Blood Brothers

Wonder Man is riding the subway to the hospital when suddenly, a power outage leaves him stranded. Unwilling to be late, Simon Williams uses his ionically enhanced strength to pull the subway the rest of the way. When he arrives at the hospital he finds the other Avengers — the Scarlet Witch, Captain America, the Wasp, Iron Man, Hawkeye, and Thor — waiting for an update on the condition of the Vision. Wanda explains how her husband’s left arm was severely damaged during their recent battle with Isbisa and he was forced to amputate the limb.[1]

That’s when the doctor enters the room to gives them his prognosis. He explains that the android is in a state of shock and is suffering from energy loss akin to bleeding out.[2] When theorizing a way to save his life, the doctor believes an energy transfusion from Wonder Man’s ionic powered body can save the Vision’s life.

Meanwhile, the comatose Vision begins to dream. He sees himself in a dark void and is drawn to a light in the distance. Approaching the light he discovers that it is the flaming body of the original Human Torch, the android whose body was used to create him. The Vision finds this impossible to believe until he is visited by the spirit of Phineas Horton, the Torch’s creator, who tells him anything is possible when you are dead.[3]

In the waking world, Thor helps the doctors rig up a device that will draw energy from Simon’s body and transfuse it into the Vision. As they work, the Wasp explains to She-Hulk that Wonder Man is almost like the Vision’s brother as the two share brain patterns and the complex history between the two.[4] As the transfusion begins, Wonder Man — who also sees the Vision as his brother — pleads with the android to wake up, confident that Vision can cheat death just like he did.

Back in the dream, the spirit of Phineas Horton is blasted away by Ultron who scoffs at the Vision’s attempt at humanity and denounces his feelings of love for the Scarlet Witch. Calling his creation a weakling, Ultron orders the Vision to merge with the Human Torch. However, when the Vision reaches out to touch the Torch’s flaming body, his arm is melted to slag.

This causes the Vision to begin writhing in pain in the real world. The doctor presses on with the transfusion as they need the Vision conscious before they can work on his amputated limb. In the waiting room, the Scarlet Witch sits in silence, praying that her husband will make it through this. Little does she know that someone is observing her from the waiting room door.

In the dream, Ultron decides to make the Vision a blank slate and uses a laser to open up the android’s head and remove his brain.

While in the waking world, Wonder Man is starting to feel faint, but continues to endure the energy transfer. That’s when the Grim Reaper — Simon’s biological brother — storms the room and knocks out the Scarlet Witch and then the doctor working on the Vision. Seeing both the Vision and Wonder Man as aberrations that defame the memory of his brother, the Grim Reaper prepares to end both of their lives.[5]

Back in the dream, the Vision is pulled away from Ultron by Wonder Man, who restores him by sacrificing his own mind. Moments later, Ultron blasts Wonder Man, reducing his body to a charred husk. While the Vision attacks Ultron in his dream, his body fights back against the Grim Reaper in the waking world. As the battle against Ultron rages on, the charred corpse of Wonder Man is reborn, just as he was in real life, and Simon encourages the Vision to keep fighting. In the waking world, the real Simon Williams wakes up and tries to fight off the Grim Reaper but is too weak after the transfusion.

Encouraged on by his dream, the Vision fights back against both his real and imagined foes and defeats them both. When Wanda comes to she sees the room in shambles and checks on her husband. She is happy to see her husband is alive and well and helping his brother, Wonder Man, get back to his feet.

Recurring Characters

Vision, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, Grim Reaper, Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, She-Hulk)

Continuity Notes

1. The injury to the Vision’s arm happened last issue. It will be repaired next issue.

2. Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America have private council with one another about the Vision’s situation. Thor mentions his alter-ego Doctor Donald Blake. At the time of this story, only Iron Man and Captain America know Thor’s double-identity having learned it in Avengers #113 and 216 respectively.

3. Phineas Horton created the Human Torch back in 1939, as seen in Marvel Comics #1. In modern times, Horton (still alive, somehow) was forced by Ultron to create the Vision using the Human Torch’s body and was killed after the job was done. See Avengers #134-135.

4. When Simon Williams was transformed into Wonder Man by Baron Zemo, he was told that the process would kill him eventually unless given the cure. Williams later betrayed Zemo to the Avengers, but died before they could cure him. During their attempts to save Wonder Man, a copy of his brain patterns were taken, as seen in Avengers #9. These brain patterns were used by Ultron to craft a new personality for the Vision, per issue #134-135. Williams later returned to life in Avengers #151. It’s later explained in issue #165 that Simon didn’t actually die but entered a death-like state while he was transformed into a being of pure ionic energy.

5. The Grim Reaper came to this conclusion after holding a mock trail against the Vision and Wonder Man back in Avengers #160.