Earth's Mightiest Annotations:
AVENGERS #14
by Sean McQuaid
part 1 of 3


AVENGERS (volume 3) # 14 
March, 1999 
"Hi, Honey...I'm Hooooome!" 
By Kurt Busiek & George Perez
with Al Vey (finishes), Tom Smith (colors), 
Richard Starkings/Comicraft/WA (letters), Tom Brevoort (editor) & 
Bob Harras (editor-in-chief). 

Avengers Assembled: 
Thor, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Vision [II], Firestar & Justice (as
active members); Hank Pym (as reserve member not participating in team
business); and Beast & Wonder Man (as inactive members). Iron Man and
She-Hulk appear in portraits in Avengers Mansion. Hawkeye, USAgent,
Spider-Woman [II] & Living Lightning appear in a flashback. 

Other Characters: 
Pagan, New York City police officers (including Pete), Kurt Busiek, George
Perez, Edwin Jarvis, Fred, Tracy Spencer, Ultron, Congresswoman Fairfield &
Duane Jerome Freeman. Lord Templar appears in video footage. Doctor Strange
appears in a portrait in Avengers Mansion. Angkor appears in a flashback. 


EXTERIOR COVER 
This issue's cover illustration (drawn by George Perez and colored by Tom
Smith) features Beast and Wonder Man. 


PAGE ONE 

Panel 3: 
Pagan is unknown to this annotator and seemingly unknown to the other
characters, so he may be a new character. 

Panel 5: 
Kurt Busiek is the regular writer of the current Avengers series, and
George Perez is the regular artist of the current Avengers series. 
	A longtime fan of Marvel Comics in general and the Avengers in particular,
Busiek had been writing comics for years before he shot to prominence with
the acclaimed limited series Marvels. His first published Avengers work was
a short story in Avengers Annual # 19 that pitted the Avengers against the
Sons of the Serpent. Since then, he has become the writer responsible for
the Avengers on an ongoing basis, writing the current monthly Avengers
series and co-writing the Avengers Forever limited series with Roger Stern.
His credits include writing Avengers [v3] # 1-15 & Avengers Forever # 1-2,
as well as co-writing Avengers/Squadron Supreme '98 and the remaining
issues of Avengers Forever. Busiek continues to write Avengers on a monthly
basis (though Avengers [v3] # 16-18 will be guest-written by Jerry Ordway)
and co-writes the Avengers Forever limited series with Roger Stern. He also
co-writes the current Iron Man ongoing series with Stern, not to mention
writing his own creator-owned ongoing series, the widely admired Astro City. 
	George Perez is one of the most popular and most respected superhero
artists in the history of the genre, renowned for his masterful rendering
and rich detail work. More specifically, he is also one of the most
celebrated Avengers artists in the team's history. In addition to his
current stint as artist on the latest ongoing Avengers series, Perez has
also worked extensively on the original Avengers ongoing series and other
Avengers projects. His Avengers credits include Avengers [v1] # 141-144
(interior art), 147-151 (interior art), 154-155 (interior art), 160-162
(cover & interior art), 163-166 (cover art), 167-168 (cover & interior
art), 170-171 (cover & interior art), 172-174 (cover art), 181 (cover art),
183-185 (cover art), 191-192 (cover art), 194-196 (cover & interior art),
197 (cover art) & 198-202 (cover & interior art); Avengers Annual # 6
(interior art) & 8 (cover & interior art); Avengers: The Korvac Saga (new
cover art and reprints of cover/interior art from Avengers [v1] # 167-168 &
170-174), Avengers Log # 1 (cover art), Ultraforce/Avengers Prelude (cover
art), Avengers/Ultraforce (cover art), Ultraforce/Avengers (cover &
interior art), Avengers [v3] # 1-14 (cover & interior art),
Avengers/Squadron Supreme '98 (cover finishes) & Avengers Forever # 1
(cover finishes). Perez has also drawn a variety of stand-alone Avengers
illustrations, some of which have been released as posters and T-shirts.
Perez drew one of the Avengers entries (the team's fifth line-up) in the
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition, and is slated to
illustrate the Avengers entry in the upcoming Official Marvel Handbook. An
upcoming Avengers Visionaries: George Perez trade paperback will reprint
Perez Avengers stories from Avengers Annual # 6, Avengers [v1] # 161-162,
Avengers Annual # 8 and Avengers [v1] # 194-196 & 202. This collection will
feature a new cover by Perez. 


