Is Jarvis Really Gone in VisionQuest? Two Theories on How He Could Return

As VisionQuest stands right now, Jarvis is dead. He deleted his own code to save everyone living inside Vision's mind space. Still, my theory is that Jarvis is not dead, and there are two ways I can see him coming back, though each comes with a real problem.

It was so good having Jarvis back in human form, even if it's in Vision's world. He gets to have a moment with Vision, argue with him and fuss over him like the big brother he is. Then he does something as stupid as what he did. But I understand. What choice did he have? They were all going to perish anyway until he set himself up as the savior of the whole world.

Computers don't just die like that. You and I have been deleting things for ages and still managed to retrieve those files later on. I also don't think Marvel will give us two episodes of VisionQuest only to eliminate one of its most intelligent systems. I'll be honest, though. From what the episode showed, it really does look like Jarvis is gone, and they didn't give us any reason to think otherwise, like a backup or a sign that he's hiding somewhere. Saying his processing power survives doesn't answer whether he survives.

Jarvis's exact words point to deletion, not sleep

The answer is hiding in his exact words. Paladin's attack leaves Vision close to shutting down, which threatens everybody living inside his mind space. Jarvis says, "I'm deleting my code and diverting my processing power to all of you." By doing so, he gives himself up so the others can continue.

And yes, that works, which means his sacrifice wasn't in vain. The other systems get extra power, and it gets them going. Simply going to sleep would have been an option, though I don't know how that works, but he chose complete deletion and the redistribution of his processing power. He deletes his code, so what evidence do we have that Jarvis remains intact somewhere else?

We can say Jarvis lives on through everybody he saves, the way we say it about human beings who are very much dead. But that's not the story we want to hear. That would just be an excuse to keep everyone from mourning.

Theory one: Friday and E.D.I.T.H. could hold pieces of Jarvis

The first theory has to do with the others. What if they can put Jarvis back together? If that's possible, we won't have to hope that Tony put a backup of him somewhere. According to this fan theory, the bits that were transferred to the other AIs are salvageable and can be restored. That's very much possible. Enough of what makes him Jarvis remains scattered among the others. Nobody has all of him, but together they might.

The problem is that what he said he's diverting is his processing power, and that isn't memory or personality. The whole reason he's shutting down is that he's sharing the power with them. If he added his personality to their capacity, they would need more processing power than before. Giving another program the resources to keep running doesn't necessarily give it your sense of humor. So this theory needs the show to reveal that something more survives the transfer, like fragments of his code or some recoverable part of his identity. We don't have that confirmation yet.

But maybe we can entertain it, and there's a good reason to. Something similar happened in Age of Ultron, when Jarvis survives an attack that initially appears to destroy him. The turning point comes when Tony discovers scattered remnants still operating, still keeping Ultron away from the nuclear launch codes. We all thought he was destroyed, but that didn't end his ability to act. That precedent is external evidence that there's a chance he survives again.

If it works, then probably Friday and E.D.I.T.H. recognize something they should have no knowledge of, a memory that isn't theirs, and they may discover they're unknowingly carrying pieces of their brother. Then we have to wonder whether rebuilding him costs them the resources he sacrificed himself to provide, and whether they can attempt it before Vision is strong enough to sustain everybody. If fragments of him are in them and they have to put him back together, that requires another difficult choice, because it may involve risking their own selves. Amid all the uncertainty, I seriously hope this theory is true and that there's a chance Jarvis could be brought back.

Theory two: a Stark backup could exist, but it may be out of date

A backup could also exist. Since something like this has happened before, Stark Industries would find a way to keep a backup in case it happened again. Any good software developer has a backup, because problems are inevitable. Vision died and was brought back, so we can't lose hope for Jarvis.

The problem with backups is that they may not be up to date. Imagine restoring an earlier Jarvis who doesn't remember becoming close to this Vision. A fully current backup would raise a different question: if it restores everything without loss, why does this goodbye need to happen as though it's final?

Why Jarvis's self-deletion is different from the Ultron attack

If we talk about Jarvis surviving, it's wise to also accept the possibility that he doesn't. What happened this time is quite different from Ultron attacking him. The first time, it was a fight. There was no surrender. It's like fighting another human being: you think they're dead, it turns out they were only in a coma, and they survive later on.

This time, Jarvis voluntarily surrendered. He doesn't fight anyone back. This is voluntary self-deletion, which is different from surviving an attack. Jarvis trying to evade Ultron had every reason to preserve himself. Jarvis trying to keep the others alive may have to surrender precisely what he wants protected.

