Avengers West Coast : A la recherche de la Vision

Avengers West Coast (collected editions) #5

by John Byrne (Writer / Illustrator)

Avec une équipe de chaque côté du pays, les plus grands héros de la Terre sont prêts à stopper n'importe quelle menace, où qu'elle frappe ! Mais le gang de la côte ouest de Hawkeye est sur le point de faire face à un déluge de dangers, à commencer par la disparition de la Vision. La Sorcière Rouge mène l'enquête, mais la recherche de son mari déclenche des évènements qui changeront le destin de la Sorcière et des Avengers pour toujours ! Et puis, pourquoi Tigra agit-elle de manière si étrange ? Qui sont les Avengers des Grands Lacs ? Et que signifie le retour de la Torche pour le reste de l'équipe ? Les réponses à toutes ces questions se trouvent dans ces pages !

Ce volume contient West Coast Avengers 42 à 46 et Avengers West Coast 47 à 50.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Comic Book, Fiction, Science Fiction

Hardcover

First published August 10, 2005

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.

Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Byrne takes over the West Coast Avengers and immediately puts the Scarlet Witch and the Vision through the ringer. This along with the next volume Darker Than Scarlet constitute the stories WandaVision was based on. Byrne also brings U.S. Agent onto the team to stir the pot. I'm a big fan of John Byrne's and that continues with this terrific Avengers run.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite WandaVision, but ok...

John Byrne after his DC work, where his stories become more about playing with continuity than about adventures. He retcons the origins of Vision and turns him white, and revelations about Wanda's kids, which turns out to make great television fodder even if just average comics.

Let's be honest: West Coast Avengers was never Marvel's priority title. Hawkeye does have some character development, and the Golden Age Human Torch was a fun addition (especially for continuity nerds which is Byrne's main thing), but there are better Avengers runs to read for good superhero stories.

Well, next I'm on to Young Avengers to catch up on Billy and Tommy!

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Byrne dons the role of both writer and artist of the Avengers West Coast and delivers a storyline with some major twists and turns that is sure to have some repercussions in the mythos of Vision and The Scarlet Witch.

3.5/5 stars

[Christopher (Donut) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent run.

It's amazing how little attention I paid to John Byrne's career, after following his FF for a year or two, considering how much I liked and collected ALL his seventies stuff.

I guess I thought that he got out of comics just because I did, which I know sounds silly. And not every Byrne project appeals to me, but I'd heard good things about his run on WCA.

At any rate, this 1989 run was new to me, and I liked it.. most of it, particularly the D-list "Great Lakes Avengers," and the sinister forces behind the Scarlet Witch's evil transformation (again?).

Looking forward to reading the next collection, catching up thirty years late.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My read through Marvel Comics of the 1980s is nearing its conclusion. This is the last 80s collection of the Avengers of the Western variety.

Vision Quest collects issues #42-50 of the West Coast Avengers (becomes Avengers West Coast starting with issue #47). This is the point in the series that John Byrne took over the writing. The series lost much of its light and often silly feel and went dark and serious.

This story starts with a multi-national plot to kidnap Vision and erase all traces of him from the world. The first few issues (42-45) deal with finding and "repairing" Vision. This trauma begins a process of nervous breakdown for Scarlet Witch. In this sequence of issues, we also get USAgent added to the mix as he is forced upon the Avengers by the US Commission on Superhuman Activity. This leads to Hawkeye leaving the team with his estranged wife , Mockingbird.

Issue #46 introduces the now famous Great Lakes Avengers. Obviously, Hawkeye wants to be chairman...

From issue #47 forward, the story delves deeper into the downward spiral of the Scarlet Witch. She is teetering on the brink of madness. (There is also a sub-plot dealing with her children, who seem to disappear and reappear randomly.)

John Byrne made the West Coasters into the premier Avengers during this period. As he was writing both Avengers titles at the time, he was able to reshape the entire Avengers concept over the course of about a year. Also, he sparked something that other writers could expand on in many directions. The plight of Scarlet Witch continues for years and culminates in the House of M. Hawkeye's team hopping and leadership grabbing continues in this title and into the future with the Thunderbolts. So much more to come, and I enjoy every bit of it.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book as part of my deep dive into WandaVision background, and it’s not unwarranted - there’s enough dealings with the white Vision here, and it’s effect on Wanda, to keep a pop culture junkie intrigued.

However, what keeps me turning the pages has more to do with a controversial creator and what he did with team dynamics and upsetting the apple cart - one Mr. John Byrne.

