AVENGERS #367

"VOYEURISTIC VISIONS"
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Jim Hall | Inker: Don Hudson
Letterers: Bill Oakley & John Babcock | Colorist: Chris Matthys
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: Vision drifts around Avengers Mansion, wrestling with his (lack of) emotions. First, distracted, he is nearly hit by training missles in the Avengers workout room. Then he eavesdrops on a conversation between Hercules and Taylor Madison outside. He next travels to the medical lab, where he witnesses the Swordsman awaken, much to the relief of Magdalene. Vision goes to tell Hank Pym about Swordsman's recovery, and then speaks with him about their familial bond and dissolutions of their respective marriages. Afterward, Vision speaks with Crystal about his children, who no longer exist. Finally, he returns outside, where Deathcry flirts with and kisses him. But when she observes that he is holding back his emotions out of far, he furiously smashes the mansion wall after she walks away.

Later, in Crystal's quarters, Fabian Cortez appears and abducts Luna.

Continuity Notes: Hercules suggests that he hasn't seen Taylor Madison in some time; that she has been avoiding him. Of course, the annual we looked at just a few weeks ago (not written by Bob Harras) showed Taylor visiting the mansion and acting as if she'd been there multiple times since the dinner party some time back -- but I suspect Harras's intention is that the two haven't seen each other since that night.

Taylor also explains why she's been avoiding Hercules -- she doesn't want to become involved with an immortal, since she knows she will grow old and die while Hercules remains as vital as ever.

Vision recaps Hank Pym's creation of Ultron and Ultron's subsequent creation of Vision, as well as that time Ant-Man journeyed to the center of the android. A page later, Hank suggests that since Vision still has the same programming, perhaps his emotions can be recovered.

While speaking with Crystal, Vision speculates that he was distrcted by her proclamation of love for the Black Knight -- not because he loves her, but because this got him thinking about the emotions he once possessed -- and that was why he was unable to help Sersi fully defuse the nega-bomb last issue. In the same scene, Vision also talks about his children with the Scarlet Witch, who eventually vanished into thin air one day and were subsequently revealed to have been a manifestation of the Witch's powers.

Assemble: As it's a low-key quiet issue, no. ("Avengers Assemble!" count: 7 in 35 issues to date.)

My Thoughts: I think it can get a bit lost in the shuffle, surrounded by the sprawl of the Gatherers and Kree storylines, and the much "juicier" soap opera of the Black Knight, Sersi, and Crystal, as well as the mystery around Hercules and Taylor, but Bob Harras has been slowly but steadily playing a long game with the Vision, step by step and inch by inch rebuilding the character into what he had been for much of his existence, prior to John Byrne's deconstruction in the pages of AVENGERS WEST COAST a few years earlier.

Obviously there was the overt restoration of Vision's classic color scheme, by way of the Proctor-engineered body swap. Vision regained his green, red, and yellow look (albeit not all in the same places as originally), and he has his sweet cape collar back as well. But beyond that, Harras has been dropping these little bits and pieces regarding the synthezoid's emotions, as well. Though he doesn't get as much play as the Black Knight, Sersi, Crystal, and Hercules, it's evident that Vision is one of Harras's favorite characters. We've had no fewer than three Vision spotlight issues over the course of this run -- 348, 360, and 367 -- and two of those are narrated in the first person by Vision himself, an honor no other cast member can claim at this point.

In these issues, as well as in brief moments throughout the various installments in between, we see hints and peeks at Vision's emotions: pretending to be Alex Lipton for the benefit of his dying father, an apparent crush on Crystal and some degree of jealousy over her feelings for the Black Knight, several bouts of introspection regarding his relationship with the Scarlet Witch, and more. And eventually, Harras's interest in the Vision will become too much for the ongoing AVENGERS series to contain, as he will write a four-issue VISION limited series in another year or so -- again, an honor that goes no other member of the cast, at least as regards a mini-series written by the ongoing's regular writer.

Vision is a mainstay Avenger -- from his creation up to this point, he was very rarely not on the team (or its West Coast branch). Heck, he was the only character in the title's corner box for pretty much the entire decade of the seventies (issues 93-184, if you're curious)! If we're talking about Avengers who don't have long-running solo series, I would argue that Vision is the "definitive" Avenger in many ways. And for those reasons, I love what Harras is doing with him here, and I like the "slow burn" approach to his evolution. It's a lot quieter than the love triangles and intrigue that permeate most of the series' issues, and it works very well in that capacity. It's a quietly mainstay storyline for a quietly mainstay character.