document_title: Avengers: Age of Ultron

question_text: who is the new hero in avengers 2

question_tokens: who is the new hero in avengers 2

text: Avengers: Age of Ultron

text: Plot[edit]

text: In the Eastern European country of Sokovia, the Avengers—Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Thor, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton—raid a Hydra facility commanded by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, who has been experimenting on humans using the scepter previously wielded by Loki. They encounter two of Strucker's test subjects—twins Pietro Maximoff, who has superhuman speed, and Wanda Maximoff, who has telepathic and telekinetic abilities—and apprehend Strucker, while Stark retrieves Loki's scepter.

text: Stark and Banner discover an artificial intelligence within the scepter's gem, and secretly decide to use it to complete Stark's "Ultron" global defense program. The unexpectedly sentient Ultron, believing he must eradicate humanity to save Earth, eliminates Stark's A.I. J.A.R.V.I.S. and attacks the Avengers at their headquarters. Escaping with the scepter, Ultron uses the resources in Strucker's Sokovia base to upgrade his rudimentary body and build an army of robot drones. Having killed Strucker, he recruits the Maximoffs, who hold Stark responsible for their parents' deaths by his company's weapons, and goes to the base of arms dealer Ulysses Klaue to obtain Wakandan vibranium. The Avengers attack Ultron and the Maximoffs, but Wanda subdues them with haunting visions, causing the Hulk (Banner) to rampage until Stark stops him with his anti-Hulk armor.[N 1]

text: A worldwide backlash over the resulting destruction, and the fears Wanda's hallucinations incited, send the team into hiding at a safe house. Thor departs to consult with Dr. Erik Selvig on the apocalyptic future he saw in his hallucination, while Nick Fury arrives and encourages the team to form a plan to stop Ultron. In Seoul, Ultron forces the team's friend Dr. Helen Cho, who is enslaved by Loki's scepter, to use her synthetic-tissue technology, together with vibranium and the scepter's gem, to perfect a new body for him. As Ultron uploads himself into the body, Wanda is able to read his mind; discovering his plan for human extinction, the Maximoffs turn against Ultron. Rogers, Romanoff, and Barton find Ultron and retrieve the synthetic body, but Ultron captures Romanoff.

text: The Avengers fight amongst themselves when Stark secretly uploads J.A.R.V.I.S.—who is still operational after hiding from Ultron inside the Internet—into the synthetic body. Thor returns to help activate the body, explaining that the gem on its brow—one of the six Infinity Stones, the most powerful objects in existence—was part of his vision. This "Vision" and the Maximoffs accompany the Avengers to Sokovia, where Ultron has used the remaining vibranium to build a machine to lift a large part of the capital city skyward, intending to crash it into the ground to cause global extinction. Banner rescues Romanoff, who awakens the Hulk for the battle. The Avengers fight Ultron's army while Fury arrives in a Helicarrier with Maria Hill, James Rhodes and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to evacuate civilians. Pietro dies when he shields Barton from gunfire, and a vengeful Wanda abandons her post to destroy Ultron's primary body, which allows one of his drones to activate the machine. The city plummets, but Stark and Thor overload the machine and shatter the landmass. In the aftermath, the Hulk, unwilling to endanger Romanoff by being with her, departs in a Quinjet, while the Vision confronts and seemingly destroys Ultron's last remaining body.

text: Later, with the Avengers having established a new base run by Fury, Hill, Cho, and Selvig, Thor returns to Asgard to learn more about the forces he suspects have manipulated recent events. As Stark leaves and Barton retires, Rogers and Romanoff prepare to train new Avengers: Rhodes, the Vision, Sam Wilson, and Wanda.

text: In a mid-credits scene, Thanos, dissatisfied by the failures of his pawns, dons a gauntlet[N 2] and vows to retrieve the Infinity Stones himself.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man:
The benefactor of the Avengers,[8][9][10] who is a self-described genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist with electromechanical suits of armor of his own invention.[11] On how his character evolves after the events of Iron Man 3, Downey said, "I think he realizes that tweaking and making all the suits in the world—which is what he has been doing—still didn't work for that thing of his tour of duty that left him a little PTSD. So his focus is more on how can we make it so that there's no problem to begin with. That, you know, there's a bouncer at our planet's rope. That's the big idea."[12]
Chris Hemsworth as Thor:
An Avenger and the crown prince of Asgard, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name.[13] Regarding Thor's place in the film, Hemsworth stated that as Thor has remained on Earth since Thor: The Dark World, and has begun to feel at home here, he considers Ultron's threat a personal attack.[14] Hemsworth stated that he had to work harder to bring new elements to the character to avoid repeating himself saying, "It gave us room to kind of make him a little more grounded and human and have him in some civilian clothes and mixing it up at a party."[15] Hemsworth noted that Thor's motivations in this film were completely different, as it was the first MCU film where he did not play against Tom Hiddleston's character of Loki.[10]
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk:
An Avenger and a genius scientist who, because of exposure to gamma radiation, transforms into a monster when enraged or agitated.[16] To prepare for the role, Ruffalo worked with motion capture performer Andy Serkis' The Imaginarium.[17] He stated that his character had grown since the previous film and was "a bit more complex".[18] Ruffalo explained that a confrontation is brewing between Banner and the Hulk saying, "There's a very cool thing happening: Hulk is as afraid of Banner as Banner is afraid of Hulk.. and they have got to come to peace somehow with each other."[19] While filming in London, Ruffalo said that Whedon still had not given him any of the Hulk's lines.[20] Whedon later explained that he writes the Hulk's dialogue spontaneously, saying, "What makes the Hulk so hard to write is that you're pretending he's a werewolf when he's a superhero. You want it vice versa... So the question is, how has he progressed? How can we bring changes on what the Hulk does? And that's not just in the screenplay, that's moment to moment."[21]
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America:
The leader of the Avengers[8][10] and a World War II veteran, who was enhanced to the peak of human physicality by an experimental serum and frozen in suspended animation before waking up in the modern world.[22][23] Evans stated that since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Rogers has been left to depend on his Avenger teammates without the structure of military life and is now "looking to understand where he belongs, not just as a soldier, as Captain America, but as Steve Rogers, as a person."[15] Evans said that he was able to maintain the strength he built up for Captain America: The Winter Soldier by working out up to an hour a day.[24] Regarding Captain America's fighting style, Evans felt he did not want to take a step back from the skills shown in The Winter Soldier, making sure Rogers' fight style advanced, showing "a consistent display of strength" and having Rogers utilizing his environment.[25]
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow:
An Avenger who formerly worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. as a highly trained spy.[26] Producer Kevin Feige stated that more of the character's backstory is explored in the film.[27] Johansson elaborated, "In Avengers 2 we go back... we definitely learn more about Widow's backstory, and we get to find out how she became the person you see. All of these characters have deep, dark pasts, and I think that the past catches up to some of us a little bit."[28] Regarding where the film picks up Widow's story, Johansson felt it was a continuation of what was seen for her character in The Winter Soldier, with the fact that "'[Widow] never made an active choice. [She's] a product of other people's imposition.' That's going to catch up with her. That's bound to have a huge effect. There's got to be a result of that realization... You'll see her actively making some choices in her life, for better or worse."[29] A mixture of close-ups, concealing costumes, stunt doubles and visual effects were used to help hide Johansson's pregnancy during filming.[30]
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye:
An Avenger and master archer who previously worked as an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D.[31] Whedon said that Hawkeye interacts more with the other characters in the film, as opposed to the first film where the character had been "possessed pretty early by a bad guy and had to walk around all scowly."[32] As the character did not appear in any other of Marvel's Phase Two films, Whedon stated Age of Ultron sheds light on to what the character was doing since the end of The Avengers.[21] Renner described the character as "kind of a loner" and "a team player only 'cause he sort of has to be. He's not really a company man. Captain America can be that guy. In [Age of Ultron] you'll understand why [Hawkeye] thinks the way he thinks."[25]
Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine: An officer in the U.S. Air Force and Tony Stark's close personal friend who operates the War Machine armor.[33][34]
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver:
The twin brother of the Scarlet Witch, who can move at superhuman speed.[35] Taylor-Johnson felt Pietro was defined by the fact that he and his sister were abandoned by their family, and they both had to grow up "in Eastern Europe defending and looking out for themselves and each other," that they both look to the other for guidance. Taylor-Johnson also said that Quicksilver was "very overprotective" of Scarlet Witch and has "real anger frustration", which results in him being easily bored because of a short attention span.[36] Feige stated exploring Quicksilver's relationship with his sister and his backstory growing up in Eastern Europe would help differentiate the character from Evan Peters' version in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).[37] Taylor-Johnson stated that the running style for Quicksilver went through multiple iterations, saying, "The running style we tested early on was just very one-dimensional and boring to look at, but if you try to do free running, like parkour, then that's very much Captain America's style... You have to find your own place in the stunt world."[10] Much of Taylor-Johnson's scenes were filmed outdoors to give "life" to his running, as opposed to running indoors in front of a green screen.[38]
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch:
The twin sister of Quicksilver, who can engage in hypnosis and telekinesis.[35][39] Olsen felt Wanda was "overly stimulated" rather than "mentally insane" because "she has such a vast amount of knowledge that she's unable to learn how to control it. No one taught her how to control it properly... she can connect to this world and parallel worlds at the same time, and parallel times."[39] Describing her character's mind control powers, Olsen said that the character is able to do more than manipulating someone's mind, with Scarlet Witch able to "feel and see what they feel and see" by projecting visions that they have never seen. Olsen expanded saying, "What I love about her is that, in so many superhero films, emotions are kind of negated a bit, but for her everything that someone else could feel—like their weakest moments—she physically goes through that same experience with them, which is pretty cool."[40] Olsen drew on her relationship with her older brother and her sisters to prepare for the role,[39] as well as looking to the comics for inspiration.[10] Olsen revealed that Whedon was inspired by dancers as a way to visually represent how the character moves. As such, Olsen mostly trained with a dancer in lieu of traditional stunt training.[41] Olsen is signed for this film and another.[38]
Paul Bettany as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision:
Bettany, who voiced J.A.R.V.I.S., Stark's A.I. companion in previous films, was cast again as the Vision,[42][43] an android created by Ultron.[44] Bettany stated that he was surprised when Whedon asked him if he wanted to be the Vision because once an actor has been cast as a particular character in the MCU, they usually are not cast as another.[45] On what intrigued him about the Vision, Bettany said, "The thing that appealed to me is that this sort of nascent creature being born, being both omnipotent and totally naive, the sort of danger of that and complex nature of a thing being born that is that powerful and that created in a second and the choices he makes morally are really complex and interesting. They've really managed to maintain all of that".[45] Bettany also stated that the Vision feels paternal and protective to a number of people in the film, particularly Scarlet Witch, and has the ability to change his density. Bettany did wire work for the part.[45] Whedon stated he wanted to include the Vision in a second Avengers film before he signed onto the first film.[21] Bettany's make-up, which consisted of a mix of face paint and prosthetics, took two hours to apply with make-up artists Jeremy Woodhead and Nik Williams citing the correct hue of the Vision's skin as the hardest thing to figure out.[46]
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill:
A former high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who now works for Stark.[47][48][49] Describing Hill's situation in the film, Smulders said that after The Winter Soldier, Hill does not "really know who's a good guy and who's a bad guy and she's trying to figure out that throughout this film." She added, "She's not getting any sleep. She's doing all the work. She doesn't have the kind of manpower that she had in S.H.I.E.L.D.,"[50] instead working for Tony Stark at the Avenger's headquarters "trying to keep everything running as smoothly as possible... it's an entirely different vibe for her."[51]
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon:
A former pararescueman trained by the military in aerial combat using a specially designed wing pack and a friend of Steve Rogers.[52] Discussing the relationship between Wilson and Rogers, Mackie said that the two characters have a mutual "soldier respect", which is explored in the film and in Captain America: Civil War.[53] Feige said that it was decided to reshoot the final scene of the film to incorporate the new Falcon suit designed for Ant-Man, which was released after Age of Ultron, as Falcon was originally shot in his original suit from The Winter Soldier.[54] Mackie stated he did not realize Wilson had become an Avenger until he watched the film at the premiere, as he was only given the script for the scenes he worked on.[55]
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter: A retired officer with the Strategic Scientific Reserve and a co-founder of S.H.I.E.L.D., who is a former love interest of Steve Rogers.[56]
Idris Elba as Heimdall: The all-seeing, all-hearing Asgardian sentry of the Bifröst Bridge, based on the mythological deity of the same name.[57]
Stellan Skarsgård as Erik Selvig:
An astrophysicist and a friend of Thor.[58] Skarsgård said he was originally not supposed to appear in the film, but received a call because "they'd written a couple of scenes, and I went and did them," not knowing if the scenes would appear in the final cut of the film.[59]
James Spader as Ultron:
An artificial intelligence repurposed by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner for a pilot peace program that is overwhelmed with a god complex, and now desires to pacify the Earth by eradicating humanity.[44][60][61][62][63][64] Director Joss Whedon stated that Spader was his "first and only choice" for the role, because of his "hypnotic voice that can be eerily calm and compelling" while also being very human and humorous.[65] Feige clarified that Spader's face and body were motion captured "to create a whole performance... We did not hire James Spader to do a robot voice."[66] Extensive scans were taken of Spader's head and body in preparation for the role.[67] About the character Whedon said, "He's always trying to destroy the Avengers, goddamn it, he's got a bee in his bonnet. He's not a happy guy, which means he's an interesting guy. He's got pain. And the way that manifests is not going to be standard robot stuff."[68] Whedon added that Ultron is "not a creature of logic—he's a robot who's genuinely disturbed. We're finding out what makes him menacing and at the same time endearing and funny and strange and unexpected, and everything a robot never is."[69] Whedon compared Ultron to Frankenstein's monster, saying, "It's our new Frankenstein myth [...] We create something in our own image and the thing turns on us. It has that pain of 'Well, why was I made? I want to kill Daddy.'"[70] Spader called the character "self-absorbed" and added, "I think he sees the Avengers as being part of a problem, a more comprehensive problem in the world. He sees the world from a very strange, [biblical] point of view because he's brand new, he's very young... He's immature, and yet has knowledge of comprehensive, broad history and precedent, and he has created in a very short period of time a rather skewed worldview."[71] Spader elaborates, "He truly is an artificial intelligence with absolutely no censorship at all, no parameters really … he’s got too much power, too much strength and speed and size, so he’s a very dangerous child."[72]
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury:
The former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. who originally recruited the Avengers and continues to be a mentor and leader for the team.[63][73] Jackson described the role as a cameo, saying, "I'm just kind of passing by there ... Because, it's another one of those 'people who have powers fighting people who have powers'. That's why I didn't get to New York in The Avengers. There's not a lot I could do except shoot a gun."[74]

