Every MCU Hero We Know VisionQuest’s Paladin Has Fought (So Far)

“VisionQuest” reintroduces audiences to Vision (Paul Bettany) after he was reconstructed with an all-white look following “WandaVision,” our favorite Marvel Disney+ show. But the synthezoid’s life is made incredibly difficult when he’s hunted by the mysterious mercenary Paladin (Todd Stashwick).

Advanced weaponry and Adamantium chest armor (courtesy of the Ten Rings syndicate!) make him a fierce adversary for Vision. But he’s not inherently evil like other threats in the MCU; he’s just being paid to hunt Vision down. Paladin is helped by his handler (Diane Morgan), who banters with him while also delivering tactical information, because she’s his woman in the chair.

“VisionQuest” Episode 3 shows that she has no issue teasing the mercenary about some of his previous failed missions. Their conversation suggests that Paladin has fought a handful of MCU heroes in the past, which makes him a formidable opponent for Vision, even if those battles have left him physically scarred.

The Handler starts by referencing a job in Brooklyn which left Paladin having to pull “a fistful of shrapnel from that IED” out of his gut. Despite the serious wound, Paladin described the brawl as “a punishing disagreement with an old friend.” While he doesn’t mention him by name, that’s surely an indication that he’s gone head-to-head with Frank Castle, aka the Punisher (Jon Bernthal), in the MCU.

The brutal vigilante has traditionally been a New York-based hero in the comics and in the Netflix series, before making the jump into the MCU during “Daredevil: Born Again.” He’s also got a fondness for explosive weaponry, which might explain why Paladin got blasted with shrapnel during the fight. No wonder he wanted to get some Adamantium armor! It’s interesting that he calls him “old friend,” suggesting they already knew each other when things got violent. But it’s not a stretch to imagine that they’d met before given Paladin’s own training and Punisher’s military background.

There’s also history between them in the comics. Paladin was actually sent after Castle in the 1990 comic series “The Punisher: No Escape.” The storyline sees Castle hunting a ruthless mobster, who in turn hires Paladin for $10 million to kill the Punisher. To make things more complicated, U.S. Agent is even sent in by the government to also assassinate Castle. This sounds like a Disney+ miniseries waiting to happen!

The Handler’s next jibe reveals that Paladin has also fought another monstrous hero, Jack Russell (Gael García Bernal), the titular lycan in “Werewolf by Night.” She asks him about the bite marks he got from “that thing halfway between a man and a wolf,” clearly alluding to Russell. So far, he’s only appeared in the one-off special episode, which debuted in 2022. The episode is a self-contained adventure, where Russell tries to stop a horde of monster hunters from killing Man-Thing — aka Ted — before being outed as a creature himself.

It’s a refreshing step away from the relatively family-friendly antics which make up most of the MCU, as Russell and Man-Thing slaughter a handful of enemies in a bloody fashion. It is also available in color or black and white, which is a fun callback to the monster movies of old.

Luckily, we know that Paladin was able to get on Russell’s good side, because he tells the Handler that he’s “a perfectly reasonable fellow by day.” While it’s a shame we haven’t seen Gael García Bernal reprise his role since “Werewolf by Night” was released, it’s good to know that he’s still roaming around the MCU somewhere. The two haven’t crossed paths in the comics, but if we’re not going to see them in live action, then an adventure in the pages of the Marvel universe wouldn’t go amiss!

Paladin’s entire conversation with the Handler is about establishing how versatile he is in the MCU. Not only has he fought supernatural monsters, he’s also grappled with street-level vigilantes like Daredevil (Charlie Cox). It’s possibly the most tantalizing reference of the bunch thanks to “Daredevil: Born Again,” which Marvel recently confirmed will end with Season 3. “VisionQuest” refers to Matt Murdock’s signature weapon when the Handler reminds Paladin of getting a “steel fiber billy club to the noggin.” Ouch. 

It sounds like the mercenary lost his bout with the Man Without Fear, as he replies, “If you can’t take the heat, stay out of Hell’s Kitchen.” It’d be interesting to know why Paladin was fighting Daredevil and whether it took place during the events of “Born Again” or before it. 

Regardless, the reference to Murdock is pretty fitting since Paladin made his first appearance in the comics back in “Daredevil” #150 during his hunt for the terrifying villain called the Purple Man. After briefly fighting, they realize they’re on the same side and work together. That team-up definitely needs to happen in live action, if only so Todd Stashwick and Charlie Cox can verbally spar with each other as well as actually fighting.