Vision (2015 - 2016) | curiosities.dev

Vision Vol. 1: Little Worse Than A Man. Tom King; Gabriel Hernandez Walta. www.marvel.com . www.hoopladigital.com . Jun 29, 2016. Accessed Feb 5, 2023.

Snapshots

Most of the Visions' neighbors worked downtown, and they talked often about the traffic on 66 or Lee highway. On the weekends they tended to stay in Virginia, though they often lamented that they should go into the city. The museums are so nice, and the kids would have a great time. Very few of them were from the area originally. Most had moved to D.C. after college and worked for congress or the president. They made nothing, and they lived off of nothing. But that was unimportant. They were young, and they wanted to save the world. Eventually, they met someone and fell in love and had children. With bills to pay, they left their small government jobs; they became lobbyists and lawyers and managers. They moved out to the suburbs for the schools. They made the compromises that are necessary to raise a family.

Chilling characterization of how ideals die in the name of family. Yet, this is what Vision wants, a normal run-of-the-mill family life.

[Vision] You misunderstand. It is the ironic aspect of “nice” that gives the statement its meaning. As “kind” is unironic, to “seem kind” is to imply the potential of not being kind, or of being cruel. In contrast, “nice,” due to its ironic interpretation, has a more flexible connotation. As such, “they seem nice” has a proper meaning of they may be nice or they may not be nice. [Virginia] Then the phrase is meaningless. [Vision] Obviously. To assert as truth that which has no meaning is the core mission of humanity.

Vision had explained to them that they obviously could memorize the words and figures in any book provided. However, Vision rightly noted that the ability to combine these figures into rhetoric, into creative endeavors, this had to be learned. Facts without context are like individuals without society. Just as an individual must find his or her place in society or else they are useless, a fact must find its place in an argument or else it serves no true purpose.

Though he did not tell The President, he hoped The White House would offer him an official position, where he might draw a salary. The Avengers were no longer offering wages, and he was uncertain how long his savings would last.

Falcon in also faced financial hardships. The thread shared with Vision is that they’re both in minority groups. One would expect that an Avenger should live comfortably – after all, they’ve saved the planet from annihilation multiple times!

[Vision] Let us then just say that my son will take the standard suspension of a child involved in a conflagration of this sort. Further discipline will be handled by myself and his mother. [Principal Waxman] That’s not your decision to make. [Vision] I am The Vision of The Avengers. I have saved this planet thirty-seven times. Each day you live. Each breath you take. Each beat of your heart. Each is due to my actions. Thirty-seven times over. You are quite correct, it is not my decision to make. It is merely my considered opinion that this is the proper course of action. But I do believe you will recognize that fighting me in this matter will not in the end prove to be beneficial. [Narrator] Principal Sam Waxman of Alexander Hamilton High School will remember this moment for the rest of his life. He will wonder what would have happened if he had been firmer with The Visions that day, if he had not retreated from his initial position. Would that have made a difference? If he had acted right then, right at the beginning – maybe he too could’ve saved the world.

Vision’s cracks started to show in this scene. The Narrator’s description of Principal Waxman’s thoughts is an apt foreshadowing tool. What will Vision do?

[Viv] This is the seventh time I am preparing this game, Vin. The ball has not moved. You have not kicked it. You have not earned my trust. [Vin] That is not trust. That is prediction. Anyone can predict the future based on past events. This is mere pattern recognition. The lowest form of cognition. Trust is the ability to believe without evidence. It is an act of faith. The highest form of cognition. Understanding and embracing faith moves us closer to humanity.

Strange loop in the cognition hierarchy presented here. Believing without evidence seems like the lowest form of cognition too, as it can be done without mental effort. Or can it? One needs to convince themselves why faith is reasonable… Hmm…

[Vin] That was entirely unfair! The ball was thrown by father for me! [Viv] Now brother, fairness is a simple mathematically determined balance, the lowest form of justice. Preeminence, however, is the assertion of complex covenants over instinctual norms. The highest form of justice. Understanding and embracing preeminence moves us closer to humanity.

[Vision] I would lose the trust of The Avengers. And without this trust, I could not adequately support you in the days ahead. We would be subjected to the whims of all the people who see us only as wires and electrodes. The people who do not understand what we are attempting to accomplish. Or rather, those who do not understand that we are not attempting to accomplish anything. We are just… We just are. [Narrator] Vision thought he could make a family. A happy, normal family. It was merely a matter of calculation. The right formula, shortcut, algorithm. P. What a shock to see the dog in the yard and the body in the dirt. To discover that it was all beyond him. All his efforts would likely never produce the answer he knew was there. NP.

