Writer: Tom King
Art By: Gabriel Hernandez Walta
Colored By: Jordie Bellaire
Lettered By: VC – Clayton Cowles
Release Date: 8/10/16
Price Tag: #3.99
The Vision #10 – the last moment of calm before the storm. A painful calm. Reading you are constantly aware that something awful is coming, what will a son’s death drive Vision to do? Will he continue to act like the synthezoid he is or will the pain force him to act human? Through the grieving Vision does both quietly himself and with his family he becomes human. For justice to be served, Vision knows what must happen. Vision decides that revenge is human and just – It’s what Victor deserves for what happened to Vin.
Story
Vision #10 is described by Marvel as Vision planning for revenge while those around him mourn. Yet, Vision himself is too mourning. He is no longer the calculating synthezoid making decisions based on logic and outcome alone – Vision makes a decision based on what is just. He makes a decision based on grief. Throughout this issue there are snapshots of the Vision family grieving Vin. Virginia is broken and malfunctioning, shifting between constantly repeating words and silence. One of the best instances that showcases Virgina’s grief is when she plays the piano singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat.
Virginia’s son was just a boy, even if Vision created him as a teenage he was still a child, a newborn. Virgina singing a song, a lullaby, associated with young children while repeating her words over and over as Vision stands on still doing his duty as an Avenger. Her pain is so evident on her face, one that shouldn’t be able to show emotion the way it does. It’s painful to look at.
Viv’s grief is even more human. She turns towards one of the most human actions possible – prayer. Created by humans for humans as a way to seek an understanding from a higher power, an all knowing power just like the Vision. To see two synthetic humans, two androids, kneeled together in pray for a soul that never existed to be laid at rest is powerful imagery. It is quite possibly one of the most shocking images in the run so far – father and daughter kneeled together, grieving together surrounded by all the gifts from the people Vision will eventually hurt.
“Please let there be a God”, they pray together knowing Vision himself is a God and the people he will eventually go against Gods themselves. To see this family grieve, grief a human concept, come so naturally almost suggest they are human. Almost.
This run on Vision has been about him being human. He created a family, his children went to school, his wife took care of the home, they even had a dog. Could the Vision ever be human? Creating a family doesn’t mean anything if they themselves are not human as well. Yet somehow, Vision became his most human in this issue. Through pain and suffering the Vision became human for a brief instance. He grieved, he calculated and he planned a revenge.
Art
King wanted this to be a comic entirely in the Vision’s home and Walta followed that by making it completely in the shadows. There is a darkness in the Vision home and this darkness follows from panel to panel. The only source of light coming from prayer, gifts from the past and Vision making his decision. When Vision puts on his costume and leaves, using the gift of Captain America no less, Walta gives us light. He is living his home of dread and pain, venturing towards a bright future. A future that will be bright by the justice Vision rains upon those who wronged him. It’ll be interesting to see how Vision #11 contrasts in color and art compared to this one.
Verdict
King’s run of the Vision has been one of the most unique things in comics currently. Throughout this entire run there has been an overwhelming feeling of dread. It has finally built up to where we are here at #10. The tension of knowing something will happen has boiled up to the surface. There’s sure to be nothing but more pain and suffering to come in the last two issues. King has proved that the Vision is not to be taken lightly and not to be forgotten. The same is to be said of this run – each issue proving to be more painful than the last, more intense than the last and more memorable than the last.