Vision (Marvel Comics)

Vision
The Vision, from The Avengers vol. 3, #12 (Nov. 1998). Art by George Pérez.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Avengers #57 (Oct. 1968)
Created by	Roy Thomas John Buscema
In-story information
Alter ego	First Android Vision: Inapplicable; brain patterns based on Wonder Man and Alex Lipton Second Android Vision: Inapplicable; brain patterns based on Vision program files and mental engrams of Iron Lad
Team affiliations	First Android Vision: Avengers West Coast Avengers Second Android Vision: Young Avengers Mighty Avengers
Notable aliases	First Android Vision: Victor Shade Second Android Vision: Jonas
Abilities	Density control ranging from invulnerability to intangibility Mass control ranging from extraordinarily heavy to weightlessness Utilizes phasing into beings/objects then solidifying as a means of molecular disruption, causing pain/damage or death/destruction Flight Solar energy projection (via eyes or solar jewel on forehead) Computer/IT network interfacing Superhuman strength, intelligence, reflexes and senses as an artificial being Capable of self repair and regeneration as an artificial being

The Vision is the name of three fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Publication history

The first Vision was created by the writer-artist team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in Marvel Mystery Comics #13 (Nov. 1940), published by Marvel predecessor Timely Comics during the 1930s-1940s period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books.

The second Vision was created by writer Roy Thomas and penciller John Buscema, and first appeared in the superhero-team series The Avengers #57 (Oct. 1968). He became a member of the team, and appeared on a semi-regular basis until #500 (Sept. 2004), when the character was presumably destroyed. The Vision starred with fellow Avenger and wife the Scarlet Witch in the limited series Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1-4 (Nov. 1982 - Feb. 1983), by writer Bill Mantlo and penciller Rick Leonardi. This was followed by a second volume numbered #1-12 (Oct. 1985 - Sept. 1986), written by Steve Englehart and penciled by Richard Howell. A decade later, the Vision appeared in a solo limited series, Vision, #1-4 (Nov. 1994 - Feb. 1995), by writer Bob Harras and penciller Manny Clark. Nearly a decade after that came a second four-issue volume (Oct. 2002 - Jan. 2003), written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis.

The series Young Avengers, which ran 12 issues from April 2005 to August 2006, introduced a new Vision, who is a combination of the synthezoid Vision's program files and the armor and mental engrams of the hero Iron Lad.

Fictional character biography

Timely Vision

Main article: Vision (Timely Comics)

During the 1940s, Marvel predecessor Timely Comics published stories featuring an unrelated superhero called the Vision, who was an alien from an alternate dimension.

First android Vision

Debut of the Silver Age Vision: The Avengers #57 (Oct. 1968). Cover pencils by John Buscema.

The Vision's colorless form: West Coast Avengers #45 (June 1989). Cover art by John Byrne.

The robot Ultron is the creator of the Vision, a type of android he calls a "synthezoid", for use against Ultron's own creator, Dr. Henry Pym (Ant-Man/Giant Man/Goliath/Yellowjacket) and Pym's wife, Janet van Dyne (the Wasp) of the superhero team the Avengers. Ultron sends his new servant to lead the Avengers into a trap. The Wasp is the first to encounter the synthezoid, and describes it as a "vision" while trying to escape. Adopting the name, the Vision is convinced by the Avengers to turn against Ultron. After learning how Ultron created him, using the brain patterns of then-deceased Simon Williams (Wonder Man), the Vision becomes a member of the team. The team initially believes the Vision's body was created from that of the android original Human Torch. The Avengers later are told that the time lord Immortus used the power of the Forever Crystal to split the original Human Torch into two entities - one body remained the original Torch while Ultron rebuilt the other as the Vision. This was part of his plan to nurture a relationship for the Scarlet Witch that would prevent her from having any children, as her power level meant that any offspring she might have could threaten the cosmic beings of the Marvel Universe.

Not long after joining the team, the Vision is temporarily controlled by Ultron, and rebuilds Ultron of adamantium, battling the Avengers before regaining control of himself. Shortly after that, the Vision first meets Wanda Maximoff, the mutant Scarlet Witch, with whom he later becomes romantically involved. The two eventually marry and, via the Scarlet Witch's hex powers, they have twin boys named Thomas and William.

