We all know that the main villain of the highly anticipated sequel to the Avengers will be Ultron but we also know he will not be the only villain. In every marvel movie the main villain is accompanied by some form of accomplice. Red Skull and his HYDRA army, Loki and the Chitauri, Killian and the extremis soldiers and so on and so forth. Ultron’s accomplices could be anything from robotic drones to the Vision, but it seems that Marvel Studios is going for a very specific direction which is the Masters of Evil. Now a lot of speculation points towards to the Master of Evil or Thunderbolts in some form appearing in AoU, but that’s all it is right now speculation. But a lot of factors suggest that it is fact rather than fiction.
It has recently been revealed that Baron Von Strucker may be featuring at the beginning of the Avengers fighting against the already assembled team. So that’s one villain who seemingly has nothing to do with Ultron featuring in the movie. Baron Von Strucker is known as one of the leaders of HYDRA which is speculated to appear in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. His appearance in AoU actually fits in with another theory of mine which is about the ending of TWS. My theory is that SHIELD and HYDRA have been working together but not towards world domination but to keep it safe from harm by using corrupt and unethical methods. This coincides with the plot synopsis which says that Cap is trying to uncover a conspiracy within SHIELD but is trying to be stopped by assassins. Maybe this secret was that SHIELD and HYDRA joined forces in order to protect the world from destruction. Upon finding this out Captain America recedes from SHIELD joined by Black Widow, Falcon and Hawkeye. They then decide to track down and recruit Thor, Iron Man and Hulk back into the team so they can fight against HYDRA and by extension SHIELD’s corrupt influence, operating out of Stark Tower. This would explain the Avengers already being assembled and fighting Hydra at the beginning of AoU as well as why Stark and Banner are together at the end of IM3 but not at the beginning of the movie. Then in the post credit scene Alexander Pierce would be discussing the issue of the rouge Avengers to his fellow World Security Council members. He says that he has a group of scientists (maybe Pym and Zola?) working on Phase 3 and is putting together a ‘response team’ to oppose the Avengers and show the world that they are in control and not the Avengers. It then shows the ‘response team’ which consists of Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Crossbones, Abomination, Iron Patriot and lead by Baron Von Strucker. Phase 3 is referring to the ultimate form of defense against extraterrestrial and superhuman threats known as Ultron. You could have Ultron also be part of the response team and due to his AI and being exposed to so much violence concludes that humanity is flawed and is the cause of all suffering so to protect Earth as his initial mission states, he must eradicate humanity. Kind of like how he was in EMH.
I think this would be the best way to introduce the MoE, but I’m assuming that they won’t be called that maybe the Thunderbolts or Dark Avengers. I’m simply going by what has been confirmed by the MCU as we know that the Abomination was original considered for the Avengers initiative, we know Crossbones will make an appearance in AoU, we know Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch start of as villains, we know Rhodey will have a ‘big part’ in AoU and it has yet to be confirmed but rumored that Baron Strucker will show up in AoU. Now I know a lot of you may think that Iron Patriot being a villain is a very slim chance but he was technically one in IM2 and he has been show to serve his country before his friends on many occasions. Maybe this is such an occasion and he thinks he’s doing the right thing. Of course the lineup could change depending on which villains are introduced into Agents of SHIELD. Graviton could be a member if they down played his powers and Blizzard is being introduced, although I doubt he’s a suitable member due to his age.
Anyway I think this would be the best way to go about AoU and it would allow the team to fight something other than an endless horde of aliens/robots/soldiers. It’s something that hasn’t been done yet on the big screen with superheroes and it would also allow for an interesting way for Ultron to become corrupted. The first act could be used to introduce and develop Strucker, Ultron, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver as IP, Crossbones and Abomination have all been introduced and developed. Then in the second act during the Avengers vs Thunderbolts fight have Ultron turn and murder one of the members then have Quicksilver, SW and IP join up with the Avengers to stop Ultron, while the rest of the Thunderbolts who are too selfish leave the problem to the Avengers. People may say well isn’t Ultron supposed to be personal to the avengers? How is he going to be personal if he only does something of interest and relevance in the second act? Well he could be created by using parts from Tony’s armors at the end of IM3, The Destroyer and HYDRA weapons, powered by a gamma reactor of Banner’s design and built by SHIELD which draws in the whole team in on a personal level.
I really hope that Marvel studios go the route of having team vs team aspect in AoU with Ultron being the big bad at the end. Alternatively Ultron could just assemble the Masters of Evil himself disguised as the Crimson Cowl and send them to fight the Avengers so he can register their moves and abilities allowing him to take them out easily and efficiently, but I like the prior idea better. Heck you could even tie it to Thanos revealing Robert Redfrod is the Red Skull who has been working for Thanos and is trying to destroy the Avengers so that the Earth is vulnerable for him to invade and claim an Infinity Stone. What do you guys think? Should this be the way Marvel Studios go?