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Last Hero Standing

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Last Hero Standing is a 5-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in 2005 . The series was written by Tom DeFalco and drawn by Pat Olliffe (who also co-plotted the series).

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114-575: The series stars many characters from the MC2 universe, such as A-Next and the Fantastic Five . Although these characters existed prior to this miniseries, Marvel wished to reintroduce them to the public quickly following the success of Spider-Girl in digest size format. The series was released weekly and then reprinted as a trade paperback . While "joy-hunting" together in Canada , Wild Thing

228-525: A " synthezoid ." Seeing him as a person, and because of the team's past successes with recruiting former villains and criminals wishing to atone for past actions, the Avengers welcome the android to the team. Overwhelmed by this act of acceptance from the group, Vision immediately excuses himself and weeps. An alternate account of the Vision's origin includes Wasp explaining that starting a new life and finding

342-544: A back-up which is now activating and clashing with those of Alex Lipton. After defeating the Anti-Vision, who was responsible for his nightmares, Vision is able to reassert his identity and the different aspects of his mind merge, restoring his original personality. Vision takes a leave of absence from the Avengers to properly adjust. Returning to the Avengers team later, he approaches Wanda, who realizes that he his capacity for emotions has been restored. When Vision broaches

456-493: A battle with Ultron, Vision admits he has been suffering from depression and insecurity. He once believed his attraction to Wanda was his own experience, free of Simon's influence and proof he was a person who could love. But Simon's attraction to Wanda and their relationship seems to confirm, in his mind, that his android personality only mimics what Wonder Man would do in the same situation. Wonder Man points out that Ultron recently confirmed Vision's brain patterns have evolved into

570-570: A battle with the sorceress Morgan Le Fay . The battle is won, but Vision suffers injuries that take weeks to repair, forcing him again to communicate by hologram. During this time, Wanda repeatedly checks on Vision. Vision, still afraid to hurt Wanda again, insists that although he has a true personality again, he is still a different person than the one she married. Conflicted about her feelings for Vision and his seemingly cold and harsh attitude toward her, Wanda finds comforts with Wonder Man and later concludes she has had feelings for him for some time but

684-461: A coma. Having suffered heavy losses, the Avengers disband and do not reform until months later. Unknown to the heroes at the time, Wanda was not entirely responsible for her actions. After recalling the loss of her children, she sought help from Dr. Doom in possibly restoring them to existence. Doom, a powerful scientist and sorcerer, used Wanda to tap into a great, powerful source of magical energy that then boosted her power and took over her mind. It

798-400: A dark mist, which causes him to become evil and to side with him. J2 and Spider-Girl return to the caves and set their teammates free. They later find Nova captured in the same crystals as before and set him free as well. Meanwhile, Loki has set up two sides of heroes against each other: the ones he kidnapped and turned evil against the unaffected heroes. The heroes begin fighting each other:

912-556: A gigantic robot which manages to abduct Peter. A panicking Phil contacts May about this. She, the Buzz , the other Ladyhawk and the Green Goblin dive into a tunnel that was created by the robot that kidnapped Peter. There, they meet up with all the members of A-Next who discovered the same tunnel earlier. Meanwhile, somewhere else, an unconscious Peter is dragged by the robot into a dark realm. An ancient Doctor Strange tries to gain

1026-677: A happy, family life in the suburbs. This attempt largely ends in failure. A later encounter with the Hulk leads to the Vision's destruction again in Avengers #685. He is later rebuilt but his core remains damaged, meaning he will eventually die. In Champions vol. 2 #22, Vision concludes life is meant to be finite. Later, Vision is fully healed due to the energies of the House of Ideas in Avengers No Road Home #9-10. Founding member of

1140-512: A heightened emotional state. Overwhelmed by the state of violence and self-destructive actions on Earth, he becomes obsessed with world peace. To help his plan, he manipulates the Wasp into giving up her position as leader of the Avengers and then adopts the position himself. His increasingly irrational state leads to him manipulating and lying to the Avengers for months, while causing tension in his marriage. As Vision ponders whether or not this plan

1254-464: A leave of absence from the Avengers, eventually settling in Chicago where he lives as Victor Shade. Weeks later, Vision alerts the Avengers to a crime syndicate meeting. After the adventure, he rejoins the team, serving alongside Wanda (Wonder Man at this point had left to pursue his own agenda). After checking Wanda will not be distressed by the situation, Vision asks out teammate Carol Danvers , and

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1368-465: A lie. She then learns that her children Thomas and Billy are evidently not real but rather magical constructs she herself created due to a "hysterical pregnancy" and an unexplained increase in her magical abilities. The demon lord Mephisto seemingly wipes the children from existence. Wanda also loses her memory of the children's existence. Immediately afterward, Wanda once again falls under mind control during Atlantis Attacks . Though she regains control,

1482-496: A life together that did not involve the Avengers, Wanda and Vision take a leave of absence from the team and buy a house together in the suburbs of Leonia, New Jersey. After several months, Vision feels he and Wanda should return to active duty and the two do so. During a battle with the villain Annihilus , Vision suffers serious damage and "shuts down." Regaining consciousness weeks later, he remains paralyzed and communicates for

1596-510: A member of the NYC based team. Byrne also had Vision refuse an offer by Wonder Man to restore human brain patterns to his mind, possibly restoring his capacity for emotions in the process. In Avengers Spotlight #40 (1991), Vision realized a human brainwave pattern was necessary for his operation and gained one based on deceased research scientist Alex Lipton. This restored some of Vision's for emotion and empathy. The same story featured Vision gaining