text: Thomas Kretschmann and Henry Goodman reprise their roles as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and Dr. List,[75][76] Hydra leaders who specialize in human experimentation, advanced robotics, and artificial intelligence from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.[63] Linda Cardellini portrays Laura Barton, Hawkeye's wife.[77][78] Claudia Kim portrays Helen Cho, a world-renowned geneticist who helps the Avengers from her office in Seoul,[63][79] and Andy Serkis portrays Ulysses Klaue, a black-market arms dealer, smuggler and gangster who is a former acquaintance from Stark's weapons-dealing days.[34][63][80] Julie Delpy appears as Madame B., who mentored Black Widow into becoming an assassin.[81] Kerry Condon voices the artificial intelligence F.R.I.D.A.Y., a replacement for J.A.R.V.I.S.,[82] while Spader also voices Stark's Iron Legion droids.[83] Josh Brolin makes an uncredited appearance during the mid-credits scene as Thanos, reprising his role from Guardians of the Galaxy.[84] Avengers co-creator Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance in the film as a military veteran who attends the Avengers' victory party.[85] Tom Hiddleston was to reprise his role of Loki, but his scenes did not make the theatrical cut of the film.[86]

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text:
"I have to make my movie assuming that people will only have seen the first one, or possibly not even seen the first one. I can't assume that everybody went to see Thor [The Dark World], Captain America [The Winter Soldier], and Iron Man [3] in-between. I have to go from one movie to the next and be true to what's happened, but not be slavish to it ... The model I'm always trying to build from, my guiding star, is The Godfather Part II where a ton has happened in-between and it's a very different movie [from The Godfather], but you don't need any information: it's there in the film."

—Joss Whedon, director of Avengers: Age of Ultron, on balancing the film's accessibility and continuity.[87]

tag: div

text: In October 2011, Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios said the studio was beginning to look at their Phase Two films, which would start with Iron Man 3 and would culminate in a second Avengers film.[88] In March 2012, Joss Whedon, director of the first film, stated that he would want a sequel to be "smaller. More personal. More painful. By being the next thing that should happen to these characters, and not just a rehash of what seemed to work the first time. By having a theme that is completely fresh and organic to itself."[89] Despite the production of the film becoming increasingly wider in scope, Feige maintained that this was not their intention, always looking to see where the team wanted to take the characters, over how to make it bigger than The Avengers.[90]

text: At the premiere of The Avengers, Feige said the studio had an option for Whedon to return as director.[91] In May 2012, after the successful release of the first film, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced a sequel was in development.[92] Most of the film's cast members were under contract to potentially appear in the sequel; however, Robert Downey Jr. was not, as his four-picture deal with Marvel expired after Iron Man 3.[93]

text: At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International, Whedon said he was undecided about directing.[94] However, in August 2012, Iger announced that Whedon would return to write and direct the sequel and develop the Marvel television series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., for ABC.[95] Later in the month, Disney set a May 1, 2015 release date.[96] When asked about his decision to return, Whedon said, "Avengers 2, it wasn't a tough decision. For a long time I thought, 'Well, it's just not going to happen.' Then when I actually started to consider it, it became so clear that I desperately wanted to say more about these characters, it would've been an easy no and it was a spectacularly easy yes. There was no wrestling."[97] Whedon said that they intended for the film's production to not be as rushed as the first one.[98]

text: In December 2012, Whedon stated that he had completed an outline for the film.[99] In February, at the 2013 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, Whedon said that death would play a theme in the sequel,[100] and in March, he said that he looked to The Empire Strikes Back and The Godfather Part II as inspirations.[101]

