Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #10
Spring Fever
It’s been four weeks since Crystal collapsed from an over-dose of the anti-pollution serum she takes to be able to walk on Earth.[1] She has been cared for around the clock by the Inhuman’s best doctor. However, she remains in a state between life and death. This has her husband, Quicksilver, furious who demands something be done to restore his wife.[2] Every week, Pietro’s sister the Scarlet Witch, her husband the Vision, and neighbor Norm Webster have come to the moon to check in on Crystal.
Since Norm was the one who found Crystal, Medusa asks him to retell the story of how he found her. Since Norm has been secretly having an affair with Crystal, he makes up a story about finding her passed out on the snow and supposes she came to Earth to visit Wanda.[3] However, this doesn’t make any sense to the Scarlet Witch, as she and the Vision were on a trip to Mardis Gras, something Crystal knew at the time. Everyone begins suspecting that there is more to the story than what Norm is telling, but he insists that there isn’t more to know. Growing frustrated with waiting for Crystal to recover, Pietro runs off to blow off some steam before he goes mad.
Needing to get off her feet due to the extra weight she is carrying now that she’s pregnant, Wanda has a discussion with Crystal’s doctor. He is curious about Wanda’s pregnancy, since the Genetics Council of the Inhumans have a tight control on who reproduces in their society.[4] She expresses her excitement for the coming baby. She also goes over the various names she and her husband the Vision have considered giving the baby. However, they haven’t made a firm decision just yet and she assumes that they’ll change their minds up until the baby is born.[5]
By this time, Quicksilver has returned to check in on his wife. He pleads with Crystal to say something. Suddenly, Crystal begins muttering under her breath about how she and Norm Webster have had to sneak around behind her husband’s back. Hearing this admission, Pietro races off and attacks Norm for dishonoring his wife. Pietro is ready to kill Norm until Wanda, the Vision, and the Inhumans pull him off. Medusa orders Quicksilver to stand down, on orders from Black Bolt. Unwilling to calm down, Pietro races off and rallies his militia and orders them to kill Norma. However, they refuse to go against Black Bolt’s orders and stand down. Reaching the limit of his frustration, Quicksilver races out onto the moon’s surface. Vision then join Black Bolt, Medusa, and Gorgon in going after Pietro before he does something he regrets.
Meanwhile, Wanda questions Norm to find out everything that happened. Norm admits that willingly had an affair with Crystal, but tries to justify it by saying Crystal was unhappy in her marriage and came to him. When the Scarlet Witch tries to defend her brother, Norm insults her by saying that she likes her brother a lot better than most other people. Calling Norm a worm, Wanda tells him to get out of her sight so she can cry in private.
At that same moment, the Inhumans and Vision have found Quicksilver hiding in one of the moon’s craters. There he tries to convince him to let Inhuman law deal with Crystal’s infidelity, but Pietro wants to handle it on his own and puts up a fight. Ultimately, Black Bolt bowls everyone over with his destructive voice. Vision takes this opportunity to increase his mass to 70 tons and pin Quicksilver to the ground so he is forced to listen what they all have to say.
Back in Attilan, the Scarlet Witch decides to use witchcraft to try and wake Crystal up.[6] Entering a trance-like state, Wanda enters Crystal’s dream. In it, she is a princess in an eternal sleep outside a medieval castle, just like in some kind of fairy tale. Crystal resists her efforts to be woken up but is convinces to talk about why she cheated on Pietro. Crystal explains that she just wanted more out of life..
While Crystal is explaining all this, Quicksilver has calmed down and tells the Vision how his romance with Crystal began. He recalls how he was rescued by Crystal after he was seriously injured during the Avengers battle with the Sentinels.[7] Crystal nursed Quicksilver back to health and the two fell in love with one another in the process.[8] What drew Pietro to Crystal was how much she reminded him of his sister, Wanda. At the same moment, Crystal is telling her side of the story. Recounting how her first boyfriend was the Human Torch,[9] and her brief stint on the Fantastic Four while the Invisible Girl was pregnant.[10] Eventually, the Earth’s pollution forced her to return to Attilan, which led to her meeting and falling in love with Quicksilver. She loved him because she saw him as weak and vulnerable and a link to the outside world she had to leave behind and the two soon got married.[11] However, as their marriage went on, Pietro came to resent the fact that Crystal always wanted to be around other people while he wanted to focus on personal pursuits.
By the time Quicksilver and the others return, Crystal is starting to wake up and comes out of her coma. Wanda and the others then leave Pietro and Crystal to sort out their issues in private. However, moments later, Quicksilver emerges from the room and proclaims that he doesn’t want to take Crystal back. When Wanda doesn’t take his side, Pietro considers it a betrayal and storms off.
Recurring Characters
Vision, Scarlet Witch, Inhumans (Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal, Gorgon, Karnak, Luna) Quicksilver, Norm Webster
Continuity Notes
This story states that it takes place one month after the events of last issue. This puts it at odds with the Sliding Timescale. An official explanation for this discrepancy is not forthcoming as of this writing. My theory is that Wanda used her powers to create a pocket of “real time” during her pregnancy.
The Inhumans soon started developing health issues due to Earth’s pollution, starting in Fantastic Four #104. It got so bad that they had to relocate to the moon even though Mister Fantastic created a serum to combat this illness. See Fantastic Four #240.
Norm and Crystal have been having an affair since Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #7.
The mention of the Inhuman Genetics Council is the first time they are mentioned in the fiction. This is a set-up for the then upcoming Inhumans graphic novel featured in Marvel Graphic Novel #39 in which Black Bolt and Medusa have a child in defiance of the Genetic Council’s wishes.
Wanda lists off a number of names she has considered, some of them are in honor of people important to her and the Vision. They are:
Phineas T. Horton: The man who created the android Human Torch whose body was later rebuilt into the Vision. See Marvel Comics #1 and Avengers #134-135.
Sanford Williams: The father of Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man. He is credited at helping the Vision foster his humanity. Long story, the Vision’s personality is based on Wonder Man’s brain patterns. See West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #2.
Magda Eisenhardt: Since Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4, Wanda has been led to believe that she is the daughter of Magneto and his estranged wife, Magda. This turns out to have been a lie. She is actually the daughter of Natalyia Maximoff and an unidentified Scarlet Warlock. See Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #4 and 11.
Wanda recounts how she used this same technique to contact Agatha Harkness in the afterlife. This happened in Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #5.
Quicksilver was seriously injured when a Sentinel fell on him in Avengers #104.
He was rescued by Crystal and nursed back to health in Fantastic Four #131.
Crystal started dating the Human Torch back in Fantastic Four #64.
After the Invisible Girl gave birth to her son, Franklin Richards, in Fantastic Four Annual #6, Crystal joined the team in her place starting in Fantastic Four #81. She remained on the team until pollution forced her to return to Attilan in issue #105.
Crystal and Pietro got married in Fantastic Four #150.