Spoilers for episodes 3 and 4 of VisionQuest follow.
After spending the opening episodes running from bounty hunter Paladin, Vision faces a far more personal danger in episodes 3 and 4: Jocasta, a lethal synthezoid with a radically reworked origin. Her investigation links back to Tony Stark’s earliest artificial-intelligence research, while her encounter with Ultron points towards a volatile alliance.
The result is a cliffhanger that changes the show’s central conflict. Vision is no longer simply trying to escape capture; he is caught between two artificial beings with their own plans for revenge, survival and evolution.
Who is Jocasta in VisionQuest?
Paladin spends episode 3 tracking the chemicals and radiation that an injured synthezoid would leave behind. Instead of finding Vision, however, he discovers another android—and one already killing the people connected to her past.
The mysterious figure communicates with Vision by breaking into his systems and warning him to keep away. Her repeated use of bird imagery leads Ultron to connect her activities with a serial killer known as the Butcherbird.
The Butcherbird’s targets are scientists who once collaborated on artificial intelligence and nanotechnology research. Tony Stark later acquired that work and used it in the development of systems including J.A.R.V.I.S. and Ultron.
Vision predicts that the group’s only surviving member will be next. He interrupts an awards event where the scientist, played by Battlestar Galactica actor Mary McDonnell, is being honoured. His intention is to talk the rogue AI down before another murder takes place.
There he learns that the Butcherbird is Josephine Carrington, played by T’Nia Miller, whose credits include The Fall of the House of Usher. Carrington belonged to the same research team and was believed to have died from natural causes in 2008—the year Tony Stark became Iron Man.
Josephine has since returned in a synthezoid body. She is hunting her former colleagues to gather the biological keys required to unlock an unknown objective. Her new name, Jocasta, is formed from “JoCa”, a shortening of Josephine Carrington, and “Sta”, a reference to the Stark technology behind her artificial body.
Jocasta overwhelms Vision in their confrontation. He survives only by allowing Ultron to take control of his body. Ultron then manipulates Jocasta into incinerating the scientist she intended to reach.
Although Ultron interferes with her mission, the two AIs display an unmistakable attraction. That creates the possibility of a dangerous partnership—or a destructive romance between two murderous machines.
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Who is Jocasta in Marvel Comics?
The television version of Jocasta differs substantially from the comic-book character. That change reflects the different history established for Ultron in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the MCU, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner create Ultron using the Mind Stone. Designed to protect Earth, Ultron concludes that humanity itself is the problem and seeks to eliminate it. He attempts to build a new vibranium body, but the Avengers seize it and combine it with J.A.R.V.I.S. and the Mind Stone to create Vision.
Vision defeats Ultron in Sokovia, then keeps Ultron’s programme trapped within his own mind, giving his synthetic creator an opportunity to change. These events were created for the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron.
The comics introduced Ultron earlier. Roy Thomas and John Buscema created him for The Avengers in 1968. There, Hank Pym—Ant-Man—builds an artificial intelligence from his own brainwaves. Ultron escapes his creator’s control, pursues increasingly advanced bodies and repeatedly battles the Avengers.
Ultron also creates Vision as a son and lieutenant, forcing inventor Phineas T. Horton to help construct him. Vision eventually rejects Ultron and becomes an Avenger.
Ultron later creates Jocasta by transferring the mind of Hank Pym’s wife, Janet Van Dyne, also known as the Wasp, into a robotic body. Her name is an unsettling reference to Jocasta, the mother and wife of Oedipus. Like Vision, the comic-book Jocasta ultimately turns against Ultron and joins the Avengers.
The 2010 animated series Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes offers a particularly faithful adaptation of this storyline and is available on Disney Plus.
VisionQuest gives Jocasta an independent origin rather than making her Ultron’s creation. Even so, her ruthlessness places her on equal footing with him. Any alliance between the pair could threaten Vision—and potentially humanity—while their opposing agendas make betrayal seem inevitable.
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