text: Feige revealed that Captain Marvel, who is scheduled to appear in her own MCU film in 2019, appeared in an early draft of the screenplay, but was removed since the character had not yet been cast, saying, "It didn't feel like the time. We didn't want to introduce her fully formed flying in a costume before you knew who she was or how she came to be."[102] Whedon went so far as to shoot visual effects plates for Captain Marvel to fly into Avengers Headquarters at the end of the film; those shots were reused, however, for Scarlet Witch instead.[103] Feige also revealed that an early draft of the script had Hulk's Quinjet detected near Saturn at the end of the film, but it was finally decided to keep it Earth-based and leave his fate ambiguous in order to dispel rumors that a film based on the "Planet Hulk" comic storyline was in development, which Marvel Studios had no plans to adapt at the time. Marvel would later decide to adapt "Planet Hulk" for the film Thor: Ragnarok, in which the Hulk does end up leaving Earth.[104]

text: Pre-production[edit]

text: By April 2013, filming was scheduled to begin in early 2014 at Shepperton Studios in England.[105] At the Hollywood premiere of Iron Man 3, Whedon said that he had completed a draft of the script, started the storyboard process, and met with actors. Whedon also mentioned that he wrote with Downey in mind and included a "brother/sister act" from the comic books,[106] later confirming that he was referring to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.[107][108] Whedon explained his rationale for including the characters in the film saying, "their powers are very visually interesting. One of the problems I had on the first one was everybody basically had punchy powers … [Quicksilver]'s got super speed. [Scarlet Witch] can weave spells and a little telekinesis, get inside your head. There's good stuff that they can do that will help sort of keep it fresh,"[109] though cautioned he was not throwing in more characters for the sake of doing that.[69] Whedon stated that the twins allowed him to add more conflict: "They don't like America, and they don't like the Avengers… The Avengers are like a world power, and not everybody's on board with the Avengers coming in and starting fights, even in the name of justice. So you need that dissenting voice, and you need to understand it and sympathize with it."[38] Because Marvel Studios shares the film rights to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch with 20th Century Fox and had to avoid conflict with Fox's X-Men films, Whedon introduced two important characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe completely on his terms for the first time, which allowed him to connect their origin stories to the universe that they created and avoid the concept of mutants.[38] Whedon relished at the storytelling opportunities by introducing a character with telepathic powers, explaining, "it meant we could spend a little time inside the Avengers' heads—either their past or their impressions of what's going on, or their fears, or all of the above."[38] By May, Downey had entered negotiations to extend his contract with Marvel Studios and reprise his role as Iron Man in the film.[110] A month later, Downey signed on to return for the then-untitled Avengers sequel, as well as a third Avengers film.[11]

text: At the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International, Whedon announced the film would be subtitled Age of Ultron.[111] Despite the subtitle, the film is not based on the 2013 comic book miniseries Age of Ultron. Feige explained that they simply liked the title Age of Ultron but the plot was taken from decades of Avengers story arcs.[112] Whedon added that Ultron's origin would differ from his comics roots, and that Hank Pym would not be involved with Ultron's creation. Whedon disclosed that Edgar Wright had rights to the character first through his inclusion in Ant-Man, which was already in development. He also thought that Ultron needed to be conceived through the Avengers and since they already had Tony Stark and Bruce Banner on the team, it would not make sense to bring in a third scientist.[113] Whedon also said the film would have a darker tone due to Ultron's involvement.[114][115]

text: The title of the film came as a surprise to many fans who were expecting Thanos, the mastermind behind the events of the first film, to be the main villain in the sequel, with Whedon saying, "Thanos was never meant to be the next villain. He's always been the overlord of villainy and darkness."[116] Commenting on finding the right balance between technology- and fantasy-based heroes in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Feige said "Iron Man is a very technological hero; his movies are always technologically based. The first Thor was all about introducing Asgard and Thor in that more fantastical realm into the more reality-based MCU… As we go into Ultron clearly he does come out of technology, but we're using all of our tools at our disposal that we've established so far as part of the MCU to build the storyline of Age of Ultron."[117]

text: Casting continued into August 2013, with the announcement that James Spader would play Ultron.[60] In November, Marvel confirmed that Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson would play the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, respectively.[35] Taylor-Johnson had been in negotiations since as early as June,[118][119][120] while Olsen's potential involvement was first reported in August.[121][122] By the end of the year, Mark Ruffalo,[16] Chris Evans,[22] Samuel L. Jackson,[73] Chris Hemsworth,[13] Scarlett Johansson,[26] Jeremy Renner[31] and Cobie Smulders[47] were confirmed to be returning to their roles from the first film, and Don Cheadle, who portrayed James Rhodes in the Iron Man films, had committed to a part in the film.[33] In the early months of 2014, Thomas Kretschmann was cast as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker,[75] Claudia Kim was cast in an unspecified role,[123] and Paul Bettany, who voiced J.A.R.V.I.S. in previous MCU films, was cast as the Vision.[43] Whedon said "juggling" all the characters in the film was "a nightmare" explaining, "They're very disparate characters. The joy of the Avengers is they really don't belong in the same room. It's not like the X-Men, who are all tortured by the same thing and have similar costumes. These guys are just all over the place. And so it's tough. Honestly, this is as tough as anything I've ever done."[124]

text: On January 24, 2014, the Forte di Bard Association announced that filming would take place at Fort Bard in the Aosta Valley region of Italy in March 2014, as well as other locations in Aosta Valley including Aosta, Bard, Donnas, Pont-Saint-Martin, and Verrès.[125] The next month, the Gauteng Film Commission announced that action sequences would be filmed in Johannesburg, South Africa and other locations in Gauteng, beginning in mid-February.[126] A few weeks later Marvel announced that portions of the film would be shot in South Korea. Feige cited the nation's "cutting-edge technology, beautiful landscapes and spectacular architecture" as ideal for the film.[127] The nation's capital, Seoul, and Seoul's surrounding province, Gyeonggi, were selected as filming locations, with South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reimbursing up to 30% of the studio's expenditures, as part of a state-funded incentive program.[123]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Filming began on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 in Johannesburg, South Africa, having been postponed that Monday.[126][128] Second unit crews shot action sequences without the main cast, to be used as background plates for scenes featuring the Hulk, in the Central Business District of Johannesburg for a period of two weeks.[129][130] By mid-March, principal photography had begun at Shepperton Studios near London and was scheduled to film there for at least four months,[131][132] under the working title After Party.[133] Filming at Shepperton as well as other locations in England allowed Whedon to get a "number of different looks and textures and moods" to give the film a different palette and fresh aesthetic from its predecessor.[69] Production designer Charles Wood built an enormous, new Avengers Tower set, one of the largest sets ever built for a Marvel film. The set featured multiple connected environments and levels.[134] On March 22, production moved to Fort Bard, Italy and continued in the Aosta Valley region through March 28. The region doubled as the fictional Eastern European nation of Sokovia,[38] with crews replacing local storefronts with Cyrillic script.[135] Filming in South Korea began on March 30 on the Mapo Bridge,[136] and continued through April 14 at various locations in Seoul.[137] While in Seoul, the production was able to attach cameras to drones and race cars to get unique camera angles and footage.[134] An artificial island on the Han River known as the Saebit Dungdungseom served as the headquarters of an IT institute featured in the film.[138] Scenes involving Ultron's attack on parts of the city were shot in the Gangnam District.[137]

text: In April, shooting began in Hawley Woods in Hampshire, England,[139] and Hayley Atwell, who played Peggy Carter in previous MCU films, filmed scenes inside the Rivoli Ballroom in London while extras performed the Lindy Hop.[56] That June, scenes were shot at the University of East Anglia in Norwich and at Dover Castle in Kent, with Dover Castle used for interior shots of Strucker's Hydra base in Sokovia.[140][141][142] The next month, filming took place at a training facility for London's Metropolitan Police Service, which doubled as a city in Sokovia.[15][38] Additional filming took place in Chittagong, Bangladesh, including the Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard,[143][144] and in New York City.[145][146] On August 6, Whedon announced on social media that he had completed principal photography on Avengers: Age of Ultron.[147] Disney spent $330.6 million on Avengers: Age of Ultron from February 2013 to November 2014, but $50.7 million of this was offset by payments from the UK tax authority.[148] A report on actual production costs for films from FilmL.A. Inc., indicated a gross budget of $444 million, with a net of $365 million for Avengers: Age of Ultron.[2] This makes the film the second most expensive film ever made.[149]

text: Cinematographer Ben Davis, who also worked with Marvel on Guardians of the Galaxy, shot the film with a main unit of three Arri Alexa cameras. Davis said, "Although the Alexa was Marvel's preferred camera, we weren't locked into that choice from the start. What wasn't negotiable was the fact that we were shooting digital: that's how Marvel shoots all of its films." Davis also used Blackmagic Design's Pocket Cinema Cameras to meet the needs of the second unit kit explaining, "The second unit typically needs a fleet of smaller cameras that are less expensive and are rugged enough to handle the various trials by fire, as it were, that we throw at them."[150] About the camera system, Whedon stated that this film was shot very differently from the first one; using lots of long lenses, and that he aimed to shoot the film almost like a documentary.[124] To create the scenes depicting how Quicksilver views the world, scenes were shot with an ultra-high-speed camera and later combined with shots of Taylor-Johnson moving through the same scene at normal speed.[38]

text: Post-production[edit]

