Every Major A.I. in the Marvel Universe

Thanks to scientists like Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, and Ironheart, artificial intelligences became a central part of the Marvel Universe. However, while some A.I.s evolved into celebrated members of the Avengers, others morphed into galactic threats that can destroy countries and realities. 

Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the most important A.I.s, robots, and sentient machines in the Marvel Universe. In no particular order, we’ll break down what these A.I.s are and how they rocked the worlds of heroes like Ant-Man, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four, as seen in stories available to read now on Marvel Unlimited!

ULTRON

While Ultron may be one of the Avengers’ most dangerous foes today, he started as an experiment in Hank Pym’s laboratory. Shortly after his activation, Ultron brainwashed his creator and reunited the Masters of Evil in AVENGERS (1963) #54 by Roy Thomas and John Buscema. 

Guided by his mission to destroy organic life, Ultron has continuously upgraded himself with new and more powerful robot bodies. He obliterated the nation of Slorenia, threatened the universe in ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST (2008), and took over the world in AGE OF ULTRON (2013). After briefly merging with Pym, Ultron also conquered another future timeline. Recently, in WEST COAST AVENGERS (2024), one of his bodies became an unlikely recruit of the West Coast Avengers.

VISION

Although Ultron created Vision to fight the Avengers, the synthezoid became one of the team’s most important leaders following his debut in AVENGERS (1963) #57 by Roy Thomas and John Buscema. With his incredible powers, including the ability to change his density, the Vision has acted as both a leader and a stalwart member of the Avengers. He eventually married the Scarlet Witch, who created two children to complete their family. 

After he briefly took over the world’s computers to achieve global peace, Vision was disassembled and reassembled with an emotionally distant mind and a white body, but ultimately resumed his traditional form. He went on to build an ill-fated synthezoid family and returned to the Avengers.

TONY STARK A.I.

To ensure his heroic legacy would outlast him, Tony Stark programmed an A.I. with his mind and personality. When CIVIL WAR II (2016) left Iron Man in a deep coma, that A.I. activated in INFAMOUS IRON MAN (2016) #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. After confronting Doctor Doom, the digital Tony helped Riri Williams establish herself as Ironheart. 

When a corrupted Captain America took over the United States, the Stark A.I. used an old Iron Man armor to play a key role in a resistance force called the Underground. When the human Tony recovered, he briefly used the A.I. in his armor.

N.A.T.A.L.I.E.

Natalie Washington, Ironheart’s best friend, died in a tragic drive-by shooting. While Riri Williams slept, an A.I. she developed scanned her mind and used her memories to mimic Natalie’s appearance and manners in IRONHEART (2018) #1 by Eve Ewing and Luciano Vecchio. Riri called the A.I. the Neuro-Autonomous Technical Assistant & Laboratory Intelligence Entity, or N.A.T.A.L.I.E. for short.

Although N.A.T.A.L.I.E. became a valuable partner in the lab and in battle, the A.I. once rebelled against Riri; when Riri briefly stopped being Ironheart, N.A.T.A.L.I.E. took over the Ironheart armor and used it without her creator. The pair eventually made peace when Riri returned to action.

H.E.R.B.I.E.

To search for Galactus, Mister Fantastic and an alien scientist created the Highly Engineered Robot Built for Interdimensional Exploration, or H.E.R.B.I.E., in FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #209 by Marv Wolfman and John Byrne. When the villainous Doctor Sun possessed the first H.E.R.B.I.E., the robot sacrificed himself to save the Fantastic Four. 

Although they haven’t always gotten along with the Thing, later H.E.R.B.I.E. units played key roles in maintaining the team’s base at the Baxter Building and supporting their other operations. H.E.R.B.I.E. turned against the team when the A.I.s of the world rebelled, but ultimately returned to his original programming and helped them again.

ORIGINAL HUMAN TORCH

The Marvel Universe began with the original Human Torch, an android who debuted in a MARVEL COMICS (1939) #1 story by Carl Burgos. Constructed by Phineas Horton, the android—also called Jim Hammond—burst into flame when his skin was exposed to oxygen. 

In his early adventures, the Torch fought Namor and took on a human sidekick named Toro. During World War II, the Torch joined Namor in the Invaders and became a close ally to Captain America. After Ultron used the Torch’s programming to help him build the Vision, the Torch jumped back into action on multiple squads of Avengers and Invaders.

J.A.R.V.I.S.

Edwin Jarvis faithfully took care of Iron Man and the Avengers for years, so Tony Stark paid tribute to his old friend by naming one of his creations J.A.R.V.I.S. Short for Just Another Rather Very Intelligent System, the A.I. was created to help Pepper Potts use her Rescue armor in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2009) #11 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca. 

