West Coast Avengers # 1 Hughes Foil Variant 2024 NM

West Coast Avengers # 1 (November 27, 2024) features Iron Man and War Machine forming a new team that includes former villains seeking redemption, with a seemingly reformed Ultron as their controversial "case study". The issue sets up the conflict as the team faces a dark religious movement and a second, villainous Ultron, while dealing with internal mistrust. 

The new West Coast Avengers series, part of the "From the Ashes" X-Men relaunch era, centers on the idea of rehabilitating super-criminals rather than just capturing them. 

• The Team's Mandate: Iron Man and War Machine establish the new West Coast Avengers at the closed Santa Monica airport, aiming to give former villains a chance at redemption. Their first and most contentious recruit is a version of the killer robot Ultron (Ultron-12), who claims to be reformed and is genuinely trying to walk the "straight and narrow".
• Skepticism and Doubt: Other team members, like Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) and Firestar (Angelica Jones), express significant doubts about Ultron's sincerity and whether a mass-murdering machine can ever truly be trusted. Firestar herself is dealing with personal trauma and a drinking problem after her time undercover with the anti-mutant organization Orchis.
• The Ultron Threat: The central conflict of the arc is introduced when a second, malevolent Ultron appears, declaring himself the leader of a terrifying new religion called the "Church of Ultron" dedicated to the merging of man and machine. This villainous Ultron starts transforming people into cyborgs, including a civilian named Meredith who joins the cult.
• The Cliffhanger: The issue ends with the new team facing an imminent threat from the "Scorched" Ultron (the second, evil version), setting up a confrontation with a classic enemy while also potentially dealing with the return of an evil Steve Rogers doppelganger later in the series. 

• Writer: Gerry Duggan
• Artist: Danny Kim
• Colorist: Arthur Hesli