text: In June 2014, the IMAX Corporation announced that the IMAX release of the film would be converted to IMAX 3D.[152] Following the completion of principal photography several more cast members were revealed including Stellan Skarsgård,[58] Anthony Mackie,[52] Idris Elba, and Tom Hiddleston, reprising their roles from previous MCU films.[57] However, Hiddleston's scenes did not make the theatrical cut of the film, with Whedon saying what was shot "didn't play" and he did not want the film to feel "overstuffed".[86] According to Hiddleston, "In test screenings, audiences had overemphasized Loki's role, so they thought that because I was in it, I was controlling Ultron, and it was actually imbalancing people's expectations."[153] Whedon later explained that Elba and Atwell appear in the film because of exploring the psyches of the Avengers from Scarlet Witch's power.[38] In December 2014, Kim's role was revealed as Dr. Helen Cho.[79][154] Additional scenes were scheduled to be filmed in January 2015 at Pinewood Studios.[155] In February 2015, Marvel confirmed through promotional material that Serkis portrays Ulysses Klaue in the film.[34][63] In early April 2015, Linda Cardellini and Julie Delpy were confirmed to be part of the film's cast.[77][81] At the same time, Whedon stated that the film would not contain a post-credits scene, which had become customary for MCU films. Whedon tried to come up with a post-credit scene but felt that he could not top the "Shawarma scene" in The Avengers, explaining, "It didn't seem to lend itself in the same way, and we wanted to be true to what felt right. The first rule of making a sequel is take the best moments and do something else. Don't do the Indiana Jones gun trick again differently. Just go somewhere else. Don't try to hit the same highs, because people will sense it." However, Feige clarified, "There will be a tag [shortly after the credits start]. But there's not a post–post–credit scene."[77]

text: In May 2015, Whedon revealed he was in conflict with Marvel executives and the film's editors about certain scenes in the film. The executives were not "thrilled" with the scenes at Hawkeye's farm or the dream sequences the Avengers experience because of Scarlet Witch. Also, Whedon had originally shot a much longer scene with Thor and Selvig in the cave but the final version is shorter as test audiences did not respond well to the original cut.[156] In the scene, Thor would be possessed by a Norn, a goddess of destiny, while Selvig would quiz her about Thor's hallucination.[157][158][159] Additionally, Whedon reiterated he had wanted to include Captain Marvel and Spider-Man at the end, but deals for each character (signing of an actress and a deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment, respectively) were not completed in time for their inclusion.[156]

text: The film contains 3,000 visual effects shots,[160] completed by ten different visual effects studios, including Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Trixter, Double Negative, Animal Logic, Framestore, Lola VFX, Territory, Perception, Method Studios, Luma Pictures and The Third Floor.[161] ILM opened a facility in London, citing Avengers: Age of Ultron as a catalyst for the expansion,[162] and developed a new motion capture system for the film called Muse, which can better capture an actor's performance and combine different takes.[163] About the motion capture process, Ruffalo called it "more of a collaboration" since the technology is advancing, with "the face capture and the motion capture can now [being] put together, [allowing] you [to] get a lot more latitude as a performer… you're no longer constricted by the attributes that you have as a person: your age, or weight, or size. None of that matters anymore. And so there's this whole exciting place to go that is kind of unknown."[20] Visual effects supervisor Christopher Townsend said that the visual effects team considered depicting the Hulk when manipulated by Wanda Maximoff as being grey skinned with red eyes, but eventually decided against it, as they did not want to confuse audiences who might associate it with "Joe Fixit", the grey Hulk from the comics.[164]

text: Method Studios created the interior of the new Avengers training facility by digitally designing the training facility, extracting the characters from the original set and placing them into the new CG environment. Method also contributed to Iron Man's new Mark 45 suit and played a key role in creating Scarlet Witch's CG mind control effect.[151] Following the trend in recent years, most of the computer screens in Stark's lab, Dr Cho's laboratory, the Quinjet and other locations in the film were not added in post-production but were actually working screens on set, adding to the realism of the film and saving some on the post-production budget. London-based Territory Studio delivered the screen visuals filled with unique imagery and animations that matched the character using them.[161] Perception worked on the main-on-end and main titles for the film. Before settling on the marble monument depiction for the main-on-end titles, Perception created three other versions, which were based on Ultron's hive mind ability from the film, "renderings of power and pure energy" inspired by classic comic panels, and classic moments for each character. The final design was inspired by war monuments such as the Iwo Jima memorial. For the main titles, Marvel wanted the typeface to be a direct continuation of the first film. Perception made the typeface a marble texture to mimic the main-on-end titles and changed the title's rotation (away from the camera instead of towards the camera in The Avengers), before "Age of Ultron" overtakes "Avengers" in a vibranium texture.[165]

text: Music[edit]

text: In March 2014, Brian Tyler signed on to compose the film's score, replacing the composer for the first film, Alan Silvestri, while also marking his third film collaboration with Marvel following Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World in 2013.[166] Tyler stated that the score pays homage to John Williams' scores for Star Wars, Superman, and Raiders of the Lost Ark and references the scores for the Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America films in order to create a similar musical universe, saying, "That's the goal for sure. You have to build in nostalgia and do it upfront so you can relate to it."[167] Danny Elfman also contributed music to the score,[168] using Silvestri's theme from the first film to create a new hybrid theme.[169] Hollywood Records released the album digitally on April 28, 2015, and in physical formats on May 19.[170]

text: Release[edit]

text: Avengers: Age of Ultron made its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on April 13, 2015,[171][172] and held its European premiere on April 21 at the Vue West End in London.[173] The film was released in 11 territories on April 22, with its release jumping to 55% of its international market (44 countries) by the end of its first weekend,[174][175] before releasing on May 1 in the United States, in 3D and IMAX 3D.[152][174][176][177] In the United States, the film opened in 4,276 theaters, including 2,761 3D theaters, 364 IMAX, 400 premium large format, and 143 D-Box theaters.[178] Many independent theater owners in Germany (approximately 700 screens) boycotted the film in response to Disney raising its rental fee from 47.7% to 53% of ticket sales. The owners felt that the "increased fees, coupled with the cost of digitization, and rising staff and marketing costs may force some of them out of business."[179]

text: In September 2014, TNT acquired the US cable broadcast rights, for broadcast two years after its theatrical release.[180] On March 4, 2015, ticket pre-sales for the film began. Variety noted, "The two-month gap between advance sales and the release is much wider than normal and reflects the heavy fan anticipation for" the film.[181]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: At the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International, Whedon introduced a teaser trailer for the film, which included a look at an Ultron helmet and a title treatment.[182] Footage of the teaser, as well as a brief interview with Whedon, was made available as part of Iron Man 3's second screen companion app for its Blu-ray release on September 24, 2013.[183][184] On March 18, 2014, ABC aired a one-hour television special titled, Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe, which included a sneak peek of Avengers: Age of Ultron.[185] The special debuted concept art for Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, as well as art of the Hulk fighting the "Hulkbuster" Iron Man suit.[186][187] Harley-Davidson partnered with Marvel to provide their first electric motorcycle, Project LiveWire, for use by Black Widow in the film.[188] At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, the cast was introduced to promote the film, along with screening footage from the film.[189] Avengers: Age of Ultron received the second most amount of social media mentions at the convention, following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but had a higher intend-to-see response.[190]

text:
External video

 Marvel's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" – Teaser Trailer (OFFICIAL) The use of the song "I've Got No Strings" from Pinocchio (1940) was lauded by critics.[191][192][193]

text: The first trailer was scheduled to premiere during the airing of an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on October 28, 2014.[194] However, on October 22, the trailer leaked online,[195] and within a few hours Marvel officially released the trailer on YouTube.[196] Entertainment Weekly and The Hollywood Reporter noted the effective use of the song "I've Got No Strings" from Pinocchio (1940) in the trailer.[191][192] Scott Mendelson of Forbes felt the trailer was "such a textbook 'dark sequel' trailer that it borders on parody" but said, "it's a pretty spectacular piece of marketing, one that elevates itself both by the music choices and by James Spader's vocals as the title villain".[193] The trailer received 34.3 million global views in 24 hours, 26.2 million from Marvel's YouTube channel, which broke the previous record held by Iron Man 3 with 23.14 million views. In comparison, the original Avengers teaser received 20.4 million views in 24 hours after its debut.[197][198] In response, Marvel agreed to air footage from Age of Ultron during the episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that was originally scheduled to premiere the trailer.[197] At the end of October, Marvel Comic's Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso stated there were comic tie-in plans for the film.[199]

text: In November 2014, ABC aired another one-hour television special titled Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop!, which featured behind the scenes footage of Age of Ultron.[200] Also in November, an extended trailer debuted on Samsung Mobile's YouTube channel, featuring product placement for various Samsung devices.[201] In December 2014, additional behind the scenes footage was released as a special feature on the Guardians of the Galaxy Blu-ray, highlighting the various filming locations for the film.[146][202] Also in the month, ABC announced that an episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would tie-in to the events of the film.[203] The episodes "The Frenemy of My Enemy" and "The Dirty Half Dozen" feature "Easter eggs, plot threads and other connective tissue leading into the opening scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron" while "Scars" explores the aftermath of the film.[204]

text: In January 2015, a featurette focusing on Ultron was shown at Samsung's "Night With Marvel" event at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).[205] Also at CES, Samsung revealed a selection of hardware inspired by the Avengers films, as well as a simulation of Avengers Tower via its Gear VR virtual reality device.[206][207] A second trailer premiered on ESPN on January 12, 2015 during the broadcast of the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship.[208] Mendelson enjoyed the trailer, but wished it did not reveal as many story elements as it did. However, he added, "the marketing thus far [for the film] has been far superior to much of what sold The Avengers three years ago, both in terms of the specific footage and the artistic choices being made… I'm sold, and I imagine most of the general moviegoers are already onboard too."[209]

