Vision (Marvel Comics)

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The Vision is the name of at least three fictional comic book characters in the Marvel Comics universe. The first appeared in the 1940s as a superhero from Marvel forereunn Timely Comics. The second and most enduring is a member of the superhero team the Avengers, followed by a successor version in the Young Avengers. Two additional, related versions are extraterrestrial robots in Marvel's alternate universe line, Ultimate Marvel.

Contents 1 The Vision (Timely Comics) 2 The Vision (Marvel Comics) 2.1 Publication history 2.2 Fictional character biography 2.3 Powers and abilities 2.4 Bibliography 3 Vision II (Young Avengers, 2005-) 3.1 Fictional character biography 3.1.1 Civil War 3.2 Powers and abilities 4 Alternate versions 4.1 Ultimate Visions 4.2 MC2 5 Appearances in other media 5.1 Television 5.2 Video games 6 Footnotes 7 External links

[edit] The Vision (Timely Comics)

Main article: Vision (Timely Comics)

Created by the writer-artist team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the first Marvel character of this name was a supernatural superhero who first appeared in Marvel Mystery Comics #13 (Nov. 1940). His mostly seven-page solo feature ran in every issue through #48 (Oct. 1943). The Vision additionally appeared in an eight-page story in Timely's Kid Komics #3 (Fall 1943).

[edit] The Vision (Marvel Comics)

Vision I
The Vision. Art by Brian Haberlin.
Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance Avengers # 57 (Oct. 1968) Created by Roy Thomas John Buscema
Characteristics Alter ego Inapplicable, brain patterns based on Wonder Man and Alex Lipton Affiliations Avengers West Coast Avengers Notable aliases Victor Shade Abilities Density control Energy blasts Computer interfacing Superhuman strength, endurance and intelligence

[edit] Publication history

Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, this Vision first appeared in The Avengers vol. 1, #57 (Oct. 1968). The character's name and some incidental details were inspired by the 1940s character.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Fictional character biography

The modern Vision was created by the robot Ultron, who intended to use this artificial lifeform against Ultron's creator, Henry Pym (Ant-Man/Giant Man/Goliath/Yellowjacket), and his wife, the Wasp. (The Vision's body was thought to have been created from that of the original Human Torch, while the patterns of his synthetic brain were based on those of the then-deceased Wonder Man, Simon Williams. It was later revealed that the time lord Immortus used the power of the Forever Crystal to split the original Human Torch into two separate entities:one remained the original Torch while the other was rebuilt as the Vision by Ultron). The Vision rebelled against his "father" Ultron and joined the Avengers, and later became romantically involved with the Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff. The synthezoid and the mutant eventually married, and appeared to have somehow had twins via the Witch's mutant hex powers. It was later revealed that this was not the case (see two paragraphs below).

In the earliest stories, the Vision was described as, although artificial, physically identical to a human being in every other respect. As explained in his debut in Avengers #57(1968), "he's every inch a human being — except that all his body organs are constructed of synthetic materials!" This concept was varied somewhat by artist Neal Adams in Avengers #93, where he had Ant-Man shrink in size and travel inside the synthezoid body, displaying internal organs that had little in common with those of a human being. The nature of the Vision was changed even more radically by writer/artist John Byrne during his run on the West Coast Avengers, where he drew a scene of the Vision without clothing to illustrate that he was lacking in external genitalia, a break with previous continuity that was part of Byrne's reconceptualization of the relationship between the Vision and the Scarlet Witch.

Rogue agents of the United States government, manipulated by the time traveler Immortus, abducted the Vision and dismantled him. Once his remains were recovered by the Avengers, Hank Pym rebuilt him as best he could. However, Simon Williams would not allow his brain patterns to be used again to provide a matrix for Vision's emotions, as he felt the original process had "ripped out his soul" and been done without his consent. Although his love for Wanda led him to feel guilt, he attempted to justify his actions by claiming that the Vision was never anything more than a copy of him, a claim which a number of other Avengers, including the Wasp, believed. This, along with damage to the Vision's synthetic skin when he was dismantled, resulted in his resurrection as a colorless, emotionless synthezoid.

Meanwhile, the original Human Torch returned from apparent death, casting doubt on the Vision's identity. The Vision and the Scarlet Witch's children were then revealed not to be children at all, but rather fragments of the soul of the demon Mephisto, who had been broken apart by Franklin Richards shortly before the "birth" of the "twins." The twins were absorbed back into Mephisto, which temporarily drove the Witch insane. Although she recovered, she and the Vision separated, each operating on a different Avengers team.

