History YMMV / AvengersAgeOfUltron

* OvershadowedByControversy: Six years after the fact, the thing many people remember about this movie is Black Widow's line about being a "monster" while discussing her sterilization, and all the controversy that followed. Even at the time, many interpreted the line as being offensive to women who can't or choose not to have children, and years later many reviews of ''Film/BlackWidow2021'' favorably compared that movie's [[BlackComedy handling]] of the sterilization issue to the "monster" line in this one.

** Same scene, but let's look at it from Thor's point of view... at the time this movie came out, his expression when Steve budges Mjolnir the tiniest bit certainly looks like an "OhCrap" reaction, but watching the scene after the events of ''Endgame'', where Steve is able to lift Mjolnir with the greatest of ease, and Thor's reaction is one of unabashed glee ("I knew it!"), one has to wonder if his reaction during the party in ''Age of Ultron'' isn't worry, but puzzlement; "Really? I thought for sure ''he'' would be able to lift it..."

* EvilIsSexy: ''Ultron'', of all people, can actually qualify to some due to being voiced by Creator/JamesSpader, who gives him a rather smooth and seductive tone at times, such as when he's trying to convince Wanda and Pietro to join his side or talking to a captured Black Widow.

* WTHCastingAgency: The casting of Creator/ElizabethOlsen as Scarlet Witch and Creator/AaronTaylorJohnson as Quicksilver is this to some. Although Taylor-Johnson is Jewish, the decision to cast white gadjé actors for the (mixed Romani-Jewish) characters of Wanda and Pietro was [[http://www.thewire.com/national/2013/10/avengers-made-scarlet-witch-blonde/70159/ met with controversy]], especially considering the prejudice people of Romani heritage face (a fact which the siblings, especially Wanda, had to face in the comics).

** How much did Tony actually associate with Klaue prior to becoming Iron Man? He downplays his association to Klaue to the other Avengers by making it sound like a casual acquaintance and that he never sold him anything. However, Klaue’s recollection of Ultron’s line (“Make your friends rich and your enemies rich and wait to see which is which”) being something that Tony would say implies that Klaue had an ongoing association with him large to recognize a common saying of his. Never mind that the content of the line seems to imply Stark probably did in fact do business with Klaue. Is Tony telling the truth to his teammates or is he lying to cover up morally dubious past deeds he’d rather not let them know?

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Shares a [[BaseBreakingCharacter/MarvelCinematicUniverse page with the rest of the franchise]].

* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Laura Barton and her children. One part of the fandom loves them for adding more depth to Clint and not dying at the end, another resents them because their existence invalidates FanPreferredCouple Clint/Natasha unless they get KilledOffForReal. Also, prior to the release of ''[[Series/Hawkeye2021 Hawkeye]]'', some comic fans disliked how they made it difficult for Clint to then pick up his current comic Status Quo of living in Brooklyn and training with Kate Bishop.
** Ultron himself. Defenders of the film praise Creator/JamesSpader's performance and argue Whedon did a good job of handling the character, giving him more depth than he usually receives, while detractors usually say that his habit of constantly making jokes made it impossible to take him seriously as a threat, and that his motivations were muddled and nonsensical.
** Pietro in comparison to his Fox ''X-Men'' version. Some like his relationship with his sister and how without Magneto being involved in the franchise at the time of the film's release, it allowed him to develop into his own character and be a somewhat truer version of his comic book counterpart without any baggage to the X-Men he didn't really had in comparison to other versions in other media. Others felt that he was underdeveloped as a character in comparison to the other Avengers and not as cool as the Fox ''X-Men'' version. [[spoiler:While fans universally want him to return to the franchise one day, it's been hotly debated whether the MCU original (or a variant with Creator/AaronTaylorJohnson playing him) or Creator/EvanPeters version should be the one returning and the CastingGag in ''Series/WandaVision'' does not help at all.]]

