By Luke Paglia · Managing Editor
Vision has been introduced, killed off and reintroduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe numerous times.
And he embodies that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): no one is ever truly dead. He returns for another stint of heroism in the new TV show “VisionQuest,” which is said to be a narrative bridge between the Wanda Maximoff and Vision story and the upcoming movie, “Avengers: Doomsday.”
First introduced into the MCU in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the synthezoid Vision has been a superhero character in a couple of the franchise’s movies and TV shows. Originally created by a combination of Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, Dr. Helen Cho and Ultron, a lightning strike from Thor ultimately brings Vision to life.
Despite Ultron, the evil, sentient AI being, wanting to use Vision as his greatest weapon, because of Vision’s complexion of human design and Asgardian vitalization, he ends up having a moral conscience that leads to him fighting alongside the Avengers against Ultron.
Following the events of “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Maximoff and Vision lived at the Avengers’ compound until the events of “Captain America: Civil War” take place. They fight for different sides of the dispute in this movie; however, they come together afterward and go into hiding in Edinburgh, Scotland, where they begin a secret life.
Not too long after, the beginning of “Avengers: Infinity War” interrupts this life. Thanos’s children are after the Infinity Stone, specifically the Mind Stone embedded in Vision’s head, his energy-life source. Though the attempt fails, this conflict drags Maximoff and Vision into the plot. By the end of the movie, Thanos rips the stone out of Vision’s head, and Vision dies.
We see a distraught Maximoff use her magic to conjure up a fake world in “WandaVision,” where she brings Vision back to life, and they have kids. To know more about this chain of events, watch “WandaVision” and the spinoff, “Agatha All Along.”
During “WandaVision,” the secret agency S.W.O.R.D. collects pieces from the deceased Vision and crafts him back together; however, he no longer has the Mind Stone and therefore does not remember his past or feel any of the same connection to Maximoff. After a battle, this kind of new entity, now known as White Vision, flies off into hiding.
It isn’t until the show “VisionQuest,” which came out Oct. 13, that we see White Vision again for the first time, and we see him in his human form disguised, working at a bar. He seems to be trying to live out his life and figure out who his old self was.
As he retreats into this world that he built in his mindspace, we are shown characters with familiar names, but for the first time, they have faces. We meet J.A.R.V.I.S., F.R.I.D.A.Y., E.D.I.T.H., D.U.M.-E. and U. They are different AIs Stark created during his time in the MCU. At some point, Vision had downloaded these AIs into his processor, and they now reside in his mindspace. He also has Ultron AI in his mindspace, which he keeps prisoner.
Each AI plays a different role in Vision’s day-to-day functioning as he learns about his past, and then a bounty hunter, Paladin, who was hired to kill him, attacks him. At this point in the show, the motive is unclear. With his first unsuccessful attempt, Paladin captures Vision’s son Tommy to lure Vision into a trap, but they manage to escape.
The goal of this show, as it continues to air, is to continue Vision’s storyline and introduce new characters that could become important pieces of the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday” film. This includes Vision’s kids, Tommy and Billy, who have superpowers, all of which are set up to potentially appear in future MCU projects.
