We watched ‘VisionQuest’s first episode at New York Comic Con. It’s a trip.

James Spader and Paul Bettany in “VisionQuest.”Credit: Marvel Studios

Marvel screened the first episode of VisionQuestat New York Comic Con today, surprising attendees of its packed “Up Next From Marvel Television and Marvel Animation” panel.

The energy was electric as audiences got an early look at the MCU’s latest show, which marks the end of the loosely connected WandaVisiontrilogy that began with WandaVisionand Agatha All Along. VisionQuest reunites viewers with synthezoid Vision (Paul Bettany) — or at least, a version of him. The Vision at the heart of VisionQuestis not technically the same Vision who was introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron, then killed in Avengers: Infinity War, then resurrected by wife Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) in WandaVision. Thatiteration of Vision disappeared when Wanda released her hex on the town of Westview.

Instead, VisionQuest‘s lead is the rebuilt version of Vision. He was originally created by S.W.O.R.D. to use as a weapon. However, when he encountered Wanda’s facsimile of Vision in the WandaVisionfinale, he gained all of Vision’s memories — both those of the dead Vision, and the recreated one — and went rogue.

If that all sounds complicated and heady, I don’t blame you! But based on the first episode screened at NYCC, VisionQuestmanages to move past all that dense lore and jump into something far more fascinating: a deep dive into Vision’s identity crisis. Mashable was on the ground at Marvel’s NYCC panel, so we’ve got you covered on what to expect from VisionQuest — and what we’re most excited about.

VisionQuest‘s AI squad is an absolute delight.

Orla Brady, James D’Arcy, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Lewis in “VisionQuest.”Credit: Marvel Studios

VisionQuestpicks up several years after the end of WandaVision. Vision lives in disguised human form, working at a pub in Edinburgh that he and Wanda used to visit when they lived there. (Or really, Wanda and a past version of Vision.) He’s trying to gain a better understanding of humanity, as well as his own inherited memories of living among them.

When he’s not making awkward small talk with pub patrons, Vision retreats into his simulated mind palace: a vast mansion staffed by other AI from across the MCU, now appearing in human avatars. He’s downloaded them and set them up in his own quantum processor, which basically means they live in his head rent-free. In return, they carry out jobs of their own. Iron Man‘s J.A.R.V.I.S. (James D’Arcy) is basically Vision’s butler and security. Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s F.R.I.D.A.Y. (Orla Brady) gives him tips on how to socialize. Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s E.D.I.T.H. (Emily Hampshire) is in charge of educating Vision on how humans have fun. (It apparently involves a lotof daredevil stunts.)

The resulting dynamic is downright charming, with Vision and his AI buddies coming across as friendly, if occasionally beleaguered, housemates. And what a house it is, full of eye-popping colors and a barrage of visual puns. (Vision stocks the house with simulated food, including bags of Microchips and jars of Visimite.) Thanks to its retro stylings, the house echoes the hyper-specific visual storytelling of WandaVision.

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Ultron’s return to the MCU is triumphant (and sassy).

James Spader and Paul Bettany in “VisionQuest.”Credit: Marvel Studios

One of the biggest headlines around VisionQuestis the return of Avengers villain Ultron (James Spader). Based on the first episode alone, that return does not disappoint.

Right from the jump, VisionQuest‘s Ultron is a sullen scene-stealer. He lives in the attic of Vision’s house, blasting loud music to annoy everyone below, just like a moody teen. He hurls insults at simulated food delivery drivers, and when that’s not enough, he hurls grenades. He’s a fount of withering one-liners, at one point calling the house’s decor “the psilocybin collection from IKEA,” and he’s also decided that his human avatar might be a “hat guy.” That means Spader spends a good chunk of the first episode rocking a jaunty top hat, the perfect accessory to Ultron’s malicious whimsy. With Ultron in human form, Spader gets free rein to chew VisionQuest‘s scenery, and the show is better for it.

Ultron also pushes Vision to consider the more contemplative themes of the show: questions of free will, of the links between the old Visions’ memories and this current Vision’s identity, of Vision’s complicated relationship with humanity. That’s something Ultron himself still appears to be reckoning with. If he, like Vision, had a corporeal form and could walk among humans, he jokes that it would be a coin flip between whether he would visit the great museums of the world or launch all of humanity’s missiles. It’s a dark joke, but in the age of ever-accelerating AI, it certainly hits different.

VisionQuestreunites Vision with his son, Tommy.

Ruaridh Mollica in “VisionQuest.”Credit: Marvel Studios

Vision isn’t the only WandaVisioncharacter struggling with the fallout from his time in Westview. So is one of his and Wanda’s twin sons, speedster Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica).

In a storyline running parallel to Vision’s quest for enlightenment, VisionQuestintroduces Tommy as a roguish grifter who’s able to slip into a new identity or total invisibility at a moment’s notice. But when the world gets wind that Vision is still at large, he begins to experience strange flashes of a family he barely remembers, as well as glimpses of the Battle of Westview.

The fragments frighten Tommy and send him into a panic attack, marking a clear departure from how Vision processes his older selves’ memories. (He watches them calmly in a home theater, although he can’t bear to watch any from Westview.) Despite the contrast between how the pair reacts to their pasts, Tommy and Vision share the common experience of having strange memories that radically shift their perception of self. Based on the first episode, it will be a treat to see how VisionQuestbrings these two back into one another’s orbits.

VisionQuestproves Diane Morgan should be in everything.

Aside from Ultron, VisionQuestintroduces another villain or two who deserve a quick shoutout. Mercenary Paladin (Todd Stashwick) makes an instant impression as a brash bounty hunter, but it’s his remote handler (Diane Morgan of Philomena Cunk fame) who takes the cake. Her deadpan delivery rivals Spader’s many meaty one-liners, especially when she has to say “Thanos” and “scrotum” in the same sentence, with a straight face. Forget Avengers: Doomsday; when are we getting her solo movie?

<a href="https://zdcs.link/9wByjq?pageview_type=Standard&template=article&module=content_body&element=offer&item=text-link&element_label=VisionQuest%20premieres%20Oct.%2014%20on%20Disney%2B.&object_type=article&object_uuid=01ixxUoLosGwSoyk1nnFlfb&short_url=9wByjq&u=https%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2Farticle-route-prefix%2Fentertainment%2Fvisionquest-episode-1-reaction-nycc” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>VisionQuestpremieres Oct. 14 on Disney+.Recommended deals for you

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Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.