365 Marvel Comics Paper Cut-Out SuperHeroes - One Hero, Every Day, All Year…
May 11th - The Vision
The hero known only as The Vision is a ‘synthezoid,’ an advanced android, built to replicate the human form using Horton Cells. He was created by the villainous Ultron-5, using parts from Phineas Horton’s abandoned android, Adam One, and provided with a Solar Gem that give him consciousness. The personality matrix that Ultron used as a scaffolding for his creation’s consciousness were based the brain engrams of the hero, Wonder Man. Ultron’s aim in creating The Vision was to use him to destroy his hated rivals, The Avengers.
The synthezoid first attacked The Wasp who inadvertently gave him his name, referring to him as a terrifying ‘vision.’ The other Avengers interceded and The Vision was defeated. Afterward, the android informed the Avengers that he had been sent by Ultron-5 to destroy them. The Vision’s sentience had now expanded to a point as to provide him free will - thus enabling him to defy his initial programing. He chose instead to aide The Avengers in defeating Ultron-5. Soon thereafter, The Vision was asked to join The Avengers.
The Vision would go on to prove himself an invaluable member of the team, accompanying The Avengers on numerous missions. Tentatively at first, the android embarked on a romantic relationship with his teammate, The Scarlet Witch. The pair were ultimately married and they spent several years with the group before retiring to live a quiet life in New Jersey. Some time therein, The Scarlet Witch used her hex powers to enable her to become pregnant with The Vision’s child. She ended up giving birth to twins whom they named William and Thomas.
The Vision and Scarlet Witch later joined the West Coast branch of The Avengers. Not long thereafter, The Vision was apprehended by rogue governmental officials who completely dismantled him in an effort to reverse engineerthe creation of a synthezoid. Once the Avengers recovered his remains, Hank Pym rebuilt him as best he could. Wonder Man, however, would not allow his brain patterns to be used again to provide a matrix for the Vision’s emotions. This, along with damage to the Vision’s synthetic skin when he was dismantled, resulted in his being resurrected as a colorless, emotionless shade of his former self.
Soon thereafter, The Scarlet Witch was told her children were merely simulacrums created by hex magic and made from a portion of the demonic being known as Mephisto. Agatha Harkness allowed the twins to be reabsorbed into Mephisto and erased the memory of them from The Scarlet Witch’s mind. It would ultimately turn out that the twins were not destroyed but rather sent a handful of years back in time and born to new parents; and the two would eventually become the Young Avengers known as Wiccan and Speed. Nonetheless, the loss of their children coupled with The Vision’s now cold sense off personality, led to The Scarlet Witch’s divorcing The Vision.
Some time later, The Vision regained his ability to feel emotion by way of adopting new brain patterns from the deceased scientist Alex Lipton. The Vision continued on with The Avengers for subsequent missions until he was destroyed by The Scarlet Witch after the rediscovery of her surprised memories of her children caused her to become overwhelmed by her hex magic and embarking on a destructive rampage.
The Vision was eventually rebuilt by Tony Stark, who once more used the memory engrams of Simon Willson so to enable the synthzoid to experience emotion. He went on to rejoin the Avengers and had numerous adventures as a member of the team; he additionally briefly served as a member of the all-android Avengers A.I. squad; as well as a part of the Uncanny Avengers unity team. Although it took a while, The Vision was eventually able to forgive his ex-wife for her action and the two were able to foster a friendship together.
Sometime after forcing himself to purge the emotions associated with his memories so to augment his processing speed, the Vision decided to take his pursuit of humanity a step further and created his own family in order to live the ‘American Dream.’ He built for himself a wife named Virginia along with a son and daughter named Vin and Viv.
Unfortunately, The Vision’s plan to have a normal family went disastrously awry. irginia’s programing to be a protective wife and mother caused her to become homicidal and Vin was accidentally killed by Victor Mancha. Virginia then killed Victor before self-destructing. Only The Vision’s daughter, Viv, remained. Having attained her own sense of sentience and independence, Viv ultimately left her father to join the young hero group known as The Champions.
The Vision did his best to contend with his lost family. He returned to The Avengers and more recently was involved in the No Way Home event where his actions proved pivotal in defeating the evil goddess known as Nyx.
A version of The Vision has featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe portrayed by actor Paul Bettany. The hero first appeared in Avengers Vol. 1 #57 (1968).
