One of the best MCU villains is coming back after 9 years as the perfect replacement for Iron Man

You’d be forgiven for thinking upcoming Marvel spin-off Vision Quest
has been the MCU’s forgotten project, but reports of James Spader’s Ultron return are so exciting that it’s impossible not to pay attention. Spader’s return – as reported by The Hollywood Reporter – is exactly the kind of shock the MCU needs to reinvigorate its future, and comes not long after Robert Downey Jr’s equally shocking MCU return was confirmed for 2026. Avengers: Doomsday.

News on Vision Quest Was cold some time ago, with persistent rumors of the WandaVision Cancellation of sequel filling the vacuum of information. But the gears have stopped living, and Spader’s involvement means a slightly ill-fitting part of Marvel Studios’ future plans after Bob Iger’s promise of a tighter focus is now essential viewing. Not only is Spader incredible as the villainous robot, but it gives us all something that Vision’s story doesn’t need; A reason for RDJ’s Iron Man not to return.

Ultron was a more entertaining villain than Thanos

Vision Quest’s Ultron Return can make him even better

Let’s get the controversial statement out of the way right above: James Spader’s Ultron was a better villain than Thanos (Josh Brolin) in terms of entertainment and performance. On the matter of balance, Thanos’ perverse egalitarian genocide is universal, and more successful, but he was a pragmatic villain, which unfortunately has something of a point. This led to a strange dynamic where MCU fans felt “Thanos is right” despite his billions of victims. It also meant that it lacked flair.

Spader’s Ultron, on the other hand, was a pantomime villain, mirroring his creator Tony Stark’s charisma, and buoyed by The Blacklist Star’s joyous performance. Avengers: Age of Ultron May have its issues (I love it dearly, despite them), but Ultron is a Machiavellian delight that deals in grandeur and has a certain panache. His every scene is spell-binding, which is even more remarkable considering he looks like a rejected early concept for a Michael Bay Transformers movie.

Judged on the hard truth alone, Vision Quest has just turned from an interesting fish-out-of-water concept into the second act of Marvel’s most rewarding villain. And no, Loki doesn’t count, because he’s not a villain now, and he wasn’t one for several of his MCU appearances. But as with all the best MCU things, it goes much deeper than that.

Ultron is the perfect replacement for Iron Man in White Vision’s future

If Tony Stark is off the table, there’s no better way to bring Vision’s conflict to a head

All we really know about Vision Quest Is that it will expand the story of White Vision further WandaVisionIn the end, as he seeks existential answers about his identity. We’ve seen this movie before: it’s called wall-eAnd The Iron GiantAnd two centuries man, And it is An interesting enough idea in an Android challenging its main directives and wrestling emotions to make it all enticing on the surface.

The more satisfying story elements for Vision Quest Coming specifically from the Scarlet Witch question – which could be answered if Elizabeth Olsen also returns – and in Vision’s exploration of his creation. Unfortunately, of course, Vision’s creation is tied to Tony Stark in a way that makes Robert Downey Jr’s swerve at playing Doctor Doom a little disappointing.

Vision is, after all, the evolution of JARVIS (with some added elements), and the final form of Ultron, and cannot be removed from Tony’s great idea of ​​replacing the Avengers with a more powerful protector of the Earth. From Ultron’s point of view, Vision is humanity’s replacement, without the flaws, but even the dark mission statement traces back to Stark’s anxiety about humanity’s fragility and flaws.

With Iron Man’s return basically impossible, given his death, and Doom’s impending arrival, The return of Ultron is the best possible solution for a replacement. It is a reading of WandaVisionThe ending that suggests White Vision looks like an abomination, when he faces the reality of his creation (and the purpose of his revival), and the conflicting facts of his real life for-End game. Bringing him face-to-face with Ultron will realize the conflict perfectly, with the added bonus of giving us more Spader.

There’s one thing Marvel can’t do with Ultron (and we’ve seen it before)

Marvel must avoid making Ultron too soft

While the return of Ultron is very exciting, Marvel needs to be careful not to undermine the villain by trying to soften him. We have already seen the same thing happen with Daniel Bruhl’s Zemo that returned in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Like a nicer version of the Captain America: Civil War Villain. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki also obviously went through a major evolution when initial plans to kill him off were reversed, and he also lost his edge as a villain, by design.

There’s always a danger that spending too much time in the company of a villain humanizes them, and to do that to Ultron in Vision Quest would be a big mistake. Ultron works because his plan is outrageous and despicable, even though he believes himself to be on a righteous path. Let’s just hope he returns with the same devilish essence in the upcoming sequel show.