When the Vision attempts to penetrate an energy field erected by the villain Annihilus, he "shuts down", and even after regaining consciousness weeks later, remains paralyzed and assumes a holographic form. He eventually regains control of his body and becomes team leader. Having become unbalanced by these events, he attempts to take control of the world's computers. With the aid of the Avengers, the Vision is restored to his normal self, but now closely monitored by a coalition of governments.

In a storyline called "Vision Quest", rogue agents of the United States government, manipulated by the time traveler Immortus, abduct the Vision and dismantle him. The Avengers recover the parts, and Dr. Pym rebuilds the Vision, but with a chalk-white complexion. However, the revived Simon Williams does not allow his brain patterns to be used again to provide a matrix for Vision's emotions, explaining that the original process, done without his consent, had "ripped out his soul". Although Williams' own love for Wanda leads him to feel guilt, he justifies his actions by claiming the Vision was never anything but a copy of him, a claim that a number of other Avengers accept, even though he had on countless occasions prior to this referred to the Vision as "his brother". This, along with damage to the Vision's synthetic skin when he was dismantled, results in the synthezoid's resurrection as a colorless and emotionless artificial human.

The original Human Torch also returns from his own apparent demise, casting doubt on the Vision's identity. The Vision and the Scarlet Witch's children are then revealed to be 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 are absorbed back into Mephisto, which temporarily drives Wanda insane. Although she recovers, Wanda and the Vision separate, each operating on a different Avengers team.

The Vision gradually regains his emotions, by adopting new brain patterns from deceased scientist Alex Lipton, and gains a new body that resembles his original. In addition, Simon Williams' brain patterns gradually reemerge and meld with Lipton's patterns, restoring the Vision's full capacity for emotion.

Shortly after a reformation of the Avengers, the Vision sustains massive damage in the final battle with the sorceress Morgan Le Fey, and although incapacitated for several weeks, is eventually rebuilt and recovers. While recovering, the Vision gives up his attempt to reconcile with his wife. Remaining a member of the Avengers, he briefly becomes romantically involved with teammates Carol Danvers (a.k.a Warbird/Ms. Marvel) and Mantis before attempting again to reconcile with the Scarlet Witch. Grief over the loss of the twins, however, drives Wanda insane again, and she attempts to alter reality to recreate them. This causes a series of catastrophic events that includes the Vision crashing an Avengers Quinjet into Avengers Mansion. The Vision advises his teammates that he is no longer in control of his body, and then expels several spheres that form into five Ultrons. The Avengers destroy them, and an enraged She-Hulk tears 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 during one of the many periods in which Vision was held prisoner by Ultron, though this was never confirmed. The Vision's operating system and program files are later used in the creation of Iron Lad's armor. In Mighty Avengers the original Vision is briefly separated from Iron Lad by the power of the Cosmic Cube.

During the Chaos War storyline, the Vision is one of many deceased heroes restored to life after the events in the death realms. Vision joins with the other resurrected Avengers in their fight against Grim Reaper and Nekra. During the fight, Vision blows himself up while in battle with Grim Reaper, killing them both.

Following the Fear Itself storyline, Tony Stark is able to rebuild Vision who once again joins the Avengers.

Second android Vision

The Vision, as he appears as a member of the Young Avengers. Art by Jim Cheung.

The newest incarnation of the Vision is a fusion of the old Vision's operating systems and the armor of adventurer Iron Lad, a teenage version of Kang the Conqueror who arrives in the present. Through this merger, Iron Lad is able to access plans the Vision had created in the event of the Avengers' defeat. 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.

When Iron Lad leaves the time period, he leaves the armor behind with the Vision's operating system activated. The exact details of the new Vision's personality and mental make-up varies from writer to writer. Some writers like Brian Michael Bendis (during the "Collective" storyline) and Ed Brubaker (during "Captain America Reborn") write him as if he was the original Vision in a new body, while other writers such as Allen Heinberg and Dan Slott write him as an entirely new character.

