Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #9
Off-Line!
The Vision and the Scarlet Witch are down in New Orleans with their friends Glamor and Illusion to participate in the Mardis Gras celebrations.[1] Glamor and Illusion, two world-famous magicians, come every year to celebrate and put on a special show in town. Wanda feels right at home among the costumed revelers and enjoys being part of the crowd for once in stead of always standing out.
Meanwhile, in Leona, New Jersey, Crystal has come to Earth to continue her secret affair with Norm Webster, Wanda and the Vision’s real estate agent.[2] However, Norm has started feeling guilty over the fact that Crystal is cheating on her husband and pleads with her to get a divorce so they can be together. Crystal, who is fed up of her husband’s focus on the Inhuman militia instead of their marriage, tries to justify her infidelity. She is reluctant to get a divorce since she is a member of Inhuman royalty and such a move would result in scandal. She is more comfortable pretending that her frequent trips to Earth are due to her missing her home planet, something she can do on the regular thanks to a potion that makes her able to with stand the Earth’s pollution.[3]
Back in New Orleans, Wanda and Vision are waiting for Glamor and Illusion’s upcoming show. With a few hours to kill, the Vision suggest they keep seeing the sights. After telling their friends what’s going on, Wanda notices that her husband has suddenly vanishes. Going out into the hotel lobby, she asks the desk clerk if he saw her husband. He tells her that he saw the Vision was making out with an attractive blond before leaving with her. This woman turns out to be the Asgardian sorceress known as the Enchantress. She has enthralled the Vision so she can exploit his intangibility powers to steal they Eye of Rajpur, a valuable necklace that is being put on display in town.
Meanwhile, Wanda is out looking for her husband, using her magic to pinpoint people who have seen her husband. One man confirms that he saw the Vision with a gorgeous blond. However, the next person she finds turns out to be blind, leading to a dead end.
Later, Glamor and Illusion put on their magic act for an enthusiastic audience. Their big trick is tying Glamor in a straight jacket, placing her in a canvas bag and dunking it into a massive tank of water. While Illusion tricks distracts the audience with a card trick, Glamor uses her powers to slip out of the tank unseen. Changing her clothing so she resembles one of the Madri Gras revelers, she then breaks into the room where the Eye of Rajpur. As it turns out, the magicians are also thieves who supplement their income by fencing the items they steal. With the Eye pocketed, Glamor returns to the show room as Illusion is revealing that the tank is now empty. She then crawls out of the canvas bag as though she was hiding in it the entire time.[4]
Soon after the theft, the Vision breaks into the room to steal the Eye of Rajpur for the Enchantress. However, when discovering that the safe is empty, he is able to override her enchantment and regain control. He quickly finds Wanda and tells her what happened. The Scarlet Witch goes to their arranged meeting place and confronts the Enchantress. Wanda is able to hold her own against the Enchantress’ spells. Having had enough, the Enchantress decides to cut her losses, satisfied that she hasn’t lost her touch since her sister, Lorelei, has become a competitor in the art of seduction to teleports away.[5]
The Scarlet Witch, staring to feel unattractive due to the weight she has gained during her pregnancy, asks the Vision how he felt about the Enchantress. While he admits that he found her incredibly attractive and enjoying kissing her, he points out that he is only human. Despite his indiscretion he reminds Wanda that it is her that he loves over everyone else and wants nothing more than to raise a family with her. The two then kiss and make up.
Back in Leora, Crystal starts feeling sick as her anti-pollution potion has begun wearing off. She insists on taking another dose even though Norm is worried about how frequently she has been taking it recently. His fears turn out to be justified as Crystal suffers from an overdose and collapses in his arms.
Recurring Characters
Vision, Scarlet Witch, Enchantress, Illusion, Glamor, Crystal, Norm Webster
Continuity Notes
This story is stated as taking place on Mardi Gras (which happens sometime between mid February and late March) and one month after the events of last issue. This puts it at odds with the Sliding Timescale and no official explanation as to how this works has been made. My theory is that Wanda created a pocket of “real time” during her pregnancy.
Unhappy in her marriage, Crystal began her affair with Norm in Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #7, they had met in the previous issue. They will get found out in issue #10, ruining her marriage to Quicksilver.
Pollution started becoming a health risk to the Inhumans way back in Fantastic Four #105. It got so bad, that the Inhumans eventually had to relocate to the moon, even though Mister Fantastic came up with a serum to make them immune to its effects. See Fantastic Four #240.
Footnotes remind the reader that Glamor can control the molecules of her body, while Illusion can control the molecules of anything he touches. These explanations were made in issue #4 and 5.
At the time of this story, Lorelei had been seducing Thor as part of one of Loki’s complex revenge schemes against the thunder god. See Thor #359.
