The MCU Officially Debuts 49-Year Marvel Comics Character With A Dark Twist

Published Oct 20, 2026, 10:00 PM EDT

Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.

Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for VisionQuest episodes 3 and 4.VisionQuest continues with another two-episode batch, and the new Marvel Cinematic Universe series introduces a major character from the comics with a dark twist. In the first two episodes of VisionQuest, the MCU TV show on Disney+ reintroduced a few characters from previous Marvel releases. That long list included Paul Bettany's Vision, James Spader's Ultron, and a handful of MCU AIs, such as J.A.R.V.I.S., played by James D'Arcy in multiple MCU projects. Sadly, he would not come to survive VisionQuest's first couple of episodes, as J.A.R.V.I.S. chose to sacrifice himself to save Vision and the other AIs, who had become his family.

VisionQuest also reintroduced a major Marvel character: Tommy Maximoff. Ruaridh Mollica plays the adult version of one of Wanda and Vision's twins. By the end of episode 2, Vision and Tommy were not only reunited, but the son saved the father by going back in a car to help Vision escape. In VisionQuest episodes 3 and 4, Tommy once again shows Vision that he can rely on him in life-threatening situations. The killer hunting them, Paladin, gets his backstory revealed in the new episodes. Additionally, a major Marvel Comics character arrives, and Spader's Ultron seems to get exactly what he wanted.

Jocasta Finally Enters The MCU

The major new MCU arrival in the new episodes of VisionQuest is that of Jocasta, who is played by The Haunting of Bly Manor star T'Nia Miller. As VisionQuest explains, Jocasta was once Doctor Josephine Carrington, one of the brilliant minds behind the first AI, the prototype for characters like Vision, J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron, and so on. Jocasta initially appeared in the Marvel series as a mysterious hooded figure with glowing eyes, killing the other members of Carrington's project, which earned her the name of Butcherbird Killer.

Jocasta is an old Marvel Comics character who made her debut all the way back in 1977. From the start, the character's story was intertwined with Ultron's, as Jocasta was initially created in the comics by Ultron himself to serve as his bride. At the end of VisionQuest episode 4, Jocasta and Ultron interact, though the latter is controlling Vision's body, but the new MCU villain was not created by the AI. Ultron does trick Jocasta into vaporizing the last scientist, so their connection starts with a dark twist.

Ultron Takes Over Vision's Body

VisionQuest's first episodes revealed that Ultron was saved by Vision all the way back in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. While their relationship was not the worst in Vision's Mind Space, it was clear that Ultron was just biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to escape. Even though Vision understood that, he saw himself without a way to take down Jocasta, who is quite powerful, without killing her or risking anyone else, like Tommy or the event's attendees, getting hurt.

Ultron asks for the wheel and takes it, doing what Vision would never have done, which was tricking Jocasta into killing the scientist and leaving her without any reason to be there any longer. While that meant Vision's decision worked in that situation, Ultron obviously chose not to give him back control, taking over Vision's body. That said, it does not seem like he wants to hurt Tommy when he says he would like to chat with him. Perhaps Ultron has a more manipulative plan, or maybe being inside Vision's mind changed him to some degree.

What VisionQuest's J.I.M. Setup Means

During the event, the MCU TV show focused on how J.I.M., the first synth, was decommissioned. Just like in the pages of Marvel Comics, J.I.M. was created by Phineas Horton in the MCU, a character who has yet to appear in the franchise. In VisionQuest episode 2, the character, who was the first Human Torch in the comics, appears in a painting in Vision's home, seen by the AIs who there reside as the first of them.

VisionQuest episode 4 once again ends with that painting in focus, only this time, the screen glitches at the sight of J.I.M. covered in flames. With the Marvel series' heavy focus on AI and how J.I.M. continues to be teased, it seems like a matter of time before the character debuts in full. That said, J.I.M. did appear once before in the Marvel Studios franchise, as the comics' first Human Torch was one of the exhibits as the "Synthetic Man" at the 1943 Stark Expo in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger.

Everything Marvel Revealed About Paladin

Image courtesy of Marvel

Todd Stashwick's Paladin was the main villain of VisionQuest's first two episodes, but he was still shrouded in mystery. VisionQuest episode 3 explored the character's surprising backstory. It turns out that Paladin's father was not the previous bearer of the mantle, but one of his targets. Instead of being killed alongside his dad, Paladin was spared by his predecessor, who took the young boy in and raised him as his own. That is why Stashwick's Paladin takes his oath so seriously.

In addition to that, Paladin was revealed to have had previous encounters with other MCU heroes, including Charlie Cox's Daredevil, off-screen. The mercenary is also packing some serious heat, as Paladin has both Adamantium bullets and armor, which he got from the Ten Rings syndicate, which is currently being run by Shang-Chi's sister, Meng'er Zhang's Xu Xialing. Paladin's contract might have been terminated, as he was unable to catch Vision, but based on his upbringing, it is hard to imagine that he will back down.

Finally, VisionQuest had already included a Bruce Banner mention alongside Hawkeye in episode 1, when J.A.R.V.I.S. suggested possible MCU heroes who could help Vision. The Hulk is once again mentioned in episode 3, with Vision this time saying that Banner is not available. This makes sense, given that VisionQuest's events and Tom Holland's Spider-Man: Brand New Day are set around the same time.

After all, the MCU's latest Spider-Man movie not only had Banner wrapped up with Jean Grey's mind control, but it ended with Bruce being sent to a facility after he lost control as the Hulk and caused a lot of destruction. This could be what Vision means by saying Banner is not available. It remains to be seen if any Avengers will show up in VisionQuest.