Hulk has made a career out of elevating the projects of other characters. In Thor: Ragnarok, the God of Thunder ran into his friend from work on Sakaar and recruited him to help save Asgard from Hela. Bruce Banner also played a key role in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which focused on his cousin, Jennifer Walters, learning to live as a Hulk as she tried to advance in her career. Well, Hulk is about to leave his mark on another Marvel Studios production, VisionQuest.
Coming out five years after WandaVision, VisionQuest picks up after the events of Marvel's first live-action Disney+ series. The titular hero has the memories of his previous self, who died at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, but he can't wrap his head around his connection to humanity. Vision would much prefer to hang out in his mindspace with his AI friends than socialize with people. However, Vision's virtual world will be rocked when Tommy Maximoff enters the picture.
Reuniting with his "son," whom he assumed had disappeared with the Westview hex, will have Vision rethinking everything, including his creation. Of course, Ultron, who's also set to return in WandaVision, viewed Vision as the perfect vessel for himself in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
But he wasn't the one who got Vision firing on all cylinders; Tony Stark and Bruce Banner got that honor. New VisionQuest art, depicting the struggle for Vision's allegiance, explores that time in the synthezoid's life.
Vance Kelly's piece, The Birth of Vision, was on display at a New York Comic-Con pop-up. And its message was clear to anyone who passed by, as it places Vision between two sides convinced they're doing the right thing.
At the time of his birth, Vision didn't know up from down, but he knew Ultron's plan went against his morals. That was enough for him to side with the Avengers, including his makers, Hulk and Iron Man.
Hulk and Vision lost touch after Age of Ultron. The Jade Giant left Earth for parts unknown, and Vision took his place as the Avengers' enforcer. They briefly reunited in Infinity War as they prepared to fight Thanos' forces, with Bruce helping to find a way to remove the Mind Stone from Vision.
Unfortunately, the plan fell apart, and Vision died. But VisionQuest hasn't forgotten about their connection and could set the stage for another reunion down the line.
VisionQuest Might Have Something to Say About Bruce Banner's Disappearance
Like Vision, Bruce had kept to himself for the last couple of years, teaching classes at a university in New York, until Jean Grey forced him to lose control in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The titular hero did everything he could to keep his old friend calm, even trying to power him down with his universal inhibitor. Nothing could keep Hulk from coming out, though, leading to a major battle between the former Avenger and Spider-Man.
When the dust settled, Bruce was in the back of an ambulance, headed for a heavily guarded facility. Avengers Endgame: Encore's post-credits scene shed more light on Bruce's situation, showing him recording a video log about the experiments he was conducting on himself.
Before he could finish his breakdown, a green light appeared in front of him, and Doctor Doom started waxing poetic about needing the good doctor's help. Bruce unleashed the Hulk, but it was too little, too late; Doom whisked him away before his opponent could land a blow.
Vision is unlikely to lead a search party for one of his father figures during VisionQuest. After all, a bounty hunter named Paladin is on his tail, and he looks like a "shoot first, ask questions later" type. There's also the Ultron problem. At some point in the show, the vindictive AI is going to escape into the real world and wreak havoc. While Bruce's brain and Hulk's fists would certainly come in handy against Ultron and Paladin, Vision won't be able to call on him.
The more likely line VisionQuest can draw between the two is that Vision somehow learns of Bruce's disappearance. Even if he can't solve it right away, he can keep it in his back pocket as the series nears its end. It's hard to imagine that VisionQuest wraps up without teasing Avengers: Doomsday in some way. Paul Bettany hasn't been confirmed as a cast member of that film yet. But Marvel Studios certainly has more surprises up its sleeve, ones that could reunite friends and allow them to fight the good fight together again.
