Sunday, December 13, 2020

MAGNETO versus QUICKSILVER, VISION & SCARLET WITCH
Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself...! (Marvel)
Where:
Vision and The Scarlet Witch #4 When: February 1983 Why: Bill Mantlo How: Rick Leonardi

The Story So Far...
On a dark and stormy night, a pilgrim clad in white makes the arduous trek up Mount Wundagore. His quest is to reclaim a past thought lost to him. Finding the kindness and hospitality of the cow-woman midwife Bova -- he learns the true fate of his dead wife and their infant twins!

For the revelation, the pilgrim leaves Bova and her nigh catatonic charge, Modred, to the elements -- their hovel torn asunder by the nails and metal trim that held it together. For this mysterious man in white is Magneto and he has learned that his lost children yet live!

At the moon city of Attilan Quicksilver welcomes his sister Scarlet Witch and her husband The Vision, but the reunion in the Inhuman city will soon be interrupted as the Avengers are at last confronted by their father!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Vision 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Magneto 5 (Professor)
Speed: Quicksilver 6 (Mach Speed)
Stamina: Vision 6 (Generator)
Agility: Scarlet Witch 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Streetwise)
Energy: Scarlet Witch 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Magneto 28 (Metahuman)

Talk about a dysfunctional family! Magneto first recruited Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch into his Brotherhood of Mutants when they were set upon by angry village folk. They remained under his guidance out of loyalty and fear, aiding in The Brotherhood's battles against the X-Men and Sub-Mariner [see; X-Men #6].

Pietro & Wanda Maximoff soon broke away from Magneto's influence and sought refuge with The Avengers. The young mutants proved themselves as valuable additions, establishing a new life as charter members.

Scarlet Witch ultimately found love with her Avengers teammate - the synthezoid Vision. Her brother Quicksilver also became romantically entangled after a mission left him injured, and nursed back to health, by Inhuman royal Crystal.

Magneto goes to Attilan seeking a reunion, but the notorious villain will find only animosity from his children. They don't yet know he's their father, and are fully reformed heroes who have no desire for his past domineering, or war against humanity.

Quicksilver's mutant speed compliments his quick temper and protective instincts for his sister -- but he also has a knack for getting ahead of himself.

Apocalypse was able to anticipate the runner's momentum and use it against him in Uncanny X-Men #295. It was a similar story when Quicksilver joined a later mission to attack Magneto's Avalon space station in X-Men (Vol.2) #25. Pietro's efforts endured, but Magneto showed almost lethal contempt repelling his son!

Vision's ability to control his molecular density and quite literally move through the landscape impressed Thanos during Infinity Gauntlet #4. Similar tactics could surprise Magneto, but Vision's synthetic nature leaves him vulnerable to Magneto's ability to influence electro-magnetic fields. Loki disrupted Vision in such a way in Avengers (Vol.2) #1.

Crystal's command of the elements is impressive, but the real wildcard here is Scarlet Witch!

Her hex bolts gave Thanos cause for thought during their Infinity Gauntlet face-off, and the broad capabilities of her magic could very well get the better of Magneto -- provided she isn't shaken by his stern governance over her younger self.

Magneto is capable of great cruelty, having already used his power to torture his family's identity out of Bova by manipulating the iron in her blood. We also saw a period-relevant Magneto leave the X-Men for dead in X-Men #113, and later betray his former students as the Hellfire Club's Black King in New Mutants #75.

The Tape: Vision, Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver Ranking: Magneto (#82)

What Went Down...
The appearance of a mysterious individual clad in white signals the rising of an invisible force field that encases the tower balcony of Crystal and Quicksilver.

The barrier resists the analytical strikes of Karnak and the brute force of Gorgon. It even denies the hex power of Scarlet Witch, and holds the intangible synthezoid Vision captive within its border. Such is the will of the Master of Magnetism -- Magneto!

Shedding his white cloak: Magneto reveals himself to his intended audience.


Its no surprise Quicksilver is the first to recognize Magneto's voice and reject the villain's recollection of past fealty to he and his Brotherhood.

The mutant speedster greets his mentor as a hostile intruder in his home -- racing to attack! His rage is so quick he doesn't even notice, or consider, the magnetic shield Magneto assembles around him.

It's only the quick wit and determination of his sister, Scarlet Witch, that saves him from impact! Her hex sphere turns magnetized particles into harmless flowers.


Barely missing a step -- Quicksilver blasts through the petals and slams Magneto against a wall at blistering speed! The collision rattles Quicksilver as well, but Vision steps forward to defend his wife, Scarlet Witch.