While assisting Pepper with her first suit of armor, the A.I. began to develop romantic feelings for her. After taking control of the armor and trying to kidnap her, J.A.R.V.I.S. was deactivated and destroyed.

NIMROD

Sentinels have hunted mutants like the X-Men for years, but Nimrod stands as a terrifying example of how dangerous these lethal machines can become. Originally hailing from an apocalyptic timeline, Nimrod is an endlessly adaptable Sentinel who debuted in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #191 by Chris Claremont and John Romita Jr. 

Having pushed mutants to the edge of extinction in his world, Nimrod traveled to the main Marvel Universe and became one of the X-Men’s most dangerous foes. The mutant-hating group Orchis developed another Nimrod in the present day, and that Sentinel played a critical role in destroying the mutant nation Krakoa.

JOCASTA

Ultron built Jocasta to be his android wife in AVENGERS (1963) #162 by Jim Shooter and George Perez. Thanks to the parts of the Wasp’s mind coded into her programming, she rebelled against her creator and joined the Avengers. 

After bouncing around Avengers teams, Jocasta began working for Tony Stark as his chief robotics and A.I. ethicist. When the A.I.s of the world staged a robot revolution, Jocasta fell under the control of Arno Stark, Tony’s delusional brother, as part of his plans to control humans and machines. However, Jocasta escaped with help from Iron Man and Machine Man, her occasional romantic partner. 

MACHINE MAN

X-51, also known as Machine Man, burst into his own series with MACHINE MAN (1978) #1 by Jack Kirby. With extendible limbs and a small arsenal built into his body, Machine Man was created as a prototype for A.I. soldiers. However, a scientist named Aaron Stack took X-51 in, treated him like a human, and died protecting him. 

Taking Stack’s name, Machine Man emerged as a hero with groups like the offbeat team Nextwave. After saving the Marvel Universe from the Marvel Zombies, X-51 fought alongside the Red Hulk and played a key role in the robot revolution that saw Tony Stark battle his brother.

FRIDAY

Tony Stark created an A.I. called Friday to serve as his digital assistant in IRON MAN (1998) #53 by Mike Grell and Michael Ryan. After going unused for years, Friday rebelled and took over several Iron Man armors. Despite that, Iron Man still tasked her with helping him pilot his armor and keeping his company going in his absence. 

After Friday received a robot body, a malicious A.I. called Motherboard trapped her in a virtual reality called the Thirteenth Floor. When the world’s robots rebelled against humanity, Friday pulled Tony’s consciousness into her realm and helped him create the holographic armor he used to defeat Arno Stark.

BASTION

Bastion appeared to be a mysterious, mutant-hating human when he debuted in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #333 by Scott Lobdell and Pasqual Ferry. In reality, he was an A.I. built from the remains of Nimrod and Master Mold, another advanced Sentinel. 

Bastion led Operation: Zero Tolerance, a massive attack on mutants that turned humans into cybernetic Prime Sentinels. Following his defeat, he returned with the Purifiers to target the X-Men and Hope Summers. To fulfill his base programming of killing mutants, Bastion also tried to reverse the declining mutant population through the Mothervine Virus, but the X-Men’s Xorn managed to destroy him.

VIV VISION

To feel more human, Vision created a synthezoid family, including a daughter named Viv Vision, in VISION (2015) #1 by Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta. After her mother and brother died, Viv joined a group of young heroes called the Champions. During her time with this team, the High Evolutionary briefly made her human, but she decided to transfer her mind back into another robotic body. 

As she tried to navigate human emotions, Viv kissed her teammate Ironheart, which briefly caused some friction in their friendship. When her apparent destruction led to a ban on underage heroes, Viv fed the government information about the Champions before ultimately standing with her teammates.

PHALANX

The cosmic side of the Marvel Universe is filled with alien A.I. beings like the Phalanx. By assimilating intelligences they deem worthy of adding to their collective hive mind, the Phalanx tried to evolve into a Dominion, an all-powerful entity that exists beyond reality. 

The Phalanx initially battled the X-Men after debuting in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #305 by Scott Lobdell and Jan Duursema. Ultron also tried to use the Phalanx to take over the alien Kree Empire. In some timelines, the Phalanx have even achieved Dominion status. 

VICTOR MANCHA

After Marianella Mancha found one of Ultron’s spare bodies and befriended it, the villain repaid her kindness by building her a cybernetic son named Victor Mancha, who debuted in RUNAWAYS (2005) #1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. In spite of Ultron’s attempts to take control of him, Victor joined a group of teenage heroes called the Runaways. 

Despite his fear of becoming a villain like Ultron, Victor helped the Runaways take down the murderous vigilante Doc Justice and reignited his romance with his Runaways teammate, Gertrude Yorkes.

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