Long before the events of VisionQuest, Paul Bettany's Vision experienced one of the MCU's most unusual journeys, beginning as the voice of JARVIS, Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) original AI in 2008's Iron Man. Since then, the character has gained a red synthezoid body, fallen in love with Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), and been killed and resurrected multiple times. But a new promo suggests that Vision's original red form, killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, may still exist in some capacity.
Marvel Television's Disney+ newest series continues Vision's increasingly complicated story by exploring White Vision's struggle to understand his identity and the memories he inherited from his red predecessor. While Vision tries to understand who he is, he also grapples with the revelation that his son Tommy survived the collapse of Wanda's hex and now inhabits the body of a young man named Thomas Shepherd (Ruaridh Mollica).
The show visualizes the inner workings of Vision's mind in the Mindspace, a bizarre, AI-simulated home that also houses the consciousnesses of several of Stark's other AI creations, including JARVIS (James D'Arcy), EDITH (Emily Hampshire), and Ultron (James Spader). The Mindspace is at the center of what looks to be another major turning point for Vision that could change how audiences understand the relationship between the two versions of the character.
The Original Vision Returns in VisionQuest Episode 7
During an appearance on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Bettany debuted a new clip from VisionQuest Episode 7, which confirms the return of the original red-colored Vision killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. The scene, set inside the Mindspace, shows White Vision coming face-to-face with his previous incarnation.
In the short clip, White Vision appears in his human form, wearing a pinstripe suit, as he descends the stairs of his Mindspace, the original Vision standing in its entryway. As White Vision nears the bottom of the stairs, the original Vision speaks:
"After all the battles waged, the monsters fought, the only force powerful enough to imprison me is myself. That's poetic."
White Vision immediately challenges the original Vision's interpretation of his circumstances, saying, "This isn't a prison."
The clip ends without explaining how this version of Vision exists or why he believes White Vision has deliberately confined him within his consciousness.
Episode 7 of the VisionQuest, which is expected to follow Vision in the physical world as he, Thomas, and Paladin (Todd Stashwick) continue their adventures in Madripoor, will likely also explore this unexpected Mindspace encounter, although the original Vision's precise nature remains uncertain.
Vision's Complicated MCU History
After Tony Stark and Bruce Banner fused J.A.R.V.I.S. into the body Ultron created for himself in Avengers: Age of Ultron, he became Vision and joined the Avengers. The powerful synthezoid was powered in part by the Mind Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones sought by Thanos. In 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, Wanda destroyed the Mind Stone, but Thanos reversed time and ripped the stone from Vision's forehead, ending the original Vision's physical existence.
In 2021's WandaVision, a grief-stricken Wanda created a version of Vision inside the Hex she placed on the town of Westview, New Jersey. This chaos magic creation inherited the original Vision's personality and connection to Wanda. Meanwhile, S.W.O.R.D. built White Vision from the original Vision's remains and programmed him to kill Wanda.
Hex Vision helped unlock White Vision's suppressed memories during their philosophical Ship of Theseus confrontation in the WandaVision finale. Hex Vision then disappeared when Wanda dismantled the Hex, while White Vision departed Westview with his restored memories but no emotional connection to them.
Is the Original Vision Truly Alive Again?
It is unlikely that the original Vision is still alive, considering his corpse was dismantled and rebuilt with a new consciousness inside it. However, he could be a manifestation of White Vision's inherited memories, or even another AI that lay dormant in White Vision's consciousness until now.
In the new VisionQuest clip, the original Vision's remark about his imprisonment suggests he recognizes his circumstances and may have some degree of independence, similar to the AIs that exist inside the Mindspace. White Vision's response could indicate that this encounter is part of his ongoing effort to understand himself rather than an actual imprisonment.
The encounter may mark a major breakthrough in White Vision's ongoing identity crisis, especially if the original Vision has the emotional understanding White Vision has struggled to recover. That could set the stage for the two Visions to merge into a single consciousness, essentially restoring the original version of the character in White Vision's body.
The conversation between the two Visions would fit VisionQuest's overarching themes of identity, humanity, and self-acceptance, and could also answer the show's central question: whether White Vision is an emotionless shell of a long-dead Avenger or if he can restore his humanity and become his fully realized self again.
New episodes of VisionQuest premiere every Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern on Disney+.
