We all know the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has some fantastic characters, from Captain America (Chris Evans) to Gamora (Zoe Saldana), but Paul Bettany’s impact is an absolute treasure that often goes overlooked.
Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany in WandaVision / Picture Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney
Who is Paul Bettany?
Bettany is a British actor who was born in May 1971, in London.
He first came to mainstream audiences in 2000, when he appeared in a film called Gangster No. 1.
Bettany has been in a multitude of other films since, outside the MCU. His role in A Beautiful Mind (2001) led him to meet Jennifer Connelly whom he tied the knot with in 2003.
In regard to the MCU, Bettany has comically stated that he “got a call from Jon Favreau saying, ‘I need the voice of a personality-less robot, and I thought of you immediately.’”
Bettany found this rather amusing luckily for us, and so after the call the MCU had their JARVIS.
The evolution of JARVIS
In 2008 the MCU began its journey to the end with the birth of Iron Man.
Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) may be the man in the suit, but Paul Bettany’s JARVIS serves as the one ‘person’ by his side, even before anyone else knew Iron Man’s true identity.
Since then, JARVIS has been Stark’s right-hand man, in the suit and out of it. JARVIS is essential to the MCU, not only because he is one of the many, admittedly, brains supporting Stark and The Avengers when they need it, but because without him, the world would have been lost many times over.
JARVIS, even though his is only a voice, serves as the voice of reason for Stark in many times of need and is the Angel on his shoulder throughout his journey.
After seven years helping Stark and The Avengers, a massive change occurs for our faceless hero…
JARVIS becomes Vision.
Vision is created in Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015 after Stark’s idea of a “suit of armour around the world” doesn’t go to plan. One of the infinity stones, the Mind Stone, is used to create Vision who is essentially JARVIS with a body.
This was an outstanding moment for the MCU, as an essentially ‘behind-the-scenes’ character is given more than a face – he is given life.
Bettany had shone for years before this moment, but as soon as Vision emerged from the creation chamber and sees the world around him, Bettany’s performance goes from great to exceptional.
So what was the vision for… Vision?
Since becoming an actual being, Vision has become an even bigger personality within the MCU.
From his witty remarks (despite him intending these remarks to be genuine as he doesn’t really understand sarcasm all that much), to the defining moment he picked up Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) hammer, Mjolnir (which no one except Thor is supposed to pick up); Vision became a bold character right away.
Vision (and JARVIS) are both shining examples of a dark horse, as a simple voice became one of the boldest and extraordinary characters in a roster of superheroes and metahumans.
He has grown into a beacon of hope, sincerity and continues to be the voice of reason and morality for many. Him not being human actually has its advantages, despite him having emotions he does not let them get in the way of what needs to be done.
In Avengers: Infinity War however, the light that is Vision seems to be blown out when he asks his lover Wanda Maximoff/Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olson) to kill him to save the universe.
Not only that, but Wanda goes through Hell using her powers to destroy the Mind Stone which keeps Vision alive; Thanos (Josh Brolin) uses the Time Stone to rewind time and take the Mind Stone right from Vision’s head – killing him, again.
But! That is not the last we will ever see from Bettany in the MCU…
WandaVision
The first of many TV shows Marvel are set to release onto Disney+, WandaVision has so many people excited for Marvel to branch out onto the small screen.
Whether the show takes place in Wanda’s mind to help her with her grief of losing Vision, or whether it is something else entirely, Vision ‘lives on’ in TV.
This is such fantastic news because despite having Vision for four years until his untimely deaths, that is not nearly enough and Bettany has been given a wonderful opportunity to continue playing Vision, and we could not be more excited!
The impact of this character should not go unnoticed, as he is such a kind, gentle and observing member of the MCU, which is much-needed sometimes in the midst of tragedy, and had definitely left his mark even before the news of WandaVision came to light.
WandaVision is set to be released onto the streaming service Disney+ on the 15th January 2021!
Written by Melissa, who you can follow in Twitter @melissajournal
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