*** Alternatively, is it that he simply wants to keep fighting with the Avengers because he has nothing else tying him to the modern world, not because of any particular desire for combat? Given that Steve Rogers lost pretty much everything after waking up from the ice, maybe he feels that there's nothing left but Captain America and the mission. Particularly because only about ''six months'', at most, passed between his defrosting and being called on as an Avenger, meaning that he didn't really have much of a chance to get out into the world and make new connections. The finale of ''Endgame,'' where he [[spoiler: goes back to live with Peggy]], may lend credence to this idea.

** Another for Cap... is it really, as Ultron says, that he's man who can't live without a war to fight? Or is it that he's afraid when ''everyone else'' thinks the wars are over, they really aren't, and he's the OnlySaneMan who realizes it? The dream Wanda gives him can lean towards this, with it very obviously being a postwar celebration, but spilled wine, camera flashes, and such making it feel like combat. His response to Tony's "suit of armor around the world" can also fall into this: if you believe you've literally built the peace, how likely are you to see that the war just shifted battlefields, it didn't stop?

* StrangledByTheRedString: Pre-release, this was feared with the teasing of the Widow/Banner romance. After release, given it's Widow's major story arc in the movie, both critics and fans were divided on how it was handled. A big factor in this is that at least an hour of footage was cut from the movie (which is ''still'' 2 1/2 hours long), which makes much of their romance (and the rest of the plot) seem to just lurch from event to event without any proper build-up. Additionally, the pre-amble to their RomanceArc in this film seems to have occurred entirely off-screen, between films.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: See AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/MarvelCinematicUniverse.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** Throughout the movie, it's rather explicitly hypothesized (and even somewhat confirmed by his fear-dream) that Cap sees fighting a perpetual war as the only way to keep going, believing a normal life with love and family as too late for him. As such, his anger at finding out Tony was building Ultron is significantly built on how wrong it turned out but maybe also seeing Tony's motive (releasing his friends from the burden of Earth's only defense) as Tony taking his one reason to live away from him and making him obsolete. That might also be a way of making ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' less [[GreyAndGrayMorality morally one-sided than the original comic indicated]]. It also throws some of Cap's previous actions into question. In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', just when Cap is thinking about getting out of the military life, he not only declares war on HYDRA, but he destroys S.H.I.E.L.D. in the process and creates a real necessity for the Avengers. All in all, is Steve Rogers a true hero [[ChronicHeroSyndrome whose virtue and goodness compel him to always help those in need]], or is he simply a (borderline) BloodKnight who needs to feel validated by fighting whenever possible and hiding behind a smokescreen of morality (or perhaps some combination of the two)?
*** Alternatively, is it that he simply wants to keep fighting with the Avengers because he has nothing else tying him to the modern world, not because of any particular desire for combat? Given that Steve Rogers lost pretty much everything after waking up from the ice, maybe he feels that there's nothing left but Captain America and the mission. Particularly because only about ''six months'', at most, passed between his defrosting and being called on as an Avenger, meaning that he didn't really have much of a chance to get out into the world and make new connections. The finale of ''Endgame,'' where he [[spoiler: goes back to live with Peggy]], may lend credence to this idea.
** A retroactive one for Cap courtesy of ''Film/AvengersEndgame''. The famous moment of Cap causing Mjolnir to budge (provoking an OhCrap look from Thor)... followed by Cap grunting loudly and giving up--an indication that Cap's only ''sort of'' worthy... or is he just faking not being able to lift it, in the name of "good fun"? [[spoiler:At the 2015 SDCC, Joss Whedon was asked; “How is Steve Rogers not worthy?” Whedon responded teasingly, “Is he not? Are we sure? Did he fail? Or did he ''stop?''” So it's likely that when Steve budged it, he realized he ''could'' lift it if he chose, but chose ''not'' to so as to ruin what was supposed to be a fun party game. ''Endgame'' outright confirms that he's worthy, and later in separate instances, the Russos and Kevin Feige confirmed that he was ''always'' worthy of it; he just didn't pick it up fully here because being the NiceGuy he is, he was being polite to Thor. On the other hand, ''Endgame'' screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen [=McFeely=] disagree and believe that Cap was not yet worthy in this scene, due to him concealing the involvement of HYDRA - and Bucky - in the death of Tony's parents, and it's not until after he comes clean in ''Civil War'' that the worthiness kicked in.]] There's also the possibility that "worthiness" includes self-confidence, and that he didn't see himself as being Worthy until a moment of crisis in Endgame.
** Same scene, but let's look at it from Thor's point of view... at the time this movie came out, his expression when Steve budges Mjolnir the tiniest bit certainly looks like an "OhCrap" reaction, but watching the scene after the events of ''Endgame'', where Steve is able to lift Mjolnir with the greatest of ease, and Thor's reaction is one of unabashed glee ("I knew it!"), one has to wonder if his reaction during the party in ''Age of Ultron'' isn't worry, but puzzlement; "Really? I thought for sure ''he'' would be able to lift it..."
** Another for Cap... is it really, as Ultron says, that he's man who can't live without a war to fight? Or is it that he's afraid when ''everyone else'' thinks the wars are over, they really aren't, and he's the OnlySaneMan who realizes it? The dream Wanda gives him can lean towards this, with it very obviously being a postwar celebration, but spilled wine, camera flashes, and such making it feel like combat. His response to Tony's "suit of armor around the world" can also fall into this: if you believe you've literally built the peace, how likely are you to see that the war just shifted battlefields, it didn't stop?
