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Over the past six episodes, VisionQuest has been getting progressively denser and denser in its programming. Not dumber denser you understand, but more complex, as the show continued to pour in in incredible amounts of deep cuts and past recons to create something of a brain frying history of AI in the MCU that went far beyond “Tony Stark built it”. Well, despite reaching the penultimate episode, it seems that things aren’t about to get any simpler any time soon as yet more, unrevealed twists are reconstituted and the timeline of the birth of MCU AI now stretches as far back as 1939.
It seems that with a deep dive into his own subconscious programming, we’re finally going to see Vision embark on that titular quest we’ve all been waiting for, with the result being that a whole bunch of shadowy secrets and identities finally being revealed. VisionQuest is starting to reach critical mass, but can it still hold everything together in this cascade of mounting data as it backtracks to the very start of Marvel history itself?
The mysterious Client has offered both a deal and an ultimatum to the two rogue AIs who are caught in the web that’s been woven. Suggesting that the answers to the questions both Vision and Jocasta seek are buried deep within their own programming, the glitchy villain says he’ll gives them access if they surrender themselves to him afterwards. With Vision desperate to find a way to release Lisa from the nanobot that’s reprogrammed her into a killing machine, and Jocasta needing to discover a hidden code within herself to unlock many more of those tiny, mind controlling machines, both agree to the Client’s terms and hope for the best.
But while Jocasta gets whisked back through forgotten memories of when she was still Dr. Josephine Carrington to discover more about her previous life, Vision has to ensure he has enough power to survive the experience. Luckily, Paladin is on hand to supply the spear once owned by Corvus Glaive, which gives Vision the oomph to make the perilous journey within himself to lock what he needs to know. But after being lectured and berated by past incarnations of Ultron, and his previous version of himself, Vision finally meets the true father of AI in the form of Phineas Horton, a grieving scientist who, in 1939, obsessively creates the first robot named J.I.M. to cope with the death of his son. But denied emotions from his creator, the prototype AI would start to combust due to his workings trying to process the feelings he so desperately wanted to feel. While a discussion with his robotic ancestors allows Vision to save Lisa and finally process his grief about losing both his children and Wanda, he still has that promise to the Client to keep.
However, as he, Jocasta and Ultron are about to discover, the man that’s been causing all these problems for them bears a worrying resemblance to Ultron’s human avatar. Once more, the plot thickens like my midsection at Christmas.
While the usual pace of VisionQuest continues to barrel through its multiple plot threads with that usual, frenetic energy, we’ve reached a point where the constant self-referencing of the past of the MCU gives way for the show to namecheck a character deep from the early history of Marvel Comics itself. Jim Hammond (aka. the original Human Torch) first showed up emblazoned (and blazing) on the cover of Marvel Comics #1 way back in 1939, and despite a blink and you’ll miss it cameo in Captain America: The First Avenger, it’s a character that hasn’t been mentioned much despite its importance to the comic book lore of the Vision. Retconned from his World War II hero days from fighting Nazis alongside Captain America and Namor, his deactivated body formed the basic for Vision himself, but all this was understandably jettisoned in Age Of Ultron in order to streamline decades of relentless continuity. However, one of the most intriguing things about the MCUs post Endgame world, is that it’s reveled in delving back into that rich history to align things a little more with those all-important funny books.
“Immolation” proves to be VisionQuest’s shining moment as it downloads thus deepest of deep cuts into Vision’s origin in a way that that surprisingly smooth. After being teed up nicely by confrontations by memories of Ultron and original flavour Vision, we discover that both Phineas Horton and J.I.M. are both also played by Paul Bettany, and it’s where he’s subconsciously gotten his human avatar from. From here, the show digs in deep on the central thread that’s bound every single appearance of Vision and Wanda Maximoff to date – grief. The death of Quicksilver, the accidental killing of Wakandans in Civil War, the double killing of Vision in Infinity War and the loss of everything in the wake of WandaVision has all led to this moment that has Bettany debating with Bettany (while Bettany looks on) about the nature of loss and the damaging lengths we go to avoid feeling it. In many ways, this one scene is the entire WandaVision/Agatha All Along/VisionQuest trilogy encompassed in a single moment as we watch Vision’s facade of inhumanity finally crumble.
Finally admitting that his inability to process human emotions has been a lie as the Westview Vision not only unlocked his original memories, but downloaded the new ones too, and watching Bettany portray these complex emotions means that the actor finally gets to cut loose after six episodes of channeling the crazed plot and fielding unending snarky comments from James Spader. Obviously, Bettany is more than up to the challenge, but it’s still rewarding that the character still allows the actor to portray such complex emotions and constantly play with how Vision can be portrayed.
Of course, beyond all this, the rest of the season races towards the finale with typically breakneck speed. However, while Lisa’s villain shift and further revelations for Jocasta seem to be rushed through at the speed of Tommy testing his sprinting limits, the episode remembers to hit one last emotional bullseye before offering one last rug pull. While sizable chunks of VisionQuest have been endearingly wacky as it traversed the digital world in variously witty ways, the farewell note he leaves for Tommy after agreeing to the Client’s wishes proves to be genuinely moving. Of course, it contrasts well with the final twist that shows us that the Client is whoever Ultron’s avatar is based on. In a nice, cyclical moment, I guess you could say that it was Ultron All Along; and it seems that the former Avengers level threat is still treading the same, shaky, snakey, moral line as Tom Hiddleston’s Loki.
With a single episode left to go, VisionQuest has left us in a position that has almost all of its threads tied, but with a few more probing questions yet to be answered. Vision may now have access to his emotions, but there’s still the identity of the Client to discover; the ultimate master plan of Jocasta to be thwarted; and whatever side of the equation Ultron eventually falls on – although his attack of F.R.I.D.A.Y. suggests he’s hardly a white hat. But beyond all this, it’s dedication to Marvel history and continuing those enduring themes of grief means that “Immolation” burns incredibly bright.
Where to watch VisionQuest – Season 1, Episode 7: Immolation: