The issue gets a 5/5 for perfectly laying out just why this event means as much as House of M or the Phoenix Saga, in terms of how it will affect the heroes and everyday folks in the Marvel Universe. The best part may be that we were thrown in halfway through, rather than getting a slow prologue. From here we can imagine how it happened and just what the catalyst may have been, which adds for a more lively discussion between fans. I seriously recommend this issue to any Marvel fans. Read Full Review

Bendis and Hitch have definitely piqued our interests and has promised us this isn't going to be without some pain and suffering – in the best possible way they could. Read Full Review

AGE OF ULTRON #1 is fantastic opening establishing anapocalypticMarvel world. The writing is great, so is the art. While the title robot doesn'ttechnicallyappear, he has a very strongpresence.It takes some top notch writing to accomplish that. I have a feeling this could be the Marvel event to surpass Civil War. Of course, Fear Itself also had an amazing start, but we saw where that went. I don't have too muchskepticismhowever, this is an Ultron story after all. Nine issues to go people, the fun is just getting started. Read Full Review

Brian Michael Bendis is a rock star and everything he touches is gold including Age of Ultron #1. At this point I would much rather tell you to stop reading this review and go pick up Age of Ultron now. I mean if this story becomes as legendary as I believe it will be then maybe Ultron will make it to the big screen someday. Read Full Review

Age of Ultron # 1 doesn't show us the beginnings of the story but rather it shows us what the world has become and how things now operate with the new robotic management. The dialogue is pretty strong here and shows depth and character which is good. In my opinion, some time away from Avengers did good to Bendis' writing. Read Full Review

Oh, and the cover features a foil-embossed cover. Can't get more '90s than that! Read Full Review

If you equate a more realistic depiction of villainy and violence with a move towards conceptual maturity then this is something of an unqualified success. It may not be what you've come to expect from Marvel but there it is: take it or leave it. It's early days for Age of Ultron but darkly impressive ones, and while we've all seen our fair share of Marvel crossover events nosedive into mediocrity following strong opening issues, as far as introductions go this one's a doozy. Just don't expect your favourite hero to pop up and save the day. Chances are they've already tried – and failed. Read Full Review

With fantastic art, a strong story and great dialogue, Age of Ultron is off to a great start. Even though it may cause some confusion or problems with new readers, I absolutely enjoyed the first entry and I'm very excited for the next book. The best part about crossovers is seeing all of these heroes work together in situations they don't want to be in. Age of Ultron works by showing how horrible the world has become and how much many of the heroes we all know have changed. I definitely recommend picking up the book and think Bendis and Hitch are off to a fantastic start. Read Full Review

By the end of Age of Ultron #1, I was sold. Bendis has mentioned in more than one interview how this crossover event was his swan song to the Avengers, a franchise he helmed for over eight years. It shows throughout this issue, and Bryan Hitch's superb artwork was the perfect choice for a story with this level of emotional and narrative bearing. It seems as though Bendis also foresaw Clint Barton's recent meteoric rise of popularity from his solo series by Matt Fraction enough to make him the main player throughout this issue. While not a whole lot is revealed, Age of Ultron #1 paves the way for an epic tale that's sure to have lasting effects on the Marvel universe. Read Full Review

Age Of Ultron #1 has hooked me in. Lets hope I'm still feeling this way by issue #10. Read Full Review

Anyway if you're one of those people who generally avoid the events Marvel does every year, this one might be worth checking out. Bryan Hitch doesn't do nearly enough comics to miss out on this anyway his artwork alone is enough reason to pick this book up. Read Full Review

Whether you're a closet Avenger, a Spidey fan or a mutant lover, Age of Ultron #1 is a must read. Read Full Review

Bryan Hitch's art is dark and gritty, reminiscent of his work on The Ultimates. His final page on this issue might just be the most heartbreaking of the series, but this is only getting started. Climb on board with this series, as we have the feeling that this is not only going to be one of the bigger events of the year, but one of the best written as well. Read Full Review

