Thank you to Titan Books for sending a copy of Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Avengers: Age of Ultron: The Art of the Movie in exchange for an honest review.
So, Titan Books art book reprints arrive at the end of Phase Two. In April, Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Avengers: Age of Ultron: The Art of the Movie will arrive at your favorite local bookstore and/or public library. How does the art book hold up a decade after the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron? It’s an interesting time capsule of a different time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But it’s one that has appreciated in ways that you never could have anticipated in 2015.
Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Avengers: Age of Ultron: The Art of the Movie
First, let’s address the Hulkbuster in the room. Age of Ultron is one of the more controversial entries in the MCU’s oeuvre. Its legacy has been further complicated by its writer and director, Joss Whedon.
In the pages of Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Avengers: Age of Ultron: The Art of the Movie, Whedon is treated as something of a living Hollywood legend. Even compared to references to the movies’ directors in the other art books in this series I’ve reviewed, he’s given a certain reverence. This isn’t totally surprising. After all, the first MCU movie Whedon wrote and directed for the MCU was The Avengers. This propelled the franchise to the heights of popularity it received in its heyday.
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In the foreword written by Whedon, he adopts his usual snarky, self-deprecating tone. There’s nothing present that isn’t supportive of the movie. But of course, Age of Ultron was Whedon’s final MCU movie. Subsequently, his 2017 cut of Justice League was poorly received and, due to a variety of reasons outside the purview of this article, Whedon’s star swiftly set in the intervening years.
Nevertheless, Age of Ultron is a cherished movie in the Kaplans’ Quarters for providing the full introduction to Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). For my spouse, Ollie Kaplan, Wanda was an immediate favorite. Of course, Wanda ultimately starred in the best thing to come out of the MCU, 2021’s WandaVision.
The Scarlet Witch
So, it probably goes without saying that the four pages dedicated to the design of Wanda/The Scarlet Witch are the highlights of the book for me. As you may recall, in Age of Ultron, she was given a more “grounded” appearance. But one especially interesting aspect of these designs is a particular potential design for Scarlet Witch. This closely resembles the superhero costume Wanda dons at the climax of WandaVision half a decade later.
I also appreciated the inclusion, however brief, of designs for the Captain America: The Winter Soldier post-credit sequence. This is the scene, directed by Whedon, that originally introduced Wanda and her ill-fated twin brother Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).
Of course, Wanda appears elsewhere in Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Avengers: Age of Ultron: The Art of the Movie as well. One of these appearances is in an excellent painting by Andy Park showing her depositing the vision in the mind of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). But I definitely could have used a few more pages dedicated to the evolution of her design. Especially given the much larger number given to Ultron (James Spader), Vision (Paul Bettany) and Tony’s many Iron Man suits.
That said, the pages for both Vision and Ultron were still very interesting. I particularly enjoyed the designs for Ultron. These included looks that veered far away from both the comic book source material and the final version we saw in the movie. And considering Ultron is meant to be returning for the upcoming Vision series, these pages may prove to be of particular interest in the near future.
A Marvelous Vision Quest
By contrast, Vision is interesting because of how closely his design parallels his counterpart in the panels of Marvel Comics. Plus, like Wanda, there are some unused all-white versions of Vision that look very similar to what we saw at the climax of WandaVision. It’s interesting how these MCU designs seem to have a somewhat cyclical nature.
I also appreciated that, without spoiling the movie’s final few twists, this book includes designs for the movie’s epilogue at the new Avengers facility in upstate New York. However, I did find a cameo by Captain Marvel in one of these images. This was surprising since she didn’t make her MCU debut until her self-titled movie in 2019.
I also enjoyed the final chapter on the movie’s marketing, which focused on an eight-poster set released at San Diego Comic-Con 2014. Painted by Park, Ryan Meinerding and Charlie Wen, it was fascinating to see how this complicated project was pulled off.
Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Avengers: Age of Ultron: The Art of the Movie matches the previous Infinity Saga art book re-releases from Titan Books. This means it is a uniform-sized hardcover with a matching spine. However, this is the first in the series I have reviewed that doesn’t include a fold-out page.
Available in April 2025
Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Avengers: Age of Ultron: The Art of the Movie was written by Jacob Johnston. It includes an introduction by James McCann and a book design by Jeff Powell. The dust jacket art is by Ryan Meinerding. Of course, the contributions of dozens of artists appear on the book’s pages. Will you pick up a copy when it arrives in April?
Marvel Studios’ The Infinity Saga – Avengers: Age of Ultron: The Art of the Movie arrives at a local bookstore and/or public library near you on April 1, 2025.
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