1710-400: A mockery of his dead brother Wonder Man. Not long after joining the team, Vision is temporarily controlled by Ultron due to a control crystal the villain implanted in his son's synthetic brain (though Vision does not learn about the presence of this crystal until years later). Vision is forced to rebuild the robot villain, giving him a body of near-indestructible adamantium , and then battles

1824-467: A new android character who resembled Aarkus and also called himself Vision. Thomas spoke further into the design stating, "I suspect I suggested a cowl instead of a bald head, although the jewel on his forehead (now so important in the films) may have been either my idea or, I suspect, a design elements tossed in by John. I did ask him to give Vision a chest symbol a diamond as a focal point, because he could make his body hard as diamond. I took that from

1938-400: A new identity can involve imagining "a vision" of the person you aspire to be and then trying to reach it. Affected by these words, this becomes why the android chooses his name. Yet another account suggests that the name came from a memory of Horton's prototype, a robot he created before perfecting the original Human Torch. This prototype had been nicknamed "the vision of tomorrow." While he

2052-644: A new outfit and eventually returns to her old one. Following Spider-Geddon it is revealed that the Multiversal entity known as The Other has chosen and sought Peter as its host, thus resurrecting him. The MC2 Universe also appears in the Secret Wars event in the Spider-Island tie-in backup. DeFalco explained in an interview his views on the MC2 imprint: The Pulse : "A lot of people characterize

2166-416: A part of his soul. Privately, Wonder Man also admits he has feelings for Wanda and now selfishly does not want to help Vision reunite with his wife. Wanda's efforts to find help elsewhere lead to her being mind controlled by a parasitic force called That Which Endures, causing her to temporarily become a villain and act against the Avengers. Following this, Hank Pym concludes that Vision could not possibly be

2280-477: A personal holographic projector so he could assume the guise of an average person and mingle with humanity more to learn a greater understanding of people. This identity was called " Victor Shade ." Marvel later decided to restore the Vision's original red-skinned appearance. To do this, an emotional and villainous Vision from a parallel timeline was introduced as member of the Gatherers, a new group of enemies to

2394-412: A prisoner of the Gatherers. Eventually, he is freed but Anti-Vision escapes before they can exchange minds again. Soon after having his original appearance restored, Vision experiences nightmares and then suffers a temporary break from reality, convincing himself he is a 1930s movie style private detective named Simon Williams. He realizes Ultron's design included a back-up of Wonder Man's brain patterns,

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2508-679: A scene where, after realizing he has been accepted by the Avengers not only as a new teammate but as a person, Vision excuses himself and silently cries. Vision appeared with Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up #5 (1972), "A Passion of the Mind", in which they defeat a giant robot scout from the Kree-Skrull War that was interfering with Vision's brain waves. In The Avengers #75 (1970), Wanda Maximoff (the Scarlet Witch ) rejoins

2622-545: A stronger sense of identity. Englehart then had Vision and Scarlet Witch marry in Giant-Size Avengers #4 (June 1975). However, in a story written for the "What If...." anthology but intended to be in continuity, Thomas suggested that the Vision was actually built by Ultron from a different android that, like the Human Torch, had been designed and built by Phineas Horton, known as Adam II. Years later,

2736-427: A time through a holographic form. Connection with ISAAC , a computer system created by advanced Eternal science, helps Vision eventually repair and regain control of his body. Vision realizes the presence of Ultron's control crystal in his brain and that its presence has inhibited his emotional growth and made it easier for villains to control him. After ISAAC's connection, the crystal is affected and Vision experiences

2850-476: A unique pattern due to experiences and emotional changes Simon Williams never had. Wonder Man also admits Vision is the man he wished he could be, a person who had his inclinations and basic emotions but none of the memories of his many personal defeats and shames in life, someone free of Simon's emotional baggage who is able to grow into a different, better person. Touched by these words and Simon's view, Vision decides he needs space to consider his situation. He takes

2964-492: A variety of abilities and super-powers. In the 1989 story "Vision Quest", Vision was dismantled, then rebuilt with a chalk-white appearance and now lacking the capacity for emotions. A greater understanding of emotions was regained in 1991, his original red appearance was restored in 1993, and his full personality and emotional connections to memories were restored in 1994 in his first self-titled limited series, Vision . Another four-issue limited series, Avengers Icons: The Vision ,

3078-467: A war against the time villain Kang, Victor runs into Darby, a friend from Chicago who met him as "Victor Shade" and figured out his identity. To his surprise, Darby shows romantic interest as well. A malfunction leads Vision to lose his memories. Led to the grave of Phineas T. Horton, he meets a boy named Derek and a woman named Victoria Anderson , the latter of whom is the granddaughter of Horton. Together,

3192-640: Is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema , the character first appeared in The Avengers #57 (published in August 1968). The Vision is loosely based on the Timely Comics character of the same name who was an alien from another dimension. The character is an android (sometimes called a "synthezoid") built by

3306-399: Is a colony of sorcerers during a deadly, magical ritual. The Scarlet Witch temporarily taps into this powerful magical energy and is able to grant herself a wish for a family. She becomes pregnant and nine months later gives birth to twin boys, Thomas and William ("Billy"). Englehart later took over as writer for the Avengers spin-off series West Coast Avengers , featuring a new branch of

