'VisionQuest': Who Hired Paladin?

WARNING! SPOILERS for VisionQuest, episodes 1 and 2.

The first two episodes of VisionQuest, set to be the final chapter in the critically acclaimed WandaVision trilogy, have arrived on Disney Plus. The series begins with the rebuilt White Vision studying humanity, his connection to the previous Visions (both the original and Westview Vision), and trying to find his place in the world. He is aided in this endeavour by a collection of previous Stark created AIs living within his mindscape, as well as an imprisoned Ultron.

Unfortunately, Vision's relatively peaceful existence is interrupted by the arrival of the Paladin, a Bounty Hunter hired to capture him, and further complicated when Paladin kidnaps Thomas Shepherd, a boy who appears to be the reincarnation of Wanda and Vision's son, Tommy Maximoff, to lure Vision.

The identity of Paladin's client is one of VisionQuest's biggest mysteries so far. In this article, we'll offer a few possibilities as to the client's identity.

S.W.O.R.D

The S.W.O.R.D organisation, particularly their then-leader Tyler Hayward, turn out to be major villains in WandaVision. Hayward claims Wanda had stolen Vision's body from S.W.O.R.D HQ, and reanimated it in Westview against the conditions of Vision's will. This turns out not to be the case as, a twist in the penultimate episode revealed that Wanda had never taken Vision's body, and it was in fact Hayward who defied Vision's wishes, reassembling Vision's body and reviving it with a sample of Wanda's magic.

In the first episode of VisionQuest, Vision is rather confident that S.W.O.R.D are no longer looking for him. His fellow AIs dispute this later in the episode, after learning that Paladin has used S.W.O.R.D intel. However, the client talking to Paladin seems to be a single person, and the only well-known S.W.O.R.D afiliated people who might be curious of Vision's whereabouts are Hayward, who was most likely imprisoned after Westview, and Monica Rambeau, who is currently trapped in another universe, and would be unlikely to hire a Bounty Hunter.

So, while Paladin may have used S.W.O.R.D intel, it is unlikely that they as an organisation hired him.

William Kaplan/Billy Maximoff

Agatha All Along, the second series in the WandaVision trilogy, ended with William Kaplan/Billy Maximoff, the reincarnation of Wanda and Vision's other son, embarking on a search for Tommy with help from the ghost of Agatha Harkness. This has led some fans to believe that Billy may have put the contract out on Vision. However, this is unlikely for a few reasons.

One, Billy was looking for Tommy, not Vision. Two, Billy was devastated when he realised his accidental creation of the Witches' Road lead to the deaths of the coven in Agatha All Along. He would not be happy with the amount of collateral damage Paladin is leaving behind, and it seems unlikely that he would speak to anyone with the ferocity with which the client treats Paladin.

It's defnitely possible that Billy may appear in VisionQuest, but probably not like this.

Justin Hammer

Justin Hammer was first introduced in Iron Man 2. A professional rival to Tony Stark, Hammer takes advantage of the gap in the industry caused by Stark Industries pulling out of the weapon design business, but still covets Stark's Iron Man suits. When his initial attempt to take possession of the suits via a Govrnment order fails, Hammer breaks Ivan Vanko out of prison and tasks him with designing a version of the suit for Hammer Industries, resulting in the creation of the Hammer drones. Hammer is also responsible for the first version of the War Machine suit, fitting out with weapons, but unfortunately for Rhodey, some of said weapons prove useless.

When Vanko hacks the Hammer drones and attacks the Stark Expo, Hammer is arrested and imprisoned for his role in the debacle. He was next briefly seen in prison with Trevor Slattery in the Marvel One-Shot All Hail The King.

In episode one of VisionQuest, Hammer's name is seen in the newspaper Vision is reading. While this could just be an Easter Egg, some fans are questioning whether the reference is a clue regarding Paladin's client. He could be out of prison by now, and someone like Justin Hammer is unlikely to see Vision as much more than a fancy machine. It certainly wouldn't be the first time he tried to make use of Stark Tech for his own gain.

Sharon Carter/The Power Broker

In Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes have a surprise reunion with Sharon Carter in Madripoor. Sharon has apparently been on the run from the law since helping Team Cap back in Captain America: Civil War, and sometimes sources items for a mysterious and dangerous weapons dealer, the Power Broker, to make ends meet. Sam promises to seek a pardon for Sharon in exchange for her help.

By the end of the series, Sharon is granted that pardon, and restored to her previous job within the CIA. Unfortunately, a twist late in the series had revealed to audiences that Sharon was the Power Broker, and plans to use her pardon as achance to access and sell weapons and secrets. Ever since, fans have been waiting for a bigger pay off from this reveal, and some now believe it could be Sharon who hired Paladin.

Jocasta

Along with the AIs we already know, at somepoint VisionQuest is set to introduce another AI, the female android Jocasta. In the comics, Jocasta is built by Ultron to act as his bride, but she soon turns on him in favour of the Avengers.

An Easter Egg of a computer chip bearing the name Jocasta appears briefly in Avengers: Age of Ultron when Tony Stark is choosing a new suit AI to replace JARVIS, but it is unknown if this will factor into the character's MCU origin. However, some fans believe that Jocasta already exists and for some reason, has hired Paladin to go after Vision. If true, this would explain how the client is so easily able to hack the equipment of Paladin's handler.

Doctor Doom

Until recently, it was widely believed that VisionQuest would have little bearing on the events of the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. However, that was before one of the bonus scenes in Avengers: Endgame Encore revealed that Doctor Doom is 'collecting' heroes, starting with the Hulk.

Some fans have now formed the theory that Doom has hired Paladin to 'collect' Vision for him. Others would rather this isn't the case, and would prefer that VisionQuest be allowed to conclude the WandaVision trilogy on it's own terms before the characters are tied back into the wider MCU.

Whatever the case, the identity of Paladin's client is one of the show's major mysteries so far. We'll need to keep watching VisionQuest over the coming weeks to find out the truth.

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