PAGES TWO & THREE (two-page spread) 
The BEAST (Hank McCoy) is a mutant adventurer and brilliant biochemist born
with ape-like agility, dexterity and bodily proportions, as well as
superhuman strength. A founding member of the X-Men, he graduated from that
group to a civilian career as a scientist. His subsequent mutation research
led to a mishap in which he grew fur all over his body and took on a more
animal-like appearance. Shortly after this, he joined the Avengers on a
probationary basis during a membership drive (Avengers [v1] # 137) and won
full official membership in Avengers [v1] # 151. After a fairly lengthy
active membership stint, he retired to reserve status in Avengers [v1] #
211. Though he has gone on to membership in other groups, including the
Defenders, X-Factor and the X-Men, the Beast has remained affiliated with
the Avengers on an irregular basis as a sort of inactive reservist. He last
worked with them in Avengers [v3] # 1-4, when he aided the team against
Morgan Le Fay and helped Avengers member Binary diagnose the state of her
powers. More recently, he helped the Avengers examine their ailing friend
Rick Jones in Avengers Forever # 1. 
	As a founding member of the X-Men who has spent most of his time with the
X-Men in recent years, Beast tends to be regarded as the property of the
immensely popular X-Men family of comics (a subject jokingly addressed in
Avengers [v3] # 10); however, his lengthy Avengers stint has made him an
enduring favorite of Avengers fans, and his recent departure from the X-Men
roster has encouraged hopeful speculation that he may rejoin the Avengers.
Beast is also a favorite of the Busiek/Perez creative team. Perez has even
referred to Beast as one of his five favorite Avengers to draw, the others
being Captain America, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Vision. Beast was
affiliated with the Avengers throughout Perez's initial Avengers work,
which spanned Avengers [v1] # 141-202. 


PAGE FOUR 

Panels 1-3: 
Avengers butler Edwin Jarvis would remember Beast from the latter's
membership stint in Avengers [v1] # 137-211 and subsequent visits, but it's
been a while since he was subjected to Beast's high-spirited hijinks on a
regular basis. 

Panel 4: 
Scarlet Witch was appointed as deputy leader of the Avengers last issue,
replacing the ailing Iron Man. 

Panel 5: 
Captain America and Scarlet Witch (whom Beast habitually calls "Miz
Scarlet") were active Avengers members during most of Beast's stint with
the group, so he knows them quite well. 

Panel 6: 
The pictures behind Cap and Wanda include portraits of Avengers founder
Iron Man (in the second, golden version of his original armor) and longtime
Avengers ally Doctor Strange. 

