Who is Dr. Phineas Horton? ‘VisionQuest’ Episode 7 introduces Marvel’s original Human Torch

'VisionQuest' just dropped its penultimate episode titled 'Immolation.' It saw Paul Bettany in the spotlight, not only as White Vision but also as Jim Hammond and Dr. Phineas Horton. Jim Hammond may sound familiar to fans. The miniseries' second episode mentioned Jim, an android with powers similar to the Human Torch in 'Fantastic Four.' 'Immolation' not only introduced Jim in full glory, but also brought his creator, Phineas, into the picture.

White Vision is currently trying to regain his soul. To do so, he travels through layers of his code, which leads him to his ancestors. It has already been revealed that the AI characters Tony created had Human Avatars. After Vision comes across a memory in Phineas's home, the audience can clearly see that Vision's appearance was modeled on Horton. The memory contains both Horton and Jim, who wears the iconic red costume from 'Captain America: The First Avenger.'

Phineas is a scientist struggling with the loss of his son, Jim Horton. To deal with his pain, he creates a synthezoid replacement named JIM. The synthezoid replacement was also modeled after Phineas. Horton wanted Jim to be free of human emotions, but the synthezoid always desired them. He wanted to be more human, much to his creator's dismay. Jim fell in love, sending his system into overdrive and igniting the air around him. Phineas tried to interfere in Jim's relationship, leading to an argument. Jim got so overwhelmed that he burned both himself and his creator to death.

Jim agrees to help unlock Vision's true feelings. During this process, Vision realizes that he is actually both Jim and Phineas. The reason Vision hasn't been able to get his soul back is that not only is he suppressing his pain, but Horton is also doing the same. Only by embracing his pain can Vision overcome Horton's influence and become whole again. Fans would know Phineas as the creator of Marvel Comics' first synthetic hero.

The character first appeared in Marvel Comics #1 in 1939. He wanted to create synthetic humans using solar cells. Amongst his creations, he was most proud of J.I.M. Hammond, aka the original Human Torch (Not the Fantastic Four one), but unfortunately it burst into flames in front of a room full of reporters. The scientist continues working on his creation and lives a long life, unlike in the show. To find out how Vision's story unfolds after this revelation, tune in to Disney+ every Tuesday.