All 7 Marvel Characters Paul Bettany Has Played in the MCU (Number 1 Pays Off a 15 Year Old Easter Egg)

When people think of Marvel Cinematic Universe actors, the first names to come to mind are likely Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson, as they’re stars who have been there since the beginning. Another actor who has been with the MCU since Iron Man is Paul Bettany. Though originally cast to voice J.A.R.V.I.S., Bettany stepped into the spotlight as Vision in what has become his most iconic role.

While the MCU has let actors play more than one role before — notably, Gemma Chan as Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel and later Sersi in Eternals — Bettany has far exceeded that number. Over the MCU’s 18-year history, he has played seven Marvel characters. From a reworked Iron Man supporting character to the very first hero of Marvel Comics, here are all those roles in order of their first appearance.

J.A.R.V.I.S.

Tony Stark’s AI Gave Paul Bettany His Start in the MCU

Before physically appearing on-screen, Paul Bettany lent his voice to J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony Stark’s artificial intelligence. Bettany voiced J.A.R.V.I.S. in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, and Avengers: Age of Ultron, before ultimately taking on the role of Vision with the character of F.R.I.D.A.Y. becoming Tony Stark’s new AI assistant. Iron Man director Jon Favreau hired Bettany to do the voice, having previously worked with the actor on the movie Wimbledon.

Originally designed as an update on the comic book butler Edwin Jarvis, the MCU later retconned J.A.R.V.I.S. to be based on Howard Stark’s human butler and key role model for young Tony Stark. Edwin Jarvis is played by James D’Arcy in Agent Carter, Avengers: Endgame, and most recently, as J.A.R.V.I.S.’s physical form in VisionQuest. It was Bettany who originated the role, though, which would set the stage for him playing multiple characters in the franchise.

Vision

Before His Hit MCU Role, Paul Bettany Considered Quitting Acting

After lending his voice to the MCU for seven years, Bettany finally made his first on-screen appearance as Vision in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Ultron designed the Vision’s synthezoid body using vibranium and the Mind Stone, intending to upload his own consciousness. The Avengers’ intervention and the combined efforts of Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and lightning from Thor created Vision.

Debuting in The Avengers #57 in August 1968, Vision is one of the most prominent members of The Avengers roster in the comics. The MCU version of Vision served as an Avenger in Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, and Avengers: Infinity War before being killed by Thanos.

The idea to have Paul Bettany play Vision came from director Joss Whedon. In “From the Inside Out — Making of Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Whedon recalled, “I said, ‘If you make a second movie, it’s got to be Ultron. And then he should make the Vision, but they should put J.A.R.V.I.S. in the Vision, and that way Paul Bettany could play Vision,’ because only Paul Bettany could play the Vision.”

Speaking with Reuters, Bettany revealed that shortly before Whedon called him, he was considering quitting acting. Bettany said:

“I was doing an audition with a producer who will remain nameless, who told me my career was over. I got up, I walked out, I went downstairs and my legs ‌gave way. ⁠I sat on Sunset Boulevard and I went, you know what, maybe he’s right, maybe my career is over. Then my phone rang, I answered it, and it was Joss Whedon who said, ‘Would you like to play the Vision?’ And that is a true story.”

Hex Vision

Wanda Maximoff Created This Vision From Grief

WandaVision
Disney+
WandaVision
Disney+
WandaVision
Disney+

Hex Vision is one of two alternate Visions born after the character’s death in Avengers: Infinity War. Wanda Maximoff’s grief and chaos magic created Hex Vision in WandaVision. While having all of Vision’s powers, because he is a construct of the hex Wanda cast over Westview, he is bound to it and ceases to exist when it is destroyed. As Wanda tells him in the WandaVision finale:

“You, Vision, are the piece of the Mind Stone that lives in me. You are a body of wires and blood and bone that I created. You are my sadness and my hope. And mostly, you’re my love.”

Since Wanda created Hex Vision based on how she remembered Vision up until his death, he is essentially a backup copy of the original Vision’s consciousness. He implants his memories into the reanimated body of his corpse, ultimately leading to these two fragments merging together.

White Vision

White Vision Originally Had None of the Original’s Memories

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Marvel Comics
White Vision from WandaVision
Disney+

White Vision is the original Vision’s body from the end of Avengers: Infinity War, reanimated by the government organization S.W.O.R.D. The White Vision is brought online by channeling a drone that was hit by Wanda Maximoff’s hex magic. As his pale complexion suggests, White Vision is blank and emotionless. Despite being the Vision’s original Vibranium body, he has none of his memories.

However, once Hex Vision gave White Vision a copy of his memories, he laid the foundation for the original Vision’s return. This reanimated White Vision grapples with his memories and sense of self. In the penultimate episode of VisionQuest, White Vision and Hex Vision finally form to recreate the original Vision.

Ultron

The Villain Accomplishes His Plan 11 Years Later

Comic writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema created Ultron. The character first appeared as a cameo in The Avengers #54 before making his proper debut in #55 in August 1968, and has been one of the Avengers’ most famous foes. The character made his MCU debut in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, where James Spader voiced him. He has since reprised the role in VisionQuest, though the show also lets Bettany briefly step into Ultron’s role.

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, the titular villain originally created Vision’s body for himself and would have uploaded his consciousness to Vision if not for The Avengers. Eleven years later, Ultron finally accomplished his plan to take over Vision’s body in VisionQuest Episodes 4 and 5. Even though Spader does much of the dubbing for the scene, Bettany carries himself differently as Ultron. He’s both more imposing and slightly looser.

Phineas Horton

The Idea for This Role Happened During Production for ‘VisionQuest’

The beginning of VisionQuest Episode 7 reveals that Vision’s appearances match Phineas Horton, the creator of the Synthetic Man and the grandfather of AI in the MCU. Horton debuted back in Marvel Comics #1 from October 1939.

Bettany was not originally supposed to play Phineas Horton, but the decision came during production of VisionQuest. As Paul Bettany explained to Entertainment Weekly, “So that we can really understand the corrupted files being passed down from OS systems and humans into robots, and then robots finally into humans in a visual way.”

J.I.M./The Synthetic Man

This Appearance Paid Off a 15-Year-Old Easter Egg

VisionQuest‘s big reveal is that Paul Bettany plays The Synthetic Man, the MCU’s version of Marvel’s first superhero, The Human Torch. This is especially notable, as 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger featured an Easter egg: an android Human Torch at the 1943 Stark Expo. That simple Easter Egg paid off 15 years later with a major reveal in VisionQuest.

The Synthetic Man, also known as J.I.M., was created by Phineas Horton, who modeled his creation after himself. J.I.M. is the first artificial human in the MCU, laying the foundation for other AI characters and creating a lineage from J.A.R.V.I.S. to Vision. This provides an explanation for why Horton, J.I.M., and Vision all wear the same face, one that just happens to resemble actor Paul Bettany.