Superhero Origins: The Vision
Superhero Origins: The Vision
Superhero Origins: Static
Can an artificial life form ever be human? That's the question that always bedevils a certain Marvel superhero. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of The Vision. As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginations and different versions to a character's past. We have chosen primarily to follow the storyline, which unfolded in Avengers #57-58 and was expanded upon in West Coast Avengers #42. The super-powered android known as The Vision was brought to synthetic life in Avengers #57, in a storyline that quickly established him as an intriguing new addition to the Marvel Universe. The Vision didn't get off on the right heroic foot; as a matter of fact, when he first encountered the Avengers, it was as an enemy, not a friend. In the course of demonstrating his powers – including super strength and an ability to vary the density of his body – the Vision revealed that he had been programmed by his creator to destroy the Avengers. His creator was Ultron-5, the evil metal automaton who had recently battled the Avengers. Fortunately, the Vision rebelled against Ultron-5 and defeated him, thus earning the trust and respect of the super-heroes he had been created to destroy. Back at Avengers HQ, the Vision was encouraged to dig deeper into his memory to try to recover details of his creation. He succeeded and recalled the moment when he was brought into existence by Ultron-5. The android also recalled that he was filled with curiosity – far more than was appropriate for a simple machine. As The Vision related his tale, Goliath realized that the android's solar-powered design bore similarities to that of a synthozoid, a failed experiment that Goliath had abandoned some time ago. Goliath eventually learned that the synthozoid had evolved into Ultron-5, the Vision's creator. He also realized that Ultron-5 had stolen the brain patterns of the super-hero known as Wonder Man and had implanted this consciousness in the Vision. It was this addition of Wonder Man's consciousness that accounted for the Vision's strong will, heroic nature and ability to experience emotion. Over the years, there have been modifications to the Vision's origin. The most significant involves the creation of the Vision's physical body. In a stroke that linked the character to Marvel's early history, it was revealed that Ultron-5 did not actually create the Vision's android shell. Rather, he kidnapped the inert body of the original Human Torch. This character, created in the 1940s, has the same powers as the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four; however, whereas the modern Torch is a human, the original Torch was an android. Ultron-5 forced the Torch's original creator to alter the face of his creation and bring him back to synthetic life. He then re-programmed him to do his bidding and added Wonder Man's brain patterns, as previously detailed. In the years since his debut in 1968, the Vision has undergone a wide range of changes, some of them drastic. Yet he eventually returns to the form in which comic fans love him best: a synthetic being who makes tremendous sacrifices for humanity – even as he never feels that he himself is quite human. The Vision has popped up in the animated Avengers series and videogames and is played by Paul Bettany in 2015's "Avengers: Age of Ultron." And he's bound to keep popping up for as long as his solar battery holds out. Are you a fan of this mighty android? For more super comic book origins, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
