Disney+'s VisionQuest Episode 5 put the spotlight on T'Nia Miller's Jocasta and James Spader's Ultron, unveiling a very different dynamic from the comics. Marvel Studios already rewrote Jocasta's origins in a major way in VisionQuest Episode 4, revealing that she is inspired by the late Dr. Josephine Carrington, a key figure in crafting the MCU's famous AI icons. The change alters both what Avengers: Age of Ultron teased about Jocasta and what fans know about the character in the comics, where she was much more entangled with Ultron.
In Marvel Comics, Ultron created Jocasta as his mate and bride, programming her to be loyal to him, which she later overcame and joined the Avengers. Notably, just as Ultron in the comics is based on his creator Hank Pym's own brainwaves, the Bride of Ultron comes from Pym's wife, Janet van Dyne, aka the Wasp.
The MCU has greatly rewritten that relationship: Jocasta is no longer a romantic servant to Ultron but rather a true love interest, as the pair met in the heat of battle during Episode 4's climactic conflict. That certainly gives her more agency as a character in her own right, but the jury is still out on who, if not Ultron, actually created Jocasta; perhaps the very same mystery Client who is hunting Vision.
It's safe to say that a robot-on-robot romance is a change of pace for the MCU, which helps highlight the differences between Ultron and Vision, who instead sought human companionship in Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff. Many felt the MCU was unlikely to adapt the robotic relationship, largely because it never actually blossomed in the comics, despite Ultron's intentions.
Having taken control of Vision's body to fight Jocasta in Episode 4, the AI supervillain couple reconnected at a pub in Episode 5, "Firewall." Watching the encounter from inside the Mind Space, Emily Hampshire's EDITH joked that "it's like watching Hannibal Lecter swipe right," referring to modern dating apps.
Fans watch a romantic date unfold before their eyes, as the pair go from a pub to a digital recreation of Paris' legendary gallery, the Louvre. Ultron made his romantic intent clear to Jocasta when she joked that "a romance between [them] would have casualties," a remark that seemed to excite the former Avengers villain.
The robotic romance story unraveled the psyches of Ultron and Jocasta through art, music, and wildlife in a black-and-white style. Ultimately, Ultron fled Vision's Mind Space to be with Jocasta in hers as she terrifyingly teased that "together we could murder the world," setting the stage for the remaining chapters.
VisionQuest Episode 6 Rewrites Jocasta & Ultron's Romance Even Further
Episode 6, "Deadlock," continues Ultron and Jocasta's date at her place, as she puts it, as their interaction continues within her own Mind Space. There, Jocasta reveals that it was "a scan of [Carrington's] own mind," paired with existing work from Dr. Phineas Horton, that became the basis for the MCU's AI technology, effectively making her Ultron's mother, in an interesting switch-up from the comics.
Because Hank Pym is Ultron's creator and father in the comics, that makes Janet van Dyne the closest thing he has to a mother. Given that he based Jocasta's brainwaves on the Wasp, he planned to turn a version of his mother into his bride, something that carries forward into the MCU through Carrington.
Ultron may not have been responsible for Jocasta's birth in her updated MCU origin, but he still contributed to her creation by offering the name Jocasta from Greek mythology. That name comes from the tragedy of Oedipus, the Greek king of Thebes, who represents Ultron in this twisted analogy: hating his father (Tony Stark) and romantically fixated on his mother (Carrington).
Ultimately, Jocasta's master plan involves implanting nanos within humans to "inject a little bit more machine into [humaninity]" to "make them think as one" and "program them to be better," and she wants Ultron to join her.
But first, their romance reaches a peak as Jocasta and Ultron's connection allows him to finally taste whiskey for the first time as more than "ones and zeros," pulling its flavor from Carrington's original memories. That heartfelt moment leads VisionQuest's AI villains to share their first kiss before the credits roll, marking another major change from the comics, in which they have never kissed.
It remains to be seen how Ultron and Jocasta's entanglement will evolve into VisionQuest's final two episodes as she enacts her plan to digitize humanity. Of course, the couple still has one key obstacle to endless happiness: Ultron currently lacks a body and is stored in Jocasta's Mind Space.
So, perhaps the next stage of their plans will be to build Ultron a new physical body, setting up his inevitable rematch with Vision in VisionQuest's climax. Fans will have to wait until Episode 7 airs on Tuesday, November 3, to see how the story continues, and for Episode 8 on Tuesday, November 10, to witness the conclusion.
