Sacrifice: Vision Finale Review

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.

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.

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…

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.

Penultimate: Vision #11 Review

Vision #11 is an insane rollercoaster of a comic in which so much happens, that it makes you wonder how it will be wrapped up in just one more issue. However, people who were worried about the treatment of a particular character may not be very happy with this one.

Spoilers beyond this point.

So, it finally happened. After 11 issues, we finally got promised confrontation between Vision and all the other heroes. Artist Gabriel Hernadez Walta gets to move beyond a suburban setting and show his skill and drawing action scenes and a diverse range of heroes, and he does so amazingly. Tom King meanwhile, forgoes most of the dialogue, and instead gives us a thematic narration of Vision’s creation at the hands of Ultron as the battle rages on.

As you can see, the small amount of dialogue left in the sequence was of the utmost importance.

Overall, while it’s a heartbreaking but amazing scene, it does also make you wonder how Vision was able to defeat all heroes. I mean, there are over a dozen of them, including incredibly powerful ones like Thor and Blue Marvel, as well as some super geniuses who would’ve known better than to bring just one security measure, one that Vision had already overcome in fact.

Back at the Vision household, things aren’t going so well. Virgina reveals to Viv her role in her friend CK’s death, and Viv… doesn’t take it so well.

See more of Viv in Marvel's Champions #1, on sale this October!

In an act of frustration, Virginia kills the family dog, Sparky (making it the second time this poor dog dies thanks to her), then uses the act of his murder to use the future seeing flower established a while back.

I feel like this panel kind of encapsulates the whole series.

Meanwhile the narration has switched from Vision’s beginning to Virginia’s, and the reveal that she’s been experiencing some of Wanda’s memories as well.

Wanda herself is the last defence between Vision and Victor’s cell, but even she can’t reason with him (or do this– Civil War spoilers)

Vision finally confronts Victor, who doesn’t even get a chance to speak before… Virginia shows up and kills him.

And all it took was a drug addiction and the murder of your nephew.

And with our faces matching the look of surprise on Vision’s, the issue ends.

Now, a lot of people are very understandably upset about the series’ treatment of Victor Mancha, and I kind of have to agree. In the end, despite his dying words, he was less a character than a plot device in the Visions’ story. Elements like his out of nowhere drug addiction and accidental murder of his own nephew are kind of out of nowhere for the Victor we know and love. Add to that the fact that Victor is a Latino character, and Vision considered to be a white one, and the whole thing just takes on a whole new layer of problematic issues.

That trouble aside, Vision #11 is as fantastic as you’ve come to expect. I’ll definitely be missing the series after next month’s concluding issue, and I’m genuinely curious as to what the lasting repercussions for Vision and his family will be in future appearances (notably the upcoming Avengers and Champions series).

Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.

Breaking Ties: Vision #10 Review

Vision #10 is not an easy read. The majority of the issue comprises of the family mourning the loss of one of their own, and they all seem unsure as to what the proper response is.

Tom King once again captures the truth of humanity in this family of androids: We don’t know how to respond to loss, at least not at first. Do we cry, do we lash out, do we try and act like things are normal?

You'd think the repeating dialogue would lose its creepiness after a few issues. It doesn't.

Do we pray? Viv believes it is the appropriate response, even if there is no God. I’m firmly set in my personal beliefs, but I won’t deny that the prayer scene was beautifully done, and frankly, haunting.

Wow.

In the midst of it all, Vision asks a question. Why is Victor Mancha still alive, while Vin is not? And how is that a just scenario? It slowly builds up from question to action, as Vision breaks out of his house arrest, and makes his way to Victor’s prison, presumably with deadly intent. And this is the slightly problematic element of the story: it’s treatment of Victor Mancha.

In previous comics, Victor has always been a squeaky clean, goody two shoes type of character. Devoutly Catholic, and always doing the right thing. He was undoubtedly very careful, living in fear that one wrong move could lead to the rise of the supervillain Victorious.

Now, in his first appearance in this series, he was revealed to be betraying his family and spying on them for the Avengers. In the second, he was revealed to be a serious drug addict, and even ended up accidentally killing his nephew as a result. And in this issue, while he doesn’t appear, he is being set up for redemption by death, either to be killed by Vision, or sacrificing himself in some other way.

I truly, truly hope they don’t go down this path. Not only does it send a highly negative message about recovering drug addicts, the fact that Vision is essentially a white character, and Victor a Latino, makes it even more troublesome.

That bit aside, this issue is still brilliant. King’s writing is impeccable, and it makes you truly sad that he’ll be leaving Marvel after this series. Gabriel Walta’s art once again beautifully and hauntingly captures the atmosphere of the comic, which is reflected further in Jordie Bellaire’s colors.

It's always weird seeing the rest of the Avengers in this

Honestly, while I’m as hooked as ever, I’m still apprehensive about the direction the plot is headed.

