VisionQuest trades hero-versus-villain for a story about memory and identity

A little over four years after Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) was buried under a mountain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the spotlight swings to Vision. Marvel’s latest Disney+ miniseries, VisionQuest, follows Paul Bettany’s synthezoid, though not quite the Vision you remember.

The plot: White Vision (Bettany) is hiding out in Edinburgh, a city full of memories of Wanda and the original Vision, piecing together a self from a past that doesn’t feel like his own. His consciousness is crowded with AIs inherited from Tony Stark, including J.A.R.V.I.S. and Friday, plus a locked-up Ultron (James Spader) who prods him about identity, emotion, and purpose. Outside, bounty hunter Paladin (Todd Stashwick) is working for an unseen client who wants Vision captured. His leverage is Thomas Shepherd (Ruaridh Mollica), the young man carrying Tommy Maximoff’s spirit. Vision is left asking how Tommy is alive at all.

What we liked: We’ve been looking forward to VisionQuest for a while, and four episodes in, it’s delivering. Bettany’s nuanced performance gives an android a soul, and Mollica makes a quick, human impression as Tommy. The superhero beats are familiar, but the show adds human stakes beyond hero versus villain. It’s about a man recollecting a life that feels unfamiliar and reconnecting with a son he didn’t think was real. Visually, it’s colorful, especially in the three-dimensional mindscape where Vision’s AIs live.

What we didn’t: We worry that VisionQuest has arrived late. WandaVision premiered five years ago, and Agatha All Along two years ago. Many viewers have moved on from Wanda and Vision’s story. Had it landed in the wake of WandaVision and Multiverse of Madness, we suspect it would have drawn a bigger audience.

The verdict: If you’re an MCU diehard, don’t sit this one out. The performances are strong, the storyline is intriguing and clearly ties into the wider MCU, and the production values show in every frame. The human story also makes it worth a try for viewers who haven’t kept up with Marvel.

WHERE TO WATCH IT- VisionQuest is streaming on Disney+, with episodes dropping weekly on Tuesdays. Watch the trailer on YouTube (watch, runtime: 2:38).