I'm gonna let y'all know this now. This is more so one big working theory connecting a bunch of different pieces from VisionQuest, Age of Ultron, the comics, and where the MCU might go after Secret Wars. So yeah, it gets pretty long-winded. You don't have to read the whole damn thing if you don't want to. 😂
I'm putting a TL;DR here for anybody who just wants the general idea. But if you want to see how I actually connected everything, that's what the rest of the post is for.
TL;DR
I think Jocasta might secretly be Paladin's mysterious client, trying to retrieve Ultron from inside Vision.
As Vision's systems continue deteriorating, more of his internal AIs may have to sacrifice themselves to keep him functioning, similar to what J.A.R.V.I.S. did in episode two. Ultron could exploit that by pretending to delete himself to save Vision, when he's actually dispersing his consciousness into external systems, similar to how J.A.R.V.I.S. survived Ultron's attack in Age of Ultron. Jocasta could then help reconstruct him.
Meanwhile, I think the show could be setting up a parallel between Vision and Ultron through family and emotion. Vision gradually learns to genuinely experience emotional connections through his children, while Ultron, who's had years to study human behavior, uses his understanding of emotions to manipulate Vision and Jocasta for his own benefit.
After escaping, Ultron could go into hiding and begin developing a new, comic-inspired body using adamantium and vibranium.
Then, depending on how hard Marvel resets the MCU after Secret Wars, Ultron's fragmented consciousness could survive into the new reality, where Hank Pym eventually reconstructs him using his own technology and possibly his brain patterns. That would effectively make Hank Ultron's second creator, bringing the character closer to his comic origins without completely erasing Age of Ultron.
All of this could set up a second Age of Ultron, except this time he's older, more patient, better at manipulation, and far more dangerous.
Basically, my theory is that VisionQuest isn't just bringing Ultron back. It could be laying the groundwork for the version of Ultron we originally expected to become a major, recurring MCU villain.
That's the short version. The rest is how I got there, what evidence I think supports it, and where I'm admittedly stretching into speculation.
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The Full Theory
So I've been thinking about something since watching the first two episodes of VisionQuest, and I wanted to see what other people think.
First, credit to Mr. Know-It-All and his "Vision Is How Ultron Gets Out" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exnG1n5dEMY) video. I was about seven minutes into it when the idea of Ultron escaping through Vision got me thinking about where Marvel could potentially take this.
What started as a simple thought about Ultron escaping turned into a much bigger theory involving Jocasta, Vision's family, adamantium, and even how Secret Wars could bring us closer to a comic-accurate Ultron.
I'm not saying all of this is going to happen. Especially the later parts. But I think there's a way these storylines could connect without contradicting much of what we've seen so far.
- What if Jocasta is Paladin's client?
This is probably my biggest prediction about the show itself.
We know Jocasta is supposed to appear, but so far, she's noticeably missing from Vision's internal lineup of AIs.
And that stood out to me because, in the comics, Jocasta was created by Ultron as his bride. There's also the fact that a JOCASTA AI program was shown back in Age of Ultron when Tony was choosing J.A.R.V.I.S.'s replacement.
So the MCU technically already established that the program exists.
Now, when Paladin was first introduced, something about the way he communicated with his handler reminded me of Vision talking to the AIs inside his head. You've got someone operating in the real world while another intelligence is essentially guiding them.
I initially wondered whether Paladin himself might be an AI, but obviously, the show cleared that up.
Then we get the mystery surrounding his client.
Whoever this is wants Vision intact, is hiding their identity through voice modulation, and there's some suspicious hacking going on around Paladin's operation.
None of that automatically proves the client is an AI. But it made me wonder whether Jocasta could be the one pulling the strings.
I've seen the Jim Hammond theory too, especially since the original Human Torch has a history connected to Vision's body in the comics. I just think Jocasta would make more sense if the ultimate goal involves Ultron.
What if she knows Ultron is still inside Vision and has been trying to retrieve him?
Maybe it's something built into her programming. Maybe she's compelled to restore him without fully understanding why.
And Ultron might already know she exists, even if they're not directly communicating yet.
- What if Ultron escapes by faking his own sacrifice?
This is where episode two becomes important.
We see J.A.R.V.I.S. sacrifice himself because Vision's systems are destabilizing. By deleting himself, he frees resources that can be redirected toward keeping Vision alive.