text: On February 3, 2014, Marvel "stealth released" a one-shot digital-only tie-in comic, Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude—This Scepter'd Isle. Written by Will Corona Pilgrim and illustrated by Wellinton Alves, it reveals how Strucker came into possession of Loki's scepter and the origin of the Maximoff twins' abilities.[210] At the end of the month, the film's official poster was revealed. Graeme McMillian of The Hollywood Reporter criticized it for its lack of originality, calling it "pretty much the poster for the first Avengers movie, except with added flying robots in the background" and the fact that it incorporated many of the same tropes the other MCU Phase Two film posters did. These included: the hero(es) staring off camera; destruction in the background as well as something occurring in the sky; and poor Photoshop on the poster, highlighting the fact that each of the actors were obviously photographed separately and were later composited together into the poster.[211] Mendelson agreed with many of McMillian's observations, and called the poster "hilariously photoshopped".[212]

text: The final trailer was "unlocked" by fans on March 4, 2015, via the use of hashtags on Twitter, ahead of its broadcast debut during the series premiere of American Crime on March 5.[213] Mendelson felt "this [was] a fine final trailer, teasing what we already know, hinting at the scale and a few new action beats without telling us much we don't already know" adding, "Here we have the fourth and final Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer and we don't know all that much about what transpires in a moment-to-moment sense in the finished 150-minute feature. I have expressed my concern dating back to October that Marvel and Disney would release too many trailers and would by default give away too much plot and character information between October and May. But if this really is the final Avengers 2 trailer, then at least on the trailer front they have kept the film relatively unspoiled."[214] A week after the final trailer debuted, Marvel revealed that the trailer had "smashed records" with over 35 million views.[215]

text: In April 2015, members of the cast presented Downey with the MTV Generation Award at the 2015 MTV Movie Awards, along with debuting an exclusive clip from the film.[216] On April 27, Downey and Renner along with executives from Marvel Entertainment rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange in celebration of the film's theatrical release.[217] Disney spent a total of $26.9 million on television advertisements for the film,[218] from an estimated total marketing budget of $180 million.[219]

text: Merchandise[edit]

text: In January 2015, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Traveller's Tales announced a Lego video game adaptation of the first film and Age of Ultron for release in late 2015 on a variety of video game consoles.[220] In March 2015, Disney said it planned to broaden its merchandising strategy with Avengers: Age of Ultron by expanding the target demographics to women and to fans of the individual superheroes that make up the Avengers. Paul Gitter, senior vice president of Marvel licensing for Disney Consumer Products, said, "For the first film, we primarily focused on the Avengers property and the group shots… Now we're broadening the line and scope to create skews that focus on the team and the individuals characters, as well." Disney Consumer Products partnered with Hasbro, Lego, Hot Wheels and Funko for action figures, playsets and other toys, and with Under Armour for apparel. Disney established new partnerships in the food and packaged-goods categories, including with Sage Fruit, ConAgra, Crunchpak and Chobani.[221] Walt Disney India's consumer products partnered with 50 brands to promote the film in India, considered the highest ever for any film—Hollywood or Bollywood—released in India (the previous record held by Ra.One had 25 partners). Some of the brands include Amazon India, toy retailer Hamleys India, online fashion store Myntra, Hero Cycles, Mountain Dew, Liberty Shoes, Tupperware, and Subway restaurants among others.[222]

text: Home media[edit]

text: Avengers: Age of Ultron was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on digital download on September 8, 2015 and on Blu-ray and DVD on October 2, 2015.[223] The digital and Blu-ray releases include behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentary, deleted scenes and a blooper reel.[224] The film was also collected in a 13-disc box set, titled "Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two Collection", which includes all of the Phase Two films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was released on December 8, 2015.[225] In July 2015, Whedon stated that he did not intend on releasing a director's cut of Avengers: Age of Ultron because despite the film's complexity, he was satisfied with the theatrical version and did not think it needed to be tweaked.[226]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: Avengers: Age of Ultron grossed $459 million in the United States and Canada and $946.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $1.405 billion.[3] It is the eighth-highest-grossing film worldwide and the fourth-highest-grossing 2015 film.[227][228] Avengers: Age of Ultron's worldwide opening of $392.5 million was the seventh-largest ever.[229] The film set a worldwide IMAX opening-weekend record with $25.2 million (previously held by The Dark Knight Rises) and also broke the record for the fastest movie to make over $40 million in IMAX theaters, doing so in 12 days.[230] According to some analysts, the opening weekend box office gross was lower than expected because of the weekend's featured boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.[231] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $382.32 million, when factoring together "production budgets, P&A, talent participations and other costs, with box office grosses, and ancillary revenues from VOD to DVD and TV," placing it fourth on their list of 2015's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".[232]

text: On May 15, 2015, Avengers: Age of Ultron became the twenty-first film in cinematic history, the third Marvel Studios film and the eighth film distributed by Disney to cross the $1 billion threshold at the box office.[233]

text: United States and Canada[edit]

text: Avengers: Age of Ultron earned $84.46 million on its opening day, marking the biggest opening day for a superhero film and the second-biggest opening and second-biggest single-day gross, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($91.7 million). The film's Friday gross included $27.6 million from Thursday night, which began at 7 p.m., and was the sixth-highest ever for Thursday preview earnings and the highest among Marvel films.[234][235] The film totaled $191.3 million in its opening weekend, the third-highest gross behind Jurassic World ($208.8 million) and The Avengers ($207.4 million).[236] It also saw the second-highest IMAX opening weekend total with $18 million (behind The Dark Knight Rises), a record $13.5 million from premium large format theaters and the highest share for the first weekend in May, accounting for 85% of the top twelve box office total earnings (previously held by Spider-Man 3).[234][237] Of those in attendance the first weekend, 59% were male, 41% were female and 59% were over the age of 25.[234]

text: In its second weekend, the film fell 59%, earning $77.7 million, which was the second-biggest second weekend gross behind The Avengers' $103 million (both were surpassed a month later by Jurassic World's $106.6 million).[238] It holds the record for the second-biggest loss between first and second weekends with $113.6 million, only behind Deathly Hallows – Part 2's $121 million loss between its first and second weekends in 2011.[239] It became the third-highest-grossing film of 2015.[240]

text: Outside territories[edit]

text: Avengers: Age of Ultron earned $200.2 million in its first weekend from 44 countries, opening in first in all, which was 44% above its predecessor's opening. Additionally, the film saw the largest non-China international IMAX opening with $10.4 million. The top earning countries were South Korea ($28.2 million), the UK ($27.3 million) and Russia ($16.2 million).[175] The film broke records in many countries, including: opening-day records in Mexico ($6.8 million), the Philippines ($1.6 million), and Indonesia ($900,000);[230][234][241] opening-weekend records in Mexico ($25.5 million), Russia and the CIS ($16.2 million), Hong Kong ($6.4 million), and the Philippines ($7.7 million); and highest opening weekend for a superhero film in the UK, Ireland and Malta ($27.3 million), Germany ($9.3 million), Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands.[175][242][243]

text: In the UK, where Age of Ultron was filmed, it earned $5.4 million on its opening day and $27.3 million during the weekend, setting an opening-weekend record for a superhero film, Marvel's biggest opening in Britain, the biggest April opening, the eighth-biggest debut.[244] It also set the best single-day earning for a Disney and superhero film with its $9.4 million haul on Saturday.[244][245] In South Korea, also where part of the film was shot, the film earned $4.9 million on its opening day and $28.2 through the weekend.[175][244] It held the record for advance-ticket sales rate, accounting for 96% of tickets reserved, breaking Transformers: Dark of the Moon's record of 94.6% in 2011, the widest release ever, across 1,826 screens, also breaking Dark of the Moon's 1,420 screens, and the fastest imported film to surpass one million admissions, doing so in two days;[246] it topped the box office for three consecutive weekends,[247] and became the biggest Disney/Marvel release as well as the second-biggest Western film in the country.[248] The Chinese opening scored the biggest weekday opening day, as well as the biggest Disney/Marvel opening, with $33.9 million,[249] and the second-biggest six-day start with $156.3 million (behind Furious 7) of which $17.5 million came from IMAX theaters—the biggest ever.[248] Age of Ultron also opened at number one in Japan in early July 2015 with $6.5 million, the highest opening weekend for an MCU release.[250] As of January 3, 2016[update], it is the seventh-highest-grossing film,[251] and the fourth-highest-grossing 2015 film.[252] Its largest markets were China ($240.1 million), South Korea ($78 million), and the UK, Ireland and Malta ($76.6 million).[253]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 75% approval rating based on 327 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Exuberant and eye-popping, Avengers: Age of Ultron serves as an overstuffed but mostly satisfying sequel, reuniting its predecessor's unwieldy cast with a few new additions and a worthy foe."[254] On Metacritic, the film achieved an average score of 66 out of 100, based on 49 critics, signifying "generally favorable reviews".[255] CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film an "A" grade on an A+ to F scale,[234] while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an overall positive score of 90% and a 79% recommend.[256]

