VisionQuest Just Revealed a Connection to the First Captain America Movie

In “Malware,” Vision (Paul Bettany) and Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica) attend a charity event dubbed “The Re-evolution of Man.” The gala is hosted by Mary McDonnell’s Dr. Katerina Wells, a former colleague of Josephine Carrington’s who, like Carrington, is also an expert on AI. Dr. Wells narrates a video presentation that is playing at the event, where she discusses the “ill-fated Synthetic Man” and explains a bit about his history. Later, she tells the assembled guests that Dr. Phineas Horton was the “grandfather of robotics” and that he was the creator of the Synthetic Man, also known as J.I.M. (notably, the Torch’s alter ego in the comics is Jim Hammond). The Synthetic Man’s source code, Wells explains, paved the way for all future artificial intelligence that followed. “He was the first of us,” the Vision says. “Miraculous, but flawed.”

We also learn that, unlike his comics counterpart, who was one of the original Marvel heroes and fought alongside Captain America and Namor in the super-group the Invaders during World War II, J.I.M. was deactivated after a series of “incendiary mishaps.” As Vision explains, “his inability to process complex emotions spun his clockwork too quickly, flooded his solar cells with oxygen until his entire being was consumed in fire.” Tommy responds, “You mean he felt to death?” Sad!

As for why this same problem never became an issue for the Vision, apparently the otherworldly power of the Mind Stone helped him to keep himself in check – and even though he no longer possesses the Stone in his new form, he still has enough of its residual power within his being. Why then did Ultron never suffer the same fate as the Synthetic Man/Human Torch? Could it be that his brief interaction with the Mind Stone’s power also affected him? (But then one must also ask, what about Jocasta…?)

At any rate, we now know that the Synthetic Man truly was also a Torch… though for now, anyway, it sounds as though that was a curse rather than a gift.

Is the Human Torch the Real Villain of VisionQuest?

While there are several apparent bad guys running around in VisionQuest right now, including Jocasta and Todd Stashwick’s Paladin, it’s clear that there’s still a Big Bad waiting in the background. Jocasta is traditionally portrayed as a good guy (she was an Avenger in the comics!), so she may flip sides soon, and a sympathetic backstory for Paladin is being planted as well – though since both characters have already killed in cold blood, it’s currently a bit difficult to see how they could be redeemed. But regardless, there’s also that ominous voice to consider of whoever it was who hired Paladin to track down Vision…

We’re halfway through VisionQuest at this point, so it seems likely that either the Human Torch or his creator, Dr. Horton, (or both) are being positioned to be behind that mysterious voice. Why else would VisionQuest give us so much information and backstory on the Torch? And if one of them is indeed the true villain of this series, the question then is why?

By the end of Episode 4, there’s also the matter of Ultron (James Spader) now having taken control of Vision’s body. That’s a dangerous situation to be sure, but VisionQuest has also hinted that there’s more to Ultron’s original design than we’ve previously known about. While E.D.I.T.H. (Emily Hampshire) figures out during this episode that the various Stark AIs have all been based on real people, Ultron insists that he is the exception. But is it possible that Dr. Horton and/or the Human Torch were somehow Ultron’s inspiration when he was created?

Of course, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner wouldn’t have consciously used either figure to base Ultron on, but don’t forget, Ultron just kind of came into existence on his own after the Science Bros thought they had failed. So something sparked Ultron into existence, but what? And is that same something now trying to track down its creation? VisionQuest is clearly about fathers and sons… so is Dr. Horton or the Torch Ultron’s actual father? We’ll find out soon enough.

Talk to Scott Collura @scottcollura.bsky.social, or listen to his Star Trek podcast, Transporter Room 3. Or do both!