Hero Profile: The Vision

Day Three of the Avengers 2 countdown, and today we’ll focus on the most under hyped character from the promos, The Vision. Pinocchio comes to mind with several comic book characters, typically with the “Robot wants to be alive,” stories. The Vision is one of the best examples of this story. Throw that in with the whole not wanting to be like his “father” the evil automaton, Ultron. And by the time I’m done with this one, I’m sure you’ll agree that the Vision is as “real a boy” as dear Pinocchio. Let’s get to it.

It feels like he's looking into my soul.

The Vision was designed by the Ultron to be the ultimate weapon against the Avengers and his own creator Hank Pym. The Vision was constructed by Ultron using a leftover body of the 1940s robotic Human Torch. Ultron upgraded it as best he could and used the brainwave patterns of the (at the time) deceased Wonder Man to give his creation a personality. He also implanted a “control crystal” into the new androids synthetic brain to make sure he could control it. He dispatched his creation to attack the Avengers and lead them into a death trap. He first runs into the Wasp, whom gives him his name, calling him an “Inhuman Vision.” Why she didn’t go with the more obvious ghost or specter metaphor for the guy who can pass through walls, I’ll never know. He’s defeated by the Avengers, whom remove the control crystal and then convince the machine to go against his maker. Which, again, you'd think Ultron might have seen coming considering that the Vision's brain is based off of Wonder Man, a villain created spy that goes native and turns on his maker. For a smart Robot, Ultron is pretty stupid sometimes. The Avengers defeat Ultron, only to have him take over the Vision again, forcing him to build Ultron a new adamantium body. He regains control of himself and helps the Avengers defeat Ultron, again.

Shortly after this the Vision meets Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, and the two hit it off. Despite the initial objections of their teammates, mostly Quicksilver who didn’t want his sister to date a machine and Hawkeye who was jealous, the two marry with the team’s blessing. Shortly after they have twin boys via Magical In Vitro. The family was happy for a little while, before things hit the fan. Vision is kidnapped by government agents working for the villainous Immortus. One of the various personas of the time traveling Kang the Conqueror, by the way. Vision is disassembled by the men in black, but is reassembled by his “Granddad” Hank Pym. Unfortunately, Wonder Man refuses to allow his brain to be used to restore Vision’s emotional matrix, for previously stated selfish reasons. The new Vision is now a chalk white unfeeling machine. The Maximoff’s familial issues are increased when it’s discovered that the souls Wanda magically transmuted into their mystically conceived twins were both 1/5^th of Mephisto, a powerful demon lord. Mephisto eventually reclaims them. Wanda is driven mad with grief over the loss of their kids, and she and the Vision separate, even going so far as to join two different Avengers Branch teams. Obviously the emotionless robot doesn’t object.

I agree with Wasp, his skin tone doesn't look
good with all that yellow and green.

The Vision later regains his emotions after adopting the brain patters of the deceased Dr. Alex Lipton. These new patterns meld with the left over bits Wonder Man’s, giving the Vision a more… unique brain. He tries to get back together with Wanda, but she rejects him The Vision is then almost destroyed by Morgan Le Fey. He takes several weeks to recover, and in that time gives up trying to patch things up with Wanda, but he does retain a fondness for Transian culture, made evident by doing things like going to a Transian restaurant because it reminds him of her. He and Wanda do eventually make up, but her grief over the loss of their sons eventually causes her to lose control again. She kills him, along with Hawkeye and Scott Lang (Ant-man 2) in a grief filled, magically enhanced rage.

The Original Vision goes on hiatus for a while. A new Vision is built by Iron Lad, another of the various incarnations of the time traveling Kang the Conquerer. This Vision is based on 30th century tech and Kangs brain patterns. New Vision joins the Young Avengers, and falls in love with Stature, daughter of Ant-Man II. He is ultimately dismantled, and by that I mean torn to shreds, by a grief stricken Iron Lad after the death of Stature. A short, but complex life for that android. The original Vision is eventually rebuilt by Tony Stark, brain patterns and memories in tact. One of the first things he does is fly to Utopia and demand Magneto tell him where Wanda is. Magneto magnetically disables his former son-in-law, but spares his life because he knows Wanda still cares about him. Magneto tells him to leave and let Wanda be. Captain America later gives the Vision some advice about moving forward. Which, he does his best to follow despite how much it pains him. While his relationship with Wanda is clearly over by the end of the Avengers vs. X-Men story, he does spend a little time with Billy Kaplan, the reincarnation of one of his twins. So, he’s moving on but not forgetting about the people that were special to the both of them. Shortly after the latest attack by Ultron, in the Age of Ultron story, he joins Hank Pym’s Avengers A.I. This version of the Avengers focus on protecting the world from cyber threats. Which mainly includes evil computer viruses, which happen more often than you’d think in the world of Marvel. The team is comprised of the Chief of SHIELD’s AI division Monica Chang, a reprogrammed Doombot, and Vision’s “brother” Victor Mancha. Victor was essentially Vision 2.0, an advanced synthetic organism designed by Ultron to infiltrate the Avengers and then destroy them. So, the two probably have a lot in common, at least in their feelings towards their maker. What with Granddad Hank Pym on the team they just need an Ultron for this to be a family business.

Not sure if he's more or less scary with pupils.

The Vision has a rather odd mix of powers. He has a Solar Jewel on his forehead that absorbs ambient solar energy to power himself, and use as a high powered laser. He can also release a powerful microwave pulse and has heat vision. He can alter the density of his body, making him light enough to fly and phase through solid objects or heavy as a being a thousand times his size. He’s super strong, has super senses, and super intelligence thanks to his robotic origins.

The Vision is a somewhat limited character, mostly because of how heavily his origins are tied to the Avengers. Hard to make a show solely on the Vision is kind of impossible.

The Vision appeared in Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes second season. He first appears in “Behold… The Vision!” where Ultron sends him to gather resources for his new body. He steals some adamantium, but is stopped by the Avengers before he can steal a sample of Cap’s Vibranium/Adamantium alloy shield. He eventually rebels against Ultron in “Ultron Unlimited,” using his phasing powers to remove Ultron’s indestructible head from his indestructible body. He disappears for a bit to recover but afterwards is a major member of the Avengers. He helps save the Avengers after the entire team and most of the world is taken over by the Purple Man, a D-list supervillain with the power to control others via pheromones. He also is instrumental in the Earth’s defense against Galactus and his Heralds when the devourer of worlds comes to Earth.

The Vision is set to appear in Age of Ultron, portrayed by Paul Bettany. Since Wonder Man isn’t a character in the Cinematic Universe, yet, and that Bettany already portrays the voice of JARVIS Tony Starks AI, it seems likely either Ultron or the Avengers use JARVIS to animate The Vision. Just have to wait and see I guess.

The Vision is an interesting character. He was made to be Ultron’s ultimate weapon, but instead takes after his creator with the whole rebelling against his maker thing. The Vision has on several occasions professed a desire to be human. To which is say, dude, you’ve loved and lost, started a family and mourned their loss, and also given your life to protect the world and those you love. You’re about as human as it gets. He’s the awesome automaton, the marvelous machine, the victorious Vision. Next time, one of the films baddies, Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker.

 http://marvel.wikia.com/File:Vision_%28Earth-616%29_00.png
 http://marvelanimated.wikia.com/wiki/Vision_%28Yost_Universe%29
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_%28Marvel_Comics%29#/media/File:Vision_in_Avengers_Age_of_Ultron_poster.jpg