DOCTOR STRANGE was originally medical doctor Stephen Vincent Strange, a
brilliant but arrogant surgeon who cared more about his salary than the
welfare of his patients. When a car accident damaged the nerves in
Strange's hands to the extent that he could no longer perform delicate
surgery, Strange became despondent. He was offered prestigious consulting
assignments and various other medical opportunities, but his pride kept him
from accepting anything less than his former surgical position. Pouring all
his time and money into quack doctors and attempted cures for his
condition, Strange soon became a penniless derelict. He found new hope,
however, in rumours of a Tibetan mystic known as the Ancient One, a
sorcerer who could supposedly cure any physical ailment. 
	Strange went to Tibet and found the Ancient One's palace in the Himalayas,
but the Ancient One said he could not help Strange unless the doctor proved
himself worthy. Still not fully convinced of the Ancient One's power, the
embittered Strange scoffed at the Ancient One's words; however, Strange
remained at the palace since bad weather made it impossible to leave. While
there, Strange discovered that the Ancient One's disciple, Mordo, was
plotting against his master. When Strange tried to warn the Ancient One,
Mordo used his sorcery to prevent Strange from telling what he knew. As a
result of these events, Strange now truly believed in magic; he also
realized for the first time that there was evil in the world, evil that had
to be opposed. With these thoughts in mind, the newly enlightened Strange
decided that the only way to battle Mordo would be to learn sorcery, so he
made a sincere offer to become the Ancient One's pupil and learn the ways
of magic. With those words, the Ancient One released Strange from Mordo's
spell, and revealed that he knew of Mordo's treachery all along. The
Ancient One had seen the potential for goodness and great mystical power in
Strange, and had given Strange a chance to find these things in himself.
Mordo was expelled from the Ancient One's service, and Strange took his
place as the Ancient One's disciple. In time, Strange became a master of
the mystic arts and returned to his native America, setting up shop in
Greenwich Village. The general public believes Strange to be nothing more
than an eccentric occult authority, but in truth he wages a constant battle
against the various supernatural forces that threaten Earth and its people.
When the Ancient One later died fighting the demon Shuma-Gorath, Strange
inherited his mantle as Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, the planet's leading
magician and our dimensional plane's chief mystical guardian. 
	Strange thrives in solitude and seclusion, but he has also made many
friends and allies over the years. These include his former manservant
Wong, and disciples such as his lover Clea and the late Rintrah. Though his
powers make him a superhero of sorts, Strange associates with non-mystical
superheroes relatively infrequently since he prefers to concentrate his
attention on supernatural threats; however, he is a founding member and
former longtime leader of the Defenders, an informal super-team who band
together when necesary or desired. The Defenders do not officially exist
and have drifted apart in recent years, but Strange and his fellow
Defenders continue to reunite on occasion, and he regards the core members
of the team as close friends and valued allies (notably Sub-Mariner, Hulk
[II], Silver Surfer, Valkyrie, Nighthawk [II], Luke Cage, Red Guardian
[III], Hellcat, Devil-Slayer, Gargoyle [II] & Beast). Strange also
occasionally works alongside other non-mystical heroes, such as the
Avengers, but the Defenders are his only close friends and allies outside
of supernatural circles. 
	Strange's many mystically empowered allies include Topaz, the modern-day
Black Knight, the late Victoria Bentley, Brother Voodoo, Scarlet Witch,
Jennifer Kale, Shaman, Agatha Harkness, Black Crow, John Blaze, Ghost Rider
[VI] and the late Doctor Druid. Druid was a lesser-known, less powerful
mystic who had been empowered by the Ancient One as a trial run for the
empowerment of Doctor Strange. Druid battled evil in relative obscurity for
decades, later becoming an ally to heroes such as Doctor Strange and,
briefly, a member of the Avengers. When Strange organized and then
abandoned a more loose-knit version of the Defenders known as the Secret
Defenders, he manipulated Druid into taking his place as the group's
leader. That team soon disbanded, and an embittered Druid then embarked on
an obsessive quest to increase his mystical power, a quest that culminated
in Druid's death. 
	Strange has no true superhuman powers since all human beings have the
potential to manipulate magical energy, but he was born with a great talent
for sorcery and has become one of the most powerful and versatile sorcerers
in Earth's history through years of training, discipline, accumulated
knowledge and personal enlightenment. Like most sorcerers, Strange has
mystical powers that stem from three main sources: personal powers derived
from developing one's own psychic potential, powers derived from tapping
into the universe's ambient mystical energy, and powers derived from
tapping into extradimensional power sources, usually by invoking
extradimensional beings or objects in the recitation of a spell. 
	Strange's personal powers include mesmerism, illusion-casting and
telepathy (he can reach any mind on Earth as long as he knows the person's
location, and he can also contact multiple minds at any given time). His
most exotic personal power is astral projection, the ability to expel his
consciousness from his body in an "astral form" that can traverse the world
unbound by the laws of physics. Strange's astral form is invisible,
intangible and immune to both conventional physical injury and all but the
strongest mystical assaults; however, while in astral form he can only
manifest mentally powered abilities such as telepathy and psychokinesis.
While Strange is in astral form, his physical body falls into a death-like
trance state. If Strange's physical body were slain while he was in astral
form, or if he remained in astral form for too long, he could be trapped in
astral form permanently. 
	Strange can tap into the universe's ambient mystical energy for effects
such as energy bolts, force shields, conjuration of small objects, exotic
illumination, the transformation of an object's shape (a spell that usually
lasts only as long as Strange wills it to do so) and teleportation.
Teleportation of himself and others is a very mentally taxing and
mystically draining feat, so Strange tries to employ this ability
infrequently. Oddly, Strange usually finds interdimensional teleportation
easier than teleporting between two locations in the same dimension. The
most difficult and dangerous teleportation feat of all is to mystically
teleport through time, though Strange has managed to do this on occasion. 
	When Strange invokes the names and aspects of various extradimensional
beings and objects of power through his spells and incantations, he can use
these extradimensional power sources for very specific effects without
depleting his own personal power supply. Some of his more frequently
employed extradimensional powers include the Flames of the Faltine, the
Shades of the Seraphim, the Crimson Bands of Cytorrak and the Hoary Hosts
of Hoggoth. 
	In addition to his vast mystical abilities, Strange is well versed in
various Oriental martial arts and has extensive medical knowledge. 
	Strange's Greenwich Village sanctum is filled with mystical objects and
books collected by himself and his mentor, the Ancient One. Strange's more
noteworthy accessories include the Greater Book of the Vishanti, his cloak
of levitation and The Eye of Agamotto. The Book of the Vishanti is an
ancient tome filled with obscure arcane knowledge. Strange's cloak of
levitation, created by Enitharmon the Weaver, allows Strange to levitate
and fly while he is wearing it; the cloak is psychically linked to Strange,
and will respond to his commands even when he is not wearing it. The cloak
can levitate and fly on its own, and can also lift aloft other masses in
addition to Strange when necessary. Empowered by and named for the
mysterious extradimensional entity Agamotto, the Eye of Agamatto is an
amulet that Strange usually wears at his throat; it can project a
physically blinding, mystically overpowering "all-revealing light" that
enables Strange to penetrate disguises, invoke images of the recent past
and track both physical and mystical beings by their psychic or magical
emissions. Strange can also probe minds more easily and thoroughly by using
the amulet, which opens to reveal the image of a golden eye during this
process (hence the amulet's name). The Eye can also serve as a gateway to
other dimensions. Like the cloak, the Eye is psychically linked to Strange
and responds to his mental commands. An astral facsimile of the Eye even
appears on Strange's astral form, though its powers are far more limited
than those of the actual amulet. 
	Doctor Strange first appeared in Strange Tales [v1] # 110. He became an
ongoing feature in Strange Tales thereafter, and the series was eventually
retitled Doctor Strange as of issue 169. The series ended with issue 183,
but two subsequent revivals of his ongoing series lasted 81 and 90 issues,
respectively. A revival of Strange Tales featuring Doctor Strange and Cloak
& Dagger lasted 19 issues. Of late, Strange's appearances have been
confined to occasional guest shots, one-shots and limited series. 
	Strange's Avengers appearances include Avengers Annual # 2; Avengers [v1]
# 60-61, 115-118, 157 & 168; Avengers Annual # 8 & 11; Avengers [v1] # 234
& 240-242; Avengers: Emperor Doom; West Coast Avengers [v2] # 20 & 22-23;
Avengers Annual # 19; Avengers [v1] # 331-333; Avengers West Coast # 78-79.
Details of those appearances are as follows...