Even with my severe reading attention deficit (meaning I need to read stuff twice to get it to sink in, and I can’t seem to read more than a few pages at a sitting for most sessions), Byrne’s extremely florid writing makes it dead easy to follow. Not one connective word is left off the page, no question left unstated.

Whacky stuff didn’t just happen in the silver age of comics - here we get “Janet van Dyne has bioengineered wasp antennae that allow her to talk instantly to an entire factory of ants”??? Who even thought up such a concept?

And an international spy job run by the Canadian Secret Service? (Boy did Byrne dream big when he wanted to make his homeland sexy in comics - first a racist super-team and now this laughable invention of imagination.)

Plus the troubling subplot where Janet Van Dyne is working hard to convince Wonder Man (whose “brainwave patterns” - whatever the hell hand-wavey nonsense that’s supposed to be - Ultron originally used to create Vision) that Wanda effectively loves and married Simon, since it was his “brainwaves” that she fell in love with. A little too Talented Mr. Ripley for my tastes.

But all that aside, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy his easy-reading stories, and the character don’t lack for dimensionality. Hell, his US Agent talks out loud to framed pictures of his parents - cookoo bananas. (Maybe his college roommate did that, while he was slathering his privates in salami grease and kosher salt?)

And the GLA? Ridiculous in the way that makes them sympathetic not embarrassing.

Byrne has a way of making sure that the words on the page sound like two people talking to each other, not reading a Wikipedia article to the reader.

John Byrne is a deplorable human being (and a disgrace to all good soul-possessing Canadians), but damned if I’m not reading more of this run.

In case it’s not clear: I want to hate the guy and his work, but damn if he doesn’t write a readable story.

[Brian Poole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star auteur John Byrne came aboard as writer and penciler and he put the focus squarely on the Scarlet Witch. She woke one morning to find the Vision missing. That set in motion a complex chain of events that ended with Vision stripped down and rebuilt as a cold, emotionless machine. With a lovestruck Wonder Man refusing to allow his brain patterns to be used to restore Vision’s personality, Scarlet Witch went on a downward spiral that left her in a fragile emotional state. The big surprise: the rebirth of the original, android Human Torch, which threw Vision’s origin into doubt.

Byrne definitely knew what he was doing back then. While the dialogue and text boxes were overwritten and stuffed with exposition, the plot was daring and forward-thinking. The deconstruction of the Vision was an inspired stroke that built on the character’s history and propelled his wife into dangerous new territory. If Byrne seemed less interested in some of the other plots he included, the fascinating work he did with Scarlet Witch more than compensated. He handled the characterizations well overall, though, and his artwork was strong, coming before the overly stylized approach he’d adopt later in the ‘90s. Avengers West Coast: Vision Quest is a crucial chapter in Marvel history that’s highly recommended.

A version of this review originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com

[Rylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vision Quest is one of the most important Avengers story since two of the biggest Marvel events Avengers Disassembled and House of M stem from this story and it’s follow up Darker Than Scarlet. The story centers around the disappearance of Vision, his wife Scarlet Witch goes to the Avengers for help. I was surprised how much I ended up enjoying this, I’ve heard mixed things about this and went in cautious. The writing didn’t feel super dated which was a relief, sometimes older comics can be super tedious to read because of all the unnecessary wordiness and outdated way the characters talk (looking at you Claremont). The plot was very interesting, this is a mystery and just when you think you have it put together something else happens. I liked the characters a lot especially Wanda who has so many great moments in here, it was very heartbreaking seeing she and Vision’s relationship start to fall apart and how desperate she is to return him back to normal. The only characters who were off in here were Hawkeye and Wonder Man who talk like frat boys and act like jerks.

[Yuri · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

In theory, I think it did a solid build up to where is heading. However, I didn’t like the execution, mostly because made Vision’s origin even more convoluted. Also, not a fan of how Wanda was written but it seemed fitting, considering the next events.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is definitely a bit brutal. Vision has been taken and the effects on his and Scarlet Witch’s relationship will reverberate for years to come.
On the other hand, the art is very 1980’s which can definitely be glaring.

[Your_Average_Magical_Girls_Fan · Rating 1 out of 5]

A choppy, nonsensical and EXTREMELY wordy/repetitious (more than Claremont ever imagined) remake of The Dark Phoenix saga with a little of continuity deconstruction and fourth wall breaking moments thrown in the mix in full John Byrne style. I waited so much to read this, and the result is a complete disappointment. Wanda (a great and tormented character in the right hands) becomes for some moments (?) black and EEEEEEEVEL like a second-rate Jean Grey, an EEEEEVEL organization made of midiclorian-style villains wants domination over her powers for the same reason the Hellfire club wanted to control the Dark Phoenix...Get it? this happens in the second half of the book, while almost everything from the first is completely forgotten. It sucks, plain and simple. After three "classic" Avengers sagas revealed to be complete shit I wonder if the first Avengers Masterwork by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby was an accurate depiction of the bad quality of most of the stories involving this team...

