‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Who Is Vision?

The new trailer for the Avengers: Age of Ultron film debuted yesterday after a successful marketing campaign on the Avengers official Twitter. It took fans only a couple hours of retweeting their post to eventually unlock the third trailer of the upcoming film, due to hit theaters on May 1 in North America. The trailer gave us only a little bit more background on the robot named Ultron that we saw and heard in the past few trailers, with Tony Stark confessing some things to Bruce Banner that his ego probably would have rather hid.

“I tried to create a suit of armor around the world, but I created something terrible… artificial intelligence.”

At the very end of the trailer after the title screen, we see a very quick clip of a someone with red skin and digital-looking eyes. This is our first look at fan favorite The Vision. But who is the Vision, where does he come from, and is he a friend to the Avengers or foe?

The Vision was first created in the comic book world by writer/artist team Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, and appeared in Marvel Mystery Comics #13 in November of 1940 during the Golden Age of comics, and was an alien from an alternate dimension. He was revived once again in 1968 when a new version of the Vision appeared in The Avengers #57 in October. Stan Lee, then an editor, wanted to bring in a new member of the Avengers, and writer Roy Thomas was looking to the Golden Age of comics for some inspiration. Lee, dead set on having the new character be android, compromised with Thomas and they created an all new version of the Vision, this one a full android.

Ultron, the villain in the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron film, is the creator of the Vision in the comic book universe and likely will be in the cinematic universe, as well. He’s created in order to attempt to lead the Avengers into a trap, but the group is ultimately able to convince the android to work with them as opposed to the villainous Ultron. It isn’t yet clear if this will take the same path in film, but with Paul Bettany bringing the Vision to life on the big screen, fans have speculated that Stark will somehow be able to override whatever programming Ultron is using to control the Vision, or the Avengers will be able to convince him just by talking with him to join them to take down Ultron.

Another fan speculation about the Vision is that one of the Infinity Stones that have begun to appear in Marvel’s other recent films (for example, the Power stone that was seen in the Guardians of the Galaxy film) will appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron, notably, right on the Vision’s forehead. In the comics, the jewel is used by the Vision to absorb solar energy that he uses to function, but some speculate it could be the Soul Infinity Stone, which Ultron may use to give the Vision life in the first place.

Paul Bettany, who has been providing the voice for Stark’s J.A.R.V.I.S. throughout the Marvel films, will be playing the android in the upcoming film.

There is a lot still to discover about the character, and since it is a character that intrigues fans so much, it’s possible that they will have to wait until the film rolls into theaters to see how director Joss Whedon tackles what will be Marvel’s newest blockbuster.

[Image via Marvel]