The final issue of The Vision goes up close and personal for a bittersweet ending that
ties up all the loose ends, perhaps a bit too neatly. Though perhaps that was
the point.
Spoilers
beyond this point.
Well, that’s it. It’s over.
Say what you will about the treatment of
certain characters (which I already have), but you can’t deny that this was one
of Marvel’s most intense and suspenseful comics in recent memory. So many
choose to go big, and tell huge, world ending stories, and while there’s
nothing wrong with that, it’s nice to scale back and focus on more personal
stories.
And that’s what this issue does. After the
huge battle between Vision and all the Avengers in the last issue, this one is
once again just about him and his family. Specifically his wife, Virginia.
The issue opens with Virginia recounting
the events that have happened in the series, but with some key differences.
Most notably, she confessed to altering Vision’s coding and memory before and
after key events, including his battle and the killing of Victor Mancha.
In doing so, she absolved him of all blame,
taking it upon herself instead, so that her husband and daughter would be safe.
And to make sure Vision had no reason to confess, she poisoned herself, leaving her to die slowly in her husband’s arms.
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| That's the closest this issue comes to a joke. |
As far as plot resolutions go, it’s simple
but heartbreaking. And it works. Throughout the series, every action
Virginia has done stemmed from the desire to protect her family. She had no
desire to avenge Vin, but she knew Vision did. Since she knew if everything
came to light, both her and Vision would be implicated, she took it all upon
herself, to save what little of the family that would be left.
It’s a sad but inevitable end for the
character– from both an in and out of universe standpoint, Vision needs to
remain the hero, and for that someone needs to take the fall.
The rest of the issue is fairly simple. We
get some deep philosophical conversation between Scarlet Witch and Vivian,
which I can’t begin to hope to reproduce here, ending with a reminder that things aren’t
always as bad as they seem.
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| Awwwwwwwww... |
And so we get our sort of happy ending,
with Vivian, Vision and Sparky living as normal a life as they can. Completely
normal…
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| Dammit, Vision |
It’s been a long ride, full of twists and
turns (not all of them good) and creepiness and suspense, all under the cover
of suburban normalcy, brought beautifully to life by Gabriel Hernandez Walta’s
art and Jordie Bellaire’s coloring. But the real star throughout has been Tom
King’s phenomenal writing, whether it’s the narration or the dialogue, it
crafts a unique, fascinating spirit to the comic that won’t soon be forgotten.
And while I’m going to miss that
anticipation of waiting for the next issue of The Vision, it’s brevity was a plus, keeping the plot tight and
interesting.
And so it was that a comic about a family
of robots (sorry, androids) ended up being one of the most human ones I’ve ever
read. Farewell, Vision.
I’ll see you in the pages of Avengers, I suppose.
Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.
