Saturday, June 19, 2010

When A Mutant Loves A Synthezoid: The Second-Strangest Romance in Marvel Comics History*

The themes of oppression, intolerance and bigotry had long been represented through the metaphor of mutation in the pages of The X-Men and, due to the presence of Wanda and her twin brother Pietro, also called the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, in The Avengers as well, as their connection to the mutant terrorist Magneto sometimes served to separate them from their teammates. With the introduction of the Vision, an inhuman former opponent, however, the team had a character who was truly isolated from the rest of the group. While the classic "Even An Android Can Cry" established that he could demonstrate emotion, the Vision rarely did, enjoying no individual interpersonal relationships with any of the other characters.
It was an unlikely, unexpected, and yet somehow entirely believable development then, that he should fall in love with the Scarlet Witch and she should return those feelings. Their relationship took the metaphor one step further, Avengers #113 portraying the general public's reaction to a union between two individuals representing distinct groups (at least in Wanda's case, the Vision's existence being rather singular), neither of which they could claim membership in themselves, and also examining the prejudice members of oppressed groups often display towards other groups, demonstrated by Wanda's brother, a subject rarely addressed even in real life.
In effect, the pair were an early reference to inter-racial relationships, and the story of their romance and eventual marriage continued for years in The Avengers, and the frequent demonstration of the usually stoic Vision's unquestionable love and passionate devotion to his wife was often stirring and a tried and true science-fiction device: by asking the readers to accept and even celebrate the idea that an artificial life form can feel love, the story also, by extension, encourages them to recognize and remember the humanity of people who are different from themselves.
The couple really came into their own when, after decades as members of an ensemble cast, they left the Avengers to appear in two consecutive limited series, both titled The Vision and The Scarlet Witch. The first, a four-issue mini-series charmingly illustrated by Rick Leonardi, continued to explore the theme of intolerance as Wanda and Vision bought their first house in Leonia, New Jersey and faced a negative reaction from some of the local populace, but focused more on developing plot elements long associated with both of them, notably including the revelation that Wanda and Pietro's true father was indeed Magneto, an idea that had been hinted at for several years but never confirmed.
The second, a twelve-issue maxi-series, was a departure from traditional super-hero books in tone. Illustrated by Richard Howell with Jim Mooney and others in a style reminiscent of romance comics, the series focused on Wanda's pregnancy, the first major one in the company's line since that of Sue Richards, which had occurred largely off-page. In stark contrast, Wanda remains not only visible but quite active into her third trimester, even wearing a maternity-adapted version of her costume. While there is considerable action throughout the series, violence is down-played in favor of exploring characters' emotions.
Alternative family structures are at the heart of the story, Wanda's love for her family eventually winning over her hostile neighbors and leading to reconciliation with Magneto at Thanksgiving dinner. Respect for alternative religious beliefs is even included when Wanda begins tutoring a local teen named Holly in witchcraft.
The series also broke new ground with an interesting sub-plot involving Quicksilver's wife Crystal having an extra-marital affair with Wanda's neighbor, an insurance agent named Norm.
Unfortunately, the entire direction of these characters was completely reversed when John Byrne added them to the cast of West Coast Avengers a couple of years later. After having the Vision disassembled and reconfigured by the government, establishing in the process that he in fact was not, and had apparently never been, any more anatomically correct than a Ken doll, he effectively dissolved his marriage to Wanda and actually reversed the birth of their children by having them turn out to be magical constructs, and tainted ones at that.
All of this laid the groundwork for the Scarlet Witch's being used as the Mrs. O' Leary's cow of sweeping company-wide story arcs, which have resulted in both she and the Vision bearing little resemblance to the characters that had been developed over the course of so many years. One hopeful note for long-time fans is the revelation in Young Avengers that the twin brothers called Wiccan and Speed appear to be the twin boys Wanda gave birth to so long ago, thought lost to this reality forever but somehow real, alive, and quite appealing in their own right.


*For sheer weird factor, nothing beats Beverly Switzler's and Howard the Duck's inter-species romance.