VisionQuest explains the biggest plot hole in Avengers: Age of Ultron

Please note: this article contains spoilers for episodes 5 and 6 of “VisionQuest”.

Nearly 20 years later, has Marvel Studios finally perfected the art of the shared universe with its “VisionQuest” series? That might seem like a silly thing to ask, considering the franchise’s first (and arguably greatest) achievement came all the way back in 2012 with “The Avengers.” This, of course, proved beyond doubt that a series of standalone solo films could indeed lay the groundwork for blockbuster event crossovers. However, the situation is somewhat different when it comes to streaming, where the record for Disney+ shows remains woefully uneven. Recent hits like “Agatha All Along” and the since-canceled “Wonder Man” have managed to buck that trend, but how often have these series actually influenced and enhanced the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe rather than the other way around?

“VisionQuest” may have done just that by turning into a long-awaited sequel to “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Episode 5, titled “Firewall”, begins quite chaotically with Ultron (James Spader) having locked out Paul Bettany’s vision of his own central systems and fleeing with the synthezoid’s ex-son, Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica). When Vision and his team of other AIs find them at a local pub, the episode quickly turns into something more exciting. After making it clear that he means Tommy no harm, Ultron magnanimously offers to tell Tommy everything he wishes to know about himself. At the top of the list is an explanation for his actions in Sokovia, the innocents he killed (Ultron casually places the estimate well above Tommy’s figure of 177) and the billions more he would have slaughtered if he had gotten what he wanted.

In doing so, “VisionQuest” retroactively addresses one of the biggest complaints about “Age of Ultron” – namely Ultron’s rather rushed motivations – and makes the film even better.

Remember all those memes about Ultron only needing 10 seconds on the internet to decide that humanity should be collectively wiped out? As funny as they were, these jokes also highlighted one of the most obvious shortcomings of “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” For an ambitious sequel that already had so much going on, there wasn’t really a lot of screen time devoted to the “why” behind Ultron’s murderous intent. Of course, James Spader made his speeches about string puppets, evolution, and “peace in our time” a meal. But, ultimately, could audiences really understand the underlying reason(s) why Ultron became so evil in the first place?

Fortunately, “VisionQuest” now fills some of these gaps. When Tommy confronts Ultron about his monstrous and genocidal intentions, the unapologetic villain willingly obliges. “I find the human race to be an incurable disease that isn’t even kind enough to kill you,” he responds cynically. This certainly fits with Ultron’s behavior in “Age of Ultron” (he even calls his creator Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) a “disease” at one point), but it goes even further in justifying what he’s been trying to do all these years. Calling it a “courtesy”, Ultron places the blame on the humans who have already set out on the path to destruction.

However, the twist comes when Tommy wonders if Ultron always pursue the same objective if he had the means and the opportunity. In a moment that continues to hint at his growth and perhaps even redemption, Ultron admits the possibility that he may choose differently this time. Of course, sparing artists while condemning everyone is not. ideal … but hey, it’s progressing!

What makes “VisionQuest” feel like such a miracle in the MCU comes from how it manages to serve so many different aspects of the franchise while remaining its own unique entity. While the spotlight is firmly on “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Secret Wars,” here comes this unassuming streaming show that simultaneously functions as a sequel to “Age of Ultron,” a capstone to the trilogy begun by “WandaVision” and “Agatha All Along,” and a spiritual successor to the boundary-pushing risks taken by “Loki.”

Nowhere does he achieve all of these goals more than in his portrayal of Ultron. Yes, he is clearly nothing good from the start of the premiere. It’s no surprise when he takes advantage of his moment of freedom in Episode 4 and uses it to stab Vision and his AI friends in the back. But again, it is not treated as such. Everyone from Edith (Emily Hampshire) to Friday (Orla Brady) to James D’Arcy’s dearly departed Jarvis warns Vision that keeping Ultron around might not lead to anything good. Yet the fact that Vision is doing it anyway raises the possibility that Ultron is no longer the same “person” he was ten years ago. He is no longer as irritable, erratic and riddled with insecurity as before – in fact, he has since become more introspective and appreciative of human art than ever before.

Of course, Ultron’s escape into the digital world, his alliance with the villainous Jocasta (T’Nia Miller), and Episode 6’s dramatic revelation that the two intend to infect humanity with nanobots to “cure” them suggest that Ultron is still a work in progress… but that only makes it all the more fascinating.

New episodes of “VisionQuest” air on Disney+ every Tuesday.