[Agatha Harkness] And so The Vision has abandoned the illusion of P in favor of the reality of NP. He will now do anything, everything, in his attempt to find happiness for his wife and children. He will kill you. He will kill your families. He will raze the world.

[Wanda] You’re a damn toaster! [Vision] Wanda… [Wanda] They’re not real? What are you?! [Vision] I want a family. I want it as much as you do. [Wanda] Who are you?! Huh? What are you?! To tell me they’re not real! [Vision] But this is not a family. This is a lie. And what good can come out of this lie? [Wanda] You’re not real!

Wanda’s desire to have a family is also explored in live action: and . In TV and film, Wanda’s desire for motherhood also brings harm, and sometimes death, to other people. is tamer by comparison.

[Wanda] Simon – He makes happy. I love him. I want you… After everything, I want you to be happy. You’re based on Simon. You have his brain patterns. Maybe that’s why – Why Simon and I work, because he’s like you, but he’s not you. These are my brain patterns, so you can – maybe you can make… Maybe you can find someone who’s like me, but who’s not me.

[Virginia] I told this to Vision. But I don’t think he understood. Or maybe he did not not want to hear. When when I simply access the notes and play play play them well… I seem to feel that I am not playing them. I have… Simply… Become the piano. I am perfect perfect perfect. I am the piano.

Is perfection anti-human? Maybe. If I’m watching an NBA game, and Curry is hitting all shots, then that’s not as fun anymore. But it’s also not fun if he’s missing some shots. Maybe nigh-perfect is the sweet spot. Not so perfect that there is no variability, and not so imperfect that it’s average.

[Viv] I do not know if there is a God. It seems unlikely. [Vision] Yes. It does seem unlikely. [Viv] I also do not know if Vin had a soul. This, too, seems unlikely. [Vision] Yes. [Viv] So first, I pray that there is a God. Then I pray that Vin had a soul. Then I pray for God to allow Vin’s soul to rest. If that order is satisfactory, father, then perhaps you will follow me? [Vision] Yes, Viv. That will be fine.

Memorable on first encounter, but if we’re being pedantic, doesn’t praying presume that God exists?

[Vin] “How like you the young German, the Duke of Saxony’s nephew? Very vilely in the morning, when he is sober. And most vilely in the afternoon, when he is drunk. When he is best he is a little worse than a man, and when he is worst he little better than a beast. And the worst fall that ever fell, I hope I shall make shift to go without him."

When Ultron had finished, Vision said: “You’ve told me only what powers I possess – not what I wish to know! Who am I? What name is mine?” “No name, clown!” Ultron said. “What need has an inhuman slave of a name… Even a number? I gave you a mind so that you could obey me… Not dispute me!” The synthezoid objected. “Then, the mind is of no use if it cannot question!” “Think what you like, Android,” Ultron said. “But you shall perform the mission for which you were created. You must kill the Avengers."

The first words the synthezoid ever heard were the words of her husband. I am The Vision of The Avengers. I have saved the world thirty-seven times. I am here to welcome you to life.” Vision told the synthezoid her name. “You are Virginia.” He explained to her that she was a good person. That she was made to be a good person with a free will of her own. Now, should she so desire, she could join him on his quest to live a good life. They could marry. They could have a house. They could have children. They could be part of a happy, normal family.

[Viv] But Wanda, I do not understand. Parents sacrifice their lives for their children. Then children become parents and sacrifice their own lives. And so all is sacrificed and nothing is gained. Life then becomes the pursuit of an unobtainable purpose by absurd means. [Wanda] What is it Portia says in The Merchant of Venice? Vin would know. “One half of me is yours, the other half yours – Mine own, I would say. But if mine, then yours – and so all yours."

Others' Reviews

2017 Eisner Award Winner for “Best Limited Series or Story Arc.”

The pursuit of a set purpose by logical means is the way of tyranny… The pursuit of an unobtainable purpose by absurd means is the way of freedom. This is my vision of the future. Of our future.

Probably from .

Stood out to several folks like . Not sure how I missed this bit. Vision trying to distill what it means to be human is a fun exercise.

and others praise the use of ominous foreboding, e.g., ’s So they all said their goodbyes and promised to meet again. Maybe they’d get brunch at that new organic place next to the Italian place. Later, near the end of our story, one of the Visions will set George and Nora’s house on fire. They will die in the flames.

You cannot hate what you do not know. They do not know you, therefore they are incapable of hating you. Perhaps I might concede they hate the idea of you. But if this is true, then your task is a simple one. You merely have to show them that you are not that idea. ?