** Ultron himself. The movie makes it unclear (at least initially) if he actually plans to destroy the human race, and fakes an interest in ruling them, or if the destruction of the human race is simply the inevitable result of him ruling them. The former assumes he's inherently evil, the latter assumes he's effectively a child who will kill humans in a tantrum the moment he finds them unworthy.
** Is the fact that Vision's good nature is proved by lifting Mjolnir, or is he just inadvertently taking advantage of a Franchise/MarvelUniverse loophole (created by a writing mistake that stuck) that all robots can do that?[[note]]In ''Film/{{Thor}}'', Creator/StanLee's cameo failed to move the hammer with a pickup truck, so it's clearly not just that he's a machine.[[/note]] Or just the fact that he was literally just born and is a complete innocent? Especially highlighted in the film when Tony and Steve begin ribbing Thor about it. [[http://www.craveonline.com/entertainment/985969-captain-america-civil-war-writers-b-movies-podcast The writers]] of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' lean towards the latter interpretation, noting that the Vision of that film may no longer be able to lift the hammer.
** Possibly unintentional side effect of retconning the sceptre to contain an [[MacGuffin Infinity Stone]] (assuming that wasn't the plan all along), but if we take it that the Mind Stone is both a [[ArtificialIntelligence sentient alien computer]] and that it is capable of influencing people both directly and passively (its use as the sceptre -- both on Barton and during the argument when Banner picks it up without noticing -- and by proxy through Wanda's visions), it follows that the Mind Stone itself, much like [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings The One Ring]], may have been manipulating the events that lead to the creation of both Ultron and Vision all along, presumably for the purpose of becoming corporeal.
** Following the above, how much of Loki's actions in the first movie was really his doing, and how much of it was potentially him being controlled or influenced by the Mind Stone? ''Series/Loki2021'' suggests it was entirely his own doing.
** This trope is key to Ultron and Scarlet Witch's plans for the Avengers: rubbing everyone's noses in the worst possible version of themselves. Is Black Widow an inhuman monster? Can Cap live without a war to fight? Will Thor's bravado get his people killed? Is the Hulk as mindlessly violent as Banner fears?
** [[spoiler:Quicksilver's death]]. A fearless, HeroicSacrifice where he proved himself a true hero and Avenger? A StupidSacrifice that he should have been able to [[StoryBreakerPower easily avoid with his powers]]? Or a complete accident where ''he'' thought he would get out unscathed? Or maybe some combination?
** While Tony’s objective in creating Ultron goes horribly wrong, how justified was he in making the attempt? It’s clear Tony thinks the Earth and the Avengers are completely unprepared for what’s out there and as ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' shows, he’s completely right. Steve and Thor’s main gripe seems to be that he didn’t bother to ask permission before building the project, but Tony mentions he doesn’t have the time to debate with the team (none of whom are experts with AI) before he loses the chance. Tony has already built several AI programs with no issues (JARVIS, FRIDAY, KAREN in Spider-Man’s suit in ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'') and when he does the exact same thing again with Vision, it goes perfectly. The variable that makes Ultron go bad (coming spontaneously aware with no one but JARVIS around and then learning about mankind from the Internet) isn’t really something either Tony or Bruce could have expected. It’s also unclear exactly how much of Tony’s actions are derived from Wanda’s [[MindRape mental manipulations]]. At the same time, Bruce Banner is skeptical and has doubts about the entire project, and raises ethical questions about Tony's tunnel focus on the big picture at the exclusion of threats nearer to home since TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed. In any case, none of Tony's tech and AI, [[spoiler:neither Vision, his Iron Man armor, or other things, was even close enough to stop Thanos by itself, and Tony owes his survival to Doctor Strange making a deal with Thanos]], plus his actions via Ultron and the consequences in ''Civil War'' divide the Avengers rather than keeping them together to oppose Thanos as a single unit. The whole fact that Tony later built [[Film/SpiderManFarFromHome a drone system that acts suspiciously like Project Insight]] also raises lots of questions as to whether he learned from his mistakes with Ultron or not.
** A lot of fans seemed to think Bruce and Natasha's relationship in this movie amounted to StrangledByTheRedString, but looking at the scenes, it's more like a flirtation that ''could'' become something more. They're not madly in love, and don't even go on a proper date. Besides some flirting here and there, the only romantic gesture between them is a kiss that happens right before a battle they know they might not not live through. Plus, even in the first movie, they had a couple personal if not romantic moments, and given they've spent some time working together as of this film, it's not all that unusual they'd develop an interest in each other.
** How much did Tony actually associate with Klaue prior to becoming Iron Man? He downplays his association to Klaue to the other Avengers by making it sound like a casual acquaintance and that he never sold him anything. However, Klaue’s recollection of Ultron’s line (“Make your friends rich and your enemies rich and wait to see which is which”) being something that Tony would say implies that Klaue had an ongoing association with him large to recognize a common saying of his. Never mind that the content of the line seems to imply Stark probably did in fact do business with Klaue. Is Tony telling the truth to his teammates or is he lying to cover up morally dubious past deeds he’d rather not let them know?

