Tony Stark and Dr. Bruce Banner (Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk) have good intentions when they begin working on a global peacekeeping system. But when the plan goes awry, Iron Man, the Hulk, and the rest of the Avengers will have to stop Ultron from destroying humanity in Avengers: Age of Ultron, adapted by Alex Irvine.

So, in my journey through the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I'm past the point when I might have "had" to know exactly what happens in Age of Ultron. But I decided to go back and read the story based on the screenplay anyway. I'm glad I did.

As with other installments in the series, this one jumps right in without preamble or introductions. Yes, there's good superhero action and danger. But like the rest of this ongoing sci-fi saga, the layers of the Avengers' individual stories are what give compelling, even poignant, relevance to it all.

Ultron has interesting personal bits about some of the characters, and as usual, the parts when the Avengers come together and get all Avengery are pretty great. Alas, this book does have a little language I'm not keen on for children's reads, so I beg the kids and their parents' pardon on that score.

I wasn't planning on it, but now that I've read this, I think I will go on (or go back) and watch the movie. ( )