[Nico D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the stories which would go on to inspire WandaVision. Specifically, the set-up for their children, the disassembling of the original Vision and birth of White Vision. Recently having joined the West Coast Avengers group, Wanda wakes up to find the Vision has been disassembled by the U.S. Government. While the body can be saved, his memories and personality appear entirely lost.

There’s a lot less drama involving the loss of Vision’s personhood than there should be as everyone who isn’t Wanda barely bats an eye. Janet makes a solid observation I liked, that Vision is still walking/talking/existing, so it’s difficult to mourn the loss of their ally. It hinted that the author was aware there was some nuance to the situation.

I’m of two minds. On one hand, the idea that Vision only really became close to Wanda over all the other Avengers, to the point the others didn’t really see him as a “person” despite their best efforts, is a tragic but inherently interesting plotline. Reconciling the guilt at not feeling a real sense of “loss” and realizing maybe they were only humoring Vision (and Wanda), and how that realization would affect their sense of self. It could be an awesome development for the entire cast, if the story was interested in really examining the individual member’s relationships with Vision. There’s shades of it, especially with Hank and Jan.

On the other hand, it feels like the characters, and story itself, don’t consider the loss of Vision to be the same as losing another person. Once it becomes apparent that Hank can’t restore Vision’s memories, he, and many of the other Avengers, sort of throw up their hands like “well, we tried.” The narrative focuses on Wanda’s grief, but with how it constantly makes the other characters belittle her and her feelings, it’s difficult to discern if we’re supposed to agree with Wanda and see the others as hypocritical and ignorant, or if we’re supposed to agree with them and think Wanda is overreacting.

Wanda is not in any way overreacting, by the way. As the story goes on, Wanda becomes more short-tempered and frustrated with her supposed friends, to the point she stops trusting them completely. Her allies… don’t react to this with the level of sensitivity I thought it deserved. Again, I have to say, if taken as a deliberate story choice to really impart on the reader how deep Wanda’s bond with Vision is, and how the other Avengers became culpable in treating him like an object—or worse, a weapon—then this could all be great stuff. I’m not 100% sure it was. But I’m also not 100% sure it wasn’t, so it leaves me feeling unsure and unsatisfied.

Simon Williams (Wonder Man) is the most frustrating of all. Simon, who’s harbored feelings for Wanda since they met (name a male Avenger who hasn’t been at least momentarily in” love” with Wanda and win a prize), sees the loss of his self-described “brother’s” identity as a chance to make his move on the grieving Scarlet Witch. It’s exactly as gross as it sounds. Simon holds the key to potentially fixing Vision (by allowing his brainwaves to be used as a base for White Vision), but he refuses because he can’t give up on the idea that now he might have a ~chance~.

Now, I read the story where Simon came to see Vision as a “brother”. Seeing Simon act this way after that story is not a cute look.
Jan’s pushing Simon to make his move because, in her mind, “Wanda fell in love with the Vision who had your brainwaves, ergo, she basically fell in love with you”, not counting the many unique experiences Vision himself had entirely independent of Simon, or the vast differences in their personalities, or anything like that, is also a weird vibe. But it does feel realistically like something the compassionate but short-sighted Jan might say.

My second favorite Avenger Clint gets some page time. He uses a good portion of it to act despicable to his ex-wife in a very non-PC way that has aged extremely poorly. I love me some Clint, even asshole Clint, but yikes ya’ll. Didn’t love that.

There’s also a whole thing with Tigra, but it doesn’t get resolved every time I see her I’m like “oh, hey, it’s Barbara Ann Minerva.” No opinion on that.

Despite some frustration, the superhero-y plots are fun and Wanda’s anger and confusion is a strong narrative hook. As someone who cares a lot about the WandaVision ship, I felt some disrespect that I think might have been some of the writer’s own leanings more than dramatic intention. Even so, I liked the book and thought it was interesting to see such a formative part of a show I love so much. The themes and some of the events, in isolation, make for good adaptation fodder, and adequate comic reading. Wanda, who is easily the most sympathetic character in the whole story, has some 80s Marvel writing at times, but she’s depicted as understandably angry and competent, and I love her here. A good read for the Wanda stans out there.

[José Vitor - zetalendo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's very clear to see where the producers of WandaVision got the references for the series. I really enjoyed seeing some moments that were well adapted for TV, and even for the mythology of the characters in the MCU.