The new Vision opts to stay with the Young Avengers and serve as a mentor for them, though it is later revealed that (due to Heinberg's portrayal of him as having Iron Lad's brainwave pattern be the basis for his personality) he is with the group due to his growing feelings of affection towards Cassie Lang, the super-heroine known as Stature (daughter of Scott Lang). After the events of the superhero "Civil War" over federal registration, the Vision travels the world posing as different people in order to gain a better understanding of who he is. He then finds Cassie and declares his love, and states he has adopted the name "Jonas". During a later battle between the alien Skrulls and the Avengers, the Vision is shot through the head. He survives and joins with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. alongside the other Young Avengers.

He joins the new lineup of the Mighty Avengers, along with Stature. They opt to keep their dual memberships in the Avengers and the Young Avengers a secret, in order to hunt for the Scarlet Witch (really Loki in disguise), who arranged for the roster to form. They ultimately tell their teammates this when Loki reveals his impersonation of Wanda and confront him. When the group ultimately disbands following the events of the "Siege", both rejoin the Young Avengers full time.

The 'Jonas' incarnation of the Vision is murdered by Iron Lad in Avengers: Children's Crusade after he prevented Iron Lad from taking the body of Stature into the future to be revived.

Powers and abilities

The Vision is described as being "...every inch a human being—except that all of his bodily organs are constructed of synthetic materials." The Solar Jewel on the Vision's forehead absorbs ambient solar energy to provide the needed power for him to function, and he is also capable of discharging this energy as optic beams; with this, he can fire beams of infrared and microwave radiation. In extreme cases he can discharge this same power through the Solar Jewel itself which amplifies its destructive effects considerably, albeit at the cost of losing most of his resources. The Vision also possesses the ability to manipulate his density, which at its lowest allows flight and a ghostly, phasing intangibility, and at its heaviest provides superhuman strength, immovability, and a diamond-hard near invulnerability. The Vision is capable of reaching a density ten times greater than that of depleted uranium. On one occasion, the Vision uses this extreme durability to render unconscious the villain Count Nefaria. The Vision often uses his ability to alter his density against foes, by phasing an intangible hand through them and then partially re-materializing it—a process he describes as "physical disruption." This effect typically causes great pain and results in incapacitation, as is the case when used against the Earth-712 version of the hero Hyperion. Being an artificial life-form/android of sorts, the Vision possesses multiple superhuman senses—as well as superhuman stamina, reflexes, speed, agility, and strength (even without being at high density). The Vision was trained in unarmed combat by Captain America, and is an expert in the combat use of his superhuman powers. The Vision is an expert on his own construction and repair, and is a highly skilled tactician and strategist. The Vision controls his density by interfacing with an unknown dimension to/from which he can shunt or accrue mass, thus becoming either intangible or extraordinarily massive. The Vision also possesses superhuman analytical capabilities, and has the ability to process information and make calculations with superhuman speed and accuracy.

The Vision of the Young Avengers is able to use Iron Lad's neuro-kinetic armor to recreate the former Vision's abilities, including strength; density manipulation, and flight. The solar cell on the Vision's forehead can also emit a beam of infrared and microwave radiation. The Vision is also capable of energy and holographic manipulation, shapeshifting, and time travel.

Other versions

Mainframe

A version of the Vision called "Mainframe" features in the title Guardians of the Galaxy. Mainframe is the chief operating system of an entire planet, and the guardian of the shield of hero Captain America. He soon joins the Guardians of the Galaxy sub-group, the Galactic Guardians.

MC2

An older version of the modern Vision features in the title Spider-Girl in the MC2 universe. The character is an adviser to the President of the United States and joins the young heroes in A-Next, a future version of the Avengers.

