Marvel Studios Officially Crowns Its Greatest Living Villain Before Doomsday
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Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for VisionQuest episodes 5 & 6
Over the last 18 years, the MCU has had no shortage of iconic villains. However, Marvel Studios' latest series on Disney+ is making a very strong case for its greatest living foe, less than two months before Robert Downey Jr. is set to debut in Avengers: Doomsday as Doctor Doom.
After more than a decade of absence from live-action projects, Ultron is finally getting the major spotlight he deserves in the MCU's new VisionQuest series, and James Spader's return is proving to be one of the Multiverse Saga's very best decisions. Making his debut in 2015's Age of Ultron, the second Avengers movie was the titular villain's first and last live-action appearance (until now).
Building upon everything that made him so great in his single appearance, VisionQuest is now finally giving Ultron plenty of room to evolve beyond his genocidal programming, becoming something far more complicated (and possibly more dangerous). Especially after the events of VisionQuest episodes 5 & 6, Ultron has set the bar pretty high ahead of Avengers: Doomsday in December.
James Spader's Return As Ultron Is One Of The MCU's Best Multiverse Saga Decisions
Even before VisionQuest, Ultron had always ranked high among MCU villains, possessing some of the greatest presence and the most sinister lines in the entire universe. However, VisionQuest undoubtedly cements his status as "the godd**n king." Spader's distinctive delivery continues to give the character endless wicked charm and sarcasm, shifting loyalties, and still being plenty sinister and imposing when he chooses to be.
Additionally, VisionQuest episodes 5 & 6 have set up a relationship between Ultron and none other than Jocasta, his robotic wife whom Ultron created in the comics. While her origins have been reworked for the MCU, there's plenty of dark banter, threats, and flirtations between the two before the rogue AIs ultimately kiss at the end of VisionQuest episode 6. While Ultron desires to become more human despite his original goal to destroy humanity, Jocasta was once human, seeking to make humanity more like machines. As such, there's a fascinating dichotomy that has drawn the two together in the MCU.
More importantly, VisionQuest is the perfect vehicle that has allowed Ultron to shift his perspective and experience aspects of existence, likely humanity's art and culture. Similarly, Jocasta is giving him even more opportunity for a human experience, like tasting whiskey for the first time via a sharing of her memories. It all shows just how far Ultron has come since Age of Ultron, now having all kinds of new dimensions and dynamics.
As a result, Ultron's return after such a long time away is proving itself to be more than worthwhile, redeeming the only truly bad thing about his original MCU debut: how brief his arc seemingly was prior to the reveal in VisionQuest's premiere that Vision spared his life.
The Villain Bar Has Been Set Pretty High Ahead of Avengers: Doomsday
Avengers: Doomsday is expected to introduce Doctor Doom as the MCU's next major threat, with Robert Downey Jr. returning to Marvel in a completely different role from Tony Stark. However, the remarkable challenge is just how good Ultron's return has been in VisionQuest.
Choose the movie with the higher Rotten Tomatoes score.
Of course, Ultron and Victor von Doom are very different characters, and the latter will hopefully prove to be even more formidable in the next Avengers movie. As a master of both sorcery and science, Doom's genius and ambition give Marvel plenty of material to work with, along with teases that his motivations will be pretty sympathetic. Still, the MCU has ironically raised the bar with Ultron in the sense that it's just proven how much richer a returning antagonist with established history can be when given meaningful new development.
With Avengers: Doomsday fast approaching on the horizon, Marvel Studios definitely has a high bar to clear, one they themselves created.
New episodes of VisionQuest release Tuesday nights on Disney+ from Marvel Studios.
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Avengers: Doomsday
- Release Date
- December 18, 2026
- Runtime
- 165 Minutes
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Victor von Doom
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Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic
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Thor
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Vanessa Kirby
Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
Avengers: Doomsday is the fifth Avengers film and kicks off Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A stacked cast of heroes both new and old to the MCU — including members of the X-Men — will face off against Victor von Doom, revealed at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024 to be played by a returning Robert Downey Jr.
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Rebooted after the events that restored his body, Vision has gone into hiding from the people who want to weaponize him. Now searching for purpose, he consults the artificial intelligence personalities embedded in his programming, but a bounty on his head forces him to go on the run with Thomas Shepherd, a mysterious boy who may be the reincarnation of his son.
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