Ultron's parenting advice was the best part of VisionQuest — now fans see what it cost Vision

On 16 October, a thread on r/marvelstudios titled "It came full circle." went back over the first two episodes of VisionQuest, which arrived on Disney+ on 14 October. Its verdict: Ultron, the James Spader villain viewers crowned the show's best character, isn't a reformed dad. He's running a long con. We called his parenting advice the best in the series ourselves, so consider this the correction. Spoilers for episodes 1 and 2 follow.

The most upvoted reply in the thread lays out the case:

"Everything he's done so far (leaking Vision's location, pushing to get Vision out of his voluntary solitude, goading him to rescue Tommy) has put Vision in direct danger and it's obvious that by the end of the series, he's positioning himself to be the last AI standing in Vision's head."

— top comment on r/marvelstudios

It's a harsh reading of the most likeable character in the show, and the episodes back it up. Rewatch the premiere with that in mind and the mentor act falls apart.

Every tip came with a trap

Ultron never lies to Vision outright. He just keeps making suggestions, and each one costs something:

• The leak: in episode 1, Ultron sends Vision's Edinburgh hideout out into the data-sphere and calls it passing along a tip. A bounty hunter's crew turns up at the pub, and the landlady, Fiona, is killed by a sniper.
• The pep talk: in episode 2, Paladin (Todd Stashwick) takes Tommy as bait. Ultron tells Vision to stop fretting about being the Ship of Theseus and act like the king. Vision walks straight into an EMP cage and a hail of adamantium rounds at St Mabyn's.
• The sacrifice: with Vision's power failing, Ultron announces that this is the moment for noble self-sacrifice. JARVIS volunteers and deletes his own code to keep Vision running.

Tommy gets Vision out in a car. JARVIS doesn't, and recaps spotted the side effect: with the AI who held Ultron off in 2015 gone, Ultron has free rein in Vision's head. One viewer put it plainly: Ultron "manufactured the situation" and "wanted and expected Vision to get hurt".

What Ultron wanted in 2015

The motive isn't new. In Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), the vibranium body Vision lives in was built for Ultron, who meant to upload himself into it. The Avengers stole it, JARVIS went in, and Vision woke up instead. As another commenter put it: "Boy wants his toy back."

Paul Bettany never pretended otherwise. Before the premiere, he told Entertainment Weekly that Ultron is "this psychopath that he's keeping locked away upstairs in the attic" and called him "a psychotic psychotherapist". The chats about Tommy are the therapy. The psychopath is the part with a plan.

Every piece of advice Ultron gives ends with Vision weaker and Ultron closer to the door.

To be fair, a sizeable minority in the thread thinks Ultron isn't the endgame villain and will die, escape or even sacrifice himself to help Vision win. Even their best case has JARVIS dead first.

Read more: Marvel renewed Wonder Man and still couldn't save it — its TV boss can't explain why

What comes next

Episodes 3 and 4 land on Disney+ on 21 October in the UK, and the finale on 11 November. That leaves six episodes for Ultron to finish the job: Vision dependent on him, the other AIs thinning out, the body within reach.

Some fans are already asking whether he could break out in that body and turn up in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars. Pure speculation, for now.

Bettany also said one of the AIs in Vision's mind has to be kept behind "a pretty impressive firewall" because he's a psychopath. Two episodes in, the firewall has lost its best guard. Ultron is still offering to help.

Read more: Josh Brolin wants a Thanos vs Doom showdown, and Marvel fans are worried for his spine