WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story "Robot of Conviction" by Fonda Lee, Damian Couceiro, Jay David Ramos and VC's Travis Lanham from Iron Age 2020 #1, on sale now.
The vast size of the Marvel Universe means there are plenty of minor characters and bit-players who can disappear for a time, only to come rocketing back to importance with a single appearance. While the world might be currently focused on the robot revolution and Arno Stark's attempts to stop it in Iron Man 2020 and concurrent series, there's another, far more dangerous revolution brewing at the hands of a long-forgotten villain.
In Iron Age 2020 #1, Alkhema returns with her own robotic cult, which could lead to an even more devastating robotic revolution.
Who is Alkhema?
After Henry Pym constructed Ultron, he went rogue and has since intended to wipe out humanity and replace it with a robotic legion under his control. Not wanting to rule alone, he's attempted twice to build a "bride." The first, Jocasta, was based on Wasp's brain patterns and ultimately turned on him and became a longtime ally to the Avengers. Later, Ultron made another attempt and constructed Alkhema (based on the mental mapping of Mockingbird). Unlike Jocasta, Alkhema was not an eventually heroic figure. In fact, she proved to be far more sadistic and violent than even Ultron.
While Ultron wanted to wipe out humanity as a point of principle, Alkhema took enjoyment from killing specific people as slowly as she could. She even sabotaged Ultron's plans to destroy the world so she could continue killing at her leisure. She became an antagonist to the Avengers for a handful of other appearances before she accidentally became instrumental in reviving Ultron during Ultron Imperative. Hawkeye killed her in that story. In her last appearance, she was a reconstructed training tool for the Avengers Academy.
Alkhema's reappearance in Iron Age 2020 #1 hints that her new intentions are far more similar to Ultron's.
The Mother Prophet
One of the stories featured in Iron Age 2020 #1, "Robot of Conviction," focuses on a military research laboratory in Siberia, which is populated by a healthy mix of robots and humans. Some of the robots quietly wish they could join with the Artificial Life Army led by Machine Man and be liberated, but when robots come to take control of the lab, they aren't working for Machine Man. Instead, they are followers of Alkhema, who has somehow returned to her old deadly glory. Some of her servants even appear to be designed as priests, each of them claiming her to be the Mother Prophet of the Opus Futurae. She's able to use her abilities to remove any programming that keeps the local robots subservient to humans and offers them positions in her growing army of followers.
When the robots compare her to the ALA, she admits she thinks the organization is a small-minded rebellion. While they seek equality with humanity, she instead plans to try and wipe out all humanity to assert robotic dominance. This is much closer to Ultron's goals, though her chosen process for destroying the world -- chemical weapons that cause excruciating pain -- feels consistent with her love of slow murder. As she kills the humans around her, her servants speak of her in reverence, seeming to genuinely believe in her ideals.
In the end, the only thing keeping Alkhema from gaining a full stockpile of deadly weapons is a single security robot, who with his new free will sacrifices his life to prevent her from making off with those destructive tools. He causes an explosion that wipes out everyone and everything in the base except Alkhema, who survives thanks to her adamantium skeleton. She admits it's a setback, but she quickly declares she'll get the better of "all of them," referring to Ultron, the ALA, the Avengers and seemingly all of humanity.
It's interesting to see a robotic avatar like Alkhema rely so much on faith in her plans, positioning herself as a holy eventuality. She even seems to believe it herself, if her talk of faith is to be believed. It'll also be compelling to see what happens if she comes up against the ALA directly. Machine Man has turned on humanity more recently because of how Jocasta -- with whom he had a romantic relationship -- had her mind wiped by Arno Stark and BainTech. Perhaps he'll see Alkhema as his beloved's sister and enlist her help to avenge Jocasta. Or maybe he'll see Alkhema for the threat she is and cause a robotic civil war between their forces. The robot revolution may be here, but it may take some serious swerves in the coming months.