The Vision gradually regained his emotions by adopting new brain patterns from the deceased scientist Alex Lipton, and gained a new body that resembled his original. In addition, Simon Williams's brain patterns gradually reemerged and melded with Lipton's patterns, restoring the Vision to full emotion once more (first Vision miniseries). While recovering from a crippling injury, the Vision gave up his attempt to reconcile with his wife, yet remained a member of the Avengers, briefly becoming romantically involved with teammates Carol Danvers (Warbird) and Mantis before making another attempt at reconciliation with the Scarlet Witch.

Recently, grief over the loss of the twins again drove the Scarlet Witch insane. She tried to rewrite reality to recreate them, causing a series of threats and incidents to inexplicably occur one after the other. The Vision crashed an Avengers Quinjet into the Avengers Mansion. Walking out of the rubble, he apologized to the other Avengers, telling them he was no longer in control of his body before melting and expelling several spheres from his mouth. The spheres grew into five Ultrons, which were fought and destroyed by the assembled Avengers. During the fight, She-Hulk became enraged and tore apart the remains of the Vision.

The Avengers later believed that Ultron may have put a command in the Vision that would have been activated by the Avengers' Code White alert. It is unknown whether Wanda's magic or Ultron's command was responsible.

[edit] Powers and abilities

The original Vision was powered by solar energy absorbed through the gem on his forehead. In addition to his ability to discharge this energy via high-intensity solar-powered optic blasts, the Vision possessed the ability to manipulate his mass and density. When the Vision decreased his mass and density to near-nothingness, he could fly by manipulating air currents; when he increased his density to his maximum, he possessed superhuman strength and diamond-like durability. The Vision's speed and agility suffered accordingly.

This version of the Vision often used his ability to alter his density to attack his opponents by sticking his intangible hand in their chests and then rematerializing it, a process he described as "physical disruption." The process caused opponents great pain, and typically resulted in their incapacitation.

In addition, his body was capable of self-repair, although massive injuries would leave him temporarily infirm. He also was capable of rapid analysis of data, and could access and communicate with other computer systems. Even as an artificial lifeform, however, the Vision's mind has been shown to be "close enough" to human to be affected by telepathy.

While not possessing as much raw strength as others like Thor, Wonder Man, and the Hulk, the Vision's ability to manipulate his mass and density make him a formidable adversary. The Vision has defeated the Squadron Supreme's Hyperion, a being with strength rivaling that of Thor. On another occasion he used his density-altering powers to defeat Count Nefaria, another highly powerful individual that also possesses an extremely high level of superhuman strength.

[edit] Bibliography

• The Avengers # 57 (Oct. 1968)
• The Vision and the Scarlet Witch # 1-4
• The Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) # 1-12
• The Vision # 1-4
• The Vision (vol. 2) # 1-4 (also called Avengers Icons: The Vision)

[edit] Vision II (Young Avengers, 2005-)

Vision II
Vision of the Young Avengers. Art by Jim Cheung.
Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance Young Avengers # 4 Created by Allan Heinberg Jim Cheung
Characteristics Alter ego Inapplicable, brain patterns based on Iron Lad Affiliations Secret Avengers Young Avengers Abilities Density control Energy beams Computer interfacing

After the Vision's destruction in the "Avengers Disassembled" story-arc, a new Vision was introduced in Young Avengers by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung in 2005.

[edit] Fictional character biography

Iron Lad^[1], a teenage version of Kang the Conqueror, lands in the "present" several months following the Vision's destruction. After being ignored by Captain America and Iron Man, he finds the Vision's mangled remains and downloads the operating system into his armor. Through this merger, Iron Lad is able to access plans the Vision had created in case the Avengers fell. He uses these plans to assemble a new team of "Young Avengers." When Iron Lad is forced to remove his armor to stop Kang the Conqueror from tracking him, the Vision's operating system causes the armor to become a sentient being^[2][3].

When Iron Lad leaves the time period^[4], he leaves the armor behind with the Vision's operating system activated. Upon Iron Man's examination^[5], it is determined that the new Vision is quite different from his predecessor. Although the Vision has all of the physical and emotional potential of the original, he lacks the first Vision's vast experience. Moreover, whereas the first Vision's brain patterns were based on Wonder Man, the new Vision's brain patterns are based on those of Iron Lad.

The Vision is found to be technologically superior to the original, but is unable to join the reformed Avengers due to their concern that he is still controlled by Kang the Conqueror. As a result, the Vision acts as something of a leader in the Young Avengers. The Vision also changes his appearance from his Iron Lad-like appearance to that of the original Vision to comfort Iron Lad's former crush, Cassie Lang, the Young Avenger known as Stature and daughter of Ant-Man (Scott Lang)^[6].

[edit] Civil War

Along with his teammates in the Young Avengers, Vision is opposed to the new Superhuman Registration Act and joins Captain America's Secret Avengers^[7][8].