In “Vision Quest”, John Byrne explained the entire origin of Vision.
I don't usually follow the older comics, so it was all a surprise to me. Although I was a little confused by characters I'd never heard of, it wasn't a difficult comic to understand, I just followed the flow and ended up comprehending everything by the end of the volume.

I don't know much about Wanda's personality in the comics, I know she tends to be impulsive, but seeing things here was too much. She does everything without thinking, then it all goes wrong and the people have to go after her to help. In the last issue, something happens where she doesn't even wait for the person to finish talking, out of nowhere she starts freaking out and threatening.
I love the out-of-control diva, but sometimes she gets too carried away.

This volume leaves some loose ends for the next arc, which I'm very excited about.

---------------------------

É muito claro perceber de onde os produtores de WandaVision pegaram as referências para a série. Gostei muito de ver alguns momentos que foram bem adaptados para a TV, e até para a mitologia dos personagens.

Em "Vision Quest", John Byrne explicou toda a origem do Visão.
Eu não costumo acompanhar os quadrinhos mais antigos, então foi tudo uma surpresa pra mim. Apesar de ficar meio confuso com personagens que nunca tinha ouvido falar, acabou que não foi uma HQ dificil de entender, só fui seguindo o fluxo e acabei compreendendo tudo no final do volume.

Conheço pouco da personalidade da Wanda nos quadrinhos, sei que ela costuma ser impulsiva, mas ver as coisas aqui foi demais. Ela faz tudo sem pensar, ai da tudo errado e o pessoal precisa ir atrás pra ajudar. No último issue, acontece uma coisa que ela nem espera a pessoa terminar de falar, do nada começa a surtar e ameaçar.
Amo a diva descontrolada, mas as vezes ela se passa muito.

Esse volume deixa algumas pontas soltas para o próximo arco, que estou bem animado.

[Christian Zamora-Dahmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was quite an enjoyable read. I also love to see how some images and aspects of this story were brought into WandaVision. This story is over 30 years old and it still resonates. That’s good.
If you ask me, this was some of John Byrne’s nicest works. Both art and story are compelling. You can also tell when he wants to leave his mark behind (he did a lot of changes for both the Scarlett Witch and the Vision), but it did make sense.

[Marco Chiodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must have molto bello (soprattutto per chi vuole conoscere un pezzo delle origini di visione), tuttavia solamente un pezzo di una run molto lunga

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Collecting Avengers West Coast 42-50, this may be the official start of Byrne-as-hack. One could make an argument for his brief stint on Incredible Hulk just after the second Secret Wars, but I would argue that no one knew what to do with old Green-Greyskin until Peter David took up the ball and ran with it and that John's attempt wasn't horrible, just a bad idea.

This, however, is true butchery of all and sundry, laced with authorial talking to the camera that works in She-Hulk (who he manages to squeeze in here gratuitously) but not in a mainline title that's trying to be serious. Byrne walks in and literally wrecks the joint, starting with a fake Ultron invasion, casting Mockingbird as a traitor (then forgetting all about this little plot point), and mid-wiping the Vision so he can cause angst. This of course sets Wanda off and leads to her first breakdown. Or, as the blurb puts it, see "The Scarlet Witch's first step into the descent that disassembled the Avengers!" So basically, thanks to Byrne, we got to the House of M. Damn you John Byrne, this is all your fault.

Also included here is a ham-fisted US Agent before they gave him a real personality (another plot point left dangling--he's there to spy on the West Coast branch), a ridiculously convoluted take on the Vision-Original Human Torch shared body that I still don't understand even after reading it for like the third time. I hesitate to mention the issue that features some sort of evolved form of life that sends Wanda through my old book, The Story of Life, but hey, this is a review and I must share my pain so you don't have to.

I know Byrne made a lot of changes in Fantastic Four over the course of his time there, but they just seemed to work better. They all seemed in context, at least. As with his (now retconned) work on Spider-Man, it's like he just wanted to break continuity for the sake of breaking it, a trick that only the most skilled of writers can do.

Marvel also ends this set in an odd fashion. I own the next issue, and I think it belongs with these stories, either on their own or in a second collection, which would mostly consist of stories where other writers try to clean up the messes Byrne leaves behind on both this book and the main one.

This is not Byrne's finest hour, but then again, nothing is except anymore for retro stories like Generations.

