West Coast Avengers, Vol. 1: The Gospel of Ultron

West Coast Avengers (2024)

by Gerry Duggan, Danny Kim (Artist), Arthur Hesli (Colorist)

A classic team of Avengers returns with a new status quo! Iron Man and War Machine have put together a new team of Avengers - one that includes villains seeking a path to redemption. Their case study? Ultron - who, against all odds, seems to be walking the straight and narrow…for now. But does the success of one guarantee the success of all? Spider-Woman and Firestar have their doubts. But Firestar has her own Her time undercover with Orchis left scars and made her a pariah. Can the West Coast Avengers stop her downward spiral - or will their other questionable recruit, Blue Bolt, only exacerbate it? A second Ultron appears, declaring himself the leader of a terrifying new religion! And when the dark double of Steve Rogers returns, can this ragtag team survive a showdown with an enemy who nearly conquered the entire world? Collecting West Coast Avengers (2024) #1-5.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Marvel, Comics

120 pages, Paperback

First published July 22, 2025

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.2 stars

An interesting start, and I’m stoked to have the WCA back, with four of my favourite Avengers on the squad to boot.

My main problems with the book are the artwork (not exactly bad but not to my tastes) and that it’s hard to reconcile the Tony in this book with the Tony in his own title; it’s like they’re two different people.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
No one is talking about this book, but they should be. A dynamic cast with flaws and something to prove and a certain freedom to create interesting relationships and character dynamics. War Machine was called "Captain Military Industrial Complex." For the win.

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this redemption story and the characters. Also, I have been waiting a long time for Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) and Firestar to be included in a series.

Ironman and Warmachine have a vision. Redeeming villains into heroes so there are fewer villains. However, Ultron was probably not at the top of their list. What has made Ultron change its mind? Has it changed its mind? Is it even the real Ultron? That is just one of the characters. As much as Ultron is trusted another recruit "Blue Bolt" is a work in progress. Also, the more trusted characters might need some help as well.

As Iron Man already has his series, I hope the other characters get more time to develop. They did a good job in this book I hope it continues. I am looking forward to seeing where the series goes from here. The book finishes with a thumbnail variant cover gallery.

[Paul W. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost hated this. It feels like a mixture of half-baked and trying too hard, ending mediocre.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gerry Duggan spins a new West Coast Avengers series out of his own Iron Man run, bringing Iron Man and War Machine along for the ride with some old friends like Firestar and Spider-Woman, and some new friends like a rehabilitated Killerwatt and...Ultron?

I really like the story ideas at play here. Rehabiltating villains is a good hook, even if Blue Bolt (I mean Killerwatt, whatever) is a bit of a douche, and the addition of a Good Ultron is neat too, as well as the explanation for why we've got multiple Ultrons (multipUltrons?) running around is great. The character work for Firestar is well realised, if a bit painful, and the end of volume cliffhanger has me excited for the back half of the series as well.

The reason I can't rate this any higher is the artwork, which is just...not it. I'm not sure if it's rushed or inconsistent, but Kim's visuals are all over the shop. Backgrounds appear and disappear, some shots are very anime inspired while others are super detailed, and it's just overall a very uneven experience.

[Eva B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The original Wackos are my favorite Marvel team, so I had high hopes for this one that were pretty immediately let down. Namely, the strength of the original Wackos came from the characters. It was made up of the outliers and outcasts of the Avengers, the second-fiddles sent to the West Coast since they didn't make the cut for the official team. You had just-married Hawkeye and Mockingbird, Tigra trying to balance her humanity with her being turned into a cat-person, Wonder Man being a hero to make up for his past evils, War Machine trying to convince everyone he's Tony before coming into his own as Iron Man in his own right, Hank trying to better himself after he spiraled and hurt the person he loved most...you get the idea. This team, though, could just be anyone. Outside of Blue Bolt, who shows up to be punched and mocked by his teammates, it's the Stark and Rhodey Show. It was basically an Iron Man comic in a Wackos coat of paint. Ultron was cool, I guess. Jessica was barely even there. Angelica actually had a compelling dynamic with the team as the only mutant and still being assumed to be an agent of Orchis and COULD have had an interesting mentor/mentee relationship with Tony (plus a parallel as alcoholics) but that would mean taking the spotlight off of the team's special-est little billionaire so we can't do that, and she's written out of the book to go to rehab. In a team of six people, one of whom is LITERALLY a robot, you do not need both Iron Man and War Machine. The concept of Ultron trying to convert humanity into his drones was interesting and I liked the commentary on the corruption of religion and it being used for selfish and harmful reasons, but ohhhh my God I'm SO sick of Ultron plotlines being handed off to Tony. They already did Tony VS Pymtron (and fumbled it by making it into a stupid Jan/Tony VS PymDyne metaphor (FUCK Jan/Tony all my homies HATE Jan/Tony SHE DESERVES BETTER!!!! STOP REDUCING HER TO A RICH DITZ!!!!)) and the MCU gave the Ultron plot to him and I am sooooo sick of it. This should have been a Hank storyline and it would have actually been INTERESTING. Also Rhodey telling Angelica it's rude for her to drink in front of Tony as if Angelica hasn't been used as a cosmic pawn in an organization that committed a genocide against her people and is now forced onto a team with Ultron, who actively triggers her PTSD...c'mon man I expected better from you than being snippy with a traumatized young woman for the feelings of a BILLIONAIRE!!! Justice for Angelica and for Jessica too, they underutilized her to a crazy degree in here.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. It’s got real potential. Fingers crossed that it gathers steam from here.

