First and foremost: ULTRON IS BACK!!! I’ve been saying it since he was used as a one-and-done villain in Age of Ultron back in 2015, Ultron’s whole schtick is that he NEVER GOES AWAY. Don’t fumble this, Feige!
Next: I had zero ideas as to who these next two people were when watching the trailer. I had to do a Google.
Allegedly the guy is the actor Todd Stashwick portraying Paladin. Paladin is an occasionally altruistic, but typically villainous, bounty hunter. Full disclosure, I have read a few runs that Paladin has cameoed in, but until searching for him I didn’t realize who exactly he was. Given that he is a bounty hunter, it might be reasonable to assume he’s working on behalf of S.W.O.R.D. since there appears to be a pretty sizeable S.W.O.R.D. easter egg hidden in the trailer.
The lady with the glowing eyes seems to be Lisa Molionari, aka Coat of Arms, from “Dark Reign: Young Avengers.” Coat of Arms derives her power from her coat, which grants her the ability to summon multiple arms to aid her in her endeavors. She and the Enchantress (Sylvie Lushton) break off to form the Young Masters and attempts to infiltrate the Masters of Evil.
Next up, we see Tommy (Speed) with Vision, confirming the occurrences during Agatha All Along between Billy Maximoff and Agatha Harkness.
Additionally, we see a scene with a plane approaching what appears to be Madripoor. All the nods to Madripoor over the last few years have been interesting to say the least. A little more background information on the island nation, for those caught unawares.
Madripoor is a small island nation situated near Singapore, in the Indonesian Archipelago. Its government has taken a very loose stance on crime and black-market dealings to encourage outside investment. Historically this has attracted MANY Marvel characters to wind up there at one point or another. The few that immediately come to mind are Patch (Wolverine), Storm, Gambit, Baron Zemo, Spider-Woman, Daken, and Tyger Tiger just to name a few.
Young Avengers, Assemble! (The Spec)
America Chavez – Introduced in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
Billy Maximoff – Wiccan, introduced in WandaVision, and we see him grown up in Agatha All Along.
Cassie Lang – Stature, Scott Lang’s daughter from Ant-Man Quantumania.
David Alleyne – Prodigy, not introduced into the MCU yet.
Eli Bradley – Patriot, from Captain America: Brave New World.
Kate Bishop – Hawkeye, introduced in the Hawkeye series.
Lisa Molionari – Coat of Arms, introduced (presumably) in VisionQuest.
Loki – Kid variant, introduced during Season 1 of the Loki series.
Nathaniel Richards – Iron Lad, a version of Kang from a distant future. Not introduced into the MCU yet.
Noh-Varr – Kree Ambassador to Earth, not introduced into the MCU yet.
Sylvie Lushton – The Enchantress, introduced in Season 1 of the Loki series.
Teddy Altman – Hulkling, not introduced to the MCU yet.
Tommy Maximoff – Speed, introduced in WandaVision. Now we’re seeing him all grown up in VisionQuest.
Whether or not VisionQuest ties directly into a Young Avengers sub-plot, the introduction of grown-up Tommy Maximoff indicates the MCU is setting up a team of new heroes, presumably to take center-stage along with the new casting lineup of the X-Men mentioned in last week’s Sinister Signals post. It should be noted that both Coat of Arms and the Enchantress break off from the Young Avengers relatively early on to form the Young Masters. What remains unclear is if, or when, Prodigy, Iron Lad, Noh-Varr, or Hulking will be introduced.
Some honorable mentions, who aren’t canonically Young Avengers but fit the bill, are:
Kamala Khan – Introduced in Ms. Marvel. Member of the Champions.
Love – Gorr’s daughter from “Love & Thunder”, adopted by Thor.
Miles Morales – Spider-Man. Not introduced yet, but he is too culturally significant to not include.
Phyla – Introduced in the cutscene at the end of GotG 3.
Riri Williams – Ironheart. Member of the Champions.
Scott Summers – Time-displaced Cyclops teamed up with the Champions to return to his own timeline. Member of the Champions. (Maybe has something to do with Kit Connor?)
Skaar – Introduced at the end of the She-Hulk series.
So what are your thoughts on how VisionQuest fits into the MCU? How do you think Madripoor ties into the plot? What do you think about the supposed Young Avengers sub-plot going on in the MCU at large right now? Let me know in the comments!