VisionQuest is a sequel to both WandaVision and Agatha All Along, and it is making one major improvement on the supervillain front. When VisionQuest begins its eight-episode season on Disney+ on October 14, it will launch the third and final chapter of the WandaVision trilogy, which has previously featured magical villains like Agatha Harkness, Lady Death, and the Salem Seven.
On the (witches') road to Agatha All Along, the WandaVision sequel's only confirmed villain was the Salem Seven, a coven of witches who pursued Agatha Harkness and were, ultimately, extremely forgettable. The group added almost nothing to the narrative beyond chasing Agatha and her coven through the Witches' Road, and were made only more forgettable by their limited comic history.
Marvel Studios is rectifying that mistake in the final chapter of the WandaVision trilogy, VisionQuest, by instead focusing on villains with larger roles in the written mythos, such as Ultron, Jocasta, and Paladin.
A version of the Salem Seven exists in Marvel Comics, though they are nothing like those presented in the MCU. In fact, the group is, in the comics, the grandchildren of Agatha Harkness, via her son Nicholas Scratch, who believed she had committed treason against the magical community by leaving to live among humans and becoming a nanny to the Fantastic Four's children.
Of course, Agatha All Along was hiding a game-changing Marvel Comics villain, even if her identity wasn't revealed until Episode 7. Parks & Recreation star Aubrey Plaza was prominently featured in the marketing campaign for the WandaVision sequel as an original witchy character, Rio Vidal, who was later revealed to be Lady Death, a cosmic being with connections to Thanos in Marvel Comics.
One could argue that WandaVision faced a similar obstacle, as it was mostly marketed as a sitcom, with only a glimmer of its reality-bending madness to preserve the series' biggest twists. The lack of a major announced villain even led many to think that a surprise Mephisto debut was on the cards.
The marketing couldn't spoil that Wanda Maximoff was the mastermind behind Westview, or that the nosy neighbor Agnes was Agatha Harkness. Arguably even more so than Agatha All Along, that left WandaVision with no clear villain to tout, relying on its Avengers veterans, unique premise, and the MCU brand to sell.
VisionQuest is deviating from WandaVision and Agatha All Along's formula of relying on surprise twists that reveal original characters as well-known Marvel Comics villains. Instead, the upcoming WandaVision sequel is being rather open about the new and familiar Marvel villains who are set to appear.
Meet VisionQuest's Crucial Marvel Comics Villains
VisionQuest is officially taking James Spader's Ultron to Disney+, bringing back Avengers: Age of Ultron's robotic villain for the first time in a decade. Ultron stands alongside Thanos and Kang the Conqueror as the Avengers' greatest villains in comic book history, but he also stands as the father/creator of Vision.
The series is confirmed to explore "themes of fatherhood," both through Vision and Ultron, and Vision and his superhero son, Tommy Maximoff. The Avengers villain will likely first appear in Vision's consciousness alongside other Stark AIs, acting almost like an abusive father figure as the synthezoid attempts to understand what he really is and comes to realize that he is more than his creator.
But fans already know that Ultron won't just be returning within Vision's mind, as his physical robotic form is also coming back. Of course, Ultron's body was seemingly destroyed by the Avengers over a decade ago, so perhaps one or more of VisionQuest's other villains are working to resurrect him for their own purposes.
If dark forces within the MCU are looking to build their own Ultron, it stands to reason that Todd Stashwick's Paladin may be one of them. The WandaVision sequel is essentially introducing the MCU's own Deathstroke, who is in pursuit of Vision and his advanced technology
However, it's important to note that Paladin is classically a mercenary in the Marvel universe, and he rarely acts alone. For Paladin to be on Vision's trail, it stands to reason that there must be a high bidder after the Avenger; perhaps it could even connect to Daredevil: Born Again and Mr. Charles' Dark Whispers.
More realistically, the hunt for Vision and his technology could be tied to a terrifying scheme to revive Ultron, using the synthezoid body as a vehicle. However,
One of VisionQuest's biggest new villain additions from the comics is Jocasta, played by The Haunting of Bly Manor actor T'Nia Miller. On the page, Jocasta, much like Vision, was created by Ultron, although not to be a son or new and improved body for himself, but to be his bride.
Jocasta already has a history in the MCU, as an A.I. chip bearing her name was spotted in Tony Stark's files during Age of Ultron. Marvel Studios probably won't give Ultron a wife in VisionQuest, especially not one played by an actress 25 years younger than Spader, so her role may be contained to Vision's consciousness.
VisionQuest has one more villain at play through Faran Tahir's Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar, the Ten Rings leader who abducted Tony Stark in Iron Man. While Raza's return offers a key connection to the wider MCU canon, he has no lasting ties to the comics and was originally created for the 2008 blockbuster.
The terrorist leader could be Paladin's latest benefactor, given that he has shown interest in acquiring Stark technology since Iron Man. It's unclear the status of Raza's Ten Rings faction after Xialing seized control of the organization in Shang-Chi, but a potential weapon with Ultron's power is bound to be in their interests.
