The March issue of **Empire **- onsale on January 29 - is a good-vs-evil affair, proudly sporting Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on newsstands and experiencing a full-on Ultron takeover on subscriber covers. Today, Empire; tomorrow, the galaxy... Click below for a closer look at them both. Our cover stars headline the most comprehensive **Avengers: Age Of Ultron **coverage to be found anywhere in the nine realms (well, the Midgard part of them, anyway). We’ve been down to Shepperton Studios to talk to Joss Whedon and his Avengers, watch the movie come together and piece together the puzzle of how to surpass the most successful superhero movie of all time. Trust us, you won’t want to miss this.
You know that thing of no actor admitting to playing a bad guy? Turns out it goes for directors, too. “I’ve been working on a lot of Ultron scenes,” Whedon grinned when we caught up with him, “so I’m very anti-Avengers right now. You can’t write someone if you don’t love them and I’ve come to the conclusion that Ultron is right. The Avengers need to die.”
While we’re pretty sure he's joking, the odds look stacked against Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and the post Cap 2 remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D. as James Spader’s Ultron spins off its Stark-designed axis and unleashes total A.I.geddon on the MCU. Check out the army of flying robots (Ultrinos?) gathering like a swarm of killer, robot mozzies behind them. There is literally no spray for that.
Then there’s Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) to complicate matters. They’re on the left end of the Avengers assembly looking suitably enigmatic. For clues as to their motivation and likely allegiance, head here for a gander at the latest trailer.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron roars into UK cinemas on April 24. Empire, meanwhile, roars onto newsstands on Thursday. To make sure you don't miss out on subscribers' covers like this, be sure to subscribe - 12 issues for £25 - right here{