When the sequel to the first Avengers came out, people flooded the movie theatres to see their
heroes return to the screens. It had been three years since they had first seen marvel’s heroes come
together for the first time to tackle an extra-terrestrial threat and now the gang was back to protect the
world. This time however, the problem was not of another world, of another being, of another society,
but rather a monster of their own device.
Tony Stark, ultra-genius billionaire also known as “Iron Man” meddles with artificial intelligence
with the initial intentions of creating a unified mechanical suit of armor to protect earth given they no
longer are the most powerful beings in the universe. Although Tony Stark is a very intelligent man, this
specific resource he begins to mess with is beyond the scope of his knowledge and he ends up creating a
sentient being capable of defying its creator. The rest of the movie follows a typical plot: the characters
come together, struggle, prevail, and clean up their mess. Although the character, plot, and other
contextual details differ, both Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein share
the underlying archetypes of the creator – created relationship.
Both stories depict first a foremost a scientist, but more importantly, a curious inquisitive
individual burdened with the aggressive desire for knowledge. Victor Frankenstein finds the natural
world fascinating, toying with the line between death and life. Tony Stark, on the other hand, is a
modern-day computer science/engineering geek who cannot help but play with the idea of subjecting
technology with artificial technology to his rule. What’s interesting to note between the two characters
is the hypotheticals they use to justify their actions and therefore proceed onto a dangerous path. Tony
Stark explains to a fellow colleague (the Hulk) that they no longer are the only beings in the universe and
therefore need an upgraded defense system. Tony pictures “a suit of armor around the world…” (Age of
Ultron 20:02). Victor also portrays this same ambitious desire, not to protect the world, but rather bring
a being into it. He describes how “life and death appeared to [him] as ideal bounds, which [he] should
first break through, and pour a torrent of life into our dark world” (Shelley 40). Both quotes clearly show
the resemblance in the unnatural pursuit of knowledge beyond the realm of humanity. Without a halfcrazy protagonist, however, the horrifyingly exciting plots might not have ever unfolded, which is why
this archetype is clearly reused in different settings.
The created beings are therefore brought into a world they don’t fully understand – initially –
until a series of encounters and experiences forges a disposition on the reality within which they dwell.
One monster is an intellectual mind in possession of a metal body while the other is merely a
conglomerate of dead body parts made alive. Both creatures awaken into a world, confused, immature,
and naïve. The AI feels threatened by another form of artificial intelligence, thus attacking, and forming
its own race of robots to wipe out humanity. Frankenstein’s monster attempts to assimilate into society,
is rejected by outward appearances, and therefore lashes out against humanity. Although each creature
encounters the rest of humanity in distinct ways, both come end up making harsh conclusions about
humanity and therefore make rash decisions. Ultron, the artificial intelligence Tony Stark meddled with,
addresses the avengers with this hilariously dark statement: “I know you’re good people. I know you
mean well. But you just didn’t think it through…there is only one path to peace: your extinction” (Age of
Ultron, 32:55). Even though he specifically addresses the avengers in this statement, it becomes very
evident he intents to wipe out all of humanity. The monster also gives a very rash statement: “shall I not
hate them who abhor me… I am miserable, and they shall share my wretchedness” (Shelley 84). Here,
we also see that aggressive disposition towards his creator and therefore all other humans. Both
characters depict that slippery-slope rational that all of humanity Is bad and therefore they must suffer.
Of course, who can blame a creature that takes rash decisions given its creator made a rash
decision in making their creature in the first place? Both works begin with an archetype character with a
frenzy for knowledge and power. Both stories develop this character to a certain point where the
fascinations and infatuations are brought out with tangible actions, thus creating a sentient being
capable of challenging that original power and knowledge. Each monster takes up a different form – one
metallic, one a cadaver – but both exemplify the common traits of aggressiveness that arise from
rejection and fear. It is worth noting the common theme between the two stories considering the
drastic differences in the medium and contexts.
Works Cited
Shelley, Mary W. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus Colburn and Bentley, 1831.
us.archive.org
https://ia903405.us.archive.org/9/items/ghostseer01schiuoft/ghostseer01schiuoft.pdf
Whedon, Josh, director. Avengers: Age of Ultron. Marvel Studios, 2015.