What is Madripoor in the MCU?

From Wakanda to Sokovia, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has created all kinds of immersive locations to help tell its thrilling stories. Now, one of these major locations is back in VisionQuest.

Arriving on screens this October, VisionQuest catches up with White Vision after Hex Vision gives him his memories back. With all the memories and none of the feelings associated with them, Vision, who was rebuilt to be used as a weapon by S.W.O.R.D, flew away into the distance, his destination unknown.

In the series so far, we’ve learned that Vision has been hiding out in Edinburgh, working at a pub in the day while retreating into a literal mind palace (or mansion, to put it accurately) at night. He ‘lives’ there with multiple other AIs who all link back to Tony Stark, including the troublesome Ultron.

With bounty hunter Paladin on his tail, Vision ends up meeting Thomas Shepherd, who, as well as having his own mind and memories, is a vessel for the consciousness of Tommy Maximoff. This sets off a chain of events that is still unfolding. But where does Madripoor come into it? And what even is Madripoor? Consider those questions answered.

What is Madripoor in the MCU?

First introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Madripoor is a wretched hive of scum and villainy based in Southeast Asia. Like Singapore, it is a nation made up of a single city.

Within Madripoor, there is a very clear division: Lowtown and Hightown. While Hightown is primarily populated by the rich, Lowtown is a slum that essentially acts as the seedy underbelly of the city, where crime is part of its DNA. Madripoor’s criminal operations are ruled by the Power Broker. It is revealed in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that the Power Broker of Madripoor is actually Sharon Carter, who, despite her reservations, ends up helping Bucky, Sam and Zemo. A Madripoor flag also briefly appeared in Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings during a scene in The Golden Daggers Club, the fight club owned by Shang-Chi’s sister. 

How Madripoor Ties Into VisionQuest

So far, Madripoor has shown up in VisionQuest in the form of a newspaper cutting, which, along with a picture of Paladin, features a headline that reads: “Bounty Hunter Finds Asylum In Madripoor.” This is because of a key part of Madripoor’s lore: it doesn’t allow the extradition of criminals. With that in mind, it’s easy to see how it became such a rampant criminal underworld.

Thanks to this breadcrumb we’ve been given, it is fair to assume that we will be seeing more of Madripoor throughout the season as we learn more about Paladin and his mysterious Client. It could potentially point to the Client having criminal origins instead of being someone from within S.W.O.R.D, although, I admit, I may be jumping to conclusions here. 

It’s also important to note that, in 2019, Disney acquired the then-named 20th Century Fox. As we know, this included the rights to the X-Men franchise. The reason this is relevant is because, in the Marvel Comics, Madripoor is majorly associated with legendary X-Men character Wolverine.

While I highly doubt that a recast MCU Wolverine or Hugh Jackman will pop up in VisionQuest, it definitely makes sense for Phase 6 to revisit Madripoor once again, given that the MCU is turning its attention to the X-Men and mutantkind following Avengers: Secret Wars.