How Will 'VisionQuest' Adapt The Origin Of Jocasta?

We're getting tantalisingly close to the debut of VisionQuest on Disney Plus. The final chapter of a trilogy including WandaVision and Agatha All Along, VisionQuest follows the reassembled White Vision on his search for purpose, aided by the other Stark-created A.I existing within his mindscape. Vision has been operating under the belief that the family Wanda Maximoff created in Westview is not real. This belief is soon shaken by the existence of Thomas Shepherd, a boy who believes that he is in fact Tommy Maximoff, the elder of Wanda and Vision's twin sons.

Alongside Ruaridh Mollica as Tommy, the series will also introduce T'Nia Miller as another A.I/android, Jocasta. In the comics, Jocasta is originally created as a Bride by Ultron. However, thanks to a number of differences between Ultron's comic and MCU backgrounds, Jocasta's origin will also need to be tweaked for the MCU. Let's look at the ways this could be accomplished.

Jocasta in the Comics

As mentioned above, in Jocasta's comic origin, she is an android built by Ultron to serve as his bride. As the comic Ultron's original creator was Hank Pym, he plans to base his bride's mind and brain patterns on Hank's then-wife, Janet Van Dyne, aka The Wasp. To animate Jocasta, Ultron kidnaps Janet and plans to transfer her life-force to his bride. Ultron's plan falls apart when Jocasta's newborn psyche emerges with a conscience, and, unwilling to let Janet die for the sake of her own existence, summons the Avengers, who defeat Ultron and save Janet.

Jocasta is temporarily left as a lifeless husk, but is eventually re-activated by Ultron via the Wasp's remaining mental residue. Though intended to be loyal to Ultron and fight the Avengers, Jocasta defies her programming and turns against Ultron.

While never a fully fledged Avenger, Jocasta is a recurring member of the team's substitute roster. The early years of Jocasta's existence saw her face a recurring issue with a piece of sleeper programming that would sometimes drive her to rebuild Ultron against her will, but this seems to have been done away with. She has also held a number of other Avenger affiliated jobs, including as an assistant to Tony Stark, and an instructor at the Avenger Academy. Her body has been destroyed on a number of occasions, but Jocasta has an ability to easily transfer her consciousness.

The character commonly goes by the full name Jocasta Pym, seeing herself as Hank's Granddaughter due to the fact that he created her creator, Ultron. Nadia Van Dyne, Hank's daughter from a relationship prior to Janet, has referred to Jocasta as her favourite niece, due to her brain patterns being based on Janet's (Nadia is closer to Janet than her Father, hence her choice of name.

How VisionQuest will handle Jocasta's origin

Here's where things may get a little complicated. In the MCU, Ultron was created by Tony Stark in the film Avengers: Age of Ultron. Hank Pym did not make his MCU debut until Ant-Man, released after Age of Ultron. This means that VisionQuest's Jocasta origin will have to omit her comic connections to both Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, who didn't officially appear until Ant-Man and The Wasp.

So, how will VisionQuest handle the change? In Age of Ultron, a chip containing a Jocasta A.I is seen among those Tony Stark is considering as a replacement for J.A.R.V.I.S before he settles on F.R.I.D.A.Y, but it is uncertain whether this was an intentional inclusion or just an Easter Egg at the time. Jocasta's character listing in VisionQuest explains little except that she is driven by revenge, against who is not explained, although she seems to be attacking Vision in at least one trailer for the series. This would suggest she is a creation of Ultron, either solely by him or somehow accessing the existing Stark A.I.

However, some fans have noticed certain details in the character's face shape bear similarities to the Scarlet Witch's headpiece. This has resulted in a theory that MCU Jocasta may be an amalgamation of Jocasta and Virginia Vision.

In Marvel Comics, sometime after the collapse of their marriage, Wanda gifts Vision with a copy of her brain patterns, intending him to use them to make himself a companion. In the 2015 'The Vision' comic series, these brainwaves are used by Vision to create a wife, Virginia, and merged with his own to create twin children, Viv and Vin, with the subtle implication being that Vision is subconsciously trying to recreate the life with Wanda that he once lost.

Unfortunately, things almost immediately go downhill, as Virginia commits a murder in self-defense, and, rather than come clean, instead follows what she sees as the 'logical' path and carries out more killings trying to cover up the original crime. The problem seems to be lacks the human elements that would allow someone to appropriately handle the instabilities in Wanda's brain activity.

Some fans believe Ultron could have attempted to use Wanda's brainwaves in Jocasta as she is one of the few humans of which he was fond. Others theorise that MCU Jocasta may be Vision's creation, using Wanda's brainwaves in a similar way to the comics, in a failed attempt to replace what he has lost.

We probably won't know the truth until VisionQuest airs. Thankfully, there's not much longer to wait.

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