[edit] Powers and abilities

The new Vision uses Iron Lad's neuro-kinetic armor to recreate the former Vision's powers, although the armor itself has additional capabilities. It is unknown exactly how the new Vision's body works, but he has displayed abilities including an approximation of the original Vision's density control, energy blasts, minor shapeshifting abilities, time-travel, and holographic projections to display information and create disguises.

[edit] Alternate versions

[edit] Ultimate Visions

There have been two Vision robots that exist in the Ultimate Marvel Universe.

In Ultimate Nightmare, members of the Ultimates and the Ultimate X-Men discovered a damaged, sentient robot, who stated that the closest English translation to its name was "Vision". The robot said it had come to Earth 100 years ago to warn them of a threat, but its ship malfunctioned, causing it to crash-land on Earth, in Russia. Under the auspices of the former Soviet Union, the Vision was partially disassembled by government scientists; that, plus damage done in the crash, had kept the robot immobile. It warns that Gah Lak Tus, Eater of Worlds is headed for Earth.

In a four-page-per-installment back-up story running in several Ultimate series, the first Ultimate Vision reappears, in United States government custody and under repair. Those repairs enable the Vision to activate its own self-repair systems and restore itself fully, revealing a true form that is, from a human perspective, decidedly female. It then proceeds to use its restored abilities to show holographic records of its travels as it warned planets of Gah Lak Tus' approach, only to see each planet in turn fail in its own defense and fall to the Eater of Worlds. The story ends with ninety-six hours remaining until Gah Lak Tus arrives, leading directly into the Ultimate Extinction series. Vision has downloaded a complete record of Earth and is repairing its ship so it may move on to the next system in the path of Gah Lak Tus. In Ultimate Extinction #4, the Vision is convinced by Jean Grey to help with a plan Jean has formulated to repel Gah Lak Tus, roughly a day before the Eater of Worlds is expected to reach Earth orbit.

Gah Lak Tus was driven away from the Earth after it was telepathically overloaded with human thoughts and 20% of its mass was destroyed with the Ultimates version of the Ultimate Nullifier - a cannon that fired the energy from an alternate universe's Big Bang. Gah Lak Tus quickly left the solar system in search of weaker prey. The Ultimates decided to upload the Ultimate Vision robot with the plans for the cannon and dispatch it to other worlds, enabling them to defend themselves should Gah Lak Tus threaten again.

However, as she left Earth, Vision detected a Gah Lak Tus signal emanating from a space station in Earth orbit. Phasing into the command center which sent it, she discovered it was a ruse meant to attract her to the station. The station's commander leads her through the corridors, where she is shown several experiments. She is then brought to a chamber holding a Gah Lak Tus module, where the station's commander tells her the reason she was brought there was to communicate with the module in order to send a command for all the other modules to destroy themselves. She hesitates, but agrees, mainly out of guilt for having recorded dying worlds while being helpless to save them. However, this too turns out to be a ruse: Vision is being made to communicate with the module in an attempt to control it, not to shut it down. As she realizes this, the module fires, disabling her. The station's commander then gives the order to contact A.I.M and hints at some vast game.

The Vision series ran in the following comic books:

1. Ultimate Spider-Man #86 (released November 16, 2005)
2. Ultimate X-Men #65 (released November 23, 2005)
3. Ultimate Fantastic Four #25 (released November 30, 2005)
4. Ultimate Spider-Man #87 (released December 7, 2005)
5. Ultimate Spider-Man #88 (released December 21, 2005)
6. Ultimate Fantastic Four #26 (released December 28, 2005)

[edit] MC2

An older version of the original Vision has appeared in the MC2 universe, in Spider-Girl #94. Stepping out of earlier retirement, Vision chose to rejoin the young heroes in A-Next together with Ant-Man (Scott Lang) and the Scarlet Witch. He also acts as a link between G. W. Bridge, the President of the United States of the MC2 world, which has already caused some conflicts on both sides.

[edit] Appearances in other media

[edit] Television

• The Vision was one of several Avengers to make cameo appearances in the mid-90s Fantastic Four syndicated animated series.

• The Vision was also one of the Avengers who starred in Fox Kids' short-lived Avengers animated series. His origin was modified slightly for television: a creation of Ultron sent to destroy the Avengers, this Vision was responsible for "killing" Wonder Man, and thus his "emotion patterns" were transferred to the Vision. The series ran for thirteen episodes during the 1999-2000 season. The Vision was voiced by Ron Ruben.

[edit] Video games

• The Vision is a playable character in the 1991 arcade game, Captain America and the Avengers, which was developed by Data East.
• The Vision is a NPC in the videogame Marvel Ultimate Alliance, where he gives the player background information on places they go and characters they meet. For example, the information of villains such as Dr. Doom, Loki, and Ultron. Another example is the information of places such as Atlantis, Mephisto's Realm, and the Bifrost Bridge.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• The Vision at Don Markstein's Toonopedia