Avengers Annual # 2  
(alternate universe Doctor Strange subdued by alternate universe Avengers
as part of Scarlet Centurion's plot to conquer their alternate reality) 

Avengers [v1] # 60 
(attended wedding of Yellowjacket & Wasp at Avengers Mansion) 

Avengers [v1] # 61 
(teamed with Black Knight [III], Hawkeye, Vision [II] & Black Panther to
oppose the Sons of Satannish and protect Earth from Surtur & Ymir) 

Avengers [v1] # 115-118 & Defenders # 7-11 
(alongside Defenders [Sub-Mariner, Hulk <II>, Silver Surfer, Valkyrie &
Hawkeye], sought cure for petrified Black Knight [III]; alongside
Defenders, manipulated into seeking the Evil Eye by Loki and Dormammu as a
supposed cure for Black Knight [III] and battling the similarly manipulated
Avengers [Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Swordsman, Black
Panther, Vision <II> & Mantis]; alongside Defenders and Avengers, saved
Earth from Dormammu and Loki; alongside Defenders, discovered that Black
Knight's spirit had journeyed through time to the Crusades and was residing
contentedly in an ancestor's body) 

Avengers [v1] # 157 
(appears in flashback to events circa Defenders # 10) 

Avengers [v1] # 168 
(sensed cosmic forces at play during Korvac's murder of Starhawk) 

Avengers Annual # 8 
(helped Avengers find former Squadron Sinister members whom he had rendered
amnesiac to eliminate their threat) 

Avengers Annual # 11 
(cameo appearance in flashback to Defenders' dealings with Nebulon) 

Avengers [v1] # 234 
(appears in flashback during account of Scarlet Witch's life story) 

Avengers [v1] # 240-242 
(alongside Hank Pym, Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Tigra, She-Hulk, Captain Marvel
[II], Shroud & Magnus, rescued original Spider-Woman's spirit from Morgan
Le Fay and restored Spider-Woman to life) 

