I’m enjoying Bendis’ work on the current story arc in “New Avengers,” but the time travel arc in this title really fell flat.  I suppose that, under the circumstances, begging Ultron for help was not an unrealistic tactic.  On the other hand, it isn’t very dramatic either.  It would have been more entertaining if the Avengers had captured a cosmic cube or an infinity gauntlet or some other gadget to force Ultron to cooperate.  Perhaps they could have told Ultron, “Do as we say, or you will never see Jocasta again!”  The Bendis style of patter dialogue doesn’t work very well with Ultron, either.  Ultron’s established character is too imperious and imposing to mix well with silly word play.  I think the robot’s exchange with Wolverine, for instance, is supposed to be humorous, but it really didn’t work.  And by the way, we never did get to learn why “Hulk is the smartest one there is,” since he doesn’t do anything particularly smart in this arc.

            I’m not one of Romita Jr.’s legion of fans, but the art generally outshines the script in this issue.  One exception is Romita’s design for Ultron, which is the ugliest look for the robot that I have ever seen.  Ultron’s face looks like a jack-o-lantern, and he has a design around his waist that makes him look like he is wearing a belt, but no pants.  Ultron looks like he borrowed the spikes on his arms from the Destroyer.