Each Avengers film has changed Marvel’s Cinematic Universe in major ways, but Age of Ultron might have gone the farthest in rewriting the status quo. Sure, Infinity War and Endgame gave us the Blip, but that phenomenon has largely been wasted in the projects that followed. With Ultron, we got the Vision (Paul Bettany), the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), the devastation of Sokovia, and Wakandan vibranium, all of which drastically shaped the next MCU Phase.
But one of Age of Ultron’s strongest ideas was never really explored after the fact — and I’m not talking about the awkward romance between Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). That remains one of the worst ideas ever attempted in the Marvel Universe. Instead, the true strength of Ultron lies in its platonic relationships: it’s really the only Avengers film that actually lets the Avengers be friends.
