Vision and the Scarlet Witch, by Bill Mantlo, Rick Leonardi, Ian Akin & Brian Garvey

(pb; 1982: "A Marvel Comics Limited Series")


Plot descriptions, issue by issue:

Issue #1 ("Trick or Treat!"): A spirit (Samhain) breaks free of its bookbound prison, bedeviling ex-Avengers Wanda Maximoff (a.k.a. The Scarlet Witch), her android-with-human-emotions ("synthozoid") husband, Vision, and Jarvis (the Avengers' visiting butler) on All Hallow's Eve.

(Quick note - The Scarlet Witch and Vision don't appear in the aforementioned film version of The Avengers.)


Issue #2 ("Faith of Our Fathers"):  Robert Frank, adoptive father of the Scarlet Witch and her  brother Pietro Maximoff (a.k.a. Quicksilver, of the mutant superhero group The Inhumans) seeks their aid in regaining custody of his biological-gone-radioactive son, Nuklo, who's living in a containment lab.  It appears to be going swimmingly, when an old arch-enemy of Frank's shows up to wreck the proceedings.


Issue #3 ("Blood Brothers"):  Simon Williams, once known as the superhero Wonder Man, goes to the hospital to aid the comatose Vision.  (This is the result of Vision's battle with the villainous Isbisa in issue #2).  Trouble, again in the form of a family-based past, appears - this time it's The Grim Reaper, whose fraternal grief regarding Williams' Wonderman-to-Williams metamorphosis has reached a murderous pitch.


Issue #4 ("Revelations"): A not-so-mysterious "pilgrim" seeks his long-lost children, The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, inadvertantly creating a conflict on The Inhumans' homeworld.



Overall review:

This semi-episodic comic book miniseries, provides a fun, if plot-awkward, account of what initially happened to The Scarlet Witch and Vision after they left their (then) latest supergroup, The Avengers.  Vision's bordering-on-cheesy storyline may stem from its character-transitional nature, which despite its "choppy" feel, off-shoots its plots from previous events, seen in other comic books, specifically The Avengers and Captain America. 

Another element that helps ground the already tight writing is the writer's use of a familial theme, which is ably utilized in this rough, but entertaining work.

The four-issue Vision is worth checking out, worth owning if purchased for a modest price.  To the best of my knowledge, it is not available in graphic novel form.