Avengers: Emperor Doom 
(cameo appearance as one of billions mind-controlled by Doctor Doom and the
Purple Man before the Avengers freed Earth from Doom's control) 

West Coast Avengers [v2] # 20 
(crossed paths with time-traveling Avengers while in 18th century) 

West Coast Avengers [v2] 22-23 
(unwittingly aided by time-traveling Avengers during visit to ancient
Egypt; secretly aided unwitting Fantastic Four in their initial defeat of
Rama-Tut; returned to the 20th century, unaware of the the Avengers' role
in his Egyptian adventures) 

Avengers Annual # 19 
(appears in flashback to the events of the Acts of Vengeance crisis) 

Avengers [v1] # 331 
(advised Avengers on how to deal with the Tetrarchs of Entropy) 

Avengers [v1] # 332-333 
(attended grand opening of new Avengers headquarters) 

Avengers West Coast # 78-79  
(aided Avengers against Satannish & the Night Shift) 


PAGE FIVE 

Panel 1: 
Wonder Man was active with the Avengers during most of the Beast's initial
stint with the group (Wonder Man revived from his death-like comatose state
in Avengers [v1] # 151-153 & Avengers Annual # 6, associating with the team
regularly thereafter until his first long-term departure from the group in
Avengers [v1] # 211). During that time, Beast and Simon became very close
friends, and they have kept in touch since then even though Beast has
seldom worked with the Avengers in recent years. This is the first chance
Beast has had to talk to Simon since the latter's latest return from the
dead. 

On the table at right we can see a picture of inactive Avengers member
She-Hulk, who last worked with the team in Avengers [v3] # 1-4. SHE-HULK
(Jennifer Walters) is the cousin and close friend of the Hulk, and gained
superhuman strength and durability similar to his after he was forced to
give her an emergency blood transfusion. She joined the Avengers during a
membership drive in Avengers (v1) # 221 and went on to serve several stints
with the group before drifting away from the team for reasons never fully
explained. She has also served as a replacement member of the Fantastic
Four in the past. More recently, she worked for the corporate super-team
Heroes For Hire until she and all the other members resigned after their
group was purchased by the unscrupulous Stark-Fujikawa corporation. 

Panels 2-3: 
The focus of several long-running plotlines in the X-Men comics, the Legacy
Virus is a fatal communicable disease that was first and most frequently
observed in mutants, though it can also potentially infect ordinary humans.
The virus, which was apparently created and released by the insane
terrorist Stryfe, has infected prominent mutants such as Pyro & Mesmero and
killed notable mutants such as Mastermind, Revanche and Illyanna Rasputin.
Beast has been researching the Legacy Virus for some time in hopes of
finding a cure, and recently left the active X-Men roster to concentrate
more fully on this research. Muir Island is the home of renowned geneticist
and longtime X-Men associate Moira MacTaggart, and houses some of the most
advanced genetics research facilities in the world. MacTaggart herself has
been researching the virus for some time, even before she discovered she
was the first human known to have contracted the disease. 

Panel 5: 
Like Cap, Wanda and Simon, Vision was affiliated with the Avengers during
most of Beast's initial stint with the group. 

Panel 6: 
Beast is an infamous party animal, and shared many nights on the town with
his good buddy Simon during their initial Avengers stint. 


PAGE SIX 

Panel 1: 
It's intriguing that Simon says he wants a chance to "talk more" with
Vision. They haven't talked all that much since Simon's return from the
dead (not on-panel at least), and Simon has done most of the talking when
they've been together. Things Simon might want to discuss with Vision
include his new romance with Wanda (formerly Vision's longtime wife), the
renewed sense of brotherhood between Simon and Vision now that Vision's
original mind has been restored, and perhaps lingering guilt over Simon's
refusal to help the ailing Vision circa West Coast Avengers [v2] # 45-53,
when Simon refused to aid attempts to restore Vision's damaged mind since
he hoped to win Vision's wife for himself. Simon was also rather
contemptuous of Vision for much of the years that followed, so there's a
fair bit of former bad blood to be addressed as well as a lot of catching
up to be done, not to mention the possible ramifications of their shared
romantic interest in Wanda. Vision and Simon do indeed have a lot to talk
about. 
	Lord Templar is the mysterious villain the Avengers first battled last
issue. 