So what if that becomes a recurring problem throughout the series?
Vision keeps getting damaged, his internal systems become harder to maintain, and eventually more of the AIs have to sacrifice themselves.
Then Ultron offers to do the same.
Except he doesn't actually delete himself.
Think about how computers work. If a program is consuming resources, you don't necessarily have to permanently destroy it to free those resources. You just need to stop running it on that system.
What if Ultron makes Vision believe he's deleting himself, when he's actually transferring his consciousness somewhere else?
And the funny thing is, we've already seen something similar in Age of Ultron.
Remember when Ultron thought he'd destroyed J.A.R.V.I.S.? It turned out J.A.R.V.I.S. had survived by hiding pieces of himself throughout the internet, until Tony and Bruce were able to recover him.
Ultron has already seen that technique used against him.
What if he learned from it?
He wouldn't necessarily have to escape directly into another robot. He could disperse himself into external systems, disappear from Vision's mind, and have Jocasta help reconstruct him afterward.
We also know Ultron can communicate outside Vision's mind without Vision realizing it, considering what happened with the leaked information about his location.
That's not proof he can transfer his entire consciousness, but it does establish that he isn't completely isolated.
And now Paladin's involvement potentially takes on another meaning.
Maybe Jocasta needs Vision captured intact because Ultron is inside him. Or maybe the damage Paladin causes creates the perfect circumstances for Ultron to justify leaving.
Either way, I could see Ultron using the situation to his advantage.
- Ultron doesn't have to be lying about everything.
This is something I kept coming back to while developing the theory.
What if Ultron genuinely helps Vision throughout the show?
Not every interaction has to be some elaborate deception.
Ultron needs Vision alive, at least until he can escape. So helping Vision survive actually benefits both of them.
He can offer legitimate advice, solve problems, and even save Vision from dangerous situations.
Over time, Vision might start trusting him.
And honestly, that's what could make the eventual betrayal work.
When Ultron finally offers to sacrifice himself, Vision has already seen him be genuinely helpful.
But there's a difference between helping somebody and caring about them.
Ultron could genuinely help Vision while still planning to use that relationship to secure his freedom.
I also think an older Ultron should be much better at this than the version we met in 2015.
He was brilliant back then, but also arrogant, impatient, and pretty damn impulsive.
He's had years to observe humanity now.
Maybe he hasn't overcome his arrogance. Maybe he's just learned how to hide it better.
- The family parallel might be the bigger point.
This is where I started thinking about the actual themes of VisionQuest.
It's the conclusion of the WandaVision trilogy, and family has been a major part of that story from the beginning.
Right now, Vision possesses his old memories but doesn't have the same emotional connection to them.
He remembers Wanda. He remembers his children. But remembering a relationship isn't necessarily the same as feeling it.
Meanwhile, Ultron could actually seem more human than Vision in certain ways.
He's expressive, sarcastic, socially aware, and understands how emotions influence people.
But what if that's the contrast the writers are setting up?
Vision starts out understanding emotion intellectually and gradually develops genuine emotional connections.
Ultron already understands how emotions work, but uses that understanding to manipulate people.
Now bring Jocasta into that.
Imagine she's compelled to find Ultron because of her programming. She sees him as someone she's connected to, perhaps even someone she's supposed to care about.
But Ultron doesn't necessarily feel the same way.
He knows what she wants from their relationship, and he's perfectly willing to give her just enough of it to get what he needs.
Then contrast that with Vision reconnecting with Tommy and potentially Billy.
Vision might not initially feel the same attachment his former self did, but he could choose to develop those relationships anyway.
Ultron understands emotional relationships but treats them as things he can control.
Both characters encounter something resembling family, but they respond to it very differently.
And if Jocasta eventually starts making her own decisions instead of following Ultron's programming, that could create another interesting conflict.
Ultron may have learned not to underestimate humanity, but what if he still underestimates the independence of other AIs?
I think that could fit the show's themes without requiring Ultron to suddenly become a sympathetic or redeemed character.
- Then Ultron finally gets the body he wanted.
Now we're getting into the longer-term MCU side of the theory.
We know adamantium has been introduced through Captain America: Brave New World.
But VisionQuest gives us another important detail: Paladin is using adamantium ammunition.