3420-534: Is busy taking care of her baby brother Ben, while being watched over by her parents Peter Parker and Mary Jane . After that, she leaves for school. Meanwhile, the Thing of the F5 walks over the main streets of the city, when they suddenly start to crumble. Ben realizes he is in danger and sets off an alarm to alert his teammates. Peter later discusses recent events with Phil Urich , alias Green Goblin. They are attacked by

3534-406: Is discovered to be alive due to being powered by ionic energy, his death-like state having been only a form of coma. As Wonder Man, he joins the team and learns an android had been programmed with a copy of his brainwaves. Wonder Man befriends the Vision and the two come to regard each other as twin brothers, just as Wanda and Pietro are twin siblings. Some time later, realizing they have never had

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3648-621: Is fully rebuilt and restored in The Avengers vol. 4 #19 in 2012 and once again becomes a regular star of the series. After the series is cancelled in 2013, Vision becomes the star of the series Avengers A.I. where he joins a team of fellow synthetic and cybernetically enhanced beings, including the cyborg Victor Mancha , another "son" of Ultron. Vision again appeared in a new 12-issues Vision series published from November 2015 to October 2016. The series featured him creating an android wife and two android children in another attempt to live

3762-454: Is injured during an Avengers mission. Afterward, Carol presses Vision to accept that he is worried about her and follow his desire to check on her recovery. After recovering, Wanda remarks her regret that friction remains between her and Vision. After another battle, Vision is cold to Wanda again then apologizes and admits he has feelings for her and the two begin reconnecting. Through circumstances that are not explained, Wanda somehow forgets

3876-511: Is moral and will actually help, he and Wanda learn their home in Leonia has been burnt down by bigots who objected to the presence of a mutant (Wanda was mistakenly believed to be a mutant at the time) and her android husband. Taking the arson as a sign, Vision acts on his and temporarily takes control of various computer systems, weapons systems, and government databases across Earth. Doing so causes Vision great mental strain and he realizes this plan

3990-511: Is not capable of having a romantic relationship with a human. Despite this, he grows fiercely protective of his teammates and Wanda in particular. During the Kree-Skrull War , Vision realizes he can hide his feelings no longer and admits them to Wanda. Feeling the same for him, Wanda kisses Vision and the two become romantically involved. This despite the protests of Quicksilver, who believes an android cannot truly love, and Hawkeye , who has his own feelings for Wanda. Eventually, Hawkeye, as well as

4104-399: Is now chalk-white and his personality and emotions are missing. Despite having earlier appreciated Vision as a brother and seen him as a separate entity, Wonder Man now refuses to allow his brain patterns to provide the basis for Vision's personality again and allow him to recover his emotions, arguing that this was done without his consent before and he resents it as an act that "ripped out"

4218-558: Is shocked when her father Wolverine is kidnapped in front of her eyes. Elsewhere across the world, one of the Ladyhawk sisters is abducted as well. These events get the attention of the Watcher Uatu . After the first appearances of the original Fantastic Four , and the defeat of Loki which caused the creation of the first group of Avengers , a new line of heroes have emerged in a possible future timeline. These heroes now form

4332-599: Is with the Avengers, Vision proves a valuable member and a loyal teammate. The villain Grim Reaper takes an interest in Vision, at first seeing him as his own brother Simon now resurrected. When the Reaper offers to transfer the Vision's mind into the human body of Captain America, making him truly human, Vision plays along to defeat him later. After multiple encounters, the Grim Reaper grows a hatred for Vision, seeing him as

4446-428: Is wrong and the control crystal has interfered with his ability to reason, influencing him to act irrationally. After the Avengers help disrupt his control over Earth's computers, Vision reaches into his own body and take out the control crystal. Able to think clearly again, he apologizes for his actions and resigns from the Avengers, along with Wanda. To spare the Avengers military retaliation, Vision reveals only part of

4560-497: The Adam Link character created by Otto Binder , one of the first fictional robots treated as a sympathetic character rather than only a mechanical tool or a monster. Artist John Buscema designed the character by adjusting the appearance of Aarkus. Originally, Thomas wanted the character to be colored chalk-white, befitting his ghostly name. Printing limitations of the time would have rendered him colorless by leaving that portion of

4674-400: The Avengers and scientist/adventurer Hank Pym (also known by the code names Ant-Man, Giant-Man, and Goliath) decides to experiment with creating artificial intelligence, using a combination of computer programming and recordings of human brainwave patterns. Hank's hope is to create a robot who does not just simulate emotions but can truly feel and achieve emotional growth. His work results in

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4788-498: The Grim Reaper , a villain who hates the Avengers because he blames them for the death of his brother Simon Williams, the ionically empowered hero Wonder Man (Eric and the Avengers were unaware at the time that Wonder Man was alive and only in a coma-like state). Inspired by how strongly Eric is motivated by his connection to his brother, Ultron decides he wants family too. To create an android "son", Ultron first tracks down

4902-553: The Human Torch fights the Hulk , and his flames reveal some robotic body parts covering the Hulk. Hulk manages to defeat the Human Torch by throwing water over him. The Hulk is almost taken down by Psi-Lord and the other F5. Hulk still feels angry about being called "Banner" and Loki uses his magical influences to make the Hulk even angrier. The Hulk uses his gigantic fists to punch the ground, which creates an earthquake throughout