Bendis, being a writer who's big on character and dialogue, he has a lot of opportunity here to get some darker stuff (dark for Marvel) out there and put everyone's beloved characters out on the ropes (there's bound to be at least one character that's your favourite in there), and it's this great potential for character development and boundary pushing that gives excitement for what Age of Ultron might entail. It's also lucky that Bendis has a great counter-part in this with Hitch as the penciller. Hitch is not unfamiliar to team books or action pages either so it all balances out incredibly nicely. Read Full Review

Overall this is one of the best first issues I've read in a long time and after the way it ends, I'm hungry to delve deeper into the Age of Ultron to find out just how things got this bad. Action fans will not be disappointed! Read Full Review

Earlier promotional material advertised last October was the kick off to this event. Good things come to those who wait and if the rumors regarding a major universal shift change are true, we are in for one hell of a ride! Read Full Review

It's these massive landscape shots that help to sell Bendis' plot-lite script, effectively depicting how drastically this world has changed and been devastated, rather than leaving to the dialogue or narration to describe it. That's not to say Hitch's character work is lacking, though, as the many action sequences thrive on the brutality of the participants and their interaction with the environment. There is some repetition to the facial work and the frequent blur effect that severely distracts from the action at hand, but in general Age of Ultron #1 is a beautiful and explosive book that is worthy of its event comic hype. Read Full Review

AGE OF ULTRON has finally begun. Without seeing the trigger that caused the Marvel Universe to become devastated, there are definite pros and cons with the first issue. We don't get bogged down by seeing the events take shape. The opportunity to jump right into the action is here. At the same time, we have no idea how it came to this state. There is a nice sense of mystery along with a feeling of despair seeing the heroes and world like this. The art and action gets intense and you will feel the need to want to know how all this came to be. Bendis has started another ambitious story. It's not just anyone that can cause such devastation to the Marvel Universe without explaining it step by step. We can assume big things are coming. We're already getting a glimpse of the craziness we can expect. Was AGE OF ULTRON worth the wait? With everything Bendis and Hitch throw at us in this first issue, the answer is yes. Read Full Review

While Age of Ultron doesn't feature the most creative idea of the week, it is handled well enough that it scores more points than it loses. Bendis is changing up the formula enough that this story feels fresh and interesting. Hitch is the main draw for me. This guy seriously knocked this thing out of the park and the consistency of writer and artist will likely fix a major issue that plagued AvX. For those excited about what they read this week, the wait won't be long for the next installment as it releases next week. There is cause for hope that Marvel's latest event will be one to remember… fondly Read Full Review

Also, was anyone else distracted by the idea that Spider-Man in this issue is supposed to be Doctor Octopus, from Superior Spider-Man? Bendis has been plotting out this story for years, so I'm pretty sure he expected Peter Parker to be in this role. But promotional material keeps pointing out that it's Doc Ock still living in Peter's body. That really kind of depressed me when it was revealed that Hawkeye's big action sequence was all about rescuing Spider-Man. It robbed the moment of a lot of Bendis' intended impact since it's just Doc Ock and not the real Spider-Man. Read Full Review

Another place where Hitch could be overreaching is in panel variety. Ninety-some percent of the time he does a great job of mixing up the panels to control the story pace and direct the reader's attention to the important story elements. However, there are a few times where I had to stare for a few seconds to figure out if I should follow the story from left to right across two pages, then down, or to read one page then the next. It's a minor quibble and I suppose once the great migration to digital is complete the problem will go away entirely.THE BOTTOM LINE: LET THE SUN SHINE IN. Read Full Review

Hitch's art is pitch-perfect for this series. It's gritty and really sells the dire situation everyone's in. The shot of Wolverine, Beast, and Emma together was cheesy but alright. It just screamed "Hey, this isn't just an Avengers book guys!" Read Full Review

Coupled with the thoroughly downcast plot, Age of Ultron #1 leaves the reader wanting more, both from the story, and from the world in which these versions of the characters live. Read Full Review