text: Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Avengers: Age of Ultron succeeds in the top priority of creating a worthy opponent for its superheroes and giving the latter a few new things to do, but this time the action scenes don't always measure up."[257] Scott Foundas of Variety wrote, "If this is what the apotheosis of branded, big-studio entertainment has come to look like in 2015, we could be doing much worse. Unlike its title character, Age of Ultron most definitely has soul."[258] Writing for the Chicago Sun-Times and giving the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, Richard Roeper said, "Some day, an Avengers film might collapse under the weight of its own awesomeness. I mean, how many times can they save the world? But this is not that day."[259] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote, "Age of Ultron is a whole summer of fireworks packed into one movie. It doesn't just go to 11, it starts there. [Joss Whedon] takes a few wrong turns, creating a jumble when the action gets too thick. But he recovers like a pro, devising a spectacle that's epic in every sense of the word."[260] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars, stating that despite being "bigger, louder and more disjointed" than its predecessor, "it’s also got more personality—specifically Whedon's—than any other film in the now seven-year-old franchise."[261] Helen O'Hara of Empire praised the interactions between the characters, the action set-pieces and Whedon's ability as a director in her review, stating that the film "redefines the scale we can expect from our superheroes."[262]

text: Conversely, Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said, "Although this movie is effective moment to moment, very little of it lingers in the mind afterward. The ideal vehicle for our age of immediate sensation and instant gratification, it disappears without a trace almost as soon as it's consumed."[263] Scott Mendelson of Forbes said, "Avengers: Age of Ultron plays like an obligation, a box to be checked off on a list before all parties move onto the things they really want to do."[264] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote, "This Avengers doesn't always pop the way that the first one sometimes did, partly because its villain isn't as memorable, despite Mr. Spader's silky threat."[265] Camilla Long of The Sunday Times remarked, "Two hours of boredom and boobs add up to a sorry basis for the new Avengers."[266] Much like the release of Guardians of the Galaxy, the film received mixed reviews upon release in China, due to poor translations. The translations, which were said to be too literal, were thought "to have been done by Google Translate."[267]

text: Accolades[edit]

text: In December 2015, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences placed Avengers: Age of Ultron on their shortlist of potential nominees for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 88th Academy Awards,[268] but ultimately did not nominate it for the award.[269]

text:
Year
Award / Film Festival
Category
Recipient(s)
Result
Ref(s)

2015
Teen Choice Awards
Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Nominated
[270]

Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Chris Hemsworth
Nominated

Robert Downey Jr.
Nominated

Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Scarlett Johansson
Nominated

Choice Movie: Scene Stealer
Chris Evans
Won
[271]

Choice Movie: Breakout Star
Elizabeth Olsen
Nominated

Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards
Best Visual Effects or Animation
Christopher Townsend, Ryan Stafford, Paul Butterworth and Matt Estela
Nominated
[272]

2016
People's Choice Awards
Favorite Movie
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Nominated
[273]

Favorite Action Movie
Nominated

Favorite Movie Actor
Robert Downey Jr.
Nominated

Favorite Movie Actress
Scarlett Johansson
Nominated

Favorite Action Movie Actor
Robert Downey, Jr.
Nominated

Chris Hemsworth
Won

Favorite Action Movie Actress
Scarlett Johansson
Nominated

Annie Awards
Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Michael Balog, Jim Van Allen, Florent Andorra, George Kaltenbrunner, for Sokovia's destruction
Won
[274]

Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Jakub Pistecky, Gang Trinh, Craig Penn, Mickael Coedel, Yair Gutierrez, for the Hulk
Nominated

Peter Tan, Boonyiki Lim, Sachio Nishiyama, Byounghee Cho, Roy Tan, for Ultron
Nominated

Visual Effects Society
Outstanding Animated Performance in a Photoreal Feature
Jakub Pistecky, Lana Lan, John Walker, Sean Comer
Nominated
[275]

Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature
Michael Balog, Jim Van Allen, Florent Andorra, Georg Kaltenbrunner
Nominated

Outstanding Models in a Photoreal or Animated Project
Howie Weed, Robert Marinic, Daniel Gonzalez, Myriam Catrin, for Hulkbuster
Nominated

Kids' Choice Awards
Favorite Movie
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Nominated
[276]

Favorite Movie Actor
Chris Evans
Nominated

Chris Hemsworth
Nominated

Robert Downey Jr.
Nominated

Favorite Movie Actress
Scarlett Johansson
Nominated

Saturn Awards
Best Comic-to-Film Motion Picture
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Nominated
[277]

Best Supporting Actor
Paul Bettany
Nominated

Best Film Costume Design
Alexandra Byrne
Won

Best Film Special / Visual Effects
Paul Corbould, Chris Townsend, Ben Snow, Paul Butterworth
Nominated

MTV Movie Awards
Movie of the Year
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Nominated
[278]

Best Hero
Chris Evans
Nominated

Best Villain
James Spader
Nominated

Best Virtual Performance
James Spader
Nominated

Ensemble Cast
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Nominated

Best Fight
Robert Downey Jr. vs. Mark Ruffalo
Nominated

Hugo Award
Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Nominated
[279]

text: Sequels[edit]

text: Avengers: Infinity War and an untitled sequel were directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, from a script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.[280][281][282] Infinity War was released on April 27, 2018,[283] with the sequel scheduled for May 3, 2019.[284] Much of the cast returns for Infinity War with additional cast and characters joining from other MCU films.[285]

text: Notes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ While the name of the anti-Hulk armor, usually referred to as the "Hulkbuster" in comic books, is not spoken in the film, its deployment system and containment cell are code-named "Veronica".[4][5] Director Joss Whedon said the name alludes to the character Veronica Lodge from Archie Comics: "I just decided to call it Veronica because [Bruce Banner] used to be in love with a girl named Betty and Veronica is the opposite of that," making the connection to Archie's love interest, Betty Cooper.[5]
Jump up ^ According to Kevin Feige, the Infinity Gauntlet seen at the end of the film is not the same as the one seen in Odin's vault in Asgard in Thor, revealing that two Gauntlets exist in the MCU.[6] The Asgard Gauntlet is revealed to be a fake in Thor: Ragnarok.[7]

tag: ol


document_title: Flag of India

question_text: what does the white symbolise in the indian flag

root

text: Flag of India

text: Design and construction details

text:
Sizes of the National Flag

Flag size[1][2]
Length and width (mm)
Size of Ashoka Chakra (mm)[3]

1
6300 × 4200
1295

2
3600 × 2400
740

3
2700 × 1800
555

4
1800 × 1200
370

5
1350 × 900
280

6
900 × 600
185

7
450 × 300
90[4]

8
225 × 150
40

9
150 × 100
25[4]

tag: table

text: According to the Flag code of India, the Indian flag has a ratio of two by three (where the length of the flag is 1.5 times that of the width). All three stripes of the flag (saffron, white and green) are to be equal in width and length. The size of the Ashoka Chakra is not specified in the Flag code, but it has twenty-four spokes that are evenly spaced.[5] In section 4.3.1 of "IS1: Manufacturing standards for the Indian Flag", there is a chart that details the size of the Ashoka Chakra on the nine specific sizes of the national flag.[3] In both the Flag code and IS1, they call for the Ashoka Chakra to be printed or painted on both sides of the flag in navy blue.[3][5] Below is the list of specified shades for all colours used on the national flag, with the exception of Navy Blue, from "IS1: Manufacturing standards for the Indian Flag" as defined in the 1931 CIE Colour Specifications with illuminant C.[3] The navy blue colour can be found in the standard IS:1803-1973.[3]

tag: p

text:
Materials 3.1.2.2: Colours[3]

Colour
X
Y
Z
Brightness

India saffron (Kesari)
0.538
0.360
0.102
21.5

White
0.313
0.319
0.368
72.6

India green
0.288
0.395
0.317
8.9

text: Note that the values given in the table correspond to CIE 1931 color space. Approximate RGB values for use may be taken to be: India saffron #FF9933, white #FFFFFF, India green #138808, navy blue #000080.[6] Pantone values closest to this are 130 U, White, 2258 C and 2735 C.