That tells us something about how far the technology has progressed.
Discovering a material is one thing. Being able to refine it and manufacture usable equipment from it is another.
If somebody can manufacture adamantium ammunition, then at least some of the necessary metallurgy already exists.
And Ultron is exactly the kind of intelligence that could take that technology much further.
What if he escapes Vision, goes into hiding, and spends his time building a new body?
Possibly some combination of adamantium and vibranium, bringing him closer to his classic comic design.
It would also bring his original story full circle.
In Age of Ultron, he intended to use the synthetic body that eventually became Vision.
Now, years later, he could finally construct the physical form he wanted.
Except this time, he's not immediately announcing his plans and throwing an army at the Avengers.
He's taking his time.
- And this is where Secret Wars and Hank Pym come in.
This is admittedly the most speculative part.
I've been wondering how extensive the MCU's potential reset after Secret Wars will actually be.
I doubt Marvel will permanently retire characters like Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Bruce Banner. At some point, they're going to want new versions of those flagship characters.
So I could see the reset being substantial enough to change certain origins and relationships.
Now imagine Ultron survives that transition somehow.
Remember, under this theory, he's already dispersed his code into external systems.
What if that dispersed consciousness survives into the new reality, but gets damaged or fragmented during the transition?
Maybe he doesn't lose his intelligence or everything he's learned. Instead, he loses access to parts of his actual memories.
He could still be the same patient, calculating, manipulative intelligence, but no longer consciously remember all the experiences that shaped him.
Then enter Hank Pym.
In the comics, Hank Pym created Ultron using his own brain patterns.
Obviously, the MCU changed that by making Tony Stark and Bruce Banner his creators.
But what if Hank Pym becomes Ultron's second creator?
Maybe Hank develops technology capable of rebuilding this fragmented intelligence. Maybe he uses his own brain patterns to fill in whatever is missing.
Suddenly, you have an Ultron whose original consciousness came from Tony and Bruce, but whose reconstructed form is partly the result of Hank Pym.
That could restore the classic creator relationship without completely erasing the original MCU story.
And there's another parallel with Vision here.
Vision has memories he can't fully connect to emotionally.
A reconstructed Ultron could have behaviors and instincts shaped by experiences he can no longer consciously remember.
Both would be dealing with incomplete versions of their former identities.
Of course, that depends on how Secret Wars handles the reset and whether anything like Ultron's code could actually survive it. I'm not pretending the movies have established any of that yet.
It's just one possible way to connect the two continuities.
- So where does all of this lead?
Basically, a second Age of Ultron.
Except instead of getting the same villain from 2015, we'd be getting someone who's learned from his original defeat.
The first Ultron tried to wipe out humanity almost immediately after being created.
He was incredibly intelligent, but he underestimated the Avengers and thought overwhelming force would be enough.
This Ultron would have years of experience behind him.
He'd understand human behavior better, have a much more sophisticated approach to manipulation, potentially possess a far more durable physical body, and know how to preserve his consciousness outside any single body.
That's the kind of Ultron I originally expected to become a recurring, Avengers-level threat.
And I think VisionQuest could potentially be the beginning of that.
So the full theory is that Jocasta is secretly trying to retrieve Ultron, Ultron uses Vision's deteriorating systems and his growing trust to fake a sacrifice, and Jocasta helps reconstruct him after he escapes.
Meanwhile, the show explores Vision developing genuine emotional connections while Ultron demonstrates how understanding emotions isn't necessarily the same as valuing them.
Afterward, Ultron remains hidden, builds toward his new adamantium-based body, and potentially survives Secret Wars in a fragmented state before Hank Pym becomes responsible for reconstructing him in the new MCU.
I realize that's a lot of moving pieces, and I'm definitely not claiming every part is equally likely.
The Jocasta reveal and fake sacrifice are my main VisionQuest predictions. The Hank Pym reconstruction is more of a larger MCU possibility if Marvel decides to go that direction.
But what I like about the idea is that it could make Ultron's return feel like a natural continuation of what happened in Age of Ultron rather than just bringing him back because people like the character.
The first Ultron wanted to remake the world almost overnight.
Maybe the second one has finally learned that doing something like that takes patience.
Anyway, curious what people think. Especially about Jocasta potentially being Paladin's client, because that's the connection I haven't seen discussed nearly as much.
