Spoiler warning: This explainer discusses major story details from VisionQuest.
After the fractured events of WandaVision, Vision, played by Paul Bettany, is trying to rebuild a sense of identity while working in an Edinburgh pub. He spends time reconnecting with scattered memories, practising ordinary social interaction and meeting other artificial intelligences inside a digital mindscape.
That period of quiet reflection ends when a professional hit squad attacks the pub and kills Vision’s kind employer. The assault is led by Paladin, played by Todd Stashwick, who has been hired to capture the former Avenger.
Vision and his allies begin investigating their pursuer. Paladin’s history, his new role in the Marvel universe and the mystery behind his employer all point to a threat built around technology, contracts and long-held secrets.
Paladin’s comic-book history
Paladin first appeared in 1977 on Gil Kane’s cover for issue 150 of Daredevil. The cover introduced him as a man who could be viewed as either hero or villain, with Daredevil named as his target.
Writer Jim Shooter used a familiar Marvel setup: Paladin and Daredevil initially fight, then discover that they are pursuing the same enemy. Paladin has been hired to track down Kilgrave, the mind-controlling villain also known as the Purple Man, while Daredevil is investigating the same case. Once their confrontation ends, the two exchange information about their shared target.
Across later stories, Paladin develops into an honourable anti-hero rather than a straightforward villain. He expects payment for his work, but he has assisted the Avengers and Spider-Man, worked with Heroes for Hire and accepted assignments from S.H.I.E.L.D. His record is not spotless: he has also worked for the Hellfire Club and accepted contracts targeting the Punisher and Elektra.
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How VisionQuest reinvents Paladin
Marvel’s comics offered only limited information about Paladin’s origins, giving VisionQuest creator and showrunner Terry Matalas room to build a larger mythology. The series presents him as the latest member of a centuries-old line of hunters who pursue targets for the highest bidder.
Each Paladin is bound by an unbreakable contract once a job is accepted. This version will kill anyone who obstructs him, but he strongly dislikes collateral damage. Matalas has described the character as the Boba Fett of the Marvel Universe.
The change is especially significant when it comes to Paladin’s abilities. The comic-book character possesses superhuman strength, speed and durability. The television version does not appear to have superpowers, instead relying on a formidable weapons collection, technical expertise and access to additional mercenaries.
That equipment still makes him a serious danger to Vision. Paladin catches him in a trap and fires adamantium bullets capable of damaging Vision’s vibranium body.
Paladin is also assisted by an unnamed hacker, played by Diane Morgan. The hacker helps locate Vision and capture his reincarnated son Tommy, played by Ruaridh Mollica. Because the hacker and Paladin are never shown together in the same physical location, one possibility is that she is an artificial intelligence, similar to F.R.I.D.A.Y., played by Orla Brady, or E.D.I.T.H., played by Emily Hampshire. That remains a theory rather than a confirmed reveal.
Who hired Paladin?
Paladin and his hacker do not seem to know the identity of the person who placed the bounty on Vision. Their unseen employer is clearly skilled enough to break into Paladin’s secure communications, and the instructions are specific: Vision must be taken alive.
The pair use a S.W.O.R.D. satellite to communicate, leading Paladin to suspect that the intelligence agency is behind the operation. S.W.O.R.D. could want Vision returned because it invested considerable effort in rebuilding him after Thanos killed him.
That explanation is possible, but other candidates make the mystery more complicated. Many organisations and villains could want Vision, particularly if they know that he is carrying a backup of Ultron, played by James Spader.
The Ultron backup may have revealed Vision’s location, but it could also point to another backup elsewhere—one that hired Paladin. Vision is trying to understand himself after his body and consciousness were separated and reconstructed. Ultron may have a similar goal: using Vision’s mind to restore himself.
If that interpretation is correct, Paladin’s contract is more than a hunt for one former Avenger. Recovering Ultron could create consequences for the entire world.
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