These issues launch the “Ultron Unlimited” story, which primarily shows Captain America in a leadership role while the emotional weight is placed on Hank Pym, Janet van Dyne, and other Avengers with a closer connection to the homicidal android.
The #0 issue, packaged with Wizard Magazine #95, serves as a prelude: It’s framed as a TV special about the team, interspersed with scenes of the various members reacting to the show as well as being broadcast live on it, such as the one below in which they arrive at the scene of a terrorist attack on Osborn Chemical.
While Cap is uncomfortable with the cameras, Tony thinks it will be good for their image.
After the Avengers succeed in defeating the terrorists, they face a more hostile threat: the gathered press.
While each of the Avengers Prime reacts in his own way (and Firestar and the Scarlet Witch joke about the “harboring mutants” comment), an even more hostile threat lies in wait.
Issue #19 begins with “a day in the life” vignettes, including Firestar and Justice moving into the mansion. The latter laments his injured status (from the last storyline) while serving with his personal heroes, such as Cap, who makes sure to include him in every Avengers’ least favorite duty (especially following the press experience above, which Cap reflects upon below).
During the current press conference, reporters push them on their fraught meetings with the Triune Understanding, which leads to questions about their history of inclusion that accuse them of favoring criminals and (gasp) mutants over Black heroes.
Just in the nick of time, Janet flies through the window, having fled New Jersey to report a missing Giant-Man (who’s having quite the time of late, having recently needed rescue from Cap in Captain America #21). Cap tries to politely dismiss the reporters, but one of them needs a more forceful request from the God of Thunder…
…which isn’t well received, but Cap is focused only on Janet and Hank.
Janet explains that she arrived at Hank’s lab earlier to find he had been abducted by a group of robots with “faces like some awful jack-o’-lantern” (according to a witness). Then Jarvis announces that the Black Panther was attacked at a research facility on Long Island by a humanoid robot made of adamantium… and everyone realizes who is behind these incidents.
But when they get to Long Island, though, it is not Ultron they find but Alkhema, the second “bride of Ultron” (after Jocasta, who proved too independent-minded for her “husband”). The Avengers engage in a long and heated battle, to no avail, and Cap comes up with another plan before he is pre-empted…
…by Wanda, and Cap urges the others to let her try to defeat their collective foe.
Wanda succeeds, but when she tries to force Alkhema to reveal where Ultron is, the robot turns on TV, where they see horrific scenes of the android destroying the small Baltic nation of Slorenia, killing every single person there, a sight that leaves the team speechless and resolute.
Issue #20 opens with the team arriving at the Pentagon, where Cap enjoys even higher clearance than this guy.
When Justice questions Black Panther’s presence, based on the revelation in Black Panther #8, Cap stands up for his old friend and his actions as an Avenger despite whatever his original motivations for joining were.
Thor helpfully offers additional context to Cap’s vigorous defense, based on his own experiences with a troublesome brother.
Verily!
The Avengers are next shown a video message from Ultron, claiming the barren land of Slorenia as his own, where he plans to create “a new race” and “a new world.” Cap graciously agrees to accept an international military force as accompaniment as they confront Ultron, presumably wanting to head off the various controversies dogging the group of late.
Most of the rest of the issue focuses on the New Jersey Avengers—Janet, Wanda, Vision, and Wonder Man—who are attacked by all the past versions of Ultron and an additional army of robots, who defeat the quartet and take them to the latest Ultron, who declares his intent to use them to “seed” a new race.
As the rest of the team heads to Slorenia, they hear of their colleagues’ defeat and abduction, which only drives their resolve (echoing their faces at the end of the last issue as they witnessed the massacre of Slorenia).
Be sure to return for the conclusion of this harrowing tale in the next two issues!
ISSUE DETAILS
Avengers (vol. 3) #0, August 1999: Kurt Busiek (writer), Stuart Immonen (pencils), Wade von Grawbadger (inks), Tom Smith (colors), Richard Starkings and Comicraft (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Avengers (vol. 3) #19, August 1999: Kurt Busiek (writer), George Pérez (pencils), Al Vey (inks), Tom Smith (colors), Richard Starkings and Wes Abbott (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Avengers (vol. 3) #20, September 1999: Kurt Busiek (writer), George Pérez (pencils), Al Vey (inks), Tom Smith (colors), Richard Starkings and Comicraft (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: Avengers Assemble Volume 2.
PREVIOUS ISSUES: Avengers #16-18 (May-July 1999)
ALSO THESE MONTHS: Captain America #20-21 (August-September 1999), Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #12 (August 1999), Avengers Forever #9-10 (August-September 1999), and Galactus the Devourer #1 (September 1999)
NEXT ISSUES: Avengers #21-22 (October-November 1999)
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 
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