Out of respect for his former charge's affections: Magneto vows to "go easy" on Vision by merely encasing him in metal sourced from the tower apartment floor.


The physical challenge is no match for Vision's ability to alter his molecular density. He effortlessly escapes his metal bondage, stepping through it to phase his hand through Magneto's torso. The attack is non-lethal, but uncomfortable!

Wracked with pain, and troubled by Vision's analysis of his actions, Magneto throws his hand up and rends the ferrous molecules in his synthetic blood -- threatening to tear the synthezoid apart!

Vision's mastery of his own molecules allows him to resist being dispersed, but the vicious attack succeeds in sidelining him -- and inspiring his wife's wrath!


Scarlet Witch unleashes her mutant mystic hex-bolts while the elemental Crystal surrounds Magneto in flame!

The Witch orders Magneto to kneel, but across the balcony Quicksilver sees that he is rising to defy them. Concern spurs Quicksilver on as he scrambles to protect his beloved sister, wife, and daughter Luna whom Crystal cradles!


Quicksilver improvises a spear from a nearby flagpole and sends it hurtling like a high-speed javelin into Magneto's shoulder joint!

The Master of Magnetism extracts the pole with but a thought -- and sends it flying back toward its source. The shaft strikes Quicksilver in the ribs as it passes by. Magneto was deliberate in choosing a non-lethal path.


The cries of baby Luna punctuate Magneto's act of mercy.

The baby's mother compels all to cease fighting and stop scaring her daughter. A request Magneto is all too happy to honor. He didn't come to Attilan looking for combat. His were purely sentimental reasons. The innocent cries of his human grand-daughter remind him of that, and a new way forward for the future.


Embracing the child, Magneto ends the conflict with a stunning revelation: she is his granddaughter. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are his children!

The Hammer...
What a great way to end the first Vision & Scarlet Witch mini-series!

Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch first came to learn the Maximoff family were not their parents by birth during a saga started with 1979's Avengers #185.

Quicksilver soon ran a path that took him to Wundagore Mountain and Bova, but the High Evolutionary's hybrid midwife was unable to reveal the identity of their father, both by wish of their deceased mother Magda, and honest ignorance.

Today's battle becomes the first time Magneto is revealed to be the father of the twins -- even though they debuted at his side 19 years earlier in X-Men #4!

The shared history of the characters makes the familial revelation incredibly natural. There was a certain paternal undertone to Magneto's stern doting on Scarlet Witch in those early appearances. We learn that he didn't actually know his wife had successfully given birth to two children, but it's easy to project a retroactive connection onto his relationship with the twins, never the less.

The revelation helps flesh out Magneto as much as the two heroes. It further builds out a history that had made him a more complex, sympathetic villain than some of his earlier characterizations as would-be world conquering egomaniac.

It seems a real shame the development was undone during 2015's Avengers/X-Men: AXIS. Widely accepted as a byproduct of corporate licensing disagreements, its now a moot point just five years later.

Disney successfully reacquired its X-Men rights through the outright purchase and acquisition of the 20th Century Fox library. With any luck we can soon return to an understanding that Magneto is the father of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

In fact, the only thing that would be cooler than restoring canon would be Marvel making use of their rights in next year's Disney+ streaming series WandaVision.

The latest preview trailer suggests an insidious side to the nostalgic domestic dream of Scarlet Witch's new life with Vision. It seems to pay homage to the second Vision & Scarlet Witch comic book series, which included their attempts to fit in with life in suburbia, but re-casts the scenario as a projected entrapment.

That kind of psychic strategy is right up the alley of one of Scarlet Witch's earliest allies: Mastermind! Wouldn't it be fantastic if the streaming show peeled back the veil in the end to reveal Mastermind working for Magneto in some grand plot to introduce himself as her father and ingratiate her into The Brotherhood?

It's highly unlikely anything anywhere near as exciting as that will come about on the show, but that's why classic comics are so much more fun!

If you want to check out the entirety of this classic mini you can find all four issues collected within 2021's Vision & The Scarlet Witch: The Saga of Wanda and Vision. Use the Amazon purchase link provided and you'll not only score yourself a great deal -- you'll help support the site at no extra charge to you!

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Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#81 (+1) Magneto
#416 (+2) Vision
#424 (--) Scarlet Witch
#432 (+31) Crystal
#991 (-1) Quicksilver
#599 (new) Luna Maximoff [+1 assist]

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