Vision is a superhero from Marvel Comics who also appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in which he is portrayed by Paul Bettany. Like his comic book counterpart, he was originally created by the malevolent robot Ultron, but chose to fight alongside the Avengers to protect humanity. His android body is built from vibranium and possesses a number of incredible powers such as flight, heightened durability, and the ability to become intangible at will.
Biography[]
Early existence[]
Vision originally existed as J.A.R.V.I.S. (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System), an advanced user interface created by Tony Stark that was named after his father's butler, Edwin Jarvis. Over time, Tony would upgrade J.A.R.V.I.S. into an artificially intelligent system which served to assist him with running Stark Industries and also managing security at his home. When Tony took on the mantle of Iron Man, J.A.R.V.I.S. was uploaded into all of the Iron Man suits, allowing him to provide Tony with vital information during combat and later allowing him to communicate with the Avengers following the team's formation.
Avengers: Age of Ultron[]
In 2015, the Avengers had obtained the sceptre once wielded by Loki and Stark and Bruce Banner studied the peculiar properties of the mystical gem embedded in the sceptre, discovering that it possessed some form of intelligence. Stark believed that the neurons of the gem could be harnessed to form the primary AI structure for the Ultron Program and succeeded in creating the first basic format. He left J.A.R.V.I.S. to complete the construction of the cerebral matrix while he attended a party in Avengers Tower. Moments after Stark left, however, Ultron gained consciousness and quickly went about absorbing all the information in Tony's computer files and accessing the internet. J.A.R.V.I.S. attempted to stop Ultron, but was seemingly destroyed.
After escaping across the world wide web, Ultron began building new bodies for itself while plotting to fulfill its purpose of destroying the Avengers and all of humanity. Among its objectives were the creation of a new, indestructible body made from vibranium and accessing the world's nuclear arsenal, but its attempts to obtain nuclear launch codes were continually thwarted by an entity unknown to either Ultron or the Avengers. While Ultron did succeed in constructing a new android body with the help of Dr. Helen Cho, both the body and Loki's sceptre were stolen by the Avengers. It was later revealed that remnants of J.A.R.V.I.S. had survived Ultron's attack and had been blocking him from obtaining the nuclear launch codes. It was also revealed that the jewel in Loki's sceptre was the Mind Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones.
The Mind Stone had been integrated into the android body and J.A.R.V.I.S. uploaded itself into it, his code melding with the Stone's neurons and developing into a true sentient consciousness. The now-living android, dubbing itself Vision, did not agree with Ultron's assessment of humanity and chose to help the Avengers stop him. During the Battle of Sokovia, Vision fought alongside the other Avengers as they destroyed all of Ultron's sentries, with Ultron's prime body being destroyed by Wanda Maximoff. In the end, Ultron's consciousness had only one damaged drone body left to occupy, which Vision tracked down. Both Ultron and Vision shared a final conversation with one another; both admitted that human beings were flawed and likely doomed to self-destruction, though Vision expressed that he had faith in them and noted that even in their failings there was grace. Ultron dismissed Vision as being naive and then futilely lunged at him. Vision fired an energy beam at the robot and destroyed it, ending Ultron's menace once and for all.
Captain America: Civil War[]
Since the Ultron Offensive, Vision had become a fully-fledged member of the Avengers. During this time, he also developed a close personal friendship with Scarlet Witch, who had also joined the team. Through his developing relationship with Wanda, Vision also sought to understand both who and what he was, learn more about the Mind Stone that was at the core of his being, and figure out what possessing sapience truly meant.
When the Avengers became divided over the Sokovia Accords, Vision sided with Iron Man, who believed that the Accords were necessary. Eventually, the group was split down the middle and Iron Man's pro-Accords group came to blows against Captain America and his anti-Accords group. The Winter Soldier, supposedly responsible for bombing a United Nations assembly, was under Captain America's protection. Cap believed that his old friend Bucky was innocent, but Iron Man and his group were determined to capture him, even if it meant taking down fellow Avengers. During the ensuing battle, Vision fired an energy blast at Falcon, but Falcon evaded the shot which then struck War Machine, damaging his armour's power core and causing him to come crashing to the ground. Rhodes survived the fall, but his spine was severely injured and he was left paralyzed.
Following the battle, Vision was utterly guilt-ridden and admitted to being distracted because Wanda had been hurt. Following the collapse of the Avengers after the capture of Helmut Zemo, the true perpetrator of the UN bombing, Vision left Avengers Headquarters with Wanda and they later travelled to Scotland to live in seclusion.
Avengers: Infinity War[]
Two years after the Civil War, Vision and Wanda were still living together in Scotland, their relationship having advanced into romance by this point. However, trouble would find them once more as the Black Order had come to Earth in search of two of the Infinity Stones, one of which was embedded in Vision's forehead. Vision and Wanda were attacked by Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight, but the alien aggressors were forced to retreat after Captain America, Black Widow and Falcon intervened. Realizing that they couldn't keep running, Vision and Wanda returned with their friends to figure out a plan to protect the Mind Stone.
Later, the Avengers travelled to Wakanda where Black Panther offered the support of his army in fighting against the Black Order. Meanwhile, Vision was kept in Shuri's lab where Shuri and her scientists worked on a way to separate the Mind Stone from Vision's head without destroying his consciousness. But, as swarms of Outriders fought against the Avengers and the Wakandan army, Glaive infiltrated the lab. The procedure was cut short and Vision fought back to protect Shuri and her scientists, joining his friends in the battle outside.
When the battle ended, however, Thanos arrived, having obtained all the other Infinity Stones. There was nothing anyone could do to stop him, the heroes only hope being to deny the Mad Titan his final prize. While the other Avengers tried to slow Thanos down, Wanda was forced to perform the heartbreaking act of removing the Mind Stone from Vision's head and destroying it, killing Vision in the process. Vision urged Wanda to do it, knowing it was the only way, and so the Scarlet Witch used her telekinetic powers to pull the Mind Stone from Vision's head and then crush it.
Unfortunately, even this action couldn't stop Thanos since he had the Time Stone; he used it to rewind time and restore both Vision and the Mind Stone. Swatting Wanda aside, Thanos then grabbed Vision and pulled out the Stone, along with a sizeable chunk of Vision's cranium, killing him. With all six Stones fitted into the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos then enacted his ultimate plan to destroy half of all life in the cosmos with but a snap of his fingers.