Well this seems like the perfect time to revisit this most surreal superhero comic.⠀
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Along with seemingly the rest of the world, I caught the first two episodes of 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 over the weekend. And I thought they were fine! A little clunky, perhaps, although I suppose it’s to be expected given that the show is the MCU’s opening stride into uncharted territory. But I love the concept of the thing, which is weird enough and new enough for me to not support the endeavor.⠀
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It helped that the series definitely seems like it’s inspired by the 2015 run of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 by Tom King, Gabriel Hernández Walta and Jordie Bellaire, which still stands as one of my favorite comics in the last few years. Like 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, it views our titular character through a domestic lens, although the effect in the book feels more immediately uncanny and sinister: Vision has created a family in his own image, part of his continuing efforts to become more human (more “normal” as he frequently puts it), a venture that is destined to end in catastrophe as the ominous opening captions in the very first issue candidly, wickedly declare.⠀
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The comic has been hailed as “𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘢𝘥 with r̷o̷b̷o̷t̷s̷ synthezoids,” which also means that it’s not exactly what you might call a happy book. Much like that story and those it inspired (like 𝘔𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘦𝘯), 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 is a dark, cerebral, meticulous tale of melancholy, anxiety, and the sheer harrowing grace of human nature — viewed through the eyes of an artificial superpowered being who may just be exactly like us.⠀
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It’s also a book that perfectly illustrates the notion that you can tell literally any and every type of story with superhero comics. If 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 explores even a modicum of the terrain laid out in this comic book, then we are in for a curious, wild treat indeed.