[Adam Witt · Rating 5 out of 5]

i gamble on a new Marvel book every here-and-there if I trust the author or the franchise. however, I was fully blind here. this is a delightful, funny take on a fascinating group of Avengers with a great dynamic. a fast, enjoyable read.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an alright one and done read like we have Tony and Rhodey restart the WCA and reforming former villains and we see them form a new team and they fight Flag smasher aka Evil stevil from Secret empire and that was fun and multiple battles with Sovereign Sons his team and how the team stops him and I love how it occurs so frequently i.e. their face off and see how Blue Bolt and Ultron join the team!

Yes Ultron! And I love his story of how he divided himself and like one part acting heroic and like joining the avengers and how it came to be was a funny story and then there was another one who started his own cult hence the volume name and that was so weird and like their own evangelism with the Singularity coming and how he may lead humanity to that and that was a fun side story being built and how the Avengers deal with it.. its a fun new challenge for them and they don't know how to deal with it..

But love how Duggan showed the complexity of it and his character work is fun too like Tony and Rhodes reforming villain, the story with Blue bolt whose doing his time to get an ealy parole and I love how over the top he is and 80s coded he is and like his romance with Firestar is so well done and the way Duggan has handled her character like her trauma and by the end her realizing it and going in rehab was amazing.. asking for help is always the first part and love how Duggan did it here.

Its not the greatest volume with linear story of sorts but its fun between Flag smasher and like an evangelical Ultron and character work specially for Blue bolt and Firestar its a fun volume with good art, its not the greatest marvel comic but you will probably enjoy reading it one time.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
This one kind of caught me off guard a bit with how compelling of a story it was. The focus is on Ultron, which causes me to wonder why we need to bring him to the forefront of our collective comics memory, ie what will he be part of coming up; and Tony and Rhodey making a new Avengers team on the West Coast. In addition to those 3, we add Spider-Woman, Firestar, and Blue Bolt, a reforming criminal earning parole.
The story of "The Gospel of Ultron" comes from a splitting of Ultron into various parts of his personality: one of them has chosen to do good and joined the Avengers, and another has started a religion where the hybrid of man and machine is preferred, almost appearing like he is building an army. We'll see how things go after the end when the main team of Avengers show up to question Tony's motives.
Recommend. Wanting to see where it goes.

[Anthony Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

West Coast Avengers returns with a surprise that no one saw coming!

I never read any of the previous West Coast Avengers comics from the past so this was my first time reading one. My reason for reading this book was that I was curious about Ultron's reason for joining the Avengers. He's known for being one of the team's greatest foes and now he decides to fight alongside them. As the heroes work to help villains to walk in the path of redemption, they face so challenges such as going up against a villain wearing a familiar and friendly face, a team member dealing with PTSD from the fallout of the Fall of X and another Ultron forming a religion.

If you are fans of the Avengers or any of the characters in this series, then this book is the one for you!

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a new take on a dysfunctional group of Avengers. Iron Man is back in his iconic Silver Centurion version of his armor from the 80s. Ultron has joined the team and another version has started a cult. I'm not real sure how that works when Ultron destroyed a whole country back in the Kurt Busiek/George Perez days. War Machine and Spider-Woman are also on the team. So is Firestar and she's a mess after the Krakoa era of the X-Men. There's a 6th Avengers Blue Bolt who is on a work release program from prison. It's interesting, just not perfect. Danny Kim's art is heavily manga influenced with almost no backgrounds. I really hate that trend in comics.

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This okay. I’m liking the team picks but I’m just not really caring for the story too much just yet. Not a lot of action and a lot of previous stories needed for full understanding. Like to get why Firestar is the way she is you need to know her role in the fall of Krakoa. You need to have read the last Iron Man run, the last Spider-Woman run. Know a lot of the confusing history of Ultron and the family lineage it birthed. It’s just a bit messy but it mostly seems to be working. It’s just a slow start. I think volume 2 could be a lot better as we bring in conflict with the other Avengers.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

It'll be interesting to see where this goes. This first volume is, honestly, kind of a mess. It's dramatic, with moments of goofy humor. There's a supposedly-reformed Ultron who's a member of this team, which also includes a criminal on work release, Blue Bolt/Killerwatt. The team comes up against another Ultron who is starting a cult of post-human cyborgs (to what end, we don't know, but...c'mon). The art is all over the place. I kind of liked it at times, but too uneven from one page to the next. With some more work, this could be a worthwhile series.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gerry Dugan taking another swing at Tony Stark is great, as is his creating a team focused on rehabilitating villains, which always is a funny trope.

And this is ... OK.

Ultron fighting Ultron, but neither of them actually EVIL (probably), that's ... OK.

Angelica fighting PTSD and a villain being the only one who understands, that's ... the highlight of the book.

And everything else pretty much fades into the background.

So, definitely a 3.5 stars book.

And I bump it up because this is the only damned book to actually treat

[Dean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't find this series particularly exciting but I finished the 5 issues.

The art is pretty good. I'm interested in the multiple directions of Ultron. I like seeing Jessica Drew have time to shine. Firestar's story was very real and continues her life from Krakoa really well.

[Sarospice · Rating 1 out of 5]

No ma'am. I usually love a kooky krew of Avengers but they never establish a reason for this group to exist. The addition of a "good" Ultron is overshadowed by a Cult of Ultrons, and there isn't anything to say about Blue Bolt except boring. Dugan wastes an opportunity.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, we're off to a...strange start. Let's see where it goes. Hopefully with Firestar being less of a mess.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A group with many problems. Villain on parole because they don't want to work with the official members. The splitting of Ultron is fascinating. One of his iterations might just win.

[Zach Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duggan and Kim knock it out of the park. definitely my favorite team book on the shelves right now. Killerwatt slaps. zap zap.