Either way, sign me up for Vision #11.

Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.

Not So Victorious: Vision #9 Review

This is it. This is where, after 8 issues of all the horror being kept beneath a façade, Vision is finally directly impacted by everything that’s happened.

And it hurts. It’s a testament to the Tom King’s skilled writing that he has managed to, in such a short time, create both an incredibly compelling cast of characters, and such a suspensful plot. In many other comic series, the death of a character like Vin wouldn’t mean much. He would be a character solely created for and defined by the arc he is in: he is introduced, plays his role, and dies within a few issues. The next arc rolls around, and he’s all but forgotten.

Or at least it would be like that, if these characters weren’t so chillingly real. They shouldn’t be. They’re just a family of robots. And yet they are quite possibly the most human characters you’ll find in any comic book today.

I can't even make a joke here.

This issue doesn’t cover much ground in terms of progressing the story forward. The final panel literally takes place a few short minutes after the first one. Most of the pages are spent re-introducing us to Victor Mancha, and revealing his dark secret.

That's the first time that hand has ever looked dangerous.

It turns out goody two shoes Victor Mancha is actually a serious vibranium junkie, and has been for a long, long time. On one hand it’s a plot decision that fits into the story they are telling in this comic, as well as the themes of something darker hidden beneath a seemingly innocent surface.

On the other hand, and this is one of the biggest negatives of this issue, it’s pretty big retcon that seems very much out of character for Victor, and could seem like an insult to longtime fans of his who have admired his integrity. It’s an especially hard blow when you realize it’s his addiction that resulted in Vin’s accidental death.

There's no ambiguity here. Vision #1 promised us this is where the Knowles die. Yay.

Regardless of how you feel about some of the themes in the issue, it’s hard to deny that it very well executed. For the flashback scenes, colorist Jordie Bellaire uses a completely cold color palate on Gabriel Walta’s always fantastic art, with the exception of the yellow of Victor’s clothes and the vibranium, strongly highlighting the connection between them.

Overall, this is another strong issue of Vision. While the ending is more about the promise of what’s to come, the rest does an excellent job of putting all the pieces in place.

I’m both terrified and excited about what might happen next, and what more can you ask for?

Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.

Say Uncle: The Vision #8 Review

How am I supposed to write this review? Vision is an incredible comic book, almost certainly the best series Marvel is currently publishing. It is such a strange, experimental book that, were it not for the familiar characters, you’d believe came from a much smaller and more daring company than Marvel.

Vision #8 continues the amazing trend started by its predecessors. The first arc ended two issues ago, and its cliffhanger gave us the promise that the Avengers would be stepping in to find out exactly what was going on in the android suburban “utopia”. The next issue took a break from all that to give us a heartbreaking tribute to the romance between Vision and Scarlet Witch, and what became of it in the end. However, this issue brings us back to the main story line, and kicks off a new arc properly.

A recurring theme throughout the series has been for the writers to take ordinary suburban experiences and tropes, and twist them into something far more creepy and grotesque. Take the Vision family’s dog, Sparky (a name chosen by fans, as it happens). An adorable pooch who shares their power of phasing through objects… made from the reanimated remains of a neighbor’s dog who died of electrocution after stumbling across the corpse buried in the Vision’s garden.

This issue continues that trend with the introduction of Victor Mancha to the series. The book handily provides Victor’s backstory to the unaware: he’s another creation of Ultron, and was destined to one day destroy the world. Vision also sees him as a brother, and invites him to stay with his family.

And now I can never read Ultron's lines in James Spader's voice ever again

So, it’s the typical ‘Uncle comes to visit’ storyline. He tells hilarious jokes about Grandpa Ultron over a food free dinner. He has fun playing the piano badly with Virginia… until she begins to glitch again, a souvenir from the trauma of the past issues. He has a conversation with Vin about what vexes all teenage boys: an obsession with Shakespeare. When Viv visits the grave of her recently deceased friend Chris (who, unbeknownst to her, was killed partly as a result of her mother’s actions) and phases into the ground to see the corpse, he comforts her.

The dialogue is absolutely fantastic, and a scene where Vision and Victor talk about family at an art gallery is a highlight.

It's more than just creepy synergy, that's a very real painting

Basically, everyone loves Victor. At least until, by accident, Vin stumbles across him contacting the Avengers, promising to get the info about the mysterious goings-on. And the comic ends with Victor using his powers to hold Vin back, all the while attempting to explain what’s going on, while the narration details what lies in Victor’s future: a heroic death as he tries to stop the Vision from destroying the world…

It's especially surprising because you wouldn't expect these Avengers to be this competent 

Once again, I'm finding it tough to express how good this is. It's tightly plotted, suspenseful, creepy, and the art matches those themes beautifully. Seriously, just read it.

Aranwe Quirke is a totally real, definitely not made up name. No, you may not see the birth certificate.