After waiting over a year for new content, MCU fans are eagerly dissecting every clue dropped in Disney's WandaVision series.  Could episode two's animated helmet reference pave the way for Vision's arch-nemesis and "step-brother", the Grim Reaper to appear?

Avengers

The Vision and the Scarlet Witch are two of my favorite Marvel characters.  Whereas characters like Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor are core Avengers, most of their character development happens in their own individual series.  The Vision and the Scarlet Witch had to have their characters developed completely within the pages of the Avengers series.  And this had to be done while sharing time with the previously mentioned heavy hitters and other characters.

I believe this gave writers plenty of time to reveal parts of these characters to us just a few panels at a time each month.  Even though they have been around since the 1960s, I don't think their characters have gotten stale.  Sure, they have starred in a few mini-series along the way, but Wanda and Vision will always be core Avengers.

And I believe that Avengers foe, the Grim Reaper, is Vision's arch-nemesis.

Fear the Reaper

The younger brother of Simon Williams (the Avenger known as Wonder Man), Eric Williams was the black sheep of the family.  However, when he learned that his brother had been killed battling the Avengers (in Avengers #9), Eric swore vengeance on the heroes.

Creating a powerful scythe-like weapon that can fire concussive blasts as well as a coma-inducing ray, Eric becomes the Grim Reaper.  Creators Roy Thomas and John Buscema introduce him in Avengers #52.  He actually defeats the Avengers before being surprised and subdued by the brand new Avenger, the Black Panther.

The Grim Reaper's story gets even more interesting when he returns in Avengers #78 and Avengers #79.  After his Lethal Legion (Living Laser, Power Man, Man-Ape, and the Swordsman) defeats the Avengers, he learns that the android Avenger, Vision, was created using his dead brother's brain patterns.  Unwilling to strike down this semblance of his brother, Eric releases Vision and deserts his allies.

The Grim Reaper goes on to battle the Avengers numerous times.  He seems to struggle with his feelings for the Vision, sometimes seeing him as his lost brother, and other times wishing to destroy him for defiling his brother's memory.  In an excellent story arc crafted by Jim Shooter and George Perez, Wonder Man returns.  The Grim Reaper is forced to decide which "version" of his brother is the real one (Avengers #160).

As You Sow So Shall You Reap

Perhaps fittingly, the Grim Reaper may hold the record for the most "killed" villain in comic book history.  He has died at the hands of heroes several times.  He was restored to life as a zombie, then again by the Scarlet Witch's magic.  During the Chaos War storyline he is brought back from the realm of the dead.  The Apocalypse Twins later restore him using a Celestial Death Seed.

His most notable death may have come in The Vision volume 2.  Here, the Vision's android wife kills him after he attacks their daughter.  Burying him in the backyard, she hides this information from Vision.  This leads to drama throughout this series.

WandaVision (or just Wanda)?

To be honest... I'm not loving the WandaVision series (please don't throw anything at me).  I think part of the reason is that I spend each episode trying to decipher clues rather than just enjoying the show.  The other reason may be that even though Paul Bettany is a great actor,  I want the dark, brooding Vision from the early Avengers books rather than this light-hearted version.

Other than his helmet appearing in the opening sequence of episode 2, we've seen no indications of a Grim Reaper appearance in the series.  However, no villain has the history with the Vision that the Reaper has.  I'm hoping the series chooses to develop some background for the Vision.  If they do there are many ways they could tie the Grim Reaper into it, turning the issues mentioned above into possible key issues for him.  If not, I fear Vision's greatest adversary might remain Almost Infamous.

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