I’m mostly not very engaged with the direction Viv was taken. King’s Vision ends with Viv excited to explore the world as she is. Hopeful and happy, despite everything.
This is honestly a pretty big departure and refreshing taking on robotic/synthetic characters (that don’t look outwardly human) in media. So, Viv’s whole “beep-boop what is this thing you call love?” thing doesn’t do it for me.
So far, Zub does seem to want to stay consistent with the most recent runs of characters he is working with. I don’t always agree with the interpretation he’s carrying forward but I think it’s a perfectly respectable choice to make. So I think he’s very likely to keep Viv on the same path Waid has, which is one I’m not terribly interested in.
So, Vision made Viv 2.0 in the same way as he made Viv 1.0. Inasmuch Viv 1 is a real person who is really his daughter, Viv 2 is as well. But here:
Even if he’s doing this to make Viv 1 feel less guilty it’s still hideously dehumanizing. This person that Vision made out of grief to replace what he lost–you know, the same reason he made Viv 1–was “born” ill, and Vision discards her validity as a person very easily. Vision himself was infected with a murderous virus in the last year.
This could have been really interesting–after all, a big theme of King’s Vision was that he had trouble connecting to his family as individuals because he made them fully formed to replace something lost in his life–i.e. what good can come from this lie?– so it follows that he would reject Viv 2 and embrace Viv 1. But the framing of the comic is meant to be heartfelt, sweet. We’re supposed to see how caring of a father he is to forgive Viv 1, not focus on what it means for him to discard Viv 2.
Then there’s Viv 1 deciding it “honors” Viv 2 for the girl that destroyed her mind to use her body like an organ donor, essentially murdering her by erasing (in theory) any possibility of Viv 2’s recovery or autonomy, and her aunt helps her do it.
I’m not holding this against the characters–clearly none of what I’m saying is the intent in the reading. It’s more of a writing issue that I’m describing here. Some of it is coming from the fact this is a teen-focused book, so Viv’s perspective as a teenager here is more important than Vision’s perspective as a father. But it does make it hard for me to read this as a strictly sweet moment.
Oh no, I did buy the whole thing. Like I said, I don’t think it’s the intent, but this how it reads to me:
Vision: This is my daughter! Of course I love her as mu– Viv 2: DIE MEAT BAG Vision: Welp this one’s a goner let me find my good one
If Waid didn’t want this to come across as a shocking reveal that makes Vision literally abandon his dying daughter… well, he framed it pretty badly, is all I’m saying.
And then coupled with the last thing he calls her before she’s dead for real is “the synthezoid”… again, I don’t think the intent is for it to come across this way. This is not literally being written into his character and I don’t think Waid realized that the way he structured it reads like that–but, yeah, unfortunate implications that make it hard to read this affirmation of the love between father and daughter as entirely sweet. I can still kind of enjoy it, though, it’s still cute-ish.
So, Vision made Viv 2.0 in the same way as he made Viv 1.0. Inasmuch Viv 1 is a real person who is really his daughter, Viv 2 is as well. But here:
Even if he’s doing this to make Viv 1 feel less guilty it’s still hideously dehumanizing. This person that Vision made out of grief to replace what he lost–you know, the same reason he made Viv 1–was “born” ill, and Vision discards her validity as a person very easily. Vision himself was infected with a murderous virus in the last year.
This could have been really interesting–after all, a big theme of King’s Vision was that he had trouble connecting to his family as individuals because he made them fully formed to replace something lost in his life–i.e. what good can come from this lie?– so it follows that he would reject Viv 2 and embrace Viv 1. But the framing of the comic is meant to be heartfelt, sweet. We’re supposed to see how caring of a father he is to forgive Viv 1, not focus on what it means for him to discard Viv 2.
Then there’s Viv 1 deciding it “honors” Viv 2 for the girl that destroyed her mind to use her body like an organ donor, essentially murdering her by erasing (in theory) any possibility of Viv 2’s recovery or autonomy, and her aunt helps her do it.
I’m not holding this against the characters–clearly none of what I’m saying is the intent in the reading. It’s more of a writing issue that I’m describing here. Some of it is coming from the fact this is a teen-focused book, so Viv’s perspective as a teenager here is more important than Vision’s perspective as a father. But it does make it hard for me to read this as a strictly sweet moment.
Your actual mom is the Scarlet Witch. That’s like discovering you’re Galadriel’s kid and you’re a magical elf child.
Those Celestial Bodies 