The MCU Just Made Phase 3’s Vision Mistake Even Worse

Warning: This article contains spoilers for What If…? episode 8.

Ultron easily slices Thanos in half in Marvel’s What If…?, making the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 3 Vision mistake even worse. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ultron (played by James Spader) set out to create peace through destruction, and in What If…? episode 8, he finally does it. In What If…?, Ultron (voiced by Ross Marquand in the episode) successfully destroys life on the Earth. After that, he sets his sights on the rest of the MCU. Ultron discovers the Multiverse and ends up fighting the Watcher (Jeffrey Wright), the god-like narrator of What If…?, across time and space. Realizing he’s outmatched, the Watcher ultimately turns to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in a last-ditch effort to defeat Ultron and save the Multiverse.

Vision (Paul Bettany) has had inconsistent powers thus far in the MCU. In Age of Ultron, Ultron originally planned to inhabit a synthetic body, but the Avengers foil his plot and turn the body into Vision. The new hero immediately makes an impact, lifting Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) hammer and playing a pivotal role in destroying Ultron. However, Vision is substantially weaker in Avengers: Infinity War. In the film, Thanos simply plucks the Mind Stone right out of his head with almost no resistance. It’s a dramatic difference from Vision’s earlier appearances.

What If…? episode 8 makes Vision’s inconsistent and confusing powers even worse. In the episode, Ultron, who’s inhabiting Vision’s body, successfully eliminates most of life on Earth just in time for Thanos to appear from a portal. “Fascinating,” Ultron says after seeing the Mad Titan arrive. Then, without hesitation, he uses the Mind Stone to slice Thanos in half. Ultron claims all the other Infinity Stones for his own, and it couldn’t have been more effortless. Considering Thanos trounced Vision in Infinity War, the moment seems like a glaring issue.

Thanos’ death highlights the primary Phase 3 problem with Vision. Bottom line: Vision should’ve put up more of a fight. In Infinity War, Vision is useless, letting Thanos pluck an Infinity Stone from his head without resistance. Ultron slicing Thanos in half while inhabiting Vision’s body shows how badly the MCU mishandled Paul Bettany’s character. After all, Vision defeated Ultron, using the Mind Stone to wipe out the villain. Since Ultron would essentially have the same physical powers as Vision while inhabiting his body, the synthezoid’s lack of effort in Infinity War blatantly sticks out.

Of course, there are reasons why Vision was so weak. In Captain America: Civil War, Vision admits to Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) that he doesn’t fully understand the Mind Stone. “Its true nature is a mystery,” he says, possibly indicating he can’t use its full power in the way Ultron does. Then, in Infinity War, Vision gets injured early on. Corvus Glaive’s (Michael Shaw) blade stops Vision from phasing and causes his systems to fail. By the time Thanos arrives, Vision is just a shell of his former self. It’s frustrating that Vision is so feeble when he meets Thanos, but Infinity War does go out of its way to make excuses for it.

Marvel’s What If…? releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.