Shadow and Flame with Magik

Vision + Kitty Pryde

Writer Jim Krueger

Artist Will Sliney

Color Artist Andrews Mossa

Letterer VC’s Clayton Cowles

There is also a Cyclops and Captain America story, it is nice but the first story is the only important one.

I thought Bendis was suppose to have written this story?  What happened there?  He probably doesn’t have time to write a ten page story.  I like Krueger from Earth X so I welcome him here.

Lockheed only appears on the cover, which Sliney gives him a wicked smile!  Maybe he didn’t do the cover, as both characters are not wearing their current uniforms like they are doing in the story proper.

I wish the Intern who wrote the caption page got a credit, that is funny and kicks off a pretty fun final issue.

I miss reading about Vision.  I haven’t followed the character since Avengers Disassemble.  The character was replaced with a younger model in Young Avengers, I remember looking up the newer character, and his origin seemed overly complicated.   Not sure when proper Vision came back.  One would think being a Classic Avenger, his return would have been promoted.

Vision and Kitty wake up on two tables.  Vision refers to her as, Kitty Pryde with both names being said.

Kitty wakes with a splitting headache.

Kitty looks around and instantly recognizes MurderWorld.  Which thrills me, as I am a pretty big Arcade fan.  He may be my favorite X-Men villain.  I will have to think about that.  I do know that whenever he appears, I know I am in for a good time.

Vision wonders why both of them are here at the same time. Kitty wonders if it is because they both can become intangible.

Which might be why I liked Vision initially, he could be the Avengers’ Shadowcat.  I am an opponent of robots, I do not like them, but I would state that Vision is the best robot.

Kitty sees robots of Xavier, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Douglock and the fool that is Colossus.

Douglock punches Kitty, and we learn that neither Kitty nor Vision can turn intangible.

Vision starts to download everything he can on MurderWorld, so the WiFi still works.

Kitty notices there are robot versions of Vision people – Scarlet Witch and Ultron – who is already a robot.

After the fifth ‘Kitty Pryde,’ she offers that he can call her, Kitty.

Vision’s plan is to switch familiar opponents.  Kitty likes that idea, but first she wants to take out the Emma Frost robot.

This whole story reminds me why you will hardly see Kitty or Vision in a game.  Developers don’t like having to create reasons for why they can’t walk through all the walls and defeat the level in no time.  Which my agrument to that is, then we the player won’t receive any of the experience points needed to level up.

Vision notices the mirrors are the source of the power, so the two of them start throwing the robots into the mirrors and that works.

Kitty calls him a genius, and self brags that she’s usually the genius.

Kitty wants to destroy this deathtrap.  Luckily, Vision carries a techno-virus on him at all times, in case he loses control of his programming again.  It has happened at least twice, causing death each time.

Vision is about to unleash it when something catches his eye.  As they head off to investigate it, he comments that he wasn’t given any obstacles to overcome.

Kitty mentions how a maze appeared around them.  She jokes that with her primary power gone, her secondary power kicks in – stating the obvious.

Kitty really doesn’t like walls.

A ghost appears ahead of them.  The ghost is sporting a gunshot wound to the head.  She comments on this, and Vision agrees with her – her secondary power is in full swing.  These two are funny together.

They enter a room full of ghosts, I recognise a few from Avengers Arena.  I wonder who the others are.  I bet they are not randoms.

Kitty tells Vision that the X-Men defeat Arcade so often that she never views him as a credible threat.  Which is something I’ve wondered about Arcade before, does he have success with regular folk?  I know he uses the killer amusement park angle as he likes the thrill of the deathes.  I also know that he use to rent out MurderWorld to guys like Taskmaster for training purposes.  Sort of like a Danger Room for villains.

Then MurderWorld starts speaking to them, using old recordings of Arcade.  I like the effect of it with the … as pauses between searches.  If you read it right, it really works.

Turns out, like the Danger Room, it has become alive.  Unlike Danger, it feels bad for all the death.  Also unlike Danger, it is only a program, it doesn’t have a robot body.

Kitty states that she doesn’t have much luck with sentient artificial intelligence.  She apologizes to Vision, he isn’t offended.

MurderWorld explains why it choose these two.  Vision understands being a computer, being forced to be used as a mindless killing machine.  It choose Kitty as she knows if a future where killer robots, Sentinels, rule America.  I don’t know where or how MurderWorld got footage from Days of Future Past, but it did.

It was going to allow Vision to infect it with the techno virus.  Kitty is quick to point out that if Vision did, the two heroes would be dead right now.  As MurderWorld has them hooked up to computers at the moment.  That is why they can’t phase, they are inside a program.

The two explain what guily and remorse is.  All the amusement park can do is try to be better as it moves on.  Vision states it is easier with friends.

Story ends with Kitty asking if they can have their bodies back.  Vision repeats she doesn’t like walls.

Nice story, I really like it and I could go for a mini with the two of them.