Fans are eagerly awaiting the October 17 premiere of VisionQuest on Disney+, which will have Paul Bettney's Vision not only struggling with the memories of a life that was never his in WandaVision, but being a father to a son he never knew. The latest trailer not only showed fans the first look at T'Nia Miller's Jocasta, but also Vision's son, Tommy, played by Ruaridh Mollica, who shows off his impressive super speed.
In this trailer for VisionQuest, after recounting Wanda's actions with her Hex in WandaVision, James Spader's Ultron remarked, "Her witchy bubble has a consequence," then the trailer cut to Tommy, implying he was that consequence. Like his twin, Tommy was searching for answers and found Vision in the middle of his crisis.
In a snippet between father and son, the latter asked, "Vision, what aren't you telling me?" only for the android to say, "My son, this is a fight I likely won't win." Cut to Vision fighting with Jocasta, but the real fight he's more likely speaking of is the one within, as Ultron attempts to take over his body.
While Tommy can't help Vision fight Ultron, he can certainly help turn the tide against Jocasta, as fans are finally shown Tommy using his super speed. Just before using it, he can be seen vibrating until he becomes nothing but a blur.
With Vision nowhere to be seen, Tommy helped save Mary McDonnell's character from being targeted by Ultron's metallic bride in the trailer. However, the effect used for Tommy's super speed is slightly different from the one used on his uncle in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
In what happens in only 12 frames, fans get a quick look at the new effect for Tommy's super speed in VisionQuest, which reduces him to nothing but a blue blur. However, pausing at the right time does show key frames of Tommy's actions, such as abscunding with Mary McDonnell before Jocasta could kill her.
Comparison With Other Speedsters
With the number of speedsters adapted into movies and shows, it's interesting to see how each production tackles the superpower differently, not only as a means of setting themselves apart from one another, but also in how they function within the narrative.
The effect applied to Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Petro Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron gave him an almost glowing outline of his afterimages as he ran. Something that Tommy distinctly lacks in VisionQuest, but despite that, he seems to be even faster than his deceased uncle.
Jett Klyne's Tommy in WandaVision, on the other hand, has a completely different effect on his super speed, looking more like a smear of afterimages, with an even greater glow surrounding him. Even Evan Peters' "Pietro" has the same effect applied to him in the mini-series, but that wasn't the case in the Fox movies.
Funny enough, the closest match for the depiction of Tommy's super speed in VisionQuest is the effect Fox applied to Evan Peters's Peter Maximoff in the studio's X-Men movies. Yes, he's most often seen in slow-mo using his powers, but there are instances in real-time when he has a similar blur as Mollica's younger speedster, lasting barely a handful of frames.
To make broader comparisons with other speedsters, Makkari has become a rather popular example in the MCU in recent years, despite the failure of Eternals. Her powers were never shown in slow-mo, while still making her feel fast, breaking the sound barrier constantly, to the point of using it as an attack. As an extra flourish, the glowing armor that surrounds all Eternals whenever they use their powers trails behind her as thin lines of light acting as speedlines.
Outside of Marvel, DC has the most iconic speedster with The Flash. In Andy Muschietti's adaptation of the character, Ezra Miller's Barry Allen was depicted with an excessive amount of lightning surrounding him in almost every scene. Not to mention his controversial running style, seemingly gliding across the ground.
And finally, by far the cheapest depiction of the power of super speed was in CW's The Flash and Grant Gustin's Barry Allen. Similar to Miller's depiction, Flash was constantly surrounded by lightning, to the point that he was often just depicted as a line of electricity as he bolted through the city. However, in close-ups, Gustin runs with his legs looking like blurs at the speed he's moving.
Hopefully, Ruaridh Mollica's Tommy and his super speed in VisionQuest are given the time to shine. Maybe even showing new applications for his powers that his uncle never got to show off before Ultron gunned him down.
