One of the most critically acclaimed titles Marvel has recently produced, Tom King, Gabriel Hernandez and Jordie Bellaire’s new twist on The Avengers’ resident android in Vision is well-deserving of a deluxe edition. And now we have just that in this new director’s cut hardcover.
Vision wants to be human, and what’s more human than family? So he heads back to the beginning – to the laboratory where Ultron created him as a weapon. The place where he first rebelled against his given destiny and imagined that he could be more – that he could be a man. There, he builds them. A wife, Virginia. Teenage twins, Viv and Vin. They look like him. They have his powers. They share his grandest ambition – or is that obsession? – the unrelenting need to be ordinary. Behold the Visions! Theirs is a story of togetherness and tragedy – one that will send the Android Avenger into a devastating confrontation with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
There are multiple reasons why this Eisner Award winning series has become a modern classic in the Marvel canon. For one thing, it was completely different from anything Marvel was doing at the time. The comic is at first glance a typical examination of suburban life, but the layers are quickly peeled away as the almost creepy way that Vision’s family have assimilated their way into being a normal family is unravelled. Despite their best efforts, it just takes one seemingly normal aspect of human behaviour that they can’t replicate which reminds of the fact they can never fully integrate with society. Virginia is a particularly tragic character as she struggles with the preloaded memories that Vision programmed in her and is often brought to tears as a result without fully knowing why. Vision meanwhile is torn between whether he loves Vivian or the woman whose memories she is based on. Viv and Vin also have their struggles, with their classmates regularly questioning why they are there or if they are normal. But it is the direction the series go in once Vision is absent on Avengers business and the rest of the family suffer a home invasion from Avengers villain and brother of Wonder Man – The Grim Reaper. No spoilers, but the outcome turns the series completely on its head which allows King to craft some of the most tense material you’ll have ever seen in comics.
This is all aided by the terrific art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta and Jordie Jordie Bellaire’s colouring. Everything has an almost muted quality without losing detail which enhances the feeling on unreality that King is going for. Every page and sequence works, whether it be capturing the quirks of suburban life or the tense psychological direction the series subsequently goes in. Particular highlights again include the moments featuring Virginia as she struggles with her identity and the brutal encounter with The Grim Reaper.
With plenty of bonus material from all of the creative team, there is no excuse not to check out one of the best comics of recent times – and that’s not just limited to the super hero genre. Everyone is on their A-Game and this title as a result is a true must-read.
Vision is out 23 January 2018 from Marvel
(9781302908539, h/b, £33.50)
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