VisionQuest will introduce Ruaridh Mollica's Tommy Maximoff, another mutant with super speed similar to his late uncle. While the X-Men haven't debuted in the MCU outside of the Multiverse, mutants like Kamala Khan, Namor, and Jean Grey have begun cropping up in the last few years. But Tommy's kidnapping could have unfortunate consequences for the future of mutants in the MCU.
Ever since Vision escaped the clutches of SWORD, he's had a bounty put on his head. In an attempt to lie low, he pretended to be human as he attempted to get his mind in order. Unfortunately, he's discovered and attacked by Todd Stashwick's Paladin, who creator Terry Matalas has described as "the Boba Fett of the Marvel Universe."
From what can be gleaned from the many trailers and TV spots, Paladin's first confrontation with Vision goes terribly for the mercenary. It's unclear whether this occurs during or after this botched meeting, but Paladin tells Vision, "I have your son," in one TV spot that cuts to the teen being carted away by armored men into an elevator.
This then directly lines up with a shot from another trailer, showing the future member of the Young Avengers in the same jacket strapped to a chair, with a tray of medical tools beside him. There's hardly any need to torture the teenager if he's already acting as bait for Vision, and it's not like he can tell them much about him, but Tommy Maximoff isn't just any teenager—he's a mutant.
If whoever captured him had figured that out, his value would have skyrocketed beyond that of a hostage. Thanks to his powers, his blood, tissue, and other genetic material are invaluable to the right people, especially since they could be used to create one of the most diabolical drugs in Marvel Comics.
The Mutant Growth Hormone
In Marvel Comics, Mutant Growth Hormone (MGH) is a naturally occurring biochemical produced in mutants and other genetically enhanced individuals, which can be extracted from their bodies and synthesized into a drug.
It made its live-action debut in Deadpool, where it was created and used by the villain Ajax to forcibly trigger latent mutant genes in a subject, giving them powers, as Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson painfully experienced. It also showed up in Logan, recreated by Alkali-Transigen and used by Hugh Jackman's Wolverine to give himself an extra boost of power for the final fight before he died from his wounds.
In the comics, it had existed decades before the formation of the X-Men and the rise of superheroes, but it was eventually made into an experimental drug in the modern day. Unlike Deadpool, it could only temporarily grant ordinary people superpowers similar to those of mutants and other superheroes. However, similar to Logan, MGH could also increase the potency of a mutant's powers.
With only Tommy captured and strapped to a chair, next to some scary-looking forceps and a saw as evidence, it might seem like a leap to assume it's for the purpose of extracting MGH from him, but then the trailer showed the island of Madripoor. One of the scummiest places in the Marvel universe and a popular trafficking hub for MGH in the comics.
Unlike Jennifer Lawrence's sanitized depiction of Mystique, the shapeshifting mutant had once kidnapped and held fellow mutant Dazzler in Madripoor as a constant supply of MGH to sell and fuel her growing criminal empire on the island. Some of her most reliable clients were even mutants, who became hopelessly addicted to the drug.
Its introduction would also be another mutant connection in the MCU, since it's fairly obvious that Marvel Studios is planning on investing heavily in the X-Men after the Multiverse Saga comes to an end with Avengers: Secret Wars. Considering the importance of Madripoor as a location for the X-Men in the comics, it only makes sense to establish MGH before their official debut in 2028.
Another reason for this connection is that the drug is tied closely to one member of the Young Avengers: Patriot, aka Eli Bradley. In the comics, Billy "Wiccan" Kaplan-Maximoff discovered Eli using MGH to temporarily grant himself powers that mimic the Super Soldier Formula coursing through the veins of Steve Rogers and his grandfather, Isaiah Bradley. If Elijah Richardson ever returns to the MCU as Eli Bradley, it would provide a natural way to address his lack of powers and highlight the dangers of MGH.
As for who Paladin is ultimately working for, one obvious suspect is the Department of Damage Control (DODC), since they've recently become heavily invested in mutants thanks to their experiments on Sara and Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It also wouldn't be out of the question for them to hire someone like Paladin to go after Vision to finish what SWORD started.
Discovering Tommy's connection to Vision and his potential as a mutant would simply be the cherry on top for this increasingly corrupt agency and its growing interest in mutants.
