> ULTRON’S CREATOR

St. Matthews, S.C., resident Roy Thomas got to walk the red carpet two weeks ago for the Hollywood premiere of The Avengers: Age of Ultron. He saw his name in the credits as the co-creator of the Ultron character during his years as a writer and editor at Marvel Comics. But he’s really looking forward to something else. “I can’t wait to see it in an IMAX theatre in 3D with a big tub of popcorn,” Thomas, 74, said. He’ll do that at a South Carolina theatre. As a writer and editor during the early years of Marvel Comics in the 1960s and 1970s, Thomas played a role in the creation of a number of now iconic characters — including Ultron, the Vision, Yellowjacket, Ms. Marvel, Doc Samson and Valkyrie. When Marvel creator Stan Lee moved to the publisher role in 1972, Thomas succeeded him as editor-in-chief for the next three years. In 1968, Thomas had taken over writing chores for the Avengers from Lee. Two of his first new characters were Ultron and the Vision, both of whom play major roles in Age of Ultron, which opens this week. Attending the movie’s recent red carpet premiere made him reminisce about those creative early years. “At the time, I was just doing a job and having fun doing it,” Thomas said. “Now 50 years later, it’s strange to see them on the big screen.” Thomas has enjoyed the recent Marvel character movies and gives Age of Ultron a thumbsup review. It’s slightly less accessible than the first Avengers movie because it has so many characters, he said, but “I always love a good movie, and this is one.”