** After successfully apprehending Strucker and acquiring Loki's scepter, Tony offhandedly mentions that he isn't really the boss of the Avengers, and mostly just "[[TheTeamBenefactor [pays] for everything, [designs] everything, and [makes] everyone look cooler]]". ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' reveals that Tony is dead serious, as this also means he pays living expenses[=/=]wages for active-duty Avengers. And his death in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' shows the negative repercussions of doing this for Sam Wilson; Sam no longer has a consistent paycheck, having to unsuccessfully attempt to acquire a bank loan in Louisiana instead to shore up his family's commercial fishing business, and eventually take up Cap's mantle himself.

** After a major plot point in ''Civil War'' was that Steve never told Tony that [[spoiler:his parents were actually murdered by HYDRA]], Tony fans had a field day with Steve sniping about Tony keeping him and the rest of the team in the dark about Ultron.
--->'''Steve:''' [[HypocriticalHumor Sometimes my teammates don't tell me things.]]

** Tony's "whose girlfriend is better" banter with Thor in this film turns into this when Pepper is revealed to have left him sometime afterward. Doubly awkward in that Thor and Jane are revealed to have broken up between ''The Dark World'' and ''Thor: Ragnarok'' as well, leaving Tony and Thor's competition to be somewhat pointless in the long run.
*** Then again, Pepper and Tony reconciled [[Film/SpiderManHomecoming earlier]] than Thor and Jane [[Film/ThorLoveAndThunder did]], only for both relationships to end permanently after [[spoiler:a member of each couple died.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: See AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/MarvelCinematicUniverse.