Spoilers follow for VisionQuest through Episode 4.
In the latest episode of VisionQuest, “Malware,” the murderous synthezoid who has been lurking in the shadows and killing AI creators off is finally revealed to be Jocasta – aka Dr. Josephine Carrington. The character, played by T’Nia Miller, had only been referred to on the show as the “Butcherbird Killer” prior to this, but fans of the comics know all about Jocasta, the so-called Bride of Ultron! We’ve also known the character would be a part of VisionQuest, but there’s another android character mentioned in the episode who is perhaps a bit more of a surprise… or at least it’s a surprise how pivotal he may wind up being to the Disney+ series.
Yes, after 15 years, the MCU is finally getting around to dealing with the original Human Torch.
The Synthetic Man Is the Original Human Torch
The character was first teased in Captain America: The First Avenger all the way back in 2011. It was a blink-or-you’ll-miss-it moment during the 1943 Stark Expo scene where Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) go on a double date. At one point, an exhibit can be glimpsed for “the Synthetic Man,” the creation of Dr. Phineas Horton. Encased in a glass case and seemingly deactivated, the Synthetic Man even had on the comics version of the Torch’s red costume. (And as any Marvel fan worth his weight in newsprint comics knows, this is a completely different character from Johnny Storm, the other Human Torch who is best known as a member of the Fantastic Four.)
Anyway, that was the last we saw or heard of the OG Torch… until now. Fans had pieced together that the character would be part of VisionQuest in some way, based on promo art featuring a man ablaze. That, combined with the Torch and Vision’s shared history in the comics, made it pretty clear that what was just a fun Easter egg in The First Avenger would now become something more meaningful and complete, as is the MCU’s way.
In “Malware,” Vision (Paul Bettany) and Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica) attend a charity event dubbed “The Re-evolution of Man.” The gala is hosted by Mary McDonnell’s Dr. Katerina Wells, a former colleague of Josephine Carrington’s who, like Carrington, is also an expert on AI. Dr. Wells narrates a video presentation that is playing at the event, where she discusses the “ill-fated Synthetic Man” and explains a bit about his history. Later, she tells the assembled guests that Dr. Phineas Horton was the “grandfather of robotics” and that he was the creator of the Synthetic Man, also known as J.I.M. (notably, the Torch’s alter ego in the comics is Jim Hammond). The Synthetic Man’s source code, Wells explains, paved the way for all future artificial intelligence that followed. “He was the first of us,” the Vision says. “Miraculous, but flawed.”
We also learn that, unlike his comics counterpart, who was one of the original Marvel heroes and fought alongside Captain America and Namor in the super-group the Invaders during World War II, J.I.M. was deactivated after a series of “incendiary mishaps.” As Vision explains, “his inability to process complex emotions spun his clockwork too quickly, flooded his solar cells with oxygen until his entire being was consumed in fire.” Tommy responds, “You mean he felt to death?” Sad!
As for why this same problem never became an issue for the Vision, apparently the otherworldly power of the Mind Stone helped him to keep himself in check – and even though he no longer possesses the Stone in his new form, he still has enough of its residual power within his being. Why then did Ultron never suffer the same fate as the Synthetic Man/Human Torch? Could it be that his brief interaction with the Mind Stone’s power also affected him? (But then one must also ask, what about Jocasta…?)
At any rate, we now know that the Synthetic Man truly was also a Torch… though for now, anyway, it sounds as though that was a curse rather than a gift.
Is the Human Torch the Real Villain of VisionQuest?
While there are several apparent bad guys running around in VisionQuest right now, including Jocasta and Todd Stashwick’s Paladin, it’s clear that there’s still a Big Bad waiting in the background. Jocasta is traditionally portrayed as a good guy (she was an Avenger in the comics!), so she may flip sides soon, and a sympathetic backstory for Paladin is being planted as well – though since both characters have already killed in cold blood, it’s currently a bit difficult to see how they could be redeemed. But regardless, there’s also that ominous voice to consider of whoever it was who hired Paladin to track down Vision…
We’re halfway through VisionQuest at this point, so it seems likely that either the Human Torch or his creator, Dr. Horton, (or both) are being positioned to be behind that mysterious voice. Why else would VisionQuest give us so much information and backstory on the Torch? And if one of them is indeed the true villain of this series, the question then is why?
By the end of Episode 4, there’s also the matter of Ultron (James Spader) now having taken control of Vision’s body. That’s a dangerous situation to be sure, but VisionQuest has also hinted that there’s more to Ultron’s original design than we’ve previously known about. While E.D.I.T.H. (Emily Hampshire) figures out during this episode that the various Stark AIs have all been based on real people, Ultron insists that he is the exception. But is it possible that Dr. Horton and/or the Human Torch were somehow Ultron’s inspiration when he was created?
Of course, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner wouldn’t have consciously used either figure to base Ultron on, but don’t forget, Ultron just kind of came into existence on his own after the Science Bros thought they had failed. So something sparked Ultron into existence, but what? And is that same something now trying to track down its creation? VisionQuest is clearly about fathers and sons… so is Dr. Horton or the Torch Ultron’s actual father? We’ll find out soon enough.