This article contains spoilers for Marvel #2, "The Vision: Unphased" by Paolo Rivera and VC's Clayton Cowles
Since their inception, The Avengers have always been a group of remarkable individuals who share more differences than similarities. Yet they still manage to overcome their contrasting characteristics and join together to be greater. Now, the latest issue of Marvel reveals that The Vision and Tony Stark/Iron Man share a surprising similarity that actually emphasizes their vastly different personalities.
Ever since Vision first entered the Avengers' orbit as a malicious servant of Ultron, trust hasn't been an easy thing for the atonement-seeking android to gain. And it doesn't help that he's (ironically) bogged down by very human insecurities about his own synthetic otherness. Meanwhile, Stark seeks out redemption of his own by becoming Iron Man, but his gargantuan ego greatly contrasts Vision's highly self-critical nature. Still, there is a commonality in both these Avengers' mission to make up for the monsters they once were.
As Vision's short story in Marvel #2 begins, the android Avenger is seen crawling though the rubble of a demolished building to help the people trapped within. Though, it's a mystery as to why he isn't using his power to phase through solid matter, or more strangely, why he's having a conversation with himself. But before readers conclude that Viz has finally lost his marbles, it's revealed that the synthezoid hero is actually carrying a small child named Chloe inside of him.
By dematerializing the inside of his body and solidifying his outside, Vision manages to act as a protective shield for little Chloe as they crawl their way to safety. As it turns out, Captain America devised the nifty little technique for Vision some time ago when a hostage with a gun to his head needed saving. With a living synthezoid as a body-encasing shield, a bullet to the head was no match for the confused captive. This little-known skill of Vision's brings to mind Stark's defining trait of building protective suits of armor, only in Viz's case, he is himself a living, breathing armored suit.
Tony Stark's most noteworthy stories have often explored the Iron Man armor as a metaphorical suit that protects his vulnerable ego. Knowing he is but a fragile human, Tony builds his suits not only to cushion himself from physical injury, but to also solidify that he is more than the average human being. Of course, Tony's in the superhero game to save lives, but there's always the lingering question of just how much his Iron Man persona functions to satisfy his own self-pride. Meanwhile, Vision lacks the self-assurance that comes equipped with a larger ego. By becoming an Avenger, Viz strives to be human and fill his hollow existence with meaning. When he encases himself around victims in need of help, it's a visual display of altruism filling him with substance. Deconstructing the characters from this angle, Tony's configuring his Iron Man suits to bind solely around himself reveals a much more self-centered outlook. Whatever the case, it's these opposing qualities that make both these armor-clad Avengers an endlessly intriguing pair to analyze.