Of course, it will be interesting to see how this one plays out structurally: a story that should have, essentially, capped off the pre-Marvel NOW! version of the Marvel U, is going to have to stand as a little self-contained island of awkward continuity alongside the new directions we're seeing from writers like Remender, Fraction, Hickman, and Bendis himself. Just imagine if it works, though: it might actually convince the powers that be of the fact that endless reboots and resets aren't needed to prolong the life of superhero comics: just get some great storytellers, with some good ideas, and turn them loose. Read Full Review

Age of Ultron is off to a very good start. Let us hope that it can keep the high quality through the event. Read Full Review

This first issue is exciting, but I can't quite recommend it because it's not a story, it's a beginning scene before the credits. While it might be a read, my opinion of the overall event will hopefully be different. Read Full Review

Age of Ultron #1 has got my attention, and it's well-deserving of picking up book two, scheduled to be released March 13. Stick with GU as we cover Marvel's first major crossover of 2013. Read Full Review

In media res describes exactly what I like about this series. 99.9% of superhero stories are about the heroes preventing the villain from winning, this one details how the protagonists respond after their greatest defeat. It speaks to how close things are to going to shit each and every time a heavy hitter like Red Skull or Thanos threatens the world with the Cosmic Cube or Infinity Gauntlet. Read Full Review

This was an okay start to this series, but I can't help but want better... Read Full Review

With an incredibly familiar story Age Of Ultron has a lot to prove in the next few issues. Read Full Review

It's a good book, but can a story like this get justice in a mini-series? The good part is that this becomes a summer event while staying out of 616 continuity for the most part and the rest of the MU goes on without everything getting swept up in the wake. A great first issue but I have reservations on it as a whole. Read Full Review

Other than that slight snafu, I found that 'Age of Ultron' #1 served it's purpose. The stage is now adequately set, so I'm hoping that we get more of a plot in the next issue coming out on Wednesday. Read Full Review

Not much really happens, but that is a frequent narrative technique for Bendis: reveal as you go. It is the character stuff that really grabs you, as each step the story takes, readers will be hoping they see that an old favorite is ok, that not every light of heroism has been snuffed in whatever happened to the world. Let's just hope these answers come quickly, because there is a huge story here, but in the first issue Bendis always gives us a miniscule, albeit compelling, first bite. Read Full Review

Ultimately I find that you can best judge the first issue of an event by the following criteria: did I want to read the next issue? And the answer with Age of Ultron, despite not being thrilled by the art, is yes, very much so. Read Full Review

To be sure, Age of Ultron #1 was not a terrible read. It was simply a decidedly average read in just about every aspect. Readers who prefer some substance to their stories and like creative plotlines that intrigue the reader will surely be disappointed in this shallow story. Readers who have been enjoying the breath of fresh air provided to the Marvel Universe by MarvelNOW will be disappointed in this issue that reads very much like a Marvel comic from the 2000's. I would only recommend Age of Ultron to readers who loved Bendis' run on the Avengers and New Avengers. This title is definitely tailor made for you. Read Full Review

Bendis haters will do well to know there isn't much dialogue here. There isn't much of anything really, as it's only one sequence and a twist that's not too hard to believe. The heroes are down, depressed and at their wits' end. You'll finish this book thinking, “I get it already, the heroes lost…give me more!” Read Full Review

This was a disappointing issue, and I expected better things from this issue. I do however still have a lot of hope in this series, and think that the series as a whole will be brilliant, and that this issue will be nothing more than a blip (although I thought that about Avengers vs. X-Men also). I would barely recommend this issue, but would advise patient people to wait and see if it gets better. Read Full Review

I admit, impatience is a vice frequently exercised in comic book reading today, as arcs have gotten longer and longer, and one I just as often find frustrating inflated reader expecations. But when a book is marketed as the next big event, I do admit to wanting some reward for my $3.99, some cliffhanger reason to jump to the next issue. And this issue just didnt provide it. I hit the final page and was sincerely shocked that this was all there was. And thats not what event should mean in any sense of the word. Is it possible those moments I seek are in issue #2? Absolutely. And I suspect as a collection or chapter in a long form graphic novel, this would read a million times better. But as a biweekly comic upon which the greater publishing line orbits for the next few months, Age of Ultron is off to an inauspicious start. Im not sure Ill be sticking around to see if it turns around. Read Full Review

