VisionQuest Makes One of Marvel’s Lamer Villains Into Something Cool

With abilities that include flight, strength, intangibility, and laser beams, the Vision is one of the most formidable heroes in the Marvel bullpen. He’s gone against the galaxy’s greatest villains, including his own maker, the genocidal robot Ultron. But with Ultron off the board in the new show VisionQuest—or, at least, relegated to the Vision’s Mindspace—a new bad guy needs to arise to challenge our hero, someone strong and resourceful and powerful.

And yet, VisionQuest‘s creators chose the Paladin. If you’ve never heard of the Paladin, then you’re not alone. Since debuting in 1977’s Daredevil #150 (that fabled low-point of the franchise, before Frank Miller came aboard and reinvented him), Paladin has lurked in the background of the Marvel Universe, getting knocked around by hero after hero. Yet, VisionQuest creator Terry Matalas and actor Todd Stashwick have found something compelling in the character, turning the Paladin into a guy who is capable, interesting, and, believe it or not, cool.

“Some call him hero—some call him villain—he’s Paladin, The man-stalker without equal!” So read the front cover copy to Daredevil #150, by Jim Shooter and Carmine Infantino. Despite the vaunted speech and the talents of all involved, Paladin hardly lives up to the hype of that issue. His tussle with the Man Without Fear lasts only a few pages, most of which consist of Daredevil dodging his attacks and getting in clean hits. In fact, the only interesting moment comes when the battle lands the duo in a YWCA, where Paladin immediately unmasks and starts flirting with the women inside.

The flirtation scene baffles readers as much as it does Daredevil, but Paladin makes his motivations clear. He’s a mercenary, who fights because that’s what he’s paid to do, not because of any hatred or belief. Moreover, in his first few appearances, Paladin is more interested in fighting Zebediah Killgrave, the truly evil Purple Man, and his dust-ups with Daredevil are merely incidental.

Such has been the case throughout most of the Paladin’s existence. He’ll show up for a guest appearance, get into a fight or two with a major character, and then disappear until his next job. He’ll show up in an issue of Spider-Man and fight the web-head while looking for his real target. Or sometimes, he’ll accept a contract to take on the good guy, whether that be the Punisher (a marginal hero) or Captain America (a hero, but blacklisted during the superhero Civil War).

During the Dark Reign event, in which the supervillain Norman Osborn a.k.a. Green Goblin took control of SHIELD and many heroes had to live in hiding, Paladin accepted a job as a member of the Thunderbolts. Granted, Paladin never acted as cruelly as teammates such as Bullseye, but he did gladly sign on with a known madman and did the jobs asked of him.

On several occasions, however, Paladin has teamed with heroes. But even then, he’s considered untrustworthy, and not just because he serves the highest bidder. After meeting the Wasp in 1984’s Avengers #251, by Roger Stern and Bob Hall, Paladin initially won her romantic attentions by pretending to be a person named Paul Denning. Even after revealing that Denning was just an alias (his true name is still unknown), Paladin maintained a flirtatious relationship with Wasp for several issues, and fight alongside the heroes.

Most notably, Paladin has served as a member of mercenary groups such as the Heroes for Hire, particularly a later incarnation led by Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. Again, Paladin did these jobs for money rather than any sense of responsibility for his great power. But that doesn’t mean that his works were any less good than those of more traditional heroes.

That moral ambiguity carries over into the MCU version of Paladin. Already in the first few episodes of VisionQuest, we’ve seen Paladin attack an unsuspecting Vision. And even though he didn’t do the deed directly, his actions do lead to the death of a civilian—a death he repays by callously killing the agent who murdered the bystander. Yet, when talking with his handler (Diane Morgan) or his mysterious client, the MCU Paladin cites a code and refers to standards, revealing himself as more noble than the average baddie.

But the greatest distinction between the MCU and Marvel Paladin’s might just be that the former is cool and the latter decidedly is not. Even when he’s romancing Wasp as Paul Denning, Paladin’s kind of a doofus, a guy with no discernible passions or perspective. Cool tech and weaponry aside, he always comes off like a wage laborer, no more dedicated than the characters from Clerks.

From moment one, Staswhick plays Paladin with an edge. He still hunts Vision for money, but he already shows more personality in his first scene than the character usually has in the comics, expressing real frustration when the job doesn’t go down the way he planned.

Will Stashwick be enough to make the Paladin into the dynamic character promised on the cover of Daredevil #150? Probably not, but he will make Paladin at least equally entertaining as Vision, Ultron, or any other scene partner on the show.

VisionQuest streams new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.

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