What is Madripoor? ‘VisionQuest’ Episode 6 returns to controversial MCU location
Episode 6 of ‘VisionQuest,’ titled ‘Deadlock,’ sees Vision heading to an island that comic fans will be familiar with since 1985. Vision (Paul Bettany) and Lisa Molinari (Lauren Morais) travel by cargo plane to the island of Madripoor to save Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica), who is being held by the mercenary Paladin (Todd Stashwick). This is five years after the island first appeared in the MCU in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.’
Madripoor is a fictional island country in Southeast Asia, created by Chris Claremont and Steve Leialoha in ‘The New Mutants’ #32 in October 1985. The capital city is split between Hightown, a rich area run by secretive societies and warlords, and Lowtown, a poorer area populated by smugglers and small criminals. As there are no extradition agreements between countries on the island, many Marvel villains end up here. There is also a giant dragon, called the Madragon, sleeping underneath the island. Wolverine has made this a recurring location. He first visited in ‘Marvel Comics Presents’ #1 in 1988, but went there as Patch and visited the Princess Bar. The island became a key part of his solo series that started the same year.
As Madripoor is so associated with Wolverines and the X-Men – whose movie rights belonged to 20th Century Fox – it wasn’t until Disney bought the studio that Madripoor could be used in the MCU. In ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,’ Episode 3 (‘Power Broker’), it was visited on April 2, 2021. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), and Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl) travelled to Madripoor to track down the fake Super Soldier serum being used by the Flag-Smashers. We also learned that Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) was the Power Broker ruling over the island. ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ (2024) also referenced the island with a Patch variation of Logan.
However, the Madripoor we saw in 2021 wasn’t filmed in South-East Asia. As stated by production designer Ray Chan in an interview with Awards Daily, the plan was to film in South-East Asia; however, they had a very tight schedule. Chan therefore built the set using a two-block alleyway in Griffin. He also added steel bridges, custom neon lights, and around eighty light boxes. The Brass Monkey Saloon had a 270-degree aquarium with one hundred Oranda goldfish and a life-size train track running the length of the set to pay homage to the backstreets of Hanoi.
Fast forward to ‘Deadlock,’ and Madripoor is mostly shown as one street with food stalls. Whilst Vision and Paladin threaten each other, another group of mercenaries open fire. They are led by Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar (Faran Tahir), the leader of the Ten Rings who captured Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in ‘Iron Man’ (2008). He hasn’t been seen in the MCU since. The mysterious Client then takes over all the gadgets in the city to send a message to Vision. Whilst this is happening, Jocasta (T’Nia Miller) uses her nanobots to turn Lisa into an android under her control. ‘VisionQuest’ can be streamed on Disney+, and Episodes 5 and 6 are now available.
