After being teased for weeks, VisionQuest episode 6 finally sees the MCU return to a major comics location, and one that previously popped up in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: Madripoor.
But what is Madripoor? And why is it such a big deal to the Marvel-verse? For that, we need to turn to the comics, as Madripoor's on-screen counterpart hasn't exactly lived up to the legend so far.
Below, you'll find all you need to know about Madripoor, including how it fits into VisionQuest and the MCU at large, as well as its comics history. But be warned, full spoilers for VisionQuest episodes 5 and 6 follow, alongside some Marvel comics spoilers. Not up to date? Check out our VisionQuest release schedule to stay in the know about when new episodes drop, or check out our spoiler-free full-season verdict with our VisionQuest review.
Madripoor in Marvel comics
The Principality of Madripoor first appeared in Marvel Comics in a 1985 issue of New Mutants, by Chris Claremont and Steve Leialoha. An island state in Southeast Asia, the principality is named for its central city of Madripoor – a lawless metropolis and a haven for organized criminal activity. In other words, it's a hive of scum and villainy that makes Mos Eisley look law-abiding.
Alongside the New Mutants, many major Marvel figures have passed through Madripoor's ports. In the 1930s, Wolverine was taught assassination techniques by the spy Seraph, who also happened to own a bar in Madripoor (even assassins have to make an honest living somewhere). A decade later, Steve Rogers' Captain America came to Madripoor to rescue Ivan Petrovich from The Hand. And in the 1950s, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes assassinated a British ambassador at a New Year's Eve party in Madripoor.
Split between the prosperous Hightown – where secret societies and warlords vie for control – and the impoverished Lowtown – where work-a-day smugglers and ne'er-do-wells scrape by, Madripoor is still home to many Marvel bad guys, as the city has no extradition treaties. Best of all, a giant dragon, aka the Madragon, lives under Madripoor. Shang-Chi defeated the mythical wyvern by using Pym Particles to turn himself into a giant.
Madripoor in the MCU
Madripoor has made a few appearances in the MCU. Most notably, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, and Baron Zemo travelled there during the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to uncover how the Flag-Smashers came into possession of a knock-off Super Soldier serum. Bizarrely, Madripoor's de facto ruler, the Power Broker, was revealed to be Sharon Carter during the events of Falcon and the Winter Soldier – a peculiar twist that still hasn't been acknowledged or followed up half a decade later.
In VisionQuest episode 6, Vision and Lisa Molinari travel to Madripoor via cargo plane to rescue Tommy, who has been kidnapped by Paladin. Following a tense exchange where Vision in turn threatens Paladin's own daughter, the pair find themselves facing a bigger threat: the Client's new bounty hunter, Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar.
A fight erupts on the street (just your average Tuesday in Madripoor), and the mysterious Client drops in to send a message to Vision. Even more problematic, Jocasta reveals what all those nanobots are for by turning Lisa into a walking android under her control. Now imagine what she can do with billions of bots.
Unfortunately, as far as Madripoor goes, we don't see much more of it than a single street mostly filled with street food stands in VisionQuest – another inauspicious example of its use in the MCU. Madripoor also briefly features in Deadpool & Wolverine, where a variant Logan can be seen playing roulette at a Madripoor casino table. Let's hope the next time the MCU returns to Madripoor, it's more than a pretty backdrop.
VisionQuest is streaming on Disney Plus. For more, check out our guide to watching the Marvel movies in order, and our breakdown of the VisionQuest timeline.