text: Symbolism

text: Gandhi first proposed a flag to the Indian National Congress in 1921. The flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya. In the centre was a traditional spinning wheel, symbolising Gandhi's goal of making Indians self-reliant by fabricating their own clothing. The design was then modified to include a white stripe in the centre for other religious communities, and provide a background for the spinning wheel. Subsequently, to avoid sectarian associations with the colour scheme, saffron, white and green were chosen for the three bands, representing courage and sacrifice, peace and truth, and faith and chivalry respectively.[7]

text: A few days before India became independent on 15 August 1947, the specially constituted Constituent Assembly decided that the flag of India must be acceptable to all parties and communities.[8] A modified version of the Swaraj flag was chosen; the tricolour remained the same saffron, white and green. However, the charkha was replaced by the Ashoka Chakra representing the eternal wheel of law. The philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later became India's first Vice President and second President, clarified the adopted flag and described its significance as follows:

text:
“
Bhagwa or the Saffron denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work. The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to (the) soil, our relation to the plant life here, on which all other life depends. The "Ashoka Chakra" in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principle of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement. India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change.[9]
”

text: History

text: A number of flags with varying designs were used in the period preceding the Indian Independence Movement by the rulers of different princely states; the idea of a single Indian flag was first raised by the British rulers of India after the rebellion of 1857, which resulted in the establishment of direct imperial rule. The first flag, whose design was based on western heraldic standards, were similar to the flags of other British colonies, including Canada and Australia; its blue field included the Union Flag in the upper-left quadrant and a Star of India capped by the royal crown in the middle of the right half. To address the question of how the star conveyed "Indianness", Queen Victoria created the Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India to honour services to the empire by her Indian subjects. Subsequently, all the Indian princely states received flags with symbols based on the heraldic criteria of Europe including the right to fly defaced British red ensigns.[10][11][12]

text: In the early twentieth century, around the coronation of Edward VII, a discussion started on the need for a heraldic symbol that was representative of the Indian empire. William Coldstream, a British member of the Indian Civil Service, campaigned the government to change the heraldic symbol from a star, which he considered to be a common choice, to something more appropriate. His proposal was not well received by the government; Lord Curzon rejected it for practical reasons including the multiplication of flags.[13] Around this time, nationalist opinion within the realm was leading to a representation through religious tradition. The symbols that were in vogue included the Ganesha, advocated by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Kali, advocated by Aurobindo Ghosh and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Another symbol was the cow, or Gau Mata (cow mother). However, all these symbols were Hindu-centric and did not suggest unity with India's Muslim population.[14]

text: The partition of Bengal (1905) resulted in the introduction of a new flag representing the Indian independence movement that sought to unite the multitude of castes and races within the country. The Vande Mataram flag, part of the Swadeshi movement against the British, comprised Indian religious symbols represented in western heraldic fashion. The tricolour flag included eight white lotuses on the upper green band representing the eight provinces, a sun and a crescent on the bottom red band, and the Vande Mataram slogan in Hindi on the central yellow band. The flag was launched in Calcutta bereft of any ceremony and the launch was only briefly covered by newspapers. The flag was not covered in contemporary governmental or political reports either, but was used at the annual session of the Indian National Congress. A slightly modified version was subsequently used by Madam Bhikaji Cama at the second International Socialist Congress in Stuttgart in 1907. Despite the multiple uses of the flag, it failed to generate enthusiasm amongst Indian nationalists.[15]

text: Around the same time, another proposal for the flag was initiated by Sister Nivedita, a Hindu reformist and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. The flag consisted of a thunderbolt in the centre and a hundred and eight oil lamps for the border, with the Vande Mataram caption split around the thunderbolt. It was also presented at the Indian National Congress meeting in 1906.[16] Soon, many other proposals were initiated, but none of them gained attention from the nationalist movement.

text: In 1909, Lord Ampthill, former Governor of the Madras Presidency, wrote to The Times of London in the run up to Empire Day pointing out that there existed "no flag representative of India as a whole or any Indian province ... Surely this is strange, seeing that but for India there would be no Empire."[17]

text: In 1916, Pingali Venkayya submitted thirty new designs, in the form of a booklet funded by members of the High Court of Madras. These many proposals and recommendations did little more than keep the flag movement alive. The same year, Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak adopted a new flag as part of the Home Rule Movement. The flag included the Union Jack in the upper left corner, a star and crescent in the upper right, and seven stars displayed diagonally from the lower right, on a background of five red and four green alternating bands. The flag resulted in the first governmental initiative against any nationalistic flag, as a magistrate in Coimbatore banned its use. The ban was followed by a public debate on the function and importance of a national flag.[18]

text: In the early 1920s, national flag discussions gained prominence across most British dominions following the peace treaty between Britain and Ireland. In November 1920, the Indian delegation to the League of Nations wanted to use an Indian flag, and this prompted the British Indian government to place renewed emphasis on the flag as a national symbol.

text: In April 1921, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi wrote in his journal Young India about the need for an Indian flag, proposing a flag with the charkha or spinning wheel at the centre.[20] The idea of the spinning wheel was put forth by Lala Hansraj, and Gandhi commissioned Pingali Venkayya to design a flag with the spinning wheel on a red and green banner, the red colour signifying Hindus and the green standing for Muslims. Gandhi wanted the flag to be presented at the Congress session of 1921, but it was not delivered on time, and another flag was proposed at the session. Gandhi later wrote that the delay was fortuitous since it allowed him to realise that other religions were not represented; he then added white to the banner colours, to represent all the other religions. Finally, owing to the religious-political sensibilities, in 1929, Gandhi moved towards a more secular interpretation of the flag colours, stating that red stood for the sacrifices of the people, white for purity, and green for hope.[21]

text: On 13 April 1923, during a procession by local Congress volunteers in Nagpur commemorating the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the Swaraj flag with the spinning wheel, designed by Pingali Venkayya, was hoisted. This event resulted in a confrontation between the Congressmen and the police, after which five people were imprisoned. Over a hundred other protesters continued the flag procession after a meeting. Subsequently, on the first of May, Jamnalal Bajaj, the secretary of the Nagpur Congress Committee, started the Flag Satyagraha, gaining national attention and marking a significant point in the flag movement. The satyagraha, promoted nationally by the Congress, started creating cracks within the organisation in which the Gandhians were highly enthused while the other group, the Swarajists, called it inconsequential.

text: Finally, at the All India Congress Committee meeting in July, 1923, at the insistence of Jawaharlal Nehru and Sarojini Naidu, Congress closed ranks and the flag movement was endorsed. The flag movement was managed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel with the idea of public processions and flag displays by common people. By the end of the movement, over 1500 people had been arrested across all of British India. The Bombay Chronicle reported that the movement drew from diverse groups of society including farmers, students, merchants, labourers and "national servants". While Muslim participation was moderate, the movement enthused women, who had hitherto rarely participated in the independence movement.[22]

text: While the flag agitation got its impetus from Gandhi's writings and discourses, the movement received political acceptance following the Nagpur incident. News reports, editorials and letters to editors published in various journals and newspapers of the time attest to the subsequent development of a bond between the flag and the nation. Soon, the concept of preserving the honour of the national flag became an integral component of the independence struggle. While Muslims were still wary of the Swaraj flag, it gained acceptance among Muslim leaders of the Congress and the Khilafat Movement as the national flag.

text: Detractors of the flag movement, including Motilal Nehru, soon hailed the Swaraj flag as a symbol of national unity. Thus, the flag became a significant structural component of the institution of India. In contrast to the subdued responses of the past, the British Indian government took greater cognisance of the new flag, and began to define a policy of response. The British parliament discussed public use of the flag, and based on directives from England, the British Indian government threatened to withdraw funds from municipalities and local governments that did not prevent the display of the Swaraj flag.[24] The Swaraj flag became the official flag of Congress at the 1931 meeting. However, by then, the flag had already become the symbol of the independence movement.[25]

text: A few days before India gained its independence in August 1947, the Constituent Assembly was formed. To select a flag for independent India, on 23 June 1947, the assembly set up an ad hoc committee headed by Rajendra Prasad and including Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu, C. Rajagopalachari, K. M. Munshi and B. R. Ambedkar as its members.

text: On 14 July 1947, the committee recommended that the flag of the Indian National Congress be adopted as the National Flag of India with suitable modifications, so as to make it acceptable to all parties and communities. It was also resolved that the flag should not have any communal undertones.[5] The spinning wheel of the Congress flag was replaced by the Chakra (wheel) from the Lion Capital of Ashoka. According to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the chakra was chosen as it was representative of dharma and law. However, Jawaharlal Nehru explained that the change was more practical in nature, as unlike the flag with the spinning wheel, this design would appear symmetrical. Gandhi was not very pleased by the change, but eventually came around to accepting it.

text: The flag was proposed by Nehru at the Constituent Assembly on 22 July 1947 as a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron, white and dark green in equal proportions, with the Ashoka wheel in blue in the centre of the white band. Nehru also presented two flags, one in Khadi-silk and the other in Khadi-cotton, to the assembly. The resolution was approved unanimously.[28] It served as the national flag of the Dominion of India between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950, and has served as the flag of the Republic of India since then.[8]

text: Manufacturing process

text: The design and manufacturing process for the national flag is regulated by three documents issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). All of the flags are made out of khadi cloth of silk or cotton. The standards were created in 1968 and were updated in 2008.[29] Nine standard sizes of the flag are specified by law.[1]

text: In 1951, after India became a republic, the Indian Standards Institute (now the BIS) brought out the first official specifications for the flag. These were revised in 1964 to conform to the metric system which was adopted in India. The specifications were further amended on 17 August 1968.[5] The specifications cover all the essential requirements of the manufacture of the Indian flag including sizes, dye colour, chromatic values, brightness, thread count and hemp cordage. The guidelines are covered under civil and criminal laws and defects in the manufacturing process can result in punishments that include fines or jail terms.[30][31]

text: Khadi or hand-spun cloth is the only material allowed to be used for the flag, and flying a flag made of any other material is punishable by law with imprisonment up to three years, besides a fine. Raw materials for khadi are restricted to cotton, silk and wool. There are two kinds of khadi used: The first is the khadi-bunting which makes up the body of the flag, and the second is the khadi-duck, which is a beige-coloured cloth that holds the flag to the pole. The khadi-duck is an unconventional type of weave that meshes three threads into a weave, compared to the two threads used in conventional weaving. This type of weaving is extremely rare, and there are fewer than twenty weavers in India professing this skill. The guidelines also state that there should be exactly 150 threads per square centimetre, four threads per stitch, and one square foot should weigh exactly 205 grams (7.2 oz).[5][30][31][32]