Marvel made Jarvis Vision's brother, and he ignored his own advice

Jarvis is older than any of them, so I expected him to be Vision's father, because he contributed to Vision's creation in Age of Ultron. Marvel didn't do that. Instead, they made Ultron the father and made Jarvis Vision's brother. That's a twist I never expected, but I think it works well, considering Ultron is the dominant figure in Vision's creation, and we can't have two daddies here. As siblings, they share the same origin, but Jarvis isn't responsible for designing Vision's life. He's part of him, not his papa in the sense that Ultron is.

And he's such a good brother. He has no personal ambitions, and he doesn't want Vision used as a weapon, as his creator intended. He just wants him safe. Before the rescue, Jarvis gives Vision a very interesting piece of advice: he warns him against letting emotion overwhelm his judgment. It's good advice, but how do you tell a computer made of metal to keep his emotions in check?

Then Jarvis makes a choice that costs him his own existence. It looks like he didn't take his own advice. He'd said feeling can be destructive, and then he let his emotion cloud his judgment and gave everything for his family. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's good to make sacrifices for the people you love, even if it costs your own life. But if Vision ends up making the same sacrifice for Tommy or those he loves, what happens to the advice he got from Jarvis, who ended up doing the opposite anyway?

Emotions will surely affect everybody's judgment, just as they did Jarvis's. Knowing the danger of love doesn't mean refusing its demands. There's calculation in saving several lives at the expense of one, of course. Before he did what he did, he understood the cost and still chose them. He chose his people, and that's very touching.

Ultron survives while Jarvis pays the price

My biggest worry right now is Ultron. Because of the sacrifice, Ultron continues existing. The better choice would have been for Vision to just delete Ultron instead of Jarvis sacrificing himself. I've argued before that Ultron never died in Age of Ultron and that Vision spared him on purpose, choosing mercy over justice. I still believe that was his reason. I just never expected the bill for that mercy to land on Jarvis. Isn't it crazy that he has to go while the villain keeps surviving?

Ultron raises the possibility of self-sacrifice, but he doesn't volunteer to pay for it. Even so, he makes his terrible sentiments entertaining. I can laugh at him and still think he's an absolute villain. And just so nobody starts thinking in this direction, he doesn't secretly engineer Jarvis's death. What we've been shown so far doesn't establish that. He can be troublesome, but that doesn't mean he's to blame for everything that happens.

But this does give him an opening, because Jarvis is one of the ones who challenges him. With Jarvis gone, I can see Ultron becoming persuasive toward Vision. Possibly he may invoke Jarvis's sacrifice to push Vision into another dangerous decision.

The comics suggest restoring Jarvis's personality would be the hard part

Bringing Jarvis back would not be easy, according to what we know from the comics. Vision has been rebuilt before, but restoring his body wasn't the same as restoring his personality. With Jarvis, his body can be brought back. His personality, maybe. But can we get the full memory that makes the AI what it is today? If you bring someone back and find that something about the person we wanted is missing, that presents a whole new problem, an identity crisis just like the one Vision is facing now.

I want Jarvis back because he matters. But if the show treats him like software you can simply reinstall, it risks making his loss feel meaningless. The fact that something or someone is repairable doesn't mean they're replaceable. I miss the old Vision already. This one doesn't give me the vibe I got from the original.

Tommy shows the same kind of sacrifice Jarvis made

Tommy does something I never thought someone equally confused about his own identity would do. He comes back to help Vision. He sees Vision as his something, but he hasn't yet gotten a better explanation of what actually exists between him and this machine. The boy is confused and in danger, and he still acts, through the gunfire and all that threat. That's a wise choice, and it shows that even after all the trouble he's faced in life, he still has his humanity intact. This is exactly what Jarvis did too.

So the premiere is all about making sacrifices for the people you love. Neither action requires Vision to have recovered every feeling he thinks the old version of himself should have. He thinks he isn't a dad to anybody, but the choices he and those around him make prove that family is everything. Even Jarvis says, "Family is forever," a message he's passing on to Vision.

Vision interacts with these AIs in his mind space so he can understand humans, what it is to be human and how to navigate the human world. They're his aid. Maybe this will go a long way toward helping Vision realize that what made the original Vision who he was isn't his programming, but what he learned and the choices he made, especially when it came to family.

As it stands, Jarvis is dead, and any return should cost something

While we're still searching for a way to bring Jarvis back, Tommy is right there needing somebody who stays. Vision can spend the rest of his life trying to recover the person he used to be. This boy doesn't have the rest of his life to wait for a father. And the brother who might have helped Vision understand that has just spent everything he had to give him the chance.

So, is Jarvis really dead? As the show stands right now, yes, he is. If Marvel does bring him back, I want it to cost Friday and E.D.I.T.H. something, because a brother you can reinstall for free was never really gone. That goodbye deserved better than an undo button.

Should Jarvis stay gone, or would you rather see Friday and E.D.I.T.H. try to rebuild him?