Recap: "Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday Podcast" - "Avengers: Age of Ultron"

The second episode of the Countdown to Doomsday podcast is here. Hosts Iman Vellani and Frank Alvarez are back to take a look at the second Avengers film, Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is a movie that seems to get overlooked in the Marvel Cinematic Universe these days, a fact that both hosts readily admit. Alvarez says it's the movie the podcast is covering that he waited the longest to revisit. Vellani gives the film a backhanded compliment that it holds up better than she expected. However, it appears that distance may have been good, as both hosts are clearly excited to have seen it again and talk about it.

The duo begins the official recap of Avengers: Age of Ultron. We're officially introduced to Wanda Maximoff, who would become a major part of the MCU going forward. They have a lot of fun with the party scene. Vellani reveals that when she was working on Ms. Marvel, Russell Bobbitt, the prop master of the MCU, let her hold several of the different variations of Mjolnir.

In discussing Ultron, Frank Alvarez finally says what needs to be said: that James Spader "absolutely crushes" the role of Ultron. The hosts then "ask" James Spader what his favorite moment filming Age of Ultron, was. We cut to a prerecorded clip of Spader answering the question. He mentions the physical reveal of Ultron, because so many of the other cast members were there, but he also highlights Ultron's last scene. He loved the father/son quality of the last conversation with Vision. Spader also mentions not feeling so bad about what he had to wear on set as Ultron because what Paul Bettany had to wear as Vision was so much more uncomfortable.

The hosts celebrate the action of Age of Ultron, both the battle between the Avengers and Wanda and Pietro, and the fight between Hulk and the Hulkbuster armor, but don't spend a great deal of time on them. We also skip through the farm sequence, though Iman Vellani mentions that she likes the scenes because the quiet moments of the Avengers actually talking are good and not to be overlooked.

From there, we move on to the first real clear breakdown of the Avengers, and the physical fight between Steve and Tony over whether or not to create Vision. From there, we cut to another video clip of Paul Bettany discussing what part of Vision's journey he most connects with. Bettany says that Vision resonates with people who don't feel like they fit in, especially among school kids, and the actor says he was the same way.

When answering the same question as Spader about his favorite moment filming Ultron. He also calls out the final scene between Vision and Ultron, calling James Spader "delicious." Bettany also mentions the scene was actually shot in a parking lot, which was turned into a forest via digital effects. Bettany says he also remembers his first scene, because his prosthetic ears were apparently stuck to his head, making him basically deaf. However, this gave him freedom to perform however he wanted, since he couldn't actually hear direction.

The hosts recap Act Three of Avengers: Age of Ultron, celebrating Wanda's big "Avengers" moment and Pietro's sacrifice.

Both hosts call Hawkeye the Most Valuable Avenger in Ultron because of his importance to the overall story, which is odd since he was rarely mentioned during the recap. Vellani says Wanda is the best addition to the MCU from the film. Alvarez goes with Vision.

Looking ahead to Avengers: Doomsday, Vellani keys in on Steve Rogers and the battle between his identity as Captain America and his desire for something like a normal life. Alvarez points out the similarities between Ultron and Doom, who both seem to be enemies on very specific missions. They see a problem, and they believe they have a solution.

Ultron is a solid bridge movie, picking up where the last Avengers movie left off, and setting the stage for Captain America: Civil War, which is an Avengers movie in all but name. While Age of Ultron may not be one of the best-remembered MCU movies, there's a lot here that's important to the franchise that comes after.

On the whole episode 2 of the Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday podcast was an improvement over episode one. The interview clips were a nice touch to help break up the movie recap, and there was just generally more discussion of the movie than simply describing it.

The next episode of the podcast will be Captain America: Civil War. We'll be here to see what happens.