Überall auf der Welt öffnen sich Türen, die Leuten Wunder und Wiedervereinigungen mit geliebten Personen versprechen. Als Vision der Wahrheit des Phänomens auf den Grund gehen will, wird er tödlich verwundet. Wie es scheint, hat ein alter Feind die Hände im Spiel. Um das Leben ihres Ex-Ehemanns zu retten, muss Wanda sämtliche Register ziehen. Aber das Resultat ist anders, als beide erwartet haben.
"LLOIGOROTH. It's as I feared - the many angled star-spawn. With such power the Grim Reaper will be too much for either of us." -- the doubtful Vision
"Don't be so negative. What's 'too powerful' but a challenge? I mean, I cut 'impossible' from my vocabulary a long time ago." -- the intrepid Scarlet Witch
In theory, this reunion of the Avengers' unlikely but dynamic android & sorceress duo from the mid-1980's sounds like an otherworldly sure thing. It also helps that writer Tom King's The Vision: Little Worse Than a Man and The Vision: Little Better Than a Beast volumes from a decade ago were great, and more recently writer James Robinson's The Scarlet Witch: The Complete Collection was pretty good, thus creating some unintentional anticipation of sorts for an eventual reconciliation. However, I found Fear the Reaper to be an uninvolving slog of a dark mystical adventure, with a thin storyline stretched out over multiple issues. The antagonist Grim Reaper was grating, and his tic of mockingly referring to Vision as 'SmartPhone' was not amusing the first time . . . and even worse around the fourth or fifth utterance. (When Scarlet Witch finally silences the verbose villain for good I had to wonder why the hell she just didn't do so several pages earlier.) Anyway, outside of a few striking scenes - when the former couple were tempted (I think?) with the possibilities of a happier life, recalling a figure's certain 40 days in the wilderness - this will likely work better for steadfast fans.
Steve Orlando's Scarlet Witch run held promise with the first volume, but hasn't been able to settle on an idea ever since. Lots of cosmic brawling that obscures any character interactions and speeches instead of dialogue.
Maybe the series just needed the addition of the Vision? He's plagued by an old foe from Tom King's run, the Grim Reaper, who seems to have gained cosmic abilities, so naturally Scarlet Witch offers a helping hand (since she's lately been so familiar with cosmic nonsense). That nonsense is here in full force: we're taken to a death realm where the Grim Reaper has set up a series of traps led by none other than Vision's dead son.
The traps are engaging and the end reveal is plenty of fun (there's always a bigger fish). But the series shines in how it focuses on Scarlet Witch and Vision's past and future relationship. Actual dialogue! Emotions! A heartfelt coda for the lovely couple! I found it all very charming, even as it was surrounded by the typical cosmic foofaraw of this series.
MY FAVORITE MARVEL SHIP CAN WE PLEASE HAVE MORE OF THESE TWO TOGETHER 💙💙💙
Okay, literally if you like Vision and Wanda then pick this up immediately. If you are not a fan of them together then stay far far away lol. They are my favorite, so I really really enjoyed it:)
„The Vision & The Scarlet Witch: Fear the Reaper” to komiks zbudowany na fundamencie nostalgii, ale zaskakująco dobrze radzący sobie z ciężarem własnej historii. Steve Orlando nie próbuje na nowo definiować Visona i Scarlet Witch. Zamiast tego zadaje pytanie znacznie ciekawsze: co pozostaje po miłości, która wielokrotnie była niszczona przez scenarzystów, śmierć, magię i superbohaterskie katastrofy? Punkt wyjścia wydaje się typowo marvelowski. Na całym świecie otwierają się tajemnicze drzwi obiecujące cuda i spotkania z utraconymi bliskimi. W trakcie śledztwa Vision zostaje śmiertelnie ranny, a Wanda, jak przystało na jedną z najpotężniejszych czarownic uniwersum Marvela, decyduje się przekroczyć granice rozsądku, by go ocalić. Od tego momentu historia skręca w stronę metafizycznej baśni, kosmicznego horroru i emocjonalnego rozliczenia z przeszłością.
Największym atutem albumu okazuje się relacja głównych bohaterów. Orlando wyraźnie rozumie, że czytelników nie interesuje wyłącznie kolejna walka z potworem większym od poprzedniego. Interesuje ich Wanda i Vision, bo po taki tytuł sięgnęli. Para, której historia od dekad balansuje między tragedią kolejny raz musi się zmierzyć z fundamentami własnej relacji. Twórca poświęca dużo miejsca wspomnieniom, niewypowiedzianym żalom i pytaniu, czy istnieje dla nich jeszcze "druga" szansa. To właśnie wtedy komiks nabiera autentycznych emocji i przypomina, dlaczego ten związek przez lata był jednym z najbardziej niezwykłych w Marvelu. Nie oznacza to jednak, że „Fear the Reaper” jest dziełem "bezproblemowym". Historia rozciągnięta na pięć zeszytów momentami sprawia wrażenie zbyt szczupłej jak na swój metraż. Orlando, jak często w swoich współczesnych opowieściach o Wandzie, wpada w pułapkę nadmiaru kosmiczno-magicznych konceptów. Pojawiają się kolejne wymiary, mistyczne byty, starożytne moce i metafizyczne pułapki, które czasem bardziej zaciemniają obraz, niż budują napięcie. Równie rozczarowująco wypada główny "złol". Teoretycznie to antagonista osobisty, związany z historią Visiona i niosący potencjał emocjonalnego konfliktu. W praktyce pozostaje raczej pretekstem do popychania akcji naprzód niż pełnoprawnym przeciwnikiem. Jego obecność szybko schodzi na drugi plan wobec dramatów bohaterów.
