VisionQuest – Reboot review S1 E3

Reboot takes VisionQuest down an appropriately spooky level just a week out from Halloween. Additionally, the third installment of the series successfully maintained the mysteries of The Client and the Butcherbird Killer while providing some quality character moments.

Although the initial two episodes teased that Ultron might be responsible for the Butcherbird Killer, Reboot shows that he’s simply a casual viewer fascinated by the case. That fascination is only going to heighten as the BBK takes out a third victim, who at least had the foresight to hide in a safe room where he had access to a weapon. Sadly for him, the killer — clearly a robot — is invulnerable to the bullets.

Despite Jarvis’ sacrifice, Vision is still in bad shape and bleeding out. FRIDAY is trying to get things sorted out, but needs a pep talk from EDITH to properly focus. Perfectly unmotivated to help out, Ultron ducks out to talk to Vision in the real-world making Thomas question Vision’s sanity since he can’t see Ultron. Vision is able to cauterize his wounds with a spare battery in the car. Who keeps a spare car battery in the car?

In a nice bit paying homage to the first Iron Man film, as a spare blaze sparks in the Vision house, Dum-E and U spray fire extinguishers at EDITH and FRIDAY. Reboot has a delicate balance with the murders playing out and the quirky humor, but writers Cindy Appel and Terry Matalas find the appropriate tone to make both work.

FRIDAY mentions she replaced JARVIS once before after he became the brain template for The Vision. She had a purpose where she saved people’s lives, but friends became enemies and tyrants invaded the earth. “I was there at the end of all things. I was there when Tony died. I ran through various contingencies, but I couldn’t save him. Half the world came back that day, and I lost half of mine.”

VisionQuest has and will have some great bits of dialogue, but FRIDAY’s monologue in Reboot was one of the more emotional reflections of Infinity War/Endgame that’s been covered in the MCU. Orla Brady’s performance in this scene was captivating and easily one of the MCU’s best moments of 2026.

With Vision back on the mend, Thomas wants to learn about their relationship while Ultron drinks out of a ‘Father of the Year’ mug. Age of Ultron explains that Ultron was based on Tony Stark’s brain pattern, but Stark was hardly the sitcom jokester Ultron has been in VisionQuest. Based on social media reactions, Quippy Ultron has been a VisionQuest fan favorite, but he feels on the verge of breaking out into a Baron Zemo dance routine any episode now.

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While The Greatest American hero theme plays, Paladin’s assistant asks if they should send a gift basket to the Ten Rings Syndicate for the adamantium body armor. That explains how Paladin was able to face off against Vision and not get too badly damaged. He’s had experience in the field though as they name drop Paladin’s encounters with Punisher, Man Wolf and Daredevil. Reboot shows a more nuanced side to Paladin than the too cool for everything killer persona he previously showed in the series’ kickoff.

Paladin’s assistant taps into a SWORD file to be able to search for whatever passes for Vision’s blood. That is a pretty solid hack for tracking even if it takes some of the fun out of it. Paladin sends out his drones, Bing, Bang and Boom, which feels too cute for a buttoned-down mercenary. The Client gives Paladin one more shot at getting Vision or else the contract is pulled.

Thomas takes Vision to a hotel so he can recover without a lot of observers. Hopefully their hotel stay fares better than Hal Jordan and John Stewart’s… That idea quickly vanishes once Thomas sees a sign for the pool and has more flashbacks of his drowning. The body transfer horror elements of Wanda’s actions are wild to consider as she basically gave “Tommy” a second life in a body that was in the middle of dying.

EDITH alerts Vision about Paladin’s drones and then tries to walk him through talking to Thomas. Vision tries to explains what Wanda did but doesn’t know Tommy’s true origin prompting another catty response from Ultron. Yes, for the sake of the gag, him joking about Wanda being buried under a mountain shows Ultron’s “compassion” for Wanda, but there’s no way he should know Wanda’s fate besides Dr. Strange, Wong and America Chavez (does anyone working for Marvel Studios remember her?)

Ultron makes Vision run through various simulations to figure out the best approach to talk to Thomas. None of them work so Thomas walks off. He goes for some candy in the vending machine, but it gets stuck leading to his emotions flaring up and speeding his arm through the glass. That’s a pretty interesting use of his speed powers…

Thomas relays what happened during the drowning including him vibrating so fast he made the water boil. Vision also gets the link with Thomas’ hand phasing through the glass just as Paladin arrives. Just kidding. Director Gandja Monteiro does a fantastic job with the bait and switch of Paladin actually closing in on the Butcherbird Killer. That’s the problem with tracking synthezoid “blood.” Might not be the one you were expecting.

The BBK taps into Paladin’s mind revealing a flashback that his father was killed by an actual Paladin, who raised him as his heir. Before the BBK can kill him, Paladin’s drones arrive to create enough of a diversion for him to escape. This was a slight misfire in Reboot as the Butcherbird Killer easily could have killed Paladin and the drones if he wasn’t needed for future subplots. Like finding work since the client cancelled his contract.

Speaking of future subplots, Vision is crashing again as FRIDAY suggests they need to reboot him. If a reboot does play out, all of the AI entities will be purged. Not sure if that’s a bad trade off if that also means that Ultron would be gone as well. Not necessarily for show enjoyment purposes so much as planetary safety concerns.

Vision comes up with another idea as has Thomas supercharge the water to use as an alternate reboot that won’t purge his memories. It’s only taken the third episode, but Vision is already encouraging Thomas and telling him that Tommy Maximoff is real and that he can save Vision. That is a far quicker progression of this kind of important plot point than a standard show.

While Vision is back on the mend, the AI family has to mourn another member of the crew with a funeral for JARVIS. Vision starts to say some, but DUM-E quotes Keates instead. Well, that was unexpected. U contributes by singing “O Danny Boy” to the surprise of the others. Reboot definitely delivered some fun layers to the AI characters as VisionQuest is making this created family more engaging than scripted family shows.

But just as a reminder that VisionQuest is based on comic book characters, Reboot has the quiet moment interrupted by the emergency lights coming on signaling a breach. Vision’s neural network has connected with another synthezoid just as the TV plays the wings of the Butcherbird Killer’s trademark. To make matters worse, DUM-E, U and even Vision seem caught in her spell.

Reboot offered plenty to pull fans deeper into VisionQuest with some significant advancements in the subplots, a clash of villains and greater mysteries that still need to get solved.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Photo Credit: Disney

After watching Theseus, check out the Avengers West Coast Epic Collection: Vision Quest on Amazon.

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