A story of being outsiders in a community, and trying to gain acceptance. Doesn’t quite parallel being from a minority group IRL. The Visions have a lot that the humans don’t – they’ve got powers! And yet, not being accepted stings them all the same.

The Vision is the story of immigrants in a strange land. When violence and trouble occurs, they are the first to blamed because of their Otherness.

For the person who’s afraid of other races or religions, and the person who’s afraid of being the target of racists, the emotion that they are facing is exactly the same. Sure, some fear is justified and some isn’t, but how do you tell someone who’s convinced that their family is in danger to just stop being afraid?

is critical of the series, e.g., Vision wanting a family being too sudden and unexplained; the Visions wanting to fit in instead of stand out; suburbia tropes like Vin getting into school trouble and Viv liking a boy; unexplained motives, e.g., Virginia’s lie; mundane conversations about semantics.

Different strokes for different folks? However, some of ’s criticism is lazy as plot events should be taken for granted as something that could have happened in the comic’s universe . For instance, Viv’s deceit is later explained by her being afraid of being unfairly judged by humans who have shown prior hostility towards synthezoids.

In Sam’s about page , other readers note the overly critical tone, so maybe that’s their shtick? Definitely puts me off future reviews.

Virginia killing the Reaper in self defense isn’t the kicker, though. It’s her very human remorse, her shame for having done it, and her need to hide it after the fact.

References

Vision Vol 2 #1. Visions of the Future. Tom King; Gabriel Hernandez Walta; Jordie Bellaire. marvel.fandom.com . Nov 4, 2015. Accessed Feb 5, 2023.
Watch The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. www.disneyplus.com . 2021. Accessed Feb 5, 2023.
Vision Vol 2 #2. Everything Slips Through Their Fingers. Tom King; Gabriel Hernandez Walta; Jordie Bellaire. marvel.fandom.com . Dec 2, 2015. Accessed Feb 5, 2023.
Vision Vol 2 #4. Balls in the Air. Tom King; Gabriel Hernandez Walta; Jordie Bellaire. marvel.fandom.com . Feb 3, 2016. Accessed Feb 5, 2023.
Vision Vol 2 #6. P vs. NP. Tom King; Gabriel Hernandez Walta; Jordie Bellaire. marvel.fandom.com . Apr 6, 2016. Accessed Feb 5, 2023.
Vision Vol 2 #7. I Too Shall be Saved by Love. Tom King; Michael Walsh; Jordie Bellaire. marvel.fandom.com . May 11, 2016. Accessed Mar 7, 2023.
Vision Vol 2 #8. Victorious. Tom King; Gabriel Hernandez Walta; Jordie Bellaire. marvel.fandom.com . Jun 8, 2016. Accessed Mar 7, 2023.
Vision Vol 2 #10. All Will Return to Normal. Tom King; Gabriel Hernandez Walta; Jordie Bellaire. marvel.fandom.com . Aug 10, 2016. Accessed Mar 7, 2023.
Vision Vol 2 #11. You and I Were Born for Better Things. Tom King; Gabriel Hernandez Walta; Jordie Bellaire. marvel.fandom.com . Sep 21, 2016. Accessed Mar 7, 2023.
Vision Vol 2 #12. Spring. Tom King; Gabriel Hernandez Walta; Jordie Bellaire. marvel.fandom.com . Oct 26, 2016. Accessed Mar 7, 2023.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Sam Raimi. www.marvel.com . May 6, 2022. Accessed Mar 8, 2023.
WandaVision. www.marvel.com . 2021. Accessed Mar 8, 2023.
The Vision, Vol. 1: Little Worse Than A Man. www.jocolibrary.org . Accessed Mar 8, 2023.
ComicAlly: The Vision, Volume 1: Little Worse Than A Man Review. Sam Quixote. samquixote.blogspot.com . Aug 10, 2016. Accessed Mar 8, 2023.
Comic Book Review: The Vision Vol. 1: A Little Worse Than Man. popcult.blog . May 31, 2016. Accessed Mar 9, 2023.
List of Eisner Award winners. en.wikipedia.org . Accessed Mar 9, 2023.
Review: Vision Vol. 1 – Little Worse Than A Man | Pixelated Geek. Kathryn Adams. pixelatedgeek.com . May 30, 2017. Accessed Mar 9, 2023.
New To You Comics: Questions Of The Soul In 'The Vision V1: Little Worse Than A Man'. Tony Thornley; Brendan Allen. www.comicon.com . Jan 11, 2021. Accessed Mar 9, 2023.