Marvel makes no pretense about how large this story is. With an interesting collection of characters, this is certainly an event book that will garner attention, but this issue just isn't amazing. There are still, however, nine parts to go. Bendis' work tends to read better in chunks, without waiting between installments, and "Age of Ultron" #1 seems to follow in that trend. The cliffhanger of this issue is more of a page-turning cliffhanger than an issue-ending conclusion. I'm sure there will be plenty of readers who get a kick out of this opening chapter, but I might go back and re-read some of the other Ultron tales that Timothy Callahan mentions in his latest column before I re-read "Age of Ultron" #1. Maybe that will help me find a deeper appreciation for Hank Pym's most dangerous creation after this issue's letdown. Read Full Review

When alls said and done, there just isnt enough content here. Some people are going to come for Bryan Hitchs art, and those people will be satisfied. But I came for story, and found it lacking. Im hoping we get a lot more plot next issue, because as pretty as it is, I think four pages of Hitchs vision of destroyed New York is space that could have been better devoted to telling some sort of story. Because at the end of the day, regardless of which version of whatever fictional universe these stories are set in, regardless of how it affects what comes after or is affected by what we came before, these are supposed to be stories. And theres nowhere near enough of a story in this issue. Read Full Review

As a fan of the super-hero genre, I always like it when the diverse array of figures are brought together, but part of that appeal is to see the fun of such colorful characters interacting. Unfortunately, fun isn't part of the equation here. This is a dour story, depressing. The heroes are beaten down, and they never really recover in any satisfying way. No one really wins the day. Mind you, it's not as though this story was billed as a super-hero romp or anything; in terms of tone, Bendis and company deliver what was promised. When it comes to plot, though... not so much. Instead of being a story about heroes overcoming impossible odds, it's about them losing hope and breaking the rules. There's no sense of triumph or accomplishment because they cheat their way out of a jam - and I felt kind of cheated in the process. Read Full Review

It's way too early to tell what this book really is going to become. For now, it feels like a dystopian future book that you've probably read a different flavor of a dozen times. Somehow this book jams itself into existing, NOW!, continuity but that really isn't explored at all here. It seems like this book caters to the diehard Ultron or Avengers fans. Perhaps I am put off because I already read the Maberry story, but this book really left me cold. The comic has an awesome cover though. Read Full Review

If the “Flashpoint” comparison winds up being true, in that this book makes some major (and long lasting) changes in the 616, then shame on everyone involved. Marvel is on such an incredible roll right now with their Marvel NOW! initiative (one that this author preemptively mocked on more than one occasion) that it doesn't need another shakeup right now. In fact, half of the NOW! pitch was the end of shakeups (a claim that has been hilariously ignored)! So, to promise more shakeups, from the architect of a bygone era, in the guise of an egregiously delayed book, is a slap in the face of Marvel NOW! For once, I am hopeful that the “everything will change!” tag is bullshit, as opposed to every other event, when promised changes falling short are a disappointment. Read Full Review

Age of Ultron may one day make an enjoyable trade paperback. It may have an amazing, shocking ending; it may have a really bad-ass tie-in somewhere down the line. I dont know. All I have is whats on the page, and Age of Ultron #1 is a bit of a mess. The pacing is extremely off, much more so than in many of Bendis other books. Its possible that Bendis was more interested in setting a tone than in telling a story. But even if thats the case, the tone is too one-note, the atmosphere too staid to really stand out. Outside of a few very promising moments the opening spread, Hawkeyes reunion with the heroes theres little to recommend this issue. Read Full Review

Aside from being extremely violent, unnecessarily gritty, and all around unenjoyable, this first issue is also rather pointless as we don't really spend any time getting to know any of these versions of classic Marvel characters. Maybe they're saving that for the next nine issues. God help us all. Pass. Read Full Review