5016-437: The Avengers. Eventually, Vision regains control of himself and Ultron is defeated. Soon afterward, the former Avengers known as Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch , and her twin brother Pietro Maximoff, Quicksilver , rejoin the team. Wanda and Vision begin forming a friendship. At times, Vision suspects he is developing feelings for Wanda but then quickly denies this, believing that even an android who has some emotional capacity

5130-506: The Avengers. This alternate Vision (sometimes called Anti-Vision) infiltrated the Avengers team by exchanging his mind with the heroic Vision. After another battle with the Gatherers, the Anti-Vision escaped, still housed in the chalk-white body. The heroic Vision returned to the Avengers, now once again with red-colored skin. This occurred in The Avengers #360-363, by writer Bob Harras and artists Steve Epting and Tom Palmer. In late 1994, writer Bob Harras and penciller Manny Clark produced

5244-422: The Gatherers, one of whom is an overtly emotional and corrupt Vision who still has red-colored skin and is native to a parallel Earth. This other Vision (later called "Anti-Vision") infiltrates the Avengers by exchanging minds with the heroic Vision. While the Anti-Vision operates with the Avengers, now housed in the chalk-white body, the heroic Vision awakens in a red-skinned body identical to his original form, now

5358-412: The Grim Reaper, bases his creation's personality program on the brainwave patterns of Wonder Man. When the android is brought online, he knows Ultron to be his creator but does not know about his connection to the android hero the Human Torch. Ultron does not give his son a name. Ultron sends his son to Avengers Mansion . Wasp witnesses the android float through the mansion and is startled, describing

5472-521: The Hulk. Thor transports himself and the others on Asgard back to Earth to confront the Hulk and the "evil" heroes. Meanwhile, Spider-Girl's spider-sense warns her of a mysterious presence which she cannot see. Dormagus and the Vizier use their combined magic powers to make Loki reveal himself, and the heroes all fight each other. Captain America notices a gem hanging on Loki's neck, and smashes it with his shield. Loki apparently used this gem to help him turn

5586-505: The MC2 universe as having an 'old school' feel. Why do you think "modern" comic readers want to read something that feels like the best of the Silver Age?" DeFalco : "We are 'old school' because A) our heroes act like heroes…B) we don’t believe in decompression …C) we tell single-issue stories with subplots that build from issue to issue… and D) there’s a lot of action and angst in every issue." Vision (Marvel Comics) The Vision

5700-595: The Vision being destroyed. The story included an explanation that he was damaged beyond repair. Soon afterward, the original Young Avengers series introduced a new Vision , whose personality was created by a combination of the synthezoid Vision's programming and mental engrams of the hero Iron Lad . It is later revealed that the Young Avengers members Wiccan and Speed are teenage reincarnations of Wanda and Vision's children Billy and Thomas, indicating they might have been real all along. The original android Vision

5814-488: The Vision dismantled, his human brain patterns wiped out, and his artificial skin rendered chalk-white (modern printing techniques and paper meant it was now more feasible to give a character chalk-white skin or costumes). Rather than portray the Vision as a synthetic man, Byrne depicted his parts as purely robotic and his skin as a costume-like shell. Journalist Karen Walker later commented, "This image alone has probably done more to shape how future writers (and readers) perceive

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5928-677: The Vision's origin by revealing he was not the original Torch. The same issue depicted the original Human Torch being reactivated and meeting the Vision face to face. Following this, Byrne revealed that the children of Vision and Wanda were not real, explaining that Scarlet Witch had suffered a "hysterical pregnancy" and her temporarily increased power had projected this desire for children into creating imaginary constructs. The children were then wiped from existence. Further trauma led to Wanda becoming catatonic soon afterward. Rather than nurse his wife, Vision left Avengers West, concluding he could not help Wanda further and his presence would be more useful as

6042-454: The Vizier notices that Nova is acting strangely and senses that Nova has been turned evil. He uses his magic spells to bring Nova back to normal and plans to do the same with the other Earth heroes. Nova also remembers what happened to him and reveals to his teammates that Loki is behind everything. Together, the Thing and Wolverine are battling the heroes, but Wolverine is stopped by Stinger and

6156-506: The WWII comic hero Spy-Smasher " The character has a capacity for emotions but is primarily driven by logic and curiosity. Unused to emotions and how they could influence his behavior, he would be at times guarded or unsure how to express himself. His personality has been compared with Spock from Star Trek , but Thomas said he was barely aware of the TV series at the time and was influenced by

6270-430: The Wasp commenting it is wrong for superheroes to have children and that Wanda was foolish for trying to have two. The sudden flood of memories and grief overwhelm Wanda, who suddenly also has another power increase and then attempts to alter reality to recreate them. This causes a series of catastrophic events that includes the destruction of Avengers Mansion as well as Vision himself. Wanda is later subdued and falls into

6384-419: The android's mind requires a replicated human brain pattern for his operating system to properly function. Miles Lipton uploads a program based on the brain patterns and memory recordings of his deceased son, scientist Alex Lipton. As a result, Vision's mental strain is alleviated and he regains some understanding of emotion, as well as a greater capacity for empathy. The Avengers fight a group of enemies called

6498-597: The assistance of Doc Magus, but he prefers to work on his own. Doc Magus uses his astral form to scan the entire world for the missing heroes, which leads him to a dark cave. There, he is attacked by a dark entity that defeats and then kidnaps him as well. At Avengers Compound, Captain America is exercising alone. Thunderstrike realizes Cap is feeling down because of his old age and promises him that he does not have to worry about it because A-Next will follow him anywhere. Cap and Thunderstrike are called to an A-Next meeting where they discuss possible villains who could be behind

