Here are all the real people behind the AIs in VisionQuest, including Ultron and Vision

VisionQuest has finally revealed the real people behind several of Tony Stark’s AIs, and there’s actually a pretty interesting story behind each of them.

If you’ve been watching VisionQuest and wondering why the AIs inside Vision’s Mindspace look like actual people, there’s a reason for that. The series has revealed that Tony Stark’s artificial intelligences weren’t simply given random personalities. Many were based on people from his life, including individuals who played important roles in his family’s history.

So, who are these people, and what do they have to do with JARVIS, FRIDAY, EDITH, Vision and Ultron?

JARVIS was based on Edwin Jarvis

JARVIS was Tony Stark’s AI assistant, but his name and human appearance were based on Edwin Jarvis, the real Stark family butler. Edwin worked for Howard Stark and helped raise Tony. The MCU had already introduced the character through James D’Arcy in Agent Carter, before bringing him back in Avengers: Endgame.

FRIDAY was based on Allison Hogan

FRIDAY is another AI with a connection to the Stark family, although her inspiration might be less familiar to MCU viewers. VisionQuest reveals that she was based on Allison Hogan, Howard Stark’s office assistant, who also helped raise Tony.

Allison was essentially Howard’s “girl Friday”, which explains where the AI’s name came from. FRIDAY later became Tony’s AI assistant after JARVIS was destroyed by Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

EDITH was based on Edith Marks

Introduced in Spider-Man: Far From Home, EDITH was Tony Stark’s powerful AI system, which he eventually passed on to Peter Parker. But VisionQuest reveals that her human inspiration was Edith Marks, a test pilot who worked for Howard Stark.

Edith was someone who enjoyed thrills and flying, but her life was also shaped by personal tragedy after losing her husband. Emily Hampshire portrays EDITH’s human avatar in VisionQuest.

JIM and Vision’s connection goes back to Phineas T. Horton

Episode 7 takes us back to 1939 and introduces Phineas T. Horton, the scientist behind JIM, the original Human Torch. Horton created JIM after losing his son, James, hoping to build an artificial replacement who wouldn’t experience the emotional pain associated with love and loss. But JIM struggled to process complex emotions, eventually causing his synthetic body to burst into flames.

The episode also establishes that Horton’s source code became the foundation for the artificial intelligence that followed. What’s particularly interesting is that Paul Bettany plays both Horton and JIM, connecting the scientist and his creation through the same human appearance.

This also helps explain Vision’s connection to JIM. Vision was created using JARVIS’s surviving programming, Ultron’s technology and the Mind Stone. But JARVIS’s underlying technology ultimately traces back to Horton’s original work. That means Vision has a technological connection to JIM, even though he isn’t simply a copy of the original Human Torch.

Who is Ultron based on? The mysterious Client shares his face

Throughout VisionQuest, Ultron has appeared in a human form played by James Spader. But the penultimate episode reveals that the mysterious Client has exactly the same face. The ending shows Vision arriving at Horton’s old estate, where he finds the Client waiting for him. And when the camera finally reveals his face, it’s James Spader again.

But the Client isn’t necessarily Ultron himself. The episode presents him as a separate person who shares Ultron’s human appearance. So, who is he?

One of the leading theories is that the Client could be Phineas Horton’s grandson through his daughter, Victoria. There’s actually a pretty interesting clue. During the 1939 flashback, Victoria takes one of her father’s notebooks with her as she leaves the estate. Later, what appears to be the same notebook turns up in the hands of Dr Josephine Carrington’s AI research group.

This suggests that Horton’s research may have been passed down through his family and eventually reached the people developing modern AI. The Client could therefore be a descendant of Horton who inherited his grandfather’s research.

However, this hasn’t been confirmed yet. We also don’t know why Ultron has exactly the same human appearance or whether the Client’s identity has anything to do with how Ultron was created.

Jocasta was connected to Dr Josephine Carrington

As she visits Horton’s old estate with Ultron, she begins recovering memories of her former life as Dr Josephine Carrington. The episode reveals that Josephine was involved in early AI research and had a romantic relationship with the mysterious man who later appears as the Client.

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