Avengers by Busiek & Pérez Omnibus Vol. 2

Background. Ultron Unlimited (Avengers #19-22) is the most acclaimed arc in the Busiek/Pérez run and one of the most discussed single arcs in Avengers publication history. The premise — Ultron has destroyed Slorenia, killing 500,000 people and building an army of Ultron robots from their remains — set up the Avengers against a villain who had definitively won before the first page of the storyline. Busiek and Pérez's execution turned an ostensibly standard superhero confrontation into something operatically devastating.

What's inside. This omnibus collects the continuation of the Busiek/Pérez run, including the prelude issues building Ultron's threat, the Ultron Unlimited four-issue arc itself, and the post-Unlimited stories including the Kang/Immortus revelation material and the Thunderbolts crossover that ran in this period. The collection represents the creative peak of the run and includes some of Pérez's finest Avengers artwork.

Why it's worth it. Ultron Unlimited alone justifies this omnibus — it's the best Ultron story ever written, the most emotionally resonant Avengers arc of the modern era before Bendis, and the piece that convinced a generation of Marvel readers that the Busiek/Pérez run was something special. The Thor speech toward the end of the arc is the single best piece of Avengers dialogue in the character's history. Non-negotiable for serious Avengers collectors.

Edition details. Hardcover omnibus. US edition published by Marvel Comics. ISBN 9781302959012.