Panels 3-5: 
Wanda doesn't seem especially comfortable with Cap overruling her
leadership decisions in this instance, even though he's within his rights
to do so. This discomfort may be due in part to memories of the way Iron
Man constantly undermined her leadership of the Force Works team, but it
also probably touches on hints that Busiek has been dropping throughout the
series to date, hints that Cap has been performing somewhat inadequately as
Avengers leader in recent months. Wanda has been known to question
authority on occasion, even a universally respected authority figure such
as Cap. When he was berating Iron Man for poor leadership in Avengers [v1]
# 168, it was the Scarlet Witch who pointed out that Cap's own performance
was less than stellar at the time. 

Panel 6: 
As Beast says, the Vision and Scarlet Witch did seem like "one of those
couples that would last forever" during his time with the group--before and
after his time with the group, for that matter. But circumstances beyond
their control forced them apart as of West Coast Avengers [v2] # 42-53,
when Vision was reconstructed by government agents and his mind was
seemingly destroyed. Vision's mind eventually regenerated, and he began
trying to reconcile with the Scarlet Witch as of Avengers: The Crossing #
1, but she rebuffed his initial advances for fear of being hurt again. More
recently, Wanda reached out to him (as of Avengers [v3] # 4), but he
pretended that he'd lost his original mind again, having decided she'd be
better off without him. Unaware of Vision's true feelings, Wanda spurned
him and recently began a romance with his pseudo-brother, Wonder Man, a
romance that continues even after Vision confessed his deception in
Avengers [v3] # 12. 

Panel 7: 
Beast being "kidnapped by [his] evil duplicate from another dimension" is a
reference to an X-Men storyline in which he was abducted, imprisoned and
impersonated for an extended period by an alternate timeline incarnation of
himself. This alternate Beast (sometimes referred to as "Dark Beast" or
"The Black Beast") is a ruthless, sadistic scientist from the defunct
alternate timeline known as "The Age of Apocalypse", and was one of several
refugees from that timeline who migrated to "mainstream" reality. 

Panel 8: 
So far as the annotator knows, this is the first appearance of the "Horn O'
Plenty" jazz club. This is also the first indication of Simon's interest in
jazz music, though Vision has expressed an interest in jazz music before. 


PAGE SEVEN 
Miles Davis, Tommy Flanagan, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk are famous
jazz musicians. Simon's description of himself as a "skinny math brain"
fits various past depictions of his pre-superhuman life as a shy, studious,
science-oriented young man with a slender build and low self esteem. As
Wanda notes, the image of a shy, slender, cerebral person sounds more like
Vision than the present-day Simon. As she thinks this, she sees what
appears to be the Vision's silhouette and investigates. 

Beast seems to be wearing a red jacket much like the one Wonder Man wore as
part of his standard costuming for years (Simon began wearing the jacket in
Avengers [v1] # 167 and stopped wearing it as of West Coast Avengers [v2] #
1, though he has occasionally resumed wearing it since then). 


PAGE EIGHT 

Panels 1-7: 
Vision developed his holographic "Victor Shade" alter ego in Avengers
Spotlight # 40 with the aid of the late scientist Miles Lipton, who was
trying to help Vision regain his then-dormant capacity for human-like
emotion. As part of his efforts to better understand and relate to ordinary
humans, Vision adopted the holographic Victor Shade alias so that he could
interact with ordinary people as one of them. Since his Victor Shade
persona is unnecessary during his time with the Avengers, Vision is seldom
depicted in that guise; in fact, this is the first time he has appeared as
Victor Shade since Avengers Spotlight # 40, though he has apparently been
posing as Victor on occasion since then. Until now, none of the Avengers
were aware of Vision's holographic alter ego; however, the team's butler
Jarvis did see Vision assume his Victor Shade guise on at least one occasion. 
	In a way, Vision's current holographic alter ego is a new spin on an idea
he had as early as Avengers [v1] # 79, when he first tried to pose as an
ordinary human using a special rubber mask. That initial effort was much
less successful. 

Panel 8: 
A touching and telling panel that plays up the intimacy and tenderness that
Vision and Wanda still share despite the end of their romance; Vision tries
to decline her invitation, but Wanda gently insists and takes his hand. 

Panels 9-12: 
Simon and Vision came to regard each other as "brothers" since Vision's
mind was created from a copy of Simon's brain patterns; however, they have
been estranged in recent years due to the seeming destruction of the
Vision's original personality and the fact that Simon had grown to resent
Vision's existence, especially his relationship with Wanda, which Simon
envied. As Vision hints, the most obvious example of their "similar tastes"
is their shared affection for Wanda.