6612-468: The body of the original android Human Torch, a Golden Age hero and android described by his creator Phineas T. Horton as a "synthetic man", being replica of an adult human male with synthetic organs, blood, tissue, muscle, and skeleton. Unknown to the living robot, the time villain called Immortus uses his powers to duplicate the original Torch moments before Ultron's arrival, creating twin copies. While Ultron takes one deactivated Human Torch back to his lab,

6726-548: The book was again canceled due to low sales. A third title, The Spectacular Spider-Girl , was then launched. Initially a digital exclusive, the Spectacular book was incorporated into the Amazing Spider-Man Family anthology magazine. After Amazing Spider-Man Family and its successor, Web of Spider-Man , folded, a final four-issue Spectacular Spider-Girl mini-series was produced, allowing many of

6840-416: The character than anything before or since. Once seen broken down into component parts, it's hard to truly move past that image and think of Vision as a synthetic man, not a machine." Vision's memories were restored but not his emotions. As such, he could no longer reciprocate Wanda's feelings or even express love for his children, which led to the annulment of their marriage. Byrne then went further, undoing

6954-484: The city, destroying some buildings and, at the same time, defeating the F5. While some other heroes are injured along the way as well and are taken care off by medical staff, the others worry about what to do. In Asgard , Thor and Captain America try to figure out what is wrong with the heroes. Discouraged and concerned about his performance, Cap determines he should limit his role in the matter. Elsewhere in Thor's castle,

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7068-602: The collapse of a deal to sell the comics in Kmart and Target both Fantastic Five and Wild Thing were canceled after five issues, leaving Spider-Girl as the only title in the MC2 Universe still published. A few spin-off limited series were launched during the time Spider-Girl was published, such as Darkdevil and Spider-Girl Presents The Buzz . The Spider-Girl title was nearly canceled several times due to low sales. Each time, campaigns by Tom DeFalco and fans of

7182-405: The company that later rebranded as Marvel Comics. Roy Thomas discussed the matter with Marvel editor Stan Lee , who co-created the Avengers team with artist Jack Kirby . Lee enjoyed the idea of a new member, but did not want it to be an alien or visitor from another dimension. After he suggested creating a new character entirely and that it could be an android instead, Thomas compromised by creating

7296-646: The couple starred in their first limited series called The Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1–4 (Nov. 1982 – Feb. 1983), by writer Bill Mantlo and penciller Rick Leonardi . The mini-series showed Vision and Wanda moving into a house in Leonia, New Jersey, hoping to strengthen their marriage by enjoying a life and experiences outside of the Avengers. This was followed by a second limited series that lasted 12 issues (Oct. 1985 – Sept. 1986), written by Steve Englehart and penciled by Richard Howell . Despite their previous home being burned down by people who consider

7410-465: The creation of a robot called Ultron who immediately turns on him and escapes. Ultron then upgrades himself repeatedly, finally creating a formidable robotic form which can allow him to do battle. Hating his father and wishing to dominate Earth, Ultron makes attacks against the Avengers, both on his own and through the use of agents such as the Masters of Evil team. Ultron's first ally is Eric Williams,

7524-663: The definitive continuity of the MC2 Spider-Man timeline. However, the Mr. and Mrs. Spider-Man strips were quickly ended so the Spider-Man Family title could make room for the relaunched Spider-Girl book. American Dream has appeared in both her own 2008 limited series and the 2011 five-issue limited series Captain America Corps , marking the first time an MC2 character has met or teamed up with characters from

7638-420: The development I was doing on the Vision's attempting to become 'human.'" Originally, Thomas considered the Vision to be an android entirely created by Ultron. Later, Ultron had built the Vision from the body of the original Human Torch , who had been described in his Golden Age stories as a perfect, synthetic replica of a human being. Thomas only planted a vague clue to this in The Avengers #93 before leaving

7752-501: The different possibilities. At Barton's Dojo, American Dream and Freebooter discuss things with retired hero Hawkeye . Soon a crack in the ground is made and the heroes are kidnapped as well. The Fantastic Five depart to Monster Isle, only to discover that the Mole Man is dead, and that a statue has been built in his honor. Spider-Girl, Captain America and Thunderstrike learn about the kidnappings at Barton's Dojo. They jump into

7866-449: The emotions tied to his memories from before being dismantled, including his feelings for Wanda. A four-issue series, Avengers Icons: The Vision, was published in late 2002, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis . The mini-series featured Vision meeting people related to Phineas T. Horton, the original Human Torch's creator. Vision considered these people to now be his family. The story arc Avengers Disassembled featured

7980-548: The events of What If? #105 (February 1998), which was the first appearance of the character Spider-Girl , Spider-Man 's daughter from an alternative future. This Earth has been designated as Earth-982 . The MC2 Universe was conceived by writer/editor Tom DeFalco as a possible alternate future for the Marvel Universe, set in the present day, with the first appearances of most Marvel heroes having taken place fifteen years earlier than in main continuity. The goal of

8094-402: The existence of her children again, as well as the years she spent learning to cope with their loss, and the Avengers also forget that she regained the memories soon after losing them. Likewise, Dr. Strange forgets having encountered Wanda and the Avengers after the loss of the children and being updated about Wanda's life. During some recreation time, Wanda is then reminded of the twins thanks to