[Alex Peralta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5

Second trade I’ve read in my Scarlet Witch deep dive. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy reading this but it definitely wasn’t as good as the Saga of Wanda and Vision. It was really cool getting a taste of other characters and what dynamics are like within the Avengers. Highlights for me were She-Hulk, the Wasp, Captain America, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, and unironically Big Bertha. The Great Lakes Avengers were absolutely ridiculous in a non-corny way. I should’ve seen white Vision coming and it’s endearing how even soulless he is still concerned about Wanda and plays a part in rescuing her. I’m a WandaVision truther, idk what Wonder Man is on tbh. This was also my first glimpse into what Wanda is really capable of and wow. It really only makes me anxious for what’s to come. Don’t know anything about Mr. John Byrne but fairly impressed with him being both the writer and penciller for all of this. Maybe it’s because I haven’t read many modern comics yet or the age of AI but I’ve really loved this old art style and how vibrant the colors are.

[Omar Gómez · Rating 4 out of 5]

  Avengers West Coast: Vision Quest, calificación 4/5 estrellas.

  Antes de la llegada de John Byrne a West Coast Avengers era un título sin brillo, Byrne dejó las mejores historias que han trascendido el tiempo con adaptaciónes en el MCU de Scarlet Witch fuera de control y con un poder desenfredado.

  Con gran arte e ideas de John Byrne este libro es lo mejor de Avengers West coast, estas historias las revivio Brian Michael Bendis con Avengers Disassembled y House of M. Donde Wanda enloquece buscando venganza por sus hijos y con un poder desenfredado.

  Bendis leyó la trama final que planeo John Byrne para culminar la historia de Scarlet Witch en 1990, pero el editor en Jefe de Marvel en ese tiempo veto la historia en consecuencia Byrne dejó el libro, en su foro Byrne Robotics cuenta que immortus con el poder de Wanda cambia el pasado alterando la realidad, esto lo plagio años después Bendis.

[HowardtheDuck95 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not exactly a masterpiece. That said, it is a very fun, if slightly clunky read. If you’re looking for a dose of 80s Marvel with solid art and writing by the...contentious and cantankerous John Byrne, look no further. It’s a very *ok* book. Nothing special, some great pages (and solid layout choices.) One of the most enjoyable aspects is seeing the debut of the Great Lakes Avengers, the little team that could. I’d recommend this for that in and of itself. Also, She-Hulk shows up. Any time that happens is usually a good time.

The writing of the relationships is...something. It’s dysfunctional in entertaining ways, and the way a certain character shows up and adds a further wrench in the works, makes it very entertaining.

Don’t come expecting fillet mignon, and you won’t leave dissatisfied.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, this was totally a classic John Byrne twist of existing characters into something bonkers but brilliant. But this new spin for the stories of the Scarlet Witch and Vision (primarily) was very different from like Bryne's run on Wonder Woman, although both introduced major changes for the characters.

I get it and I appreciate the shape of things since it did bring some interesting twists to the Scarlet Witch's story. But it also has her in practical anguish more than I'd like and by the second half of the book she's just perpetually surly and disagreeable because of the new emotionless Vision they now have in the team.

And wow, surprise it's the Great Lake Avengers! They actually seem like an almost legitimate team here, but of course, they just get sillier and sillier over time.

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10:
What an awesome story arc for the West Coast Avengers here! I love how quickly this team handles everything thrown at them and how they show so much love and respect towards Vision, Scarlet Witch, and their sons. Some funny moments and deep-cut characters that I didn’t expect to appear, but finally reading this story has me way more excited for the MCU’s take on it and the introduction of Wonder Man later this year!

[Alexias D'Avino · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection contains many iconic moments from Wanda’s journey and evolution, but the rest was quite boring, to be honest.
Still a must-read and special mention to the Seven Brides story, in which we see Jean Grey and Storm as well!

[Mia Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

First marvel comic read. This was fun but jumped all over the place and left me wanting to know more details on every side story and characters. Really fun reading what inspired a lot of wandavision show

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

i've picked up a few West Coast Avengers issues and wasn't impressed so when i saw a collection for a couple bucks picked it up. And wasn't impressed. Read the first couple issues, the reintro of the original Human Torch and a couple short stories in the back. only 2 bucks lost.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read! At times I had to go back and reread parts to figure out what was going on but other than that it was a great story!

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://gnomeship.blogspot.com/2020/0...

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

WandaVision studying!

[Josie Dabinett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am throughly enjoying 80s comics at the moment. The more I read of Hawkeye the more I love him.

[Jefferson · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Byrne's draftsmanship is top notch as always, but the storyline is a bit meandering, and his characterizations (especially Hawkeye) are a little too one-dimensional and cartoonish.

[Piki · Rating 3 out of 5]

[3.25/5]