Od strony wizualnej album prezentuje wysoki poziom. Lorenzo Tammetta i Jacopo Camagni zachowują stylistyczną spójność. Szczególnie dobrze wypadają sekwencje rozgrywające się poza rzeczywistością - pełne surrealistycznych krajobrazów, groteskowych stworzeń i onirycznej atmosfery. „Fear the Reaper” nie jest przełomowym komiksem ani nowym „Vision” Toma Kinga. To raczej elegancki list miłosny do bohaterów, którzy od pięćdziesięciu lat próbują udowodnić, że uczucie między syntetykiem a czarownicą może przetrwać wszystko. Nawet jeśli fabuła chwilami gubi się w kosmicznym chaosie, emocjonalne serce tej historii bije zaskakująco mocno. I to właśnie ono sprawia, że warto otworzyć te drzwi.
Another 10 issues, another 5 issue relaunch mini-series for the Scarlet Witch. This time she's bringing her ex-husband along for the ride, as the Grim Reaper comes a'callin' and brings a hell of a monster along with him.
Adding Vision into the mix does change things for this story, as it should. The focus on Wanda and Vizh's past feels very WandaVision inspired (which in itself was inspired by the Vision comics that are constantly referenced here), and although things still get mega-mystical near the end, the relationship between these two characters is always front and centre. Their ideologies, the magic (ha) of how they work together, and how they clash, keeps the story moving forward even when the characters themselves are stuck in a rut as part of the Reaper's trap. The final issue isn't anything we haven't seen before, it's a well-used trope, but it's done nicely, and it looks beautiful.
The art's split between Lorenzo Tammetta and Jacopo Camagni, both of whom have drawn Scarlet Witch issues over Orlando's long-standing run. The shift between the two isn't too noticeable even when it happens midway through issue 3; as much as I'd have liked to have the whole series drawn by the same person, it does work this way.
Happy 50th anniversary Wanda and Vision. I'm gonna go feel old now.
No one has ever written The Scarlet Witch as well as Steve Orlando, even after the torment and twisted path she has had to endure before her redemption, and in this miniseries, released on the 50th anniversary of these two characters wedding, he gives them the happy ending the deserve.
Faced with the returning threat of Vision's "brother-in-law" Eric Williams, the Grim Reaper, he and Wanda must travel a realm of death to save humanity. During their quest, Vision is granted the full capacity of emotion, and when the conflict ends, the two are allowed to live the life they were meant to live before returning to reality -- Vision's emotions returning to their current state. What happens in the future is now open.
For someone who has loved these characters as a couple for decades, even after their marriage was irrevocably destroyed (thanks, John Bryne) this story was a nostalgic salve of what might have been and what might one day be again.
I am a bit dissapointed in this book. Apart from showing how ridiculously overpowered ("broken" as my sons say) Wanda has become i really did not see the point of this book.
Wanda and Vision have a complicated history, and an even more complicated family. With no shortage of darkness and grief. When Deaths doors are appearing all over the world and the Grimreeper returning then need to face their past together.
That is what I think the story is but I might have miss something getting caught up in all the family drama. However, I really hope this is not just a filler story and it builds to something upcoming. The book finishes with a variant cover gallery.
this was a great send off and live story for Vizh and SW. The stakes were high, the action was heart pounding, and a bit of cosmic horror to spice the pot? what else do you want?
I do wish there was a bit more meat to the actual store being woven in this one. it was still fun going from point A. to point B. but I still would have liked a bit more plot.
also, spoiler: I HATE when a character's growth gets wiped away because they need to have a factory re-set. just find a better way!
6/10: This series serves as a relatively stable modern story that allows Scarlet Witch and Vision to be happy with one another again, but ultimately ends in that lovely utopia being a pipe dream. I liked the action scenes and the deep dive into the relationship between the title characters, but I wanted to see more from this story. I’m also a little sad that Grim Reaper was tossed away like a “villain of the week”.
At times this feels a little repetitive, but the beginning is fun and it sticks the ending pretty well. The art gets a little goofy in parts but actually holds together with its own style that is not just imitating Dauterman. Also for those who don't know, this is really sort of volume six in Steve Orlando's Scarlet Witch Saga.
Steve Orlando's writing continues to unimpress. This was a dark mystical slog with a whiny Grim Reaper trying to put a mystical whammy on the former couple. I never knew only 5 issues of a comic could feel so long.
Fun exploration of vision and scarlet witch history, good art, okay villain. Story could have leaned a little more emotional or a bit more challenging/more sacrifice. Fights seemed to easy and they breezed through the trials. Nonetheless still enjoyable!
This one really got to me. Lots of tears. It's a great story, but also kinda heartbreaking. Steve Orlando, why have you done this to me??? Also I need another story with these two characters, stat!
EU SÓ QUERIA ELES JUNTOS E FELIZES DE NOVO :'( e meu Deus, primeira vez que vejo o Vision citar ser pai ausente dos gêmeos, não que a wanda seja muito presente, mas ela pelo menos tenta né
This is a very different type of story to The Visions but it was really awesome getting to read something that felt like such a direct sequel/homage to one of my favorite comics ever
Plenty of potential, but every story beat and emotional sting relied on the reader having already read some other story. The attempts to borrow plot importance left it feeling soulless and without stakes. It just didn't stand on it's own which is too bad since it really did have great potential.