8208-485: The first Vision limited series, lasting 4 issues. The series featured Vision suffering a mental breakdown, as his original personality (based on the brainwaves of Wonder Man) began to emerge and clash with the Adam Lipton emotions. After fighting the Anti-Vision again, Vision found mental and emotional balance again, now with full emotional capacity restored. Later on, he revealed that this also meant he had regained

8322-656: The groups of A-Next and the Fantastic Five (F5), while other heroes such as Spider-Girl , the Green Goblin , and Darkdevil remain solo. At the Avengers Compound, the headquarters of A-Next in the future, the young heroes are busy being trained by Captain America . At a local hospital, Iron Man has just visited a still comatose Scarlet Witch . After leaving her room, he hears noises in it, and when he re-enters it, she has been kidnapped as well. At her home, young May "May Day" Parker, alias Spider-Girl ,

8436-427: The heroes evil. Once the gem is destroyed, the heroes, including the Hulk, revert to normal. A furious Loki releases a deadly blast against Captain America, injuring him. Thor releases a blast from his hammer which will send Loki into Limbo forever and the Hulk decides to join him to make sure that Loki remains there. Captain America dies, and Thor uses his hammer to grant Cap's soul immortality. The soul floats into

8550-575: The hole together with J2 and Wild Thing. There, they discover a weird portal. After entering it, the heroes are immediately attacked by robot-like creatures and start to fight them. Soon the mastermind villain reveals himself to be Loki. He wants revenge on the Avengers, realizing he helped create them years earlier, and shows that he holds the missing heroes prisoner in life-size crystals. Mary Jane fears for her husband's safety. Spider-Man returns home, but he seems different, and his eyes have turned completely evil, causing MJ even more fear. Spider-Girl and

8664-472: The intervention of the powerful superhuman child Franklin Richards, the heroes do not die but are sent to an alternate Earth where they live out new versions of their lives. In this Heroes Reborn reality, Vision is a purely robotic android. Months after their apparent death, these heroes are able to return to their original Earth. After returning home, the Avengers discuss reforming only to then wind up in

8778-467: The intruder as a ghostly "vision." After battling and studying the Avengers, the android concludes they are good people whereas Ultron is corrupt. Taking the name Vision, the android aids the Avengers and turns against Ultron. The Avengers learn how Ultron created him and that he is arguably alive, his programming based on mimicking a human mind. Due to his mixture of robotics and synthetic organs, Hank Pym later remarks it would be more accurate to call Vision

8892-891: The kidnappings. They suspect: Kala , the Queen of the Underworld; Tyrannus, Master of the Subterraneans; Terrax the Tamer; the Living Lava Man; or Mole Man , the ruler of Monster Isle. They also inform the X-People of the situation, but Jubilee , their leader, decides that they work better on their own, causing J2 and Wild Thing to wonder why they ever bothered to try join the X-People; they are glad they decided to stay with A-Next. The team decides to split up to investigate

9006-551: The line was to produce comic books that were more accessible to a wider audience than Marvel's main line of books and weren't entrenched in years of continuity, which was later repeated with the Ultimate Marvel imprint. Three MC2 titles were launched in October 1998 as twelve-issue maxiseries: A-Next and J2 ended after twelve issues and were replaced by: Spider-Girl meanwhile continued publication. However, with

9120-458: The long-running plot threads from the book to be tied up. The final MC2-oriented story to date, a one-shot called Spider-Girl: The End , was published in 2010, which gave the title character a happy ending while leaving the door open for further adventures. In 2008, a prequel strip, Mr. and Mrs. Spider-Man , was launched in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man Family . DeFalco confirmed on the official Spider-Girl boards that this strip would serve as

9234-467: The loss. Vision begins to suffer mental stress and curiosity, realizing he wishes a purpose in life beyond the Avengers. He seeks out help from scientist Miles Lipton, an expert in artificial intelligence and philosophies regarding consciousness. Lipton upgrades Vision with a holographic projector so he can disguise himself as a human, "Victor Shade", and mingle with humanity to learn more about them. When Vision continues to show mental stress, Lipton learns

9348-598: The main Avengers East team, Vision leaves Avengers West. It is later confirmed that the two annul their marriage after Wanda recovers, as Vision considers that he is a separate entity from her husband, who "died" when he was dismantled. While Vision works with Avengers East, Wanda regains the memory of her children during a battle with Immortus, who was responsible for manipulating recent events in her life and increasing her power. Glad to remember her twins even if they are gone, Wanda spends some time learning to cope with

9462-666: The mainstream Marvel universe. Spider-Girl returned in the Spider-Verse storyline in 2014. During the story, it was revealed that when she traveled back in time to meet Spider-Man in his youth in her original series, she had entered Earth-616, the mainstream Marvel universe, before the point which it branched out into the MC2 universe. Her father, however, unfortunately died protecting May and Benjy from Daemos. As Daemos drained Peter's life force, May fled with Ben in her arms. Upon May's return home, Mary Jane passes Peter's former costume down to her, though Mayday eventually begins wearing

9576-404: The marriage of an android and a mutant to be unnatural, Vision and Wanda move back to Leonia and again attempt to live a suburban life outside of their duties as superheroes. The series cemented that the Vision and Simon Williams (Wonder Man) now regarded each other as twin brothers, since part of Vision's programming was based on the brainwave pattern of Simon. Early in the series, the Scarlet Witch

