matt Kindt, Rick Remender, and [Mark Waid](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-waid).[4](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/45902/age-of-ultron-hardcover)
The event's structure kept the tie-ins optional. According to a specialist reading-order guide, the bulk of the event is told through the ten-issue limited series, set up in one issue of the Avengers series (Avengers #12.1), and none of the tie-in issues is necessary to understand what takes place; the guide identifies Avengers Assemble #14AU, Superior Spider-Man #6AU, Wolverine & the X-Men #27AU, and Age of Ultron #10AI as the tie-ins that directly deal with the main event.[5](https://www.comicbookwire.com/reading-order/marvel/event/age-of-ultron/) Issue #10AI serves as an epilogue and a prelude to the Avengers A.I. series.[5](https://www.comicbookwire.com/reading-order/marvel/event/age-of-ultron/) The closest thing the event has to a prelude is Ultron's appearance in [Annihilation](https://www.edgepedia.org/annihilation): Conquest, which explains his condition at the beginning of the event.[5](https://www.comicbookwire.com/reading-order/marvel/event/age-of-ultron/)
## Aftermath in Marvel continuity
The finale's fallout extended beyond the series itself. The appearance of Angela in [Guardians of the Galaxy](https://www.edgepedia.org/guardians-of-the-galaxy) #5 brought that character into Marvel continuity, and the event fed the Hunger series, which led into Cataclysm: The [Ultimates](https://www.edgepedia.org/ultimates)' Last Stand.[5](https://www.comicbookwire.com/reading-order/marvel/event/age-of-ultron/) Age of Ultron #10AI served as a prelude to the Avengers A.I. series.[5](https://www.comicbookwire.com/reading-order/marvel/event/age-of-ultron/)
## References
1. [Age of Ultron (2013) #1, Marvel.com](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/47001/age_of_ultron_2013_1)
2. [GCD :: Series :: Age of Ultron :: Details, Grand Comics Database](https://www.comics.org/series/72634/details/)
3. [Age of Ultron : Bendis, Brian Michael, Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/ageofultron0000bend)
4. [AGE OF ULTRON (Hardcover), Marvel.com](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/45902/age-of-ultron-hardcover)
5. [Age of Ultron Reading Order, ComicBookWire](https://www.comicbookwire.com/reading-order/marvel/event/age-of-ultron/)
6. [Marvel goes dystopian with 'Age of Ultron' title, AP News](https://apnews.com/general-news-642895a6f3f14112bcf2cacde456d906)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Creative written works and worlds › Comics and sequential art › Comic-book series and issues › Marvel Comics series and storylines › Marvel crossovers and storylines*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license