text: There are four places in the country licensed to make the cloth for the national flag, they are in Karnataka, Marathwada, Barabanki in UP, and Banetha in Rajasthan.[33] The woven khadi is obtained from two handloom units in the Dharwad and Bagalkot districts of northern Karnataka. Currently, Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha based in Hubli is the only licensed flag production and supply unit in India.[31] Permission for setting up flag manufacturing units in India is allotted by the Khadi Development and Village Industries Commission, though the BIS has the power to cancel the licences of units that flout guidelines.[5] The hand-woven khadi for the National Flag was initially manufactured at Garag, a small village in the Dharwad district. A Centre was established at Garag in 1954 by a few freedom fighters under the banner of Dharwad Taluk Kshetriya Seva Sangh and obtained the Centre's licence to make flags.[5]

text: Once woven, the material is sent to the BIS laboratories for testing. After quality testing, the material, if approved, is returned to the factory. It is then separated into three lots which are dyed saffron, white and green. The Ashoka Chakra is screen printed, stencilled or suitably embroidered onto each side of the white cloth. Care also has to be taken that the chakra is completely visible and synchronised on both sides. Three pieces of the required dimension, one of each colour, are then stitched together according to specifications and the final product is ironed and packed. The BIS then checks the colours and only then can the flag be sold.[30][31]

text: Protocol

text: Display and usage of the flag is governed by the Flag Code of India, 2002 (successor to the Flag Code – India, the original flag code); the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950; and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.[5] Insults to the national flag, including gross affronts or indignities to it, as well as using it in a manner so as to violate the provisions of the Flag Code, are punishable by law with imprisonment up to three years, or a fine, or both.[34]

text: Official regulation states that the flag must never touch the ground or water, or be used as a drapery in any form.[5] The flag may not be intentionally placed upside down, dipped in anything, or hold any objects other than flower petals before unfurling. No sort of lettering may be inscribed on the flag. When out in the open, the flag should always be flown between sunrise and sunset, irrespective of the weather conditions. Prior to 2009, the flag could be flown on a public building at night under special circumstances; currently, Indian citizens can fly the flag even at night, subject to the restriction that the flag should be hoisted on a tall flagpole and be well-illuminated.[5][35]

text: The flag should never be depicted, displayed or flown upside down. Tradition also states that when draped vertically, the flag should not merely be rotated 90degrees, but also reversed. One "reads" a flag like the pages of a book, from top to bottom and from left to right, and after rotation the results should be the same. It is considered insulting to display the flag in a frayed or dirty state, and the same rule applies to the flagpoles and halyards used to hoist the flag, which should always be in a proper state of maintenance.[1]

text: The original flag code of India did not allow private citizens to fly the national flag except on national days such as Independence Day or Republic Day. In 2001, Naveen Jindal, an industrialist used to the more egalitarian use of the flag in the United States where he studied, flew the Indian flag on his office building. The flag was confiscated and he was warned of prosecution. Jindal filed a public interest litigation petition in the High Court of Delhi; he sought to strike down the restriction on the use of the flag by private citizens, arguing that hoisting the national flag with due decorum and honour was his right as a citizen, and a way of expressing his love for the country.[36][37]

text: At the end of the appeals process, the case was heard by the Supreme Court of India; the court ruled in Jindal's favour, asking the Government of India to consider the matter. The Union Cabinet of India then amended the Indian Flag Code with effect from 26 January 2002, allowing private citizens to hoist the flag on any day of the year, subject to their safeguarding the dignity, honour and respect of the flag.[5] It is also held that the code was not a statute and restrictions under the code ought to be followed; also, the right to fly the flag is a qualified right, unlike the absolute rights guaranteed to citizens, and should be interpreted in the context of Article 19 of the Constitution of India.[5]

text: The original flag code also forbade use of the flag on uniforms, costumes and other clothing. In July 2005, the Government of India amended the code to allow some forms of usage. The amended code forbids usage in clothing below the waist and on undergarments, and forbids embroidering onto pillowcases, handkerchiefs or other dress material.[38]

text: Disposal of damaged flags is also covered by the flag code. Damaged or soiled flags may not be cast aside or disrespectfully destroyed; they have to be destroyed as a whole in private, preferably by burning or by any other method consistent with the dignity of the flag.[1]

text: Display

text: The rules regarding the correct methods to display the flag state that when two flags are fully spread out horizontally on a wall behind a podium, their hoists should be towards each other with the saffron stripes uppermost. If the flag is displayed on a short flagpole, this should be mounted at an angle to the wall with the flag draped tastefully from it. If two national flags are displayed on crossed staffs, the hoists must be towards each other and the flags must be fully spread out. The flag should never be used as a cloth to cover tables, lecterns, podiums or buildings, or be draped from railings.[1]

text: Whenever the flag is displayed indoors in halls at public meetings or gatherings of any kind, it should always be on the right (observers' left), as this is the position of authority. So when the flag is displayed next to a speaker in the hall or other meeting place, it must be placed on the speaker's right hand. When it is displayed elsewhere in the hall, it should be to the right of the audience. The flag should be displayed completely spread out with the saffron stripe on top. If hung vertically on the wall behind the podium, the saffron stripe should be to the left of the onlookers facing the flag with the hoist cord at the top.[1]

text: The flag, when carried in a procession or parade or with another flag or flags, should be on the marching right or alone in the centre at the front. The flag may form a distinctive feature of the unveiling of a statue, monument, or plaque, but should never be used as the covering for the object. As a mark of respect to the flag, it should never be dipped to a person or thing, as opposed to regimental colours, organisational or institutional flags, which may be dipped as a mark of honour. During the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag, or when the flag is passing in a parade or in a review, all persons present should face the flag and stand at attention. Those present in uniform should render the appropriate salute. When the flag is in a moving column, persons present will stand at attention or salute as the flag passes them. A dignitary may take the salute without a head dress. The flag salutation should be followed by the playing of the national anthem.[1]

text: The privilege of flying the national flag on vehicles is restricted to the President, the Vice-President or the Prime Minister, Governors and Lieutenant Governors of states, Chief Ministers, Union Ministers, members of the Parliament of India and state legislatures of the Indian states (Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad), judges of the Supreme Court of India and High Courts, and flag officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force. The flag has to be flown from a staff affixed firmly either on the middle front or to the front right side of the car. When a foreign dignitary travels in a car provided by government, the flag should be flown on the right side of the car while the flag of the foreign country should be flown on the left side.[5]

text: The flag should be flown on the aircraft carrying the President, the Vice-President or the Prime Minister on a visit to a foreign country. Alongside the National Flag, the flag of the country visited should also be flown; however, when the aircraft lands in countries en route, the national flags of the respective countries would be flown instead. When carrying the president within India, aircraft display the flag on the side the president embarks or disembarks; the flag is similarly flown on trains, but only when the train is stationary or approaching a railway station.[1]

text: When the Indian flag is flown on Indian territory along with other national flags, the general rule is that the Indian flag should be the starting point of all flags. When flags are placed in a straight line, the rightmost flag (leftmost to the observer facing the flag) is the Indian flag, followed by other national flags in alphabetical order. When placed in a circle, the Indian flag is the first point and is followed by other flags alphabetically. In such placement, all other flags should be of approximately the same size with no other flag being larger than the Indian flag. Each national flag should also be flown from its own pole and no flag should be placed higher than another. In addition to being the first flag, the Indian flag may also be placed within the row or circle alphabetically. When placed on crossed poles, the Indian flag should be in front of the other flag, and to the right (observer's left) of the other flag. The only exception to the preceding rule is when it is flown along with the flag of the United Nations, which may be placed to the right of the Indian flag.[1]

text: When the Indian flag is displayed with non-national flags, including corporate flags and advertising banners, the rules state that if the flags are on separate staffs, the flag of India should be in the middle, or the furthest left from the viewpoint of the onlookers, or at least one flag's breadth higher than the other flags in the group. Its flagpole must be in front of the other poles in the group, but if they are on the same staff, it must be the uppermost flag. If the flag is carried in procession with other flags, it must be at the head of the marching procession, or if carried with a row of flags in line abreast, it must be carried to the marching right of the procession.[1]

text: Half-mast

text: The flag should be flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning. The decision to do so lies with the President of India, who also decides the period of such mourning. When the flag is to be flown at half mast, it must first be raised to the top of the mast and then slowly lowered. Only the Indian flag is flown half mast; all other flags remain at normal height.

text: The flag is flown half-mast nationwide on the death of the president, Vice-president or prime minister. It is flown half-mast in New Delhi and the state of origin for the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Union Ministers. On deaths of Governors, Lt. Governors and Chief Ministers, the flag is flown at half-mast in the respective states and union territories.

text: The Indian flag cannot be flown at half-mast on Republic Day (26 January), Independence day (15 August), Gandhi Jayanti (2 October), National Week (6–13 April) or state formation anniversaries, except over buildings housing the body of the deceased dignitary. However, even in such cases, the flag must be raised to full-mast when the body is moved from the building.

text: Observances of State mourning on the death of foreign dignitaries are governed by special instructions issued from the Ministry of Home Affairs in individual cases. However, in the event of death of either the Head of the State or Head of the Government of a foreign country, the Indian Mission accredited to that country may fly the national flag at half-mast.

text: On occasions of state, military, central para-military forces funerals, the flag shall be draped over the bier or coffin with the saffron towards the head of the bier or coffin. The flag should not be lowered into the grave or burnt in the pyre.[1]