9690-741: The new West Coast branch of the Avengers, based in Los Angeles. Realizing this means Vision again has access to advanced computer systems and federal databases, operatives belonging to different governments secretly agree this makes him a threat. What's more, there is growing concern Vision's mind may have accessed and still possesses classified data. With help from rogue agents of the American government, operatives from different countries arrange for Vision's capture, dismantle him, and wipe his mind's programming. The Avengers recover Vision, rebuild him, and restore his experiential memories, but his skin color

9804-469: The original Human Torch (a conclusion later revealed to be the influence of Immortus again). Investigating the matter, the Avengers discover the other Human Torch android that Ultron had left behind. Wanda's hex magic reactivates it and Vision meets the android Torch, in some ways, his brother. Wanda is traumatized by her husband no longer being able to love her or reciprocate her love, and is further unnerved to learn that what she knew of his origins might be

9918-505: The other Avengers, come to agree the two make a happy couple. During an encounter with the time villain Immortus , Vision learns he was apparently constructed from the remains of the original Human Torch. This information gives him a stronger sense of identity and having a past, even though he does not recall being the android Torch and has a different personality. Soon afterward, Vision and Wanda are married. Soon afterward, Simon Williams

10032-565: The other deactivated Human Torch remains behind, waiting to be reactivated. Immortus did this as part of larger plans he had to manipulate the Avengers. In his lab, Ultron adds robotic technology of his own design to his copy of the android Torch, creating a new artificial life form with a physical appearance and abilities different from the original Torch. Primarily, this android is able to absorb and expel solar radiation and control his density. Ultron then copies Pym's method of replicating human brainwaves and, in recognition of his being inspired by

10146-498: The other heroes are still being attacked by the robot-like creatures. Cap and Thunderstrike are defeated and kidnapped, and Spider-Girl suggests she and J2 retreat while they can. Meanwhile, in the city, Spider-Man confronts DarkDevil the hero he dislikes most. The two fight each other. The Vision returns to the Avengers Compound where he finds Stinger discussing matters with Jubilee, who promises to contact them when she learns anything new. The Vision explains that he has arrived at

10260-414: The page un-inked rather than using white ink, meaning it would be more vulnerable to smudges and that images and text on the other side of the page would possibly be visible and seem to overlap the character. Thomas and Buscema settled on giving the character a colorful costume and red skin. The original Vision, Aarkus, had been depicted with light green or sometimes light blue skin in his original comics. Red

10374-480: The past and continuing her romance with Simon, adding that a reunion may have been possible earlier if her former husband had not chosen to lie and close himself off. Later, she has a copy of her own brain patterns made and gifts it to Vision, suggesting that one day if he wishes he can create a friend or love interest who is similar to her and understands him but is not an exact copy of her, just as he and Wonder Man are similar but not exact copies of each other. After

10488-535: The past, attempts to reconnect them as friends. Vision is present when the Fantastic Four and the Avengers attempt to stop the powerful villain Onslaught . During the battle, he is seriously injured and instinctively asks for Wanda, hoping she will comfort him. Soon afterward, Vision joins Wanda, the other Avengers present, and the Fantastic Four in destroying Onslaught by sacrificing their lives. Thanks to

10602-647: The request of the President of the United States , G. W. Bridge , who believes that the kidnappings could threaten the nation. Jarvis arrives suddenly to inform the two that all of the missing heroes have mysteriously returned. Jarvis also alerts them to the Spider-Man/DarkDevil battle in midtown. Captain America, Wild Thing and Thunderstrike are put in chains. Elsewhere in the caves, Loki manages to kidnap Nova as well. Loki injects Nova with

10716-403: The robot an origin of having been created by Dr. Hank Pym and then turning on his creator. Thomas mirrored this by having Ultron create the Vision to be his son and ally, only to then have the new android join his enemies, the Avengers. To cement the character was not truly as cold and emotionless as he might appear, and that the stories would not treat him as if he were, The Avengers #58 included

10830-403: The series as writer. This aspect of the Vision's origin was finally revealed in The Avengers #134–135 (1975). Writer Steve Englehart explained, "That plot was well known in-house for years, and since Roy [Thomas] and Neal [Adams] hadn't had a chance to do it, I did it on my watch with Roy's blessing." After learning that he had once been the original Human Torch in another life, Vision felt

10944-442: The situation and decide to monitor the android. After buying a new house in Leonia, New Jersey, Vision expresses his hope that one day he and Wanda can have a family. Later on, Wanda is brought to New Salem, a community of sorcerers. The villainous magic-users in charge perform a ceremony they hope will vastly increase their powers. Wanda taps into the immense mystical power herself and is about to release it harmlessly, when she hears

11058-465: The skies, and creates a shiny bright star in the form of Cap's shield, meant to inspire the heroes and future generations to come always. The limited series has been collected in a trade paperback : Marvel Comics 2 Marvel Comics 2 was an imprint from Marvel Comics whose comic books depict an alternative future timeline for the Marvel Universe . The imprint was spun off from

11172-478: The stress of the last few weeks causes her to become nonverbal and unresponsive. At this point, Simon at last offers his brain patterns to restore Vision's emotions. The android declines, saying he is now a different entity than the one who existed before being dismantled, and getting these brain waves would not restore the original Vision back but would only create a copy programmed to mimic him. Unable to emotionally comfort Wanda and believing he would be more useful to

11286-433: The subject, Wanda becomes guarded and tells him that their relationship is in the past. Vision decides not to explain to her he has also regained the emotions tied to his memories from before he was dismantled, deciding he has hurt Wanda enough. When Wanda later officially rejoins the main Avengers team, the two are tense around each other but Pietro Maximoff, having also returned and now regretful of his treatment of Vision in

