Marvel Studios rewrote Jocasta's MCU origins in VisionQuest Episode 4 after they were first teased in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The eight-episode Disney+ series has become a true sequel to Phase 2's climactic blockbuster, Age of Ultron, by further exploring the relationship between Paul Bettany's Vision and James Spader's Ultron. But the connections run deeper than that as VisionQuest offers a deep dive into AIs in the MCU, including Jocasta, a new introduction played by T'Nia Miller.
VisionQuest Episode 4, "Malware," finally uncovers the origins of the Butcherbird Killer, the synthezoid serial killer teased in prior episodes. Her identity is revealed to be Jocasta, another AI from Marvel Comics, created by Ultron as his bride, based on the brainwaves of Hank Pym's wife, Janet van Dyne.
The MCU teased Jocasta's existence long before VisionQuest in Avengers: Age of Ultron. After JARVIS' apparent demise and Vision's birth, MCU moviegoers saw chips for other AIs on Tony Stark's desk before he landed on FRIDAY, one of which was Jocasta (seen faintly in the background). 11 years later, her origins have now been rewritten in a major way for VisionQuest as Jocasta takes on a real body.
Episode 3, "Reboot," rounded off with Butcherbird hijacking Vision and his Mind Space to threaten the former Avenger into staying clear of her plans, until EDITH managed to rid her from the system with a digital exorcisim (or .exe-orcisim).
VisionQuest's latest chapter confirms that Butcherbird has been taking out the board of Markridge Biotech, a five-person team that pioneered AI and created the "first stable synthetic consciousness," which became the basis for Vision, Ultron, JARVIS, and, most notably in this scenario, Jocasta.
The co-lead of that group was Dr. Josephine Carrington, played by T'Nia Miller, who passed away in 2008 from natural causes. With three members of Markridge Biotech's board murdered by the Butcherbird Killer, and Carrington dead decades prior, that left only one surviving member: CEO Katerina Wells.
The advanced technology was ultimately sold to Stark Industries, allowing Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark to use it as "the template" for all of his AIs, basing them on real people connected to the Stark family. The only exception to that rule was seemingly Ultron, whose origins remain unclear after Episode 4.
Vision, alongside Tommy Maximoff and Lisa Molinari, finds themselves at a gala hosted by Wells in a bid to keep her safe; one that was, of course, crashed by the Butcherbird Killer, unmasking herself as Jocasta. There, it becomes clear that just as Stark's AIs were based on real people, so was Jocasta; she stems from the late Dr. Josephine Carrington and is now hunting her human self's old colleagues.
When Vision utters "Dr. Josephine Carrington" during their clash, she is initially thrown off and repeats, "No." But she ultimately states, "I am not based on her, I am her," suggesting there may be an identity crisis at play, as she truly believes herself to be the scientific genius who died 20 years prior.
While VisionQuest viewers now know that the MCU's Jocasta is a synthetic recreation of Dr. Josephine Carrington, this raises some major questions. How was Jocasta's AI on Tony Stark's desk in Age of Ultron? Was the late Avenger involved in her creation? If not, who built Jocasta's Ultron-esque physical form? And, most of all, why is she hunting Carrington's old colleagues?
Up until now, it was believed that the MCU's Jocasta was just another creation of Tony Stark, akin to FRIDAY, JARVIS, and EDITH. Not only do fans now know that those AIs weren't completely a stroke of his own genius, but there is also clearly much more to Jocasta's origins than another digital consciousness he whipped up.
Where Is VisionQuest Going With Its Jocasta Twist?
When the credits roll on VisionQuest Episode 4, Jocasta successfully killed her final Markridge Biotech target, fled the scene via the skylight, and James Spader's Ultron now controls Vision's body. That opens the doors to Jocasta and Ultron crossing paths again, perhaps teaming up for a common cause or even igniting the romance that they are known for in Marvel Comics.
The fact that Jocasta warns Vision to stay out of her way and earlier asks Paladin who hired him marks a major turning point for VisionQuest. Previously, Jocasta was among the most theorized characters to be Padadin's mystery client, but her recent actions and comments all but confirm that isn't the case.
All signs suggest that VisionQuest faces a greater threat beyond Ultron and Jocasta, with her creator presumably serving as Paladin's client. Unless Marvel Studios has forgotten or is ignoring the Jocasta reference in Age of Ultron, perhaps the mystery villain was somehow connected to Tony Stark, or maybe the chip on his desk was simply a relic from his Markridge acquisition.
