WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Champions #16 by Mark Waid, Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, Edgar Delgado and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Of all the Champions, Viv Vision may not have the most experience at being a superhero, but the synthezoid has proven her worth over the last several issues of the Marvel Comics series. For starters, the Avengers/Champions crossover "Worlds Collide" saw Viv turned into a living, breathing human by the High Evolutionary, a dramatic, and potentially traumatic change that was followed up by the young superhero sacrificing herself to save Earth and Counter-Earth.
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Thankfully for Viv (and her fans), her story didn't have a tragic ending. Not only was she able to escape death's cold grip, but Viv returned home to discover her father, the Vision, created a new, synthezoid Viv Vision during his grieving process. What we now have before us are two Viv Visions, and a potential identity crisis that may prove deadly for one sister.
Sister, Sister
Considering the family didn't even exist until Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez-Walta's The Vision launched in 2016, the synthezoid family has experienced more than its fair share of major upheavals and tragedy. The series saw Vision's wife and son -- Virginia and Vin -- both perish, along with Viv's half-brother Victor Mancha (of the Runaways) and the family dog Sparky. With that in mind, Vision can be forgiven if he wanted to recreate his dead daughter (who we're dubbing Viv 2.0) for the sole purpose of saying one final goodbye.
But Vision's plan succeeded far more completely than he'd expected, and now we have two fully functioning, and very different Vivis. With both alive, and one still in human form, there's the awkward scenario of both daughters believing they, not the other, are the real deal, while having to coexist in the same household. Viv is still trying to process her physical and biological transformation, but seeing her old self in Viv 2.0 is like looking in a mirror. Naturally, it's taking some getting used to, for all the parties involved.
The Vision, with some sage advice from Nadia Pym, is doing his part to be a supportive father to his "twin" daughters. A simple warm embrace for a crying Viv introduces another set of problems, however, as the now-flesh and blood teenager notices the difference in Vision's touch with her new skin, compared to her previous form. That's not the only thing that's odd in the Vision household, and the other new quirks may spell doom for one of the Vivs.
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Right after Vision says goodnight to Viv and Viv 2.0, something strange happens as he's standing in the hallway -- he begins to sneeze. Now, a sneeze by itself isn't a rare occurrence. However, since Vision doesn't have to worry about everyday bodily functions like eating and sleeping, catching a common cold isn't something he needs to worry about.
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It would be one thing if that's the only time Vision sneezed, but it happens again a few moments later. When Viv points it out, Vision notes that it is peculiar, and he'll run a self-diagnostic in the morning. If it really is some new strain of the common cold, then it must be spreading, because an eavesdropping Viv 2.0 sneezes as well. Could this signal some defect in their molecular makeup?
This is quite possible, especially if you factor in an earlier conversation between Vision and Nadia. Vision tells Nadia that Viv 2.0's brain engrams were a combination of his and Virginia's. If that's true, then Viv 2.0 could begin to suffer a mental breakdown similar to the one Virginia experienced in The Vision. Aside from the sneezing, another example that something isn't right is seen when Viv 2.0's internal thoughts begin displaying in the 0s and 1s of binary code. Before the issue ends, Viv 2.0 acknowledges that her father only ever wanted one daughter, and she will find a way to please him, possibly foreshadowing the newest daughter's plans to put an end to her human twin sister.
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Hopefully the Vision Family ekes out a happy ending once the issue of the two Viv's is fully resolved. Both versions bring something of value to the Champions, and we know synthezoid Viv Vision is still a part of the team come April, sporting a new look from incoming Champions artist Sean Izaakse. The only question right now is, which Viv will it be?