JLA/Avengers

The Vision appears as a member of the Avengers, and it is he who develops the plan to defeat the DC Comics villain Starro, by using the Scarlet Witch's chaos magic to disrupt Starro's calm and controlled mind. Afterward, he joins the team on their quest to gather 12 artifacts of power before the Justice League and save their universe. In Happy Harbour he and Thor are distracted by Red Tornado while Firestorm ges the Bell, Wheel, and Jar of the Demons Three. However, the game ends when The Grandmaster and Krona arrive. Krona turns on the Grandmaster, but the Grandmaster uses the artifacts to merge the universes in an attempt to trap Krona. In this world, the Vision and Scarlet Witch are still married, and are shown to be friends with fellow cyborg hero Red Tornado, from whom they get the idea of adopting. When Captain America and Superman attack each other, the facade of a merged world breaks, and Vision is the first hero shown in the devastated world, in a snowy Metropolis. He teams up with Aquaman to investigate the situation. After being defeated by a group of villains and rescued by a group of heroes, Vision decides to join the two teams against Krona, even though he sees himself being destroyed and rebuilt, and sees his two sons being taken away from him. He joins the battle against the villains, but by the end of the battle he is very badly damaged. However, he sees Superman being attacked by Radioactive Man and Solarr- generating kryptonite and red sun radiation respectively due to their contact with Lex Luthor, and uses his last stores of solar energy to give Superman his strength back before he dies. He is presumably brought back to normal when the universes separate once again. Thor says he could be repaired, and his remains are shown being taken away by the Avengers.

Ultimate Vision

The character debuts in the limited series Ultimate Nightmare, published under the Ultimate Marvel imprint. This version appears to be female. Alternate universe teams the Ultimates and Ultimate X-Men discover a damaged, sentient robot, who claims that the closest English translation of its name is "Vision". The robot warns of the coming of an invader from space called Gah Lak Tus, Eater of Worlds. Ultimate Vision is featured in a self-titled limited series, involving a confrontation with the organization led by George Tarleton, A.I.M, along with her reflections of her past history with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Dr. Sam Wilson. Later, Hank Pym builds a robot based on Vision called "Vision 2", who along with another called "Ultron", tries unsuccessfully to sell them to Nick Fury as S.H.I.E.L.D. super-soldier replacements. They are later used by Pym to attack the Liberators.

The Last Avengers Story

The limited series The Last Avengers Story is set in an alternate future, where the Vision has two sons by the Scarlet Witch, who died in an accidental skirmish between the android and her brother Quicksilver. This version of the Vision joins the surviving Avengers in a battle to the death against villains Kang and Ultron.

Marvel Zombies

In the limited series Marvel Zombies 3, the Vision has been partially dismantled and is being used as a communication tool by Kingpin. The character is still in love with the zombified Scarlet Witch.

Marvel Mangaverse

In the Marvel Mangaverse, the Vision is a member of the Avengers roster. His personality and powers are similar to his 616 persona, however, his appearance is drastically different, appearing shorter and more robotic. In the second volume, he, along with fellow Avengers Hawkeye and Captain America, are killed by the Mangaverse version of Doctor Doom.

House of M

During the House of M storyline, the Vision was a theoretical design for a new model of Sentinel robot from Howard Stark. Rushed into mass production, no-one checks the coding, which includes an override circuit which allowed him to use them as a private army. In the end they were all swiftly destroyed.

In other media

Books

• The Vision is the title of a short story by Jonathan Lethem from his collection Men and Cartoons, in which a character dresses like and claims to be the Vision as a child and then continues to dress like the Vision as an adult.

Film

• The first Vision appears in the direct-to-DVD movie Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow voiced by Shawn MacDonald.
• In 2009, Marvel announced they have begun hiring a gathering of scribes to help come up with creative ways to launch its lesser-known properties, such as Vision, along with others such as Black Panther, Cable, Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, and Nighthawk.

Television

• The first android Vision is one of several Avengers to make cameo appearances in the mid-1990s Fantastic Four television series.
• The Vision appears in The Avengers: United They Stand voiced by Ron Rubin. Like the comics, he was created by Ultron in his attempt to destroy the Avengers. The Avengers managed to use the defeated Vision in order to store some of Wonder Man's memories after Wonder Man was attacked by Ultron.
• Vision appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, voiced by Peter Jessop

Video games

• The first android Vision is a playable character in the 1991 arcade game Captain America and the Avengers by Data East.
• The Vision is a helper/assist character in Avengers in Galactic Storm, a fighting game also by Data East.
• The Vision appears as a non-playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by Roger Rose. He serves mainly as the team's Information Officer.

External links

• Vision at Marvel.com
• Greg Theakston at Grand Comics Database: Marvel Mystery Comics #13
• Jess Nevins' "Pulp and Adventure Heroes of the Pre-War Years": The Golden Age Vision
• The Invaders profile on the Golden Age Vision
• The Vision at Don Markstein's Toonopedia