There was never any doubt in my mind that after WandaVision and Agatha All Along, VisionQuest had everything going to be one of the best shows in the MCU. But even with Terry Matalas at the helm, the man responsible for probably my favorite show ever (12 Monkeys), I was still wary. There’s promise, and there’s execution. I’m pleased to say that, in this case, my first instinct was right. VisionQuest is not just a great show; it’s one of the best things to come out of the MCU ever.
It’s hard to quantify my relationship with the MCU, but I will try just to give some context. I’m a Marvel kid. I grew up with comics as the one treat my parents would buy me when I behaved, and I was often a well-behaved child because I needed to know what happened in the next issue of whatever. I remember re-watching X-Men: The Animated Series so many times I can probably still quote some episodes.
Of course, that didn’t stop there. I watched any adaptation that came out, even before the MCU was a thing. And I continued to watch, even though I had a long list of gripes with a lot of those adaptations. Until very recently, I had watched absolutely everything Marvel ever produced, and mostly enjoyed the ride.
Like everyone, I probably hit my Marvel fatigue in the past few years. For me, it wasn’t a matter of oversaturation. Again, I grew up with comics and that never stops. So, I’m good with a lot of content, and I’m even okay with some of that content being stuff I don’t really love at times. My problem was that I felt that Marvel had lost a bit of the spark. The soul, so to speak. VisionQuest brings that back.
When WandaVision came out, I didn’t expect to love it as much. Wanda was never a character that truly spoke to me. When Agatha All Along was released, I didn’t expect to be enchanted by it. I didn’t even care about Agatha during WandaVision! I, however, did expect to love VisionQuest, even if I also never really cared about Vision until WandaVision. But I didn’t expect to be moved to the point I was, and I truly didn’t think I’d be here, almost wishing I could forget all three shows and experience them once again, together.
There’s a beautiful symmetry to the story of VisionQuest that makes the story of the other two shows feel even more poignant, and there’s a clear common thread between the messages of the three shows. Despite that, VisionQuest is very much its own story, and it’s one that allows Paul Bettany a chance to shine in a way Vision has never been allowed to before.
What is love? What is grief? WandaVision already gave us an answer, but VisionQuest gives us, perhaps, a different one. Or maybe it’s the same one, told in a different way. Either way, Vision’s road to humanity has always gone through Wanda, and VisionQuest doesn’t stray away from that. It just expands the story a bit further. Love is like that.
So much of what makes a good superhero show work is the feeling of family, and that’s something that VisionQuest excels at. The show is especially strong when Bettany and Ruaridh Mollica get a chance to share a screen, but Mollica isn’t just good when Tommy is with his father; he’s good on his own. That’s very good news for a character that we would hope has a future in the MCU outside of VisionQuest.
Outside of them, it’s a real delight to see James Spader as Ultron, to the shock of absolutely no one. Spader has a way of doing serious that almost feels like a comedy and a way of doing comedy that feels like it’s something serious, and he’s perfect in a role as layered as Ultron. You’ll find yourself rooting for him even when you shouldn’t, or at least enjoying him. Plus, Todd Stashwick is around, and he’s always a real treat see, especially while embodying characters that are a little more complicated than they seem.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway of VisionQuest is that Matalas truly thought of everything as he planned out the story of Vision, and by extension, his family. Often, the journey is the important part, but if you want to tell a proper tale, you have to know where the journey is leading and why. This show does. And you can’t put a price on that.
Are you excited for VisionQuest? Share with us in the comments below!
The first two episodes of VisionQuest will be released on Disney+ on October 14.
