Best of the Box
The sci-fi series is streaming on Disney+.
IF YOU’RE A Marvel fan, you might be already waiting to watch this new entry to its streaming staple.
But if you’re not, here’s what you need to know about VisionQuest.
What’s the basic background on it?
It’s a miniseries and was created by showrunner Terry Matalas. The series features the Marvel Comics character Vision, and it’s a spin-off from the TV miniseries WandaVision, which came out in 2021.
It’s also the 18th television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which is a franchise centred around Marvel superheroes. Think the likes of Iron Man and The Avengers.
So who’s Vision?
Vision is what’s called a “synthezoid”. Synthezoids basically have a replica of a human body (blood, guts and all), made of a substance called Horton Cells. They’re powered by solar energy. Vision is played by Paul Bettany.
The character has featured in several Marvel films, but was killed in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) before being resurrected in the series WandaVision. Yet even though his memories were restored, he struggles to connect with them. When the series kicks off, he’s working in a pub and pretending to be human.
In VisionQuest, Vision is able to retreat into a mental world where he communicates with AI personas inside his programming. He also goes on the run with a mysterious teenager in foster care who may be his reincarnated son, played by Ruairidh Mollica. Meanwhile, there’s a bounty hunter called Paladin (Todd Stashwick) on his tail. There’s a lot happening here, to say the least.
What else do we know?
Marvel Entertainment / YouTube
The showrunner Terry Matalas told Tech Radar that VisionQuest “takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) present day”, around the same time as Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
If you don’t know anything about the MCU, be warned that some study might be necessary. Rolling Stone says in its review:
A rewatch of WandaVision, still the best show that the company’s small-screen division has produced to date, is a necessity. Ditto a refresher on Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) if you haven’t seen that movie in a hot minute. Some online breakdowns of Agatha All Along, a witchy spin-off of WandaVision, would definitely help. Maybe consult a Reddit thread or three.
Meanwhile, TechRadar says in its review:
[Bettany] delivers a striking performance as a morally gray Vision, whose emotional turmoil gives rise to a colder, darker version of the character that strays dangerously into Ultron 2.0 territory more than once. Yet there’s a strange delight in seeing this side of Vision fully unleashed on his foes, delivering some unexpectedly bloody, brutal beatdowns along the way.
Who else is in the cast?
There’s a nifty cast here – James Spader plays Ultron, an android with a god complex.
Orla Brady is the AI assistant F.R.I.D.A.Y.
Diane Morgan also stars as The Handler, and Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek) is another AI, E.D.I.T.H.
Where can we watch it?
VisionQuest is streaming on Disney+ now.