11400-569: The team that was based in Los Angeles. Having grown fond of Vision and Wanda, he added them to the Avengers West team. Later on, John Byrne took over as writer/penciller for West Coast Avengers (which would soon be retitled Avengers West Coast). Byrne believed it was a mistake to give an android character emotions and to give him and Wanda a family. His "Vision Quest" story in West Coast Avengers #42–45 (March – June 1989) had

11514-412: The team with her brother Pietro ( Quicksilver ). Over time, Wanda became a love interest for Vision. Thomas recounted, "I felt that a romance of some sort would help the character development in The Avengers , and the Vision was a prime candidate because he appeared only in that mag... as did Wanda, for that matter. So they became a pair, for just such practical considerations. It would also, I felt, add to

11628-478: The television miniseries WandaVision (2021), and the animated series What If...? (2021). While working as the writer of the superhero-team series Avengers , Roy Thomas wanted to add a new character to the roster. A great fan of Golden Age heroes, he first thought to bring back Aarkus , a 1940s hero who had been called the Vision due to his spectral appearance and smoke-based abilities. This original Vision had appeared in stories published by Timely Comics,

11742-459: The three fight a robot "brother" of Vision's called the Gremlin, a dangerous device created by Horton science that can hack different systems. Vision's memory is restored but a side effect now means his robotic skeletal frame becomes visible when he becomes intangible. Victoria Anderson tells Vision that they are family and he is grateful to make another familial connection. Weeks afterward, Wanda

11856-446: The title prevented cancelation. Fans created a webpage, savespidergirl.com, to help drum up support for the book. In an effort to boost sales on the title, Marvel reprinted Spider-Girl in small " Digest-sized " trade paperbacks . A five-issue limited series set in the MC2 Universe titled Last Hero Standing was printed. In 2006, Marvel released another limited series set in the MC2 Universe titled Last Planet Standing . The series

11970-458: The truth to the US government, saying the loss of control they experienced was a malfunction he alone caused while accessing their network and was due to his own negligence, adding that he has quit the team and will answer any further questions. This convinces several world governments Vision and the Avengers are not an active threat, but several government operatives from different countries do not trust

12084-432: The two enjoy their first date after several delays. Further adventures prevent a second date and Carol indicated more than once that she believed things between Wanda and Vision were not done, leading to the two deciding to enjoy each other's company as friends. Around the same time, after a relationship of several months, Simon Williams and Wanda Maximoff break up, realizing they have been drifting apart for some time. After

12198-469: The villainous robot Ultron created by Hank Pym . Originally intended to act as Ultron's "son" and destroy the Avengers , Vision instead turned on his creator and joined the Avengers to fight for the forces of good. Since then, he has been depicted as a frequent member of the team, and, for a time, was married to his teammate, the Scarlet Witch . He also served as a member of the Defenders . The Vision

12312-478: The voice of her deceased teacher, the sorceress Agatha Harkness, telling her to use the power before she gives it up. Wanda thinks of her desire for children with Vision, then releases the excess magical energy. Soon afterward, she discovers she is pregnant. Months later, Wanda goes into labor and the sorcerer Dr. Strange delivers her twin children Thomas and William ("Billy"), named after Phineas T. Horton and Simon Williams. Not long afterward, Vision and Wanda join

12426-402: Was Doom who then influenced her to attack the Avengers. Several young heroes are recruited to form a new Young Avengers team by a program Vision created before his death. Vision's basic programming is later merged with the armor of Iron Lad (a young and heroic version of Kang). The armor later becomes a sentient being of its own that resembles a teenage version of Vision. In Mighty Avengers

12540-528: Was chosen for the new android character because Thomas believed Marvel readers had gotten used to blue skin indicating a member of the Atlantean race, while green skin could bring comparisons to the Hulk . The android Vision first appeared in The Avengers #57 (published in August 1968 but with a cover date indicating October). The cover of the issue was an homage to the first page of the first comic story to feature Aarkus. When Thomas created Ultron, he gave

12654-408: Was created from a copy of the original Human Torch , a synthetic man created by Phineas T. Horton . Ultron took this inert android and added more advanced technology to it, as well as new programming of his own design and a copy of human brainwave patterns. The result was the Vision, a synthezoid driven by logic but possessing emotions and able to achieve emotional growth. As an android, the Vision has

12768-408: Was intended to wrap up all the loose ends in the MC2 Universe and destroy it at the series' conclusion. As a result, Spider-Girl was slated to be canceled at issue 100, where the character would die. Due to backlash from DeFalco and fans, Marvel quashed the move and announced the relaunching of Spider-Girl under the title of Amazing Spider-Girl . The "Amazing" title lasted until early 2009, when

12882-583: Was published in late 2002. From 2015 to 2016, Vision had his own series again, during which he attempted to live in the suburbs with an android family. Since his conception, the character has been adapted into several forms of media outside comics. Paul Bettany plays Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018),

12996-446: Was still mourning her marriage. The two begin a relationship. Soon afterward, Vision's body is restored and he rejoins as a fully active Avenger. Later on, Wanda realizes Vision lied about still thinking of himself as a new person and has regained the full emotional connections to his memories before he was dismantled, including their relationship. Sympathetic that Vision misses her, Wanda remains firm about leaving their relationship in

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