Even An Android Can Cry

This is a pretty good issue that covers some pretty important events in the Marvel Universe. In it, The Avengers basically beat Vision into the gang and we learn a bunch more about who Vision is and where he came from.

Issue: Avengers 1963 issue 58
Name: Even An Android Can Cry
Published: November 1968

From Comixology: Vision is put through a series of tests to gain membership with the Avengers.

Creators:
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: John Buscema
Inker: George Klein
Letterer: Sam Rosen
Editor: Stan Lee

Characters:
The Good: Hawkeye, Goliath, Wasp, Black Panther, Vision, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America
The Bad: Ultron
The Extras: Hercules, Black Widow, Hulk, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, Wonder Man, Executioner, Enchantress, Baron Zemo

In last issue, we saw Vision take down the current Avengers one by one only to eventually stop fighting them when he realized Ultron was controlling him. This time, the original Avengers take him on one at a time to see what his powers are all about. He holds his own, but I question why the Hulk wasn't there to put the smash on – perhaps he would have been hard to control once he tried to bash Vision and fell through him as he goes ethereal.

So we learn that Vision can control his density, becoming hard as diamond one second and ethereal and light as a feather the next. He is also pretty strong and has some form of heat vision. But we learn so much more about his origin as well in this issue.

To start out, we learn more about Ultron. While in the past couple of issues I read, we see Ultron and his basic origins, this issue reveals the whole story. Hank Pym, Goliath, inadvertently created Ultron while experimenting on the dormant Dragon Man. The robot quickly makes gains in intelligence and learns at an incredible speed, traversing infancy to adulthood in a matter of panels. I liked how the creators indicate maturity with the language Ultron uses – from barely uttering “da-da” and “skrawwk” to using words like “inevitable” and “irreversible”.

With Ultron's origins understood, we turn to Vision. This is a good completion to the origin story about Vision. The flashback that depicts his creation and the fact that Wonder Man's memories are incorporated into Vision's synthetic body is pretty cool. The Vision is truly unique – not quite a robot and not quite a human. But the key point to this issue is that the Avengers accept him regardless of his origin. They see the value of the man that Vision is rather than any baggage that may be associated with where he came from.

On the whole, I can see this as being a pretty important issue in Avengers history. Ultron, one of their top enemies, is defined and the origin of Vision, one of their shining heroes is also presented. The art is pretty good and follows the standard of the time, and there are a couple of really well drawn pages that depict all the Avengers up to this time – pretty cool. One of the best scenes is the final one where Vision shows a lot of emotion and even cries when he is accepted onto the Avengers team – truly classic.

I really liked this issue and would consider it one of the best I've read so far.

You can find this issue on Comixology or Marvel Unlimited, and I'm sure it goes for a pretty penny if you buy the actual book from your local comic book shop.

Morning Ramble #59