Get To Know a Hero: Vision

Again, all information from the official Marvel site/Marvel Wiki, so if you take issue with it, blame them.

image via marvel.com

Alias: Victor Shade

Born: In a lab in the 1940s.  Created by Ultron using the remains of the original Human Torch and the neural patterns of Wonder Man.  The head crystal was intended to contain his power as/when needed.

Abilities: Phasing through organic and inorganic materials; control over his own density (allowing him to make himself intangible, “diamond” hard, or exist at any state in between); crystal in his forehead shoots microwaves (aka: portable popcorn popper).

Affiliations: The Avengers

Romantic Partners: Scarlet Witch

The Story:  Ultron created Vision with the intention of using him against The Avengers.  Sadly for Hank Pym’s (not Tony Stark in original canon) jerkface megalomaniacal robot, Vision overrode his programming and helped The Avengers kick Ultron’s ass.

image via denofgeek.com

Vision worked with The Avengers for several years.  He fell in love with Scarlet Witch and they retired from hero-ing to live a simple life in, of all places, New Jersey (seriously, with The Avenger’s pension plan, they best they could do was Jersey.  Someone should have been paying more attention to that.  Also, mysteriously, she continues to wear that thing on her head).  They had a couple of kids which, apparently, are created from a combination of their genetic materials (because, comics.  No, I don’t have an explanation of how neurologically programmable human remains/android might be able to procreate and yes, it does appear that maybe Scarlet Witch has some issues).

image via goodcomics.comicresources.com

Being a programmed entity, Vision is subject to glitches and one such drives him to attempt to usher in an age of peace by taking control of the planet’s computers and defense systems.  All of them.  He does eventually recover by extracting the control crystal from his own head.  As you might imagine, the attempted techno-overlording is more than annoying to the powers that be and he is, thereafter, considered a major threat to world security.  Government operatives abduct Vision, disassemble him, and wipe his memory.  Wonder Man, who it turns out, has a thing for Wanda himself, refuses to submit to another brain scan and, for some reasons, this means all of Vision’s memories are lost (which doesn’t really make sense, because those original neural scans wouldn’t have contained Vision’s memories anyway, but let’s let that one slide, shall we?).  Vision is ultimately recreated, but with neither human emotions nor any recollection of his previous life.

Vision eventually uploaded a new set of brain pattern (origins unknown) which resorted his ability to feel and (somehow) to remember his relationship with Scarlet Witch, but he opted not to reconcile with her.

When Scarlet Witch went crazy and lost control of her powers (perhaps she should have sought therapy for the whole quasi-necrophilia thing), Vision was once more disassembled, this time into ragged halves by a very pissed off She-Hulk.  Beyond immediate repair, his bits (who, you will remember, were someone else’s bits to begin with), were put in storage.  Iron Lad retrieved them down the road when he assembled a team of Avengers to help him defeat Kang (Iron Lad’s own future self — don’t look at me like that, I told you, I’m just the messenger) and uploaded Vision’s programming into his suit.  When Iron Lad left his armor to escape Kang (paradox – kablooey), Vision took control of it and became an independent entity once more.

image via nerdswole.com

Questions?  Yeah, me too.  I think I’m just going to let it go because trying to suss it all out may break an essential cortex.

At least it’s never boring.