The Avengers and Interracial Intimacy
A couple of years ago I started reading older issues of Avengers, specifically some written by Steve Englehart. Amid all of the superhero action and fighting, there is a commentary on interracial intimacy within the relationship between Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) and Vision (an android). Their relationship begins around Avengers 108 (Feb. 1973) as Wanda is in search of her brother Pietro (Quicksilver) and fears for his life. Over the next six issues, their relationship plays a role in the ongoing stories, and it serves, in many ways, as a commentary on the views towards interracial intimacy at the time.
Wanda and the Vision’s relationship appears only five years after the Loving v. Virginia decision in 1968 and Nichelle Nichols and William Shatner’s onscreen kiss in Stark Trek, four years after Raquel Welch and Jim Brown’s sex scene in 100 Rifles, and around the same time as discussions of interracial intimacy appeared on the small screen on shows like All in the Family (1971) and The Jeffersons (1975). Archie Bunker and George Jefferson expressed the fears surrounding interracial relationships that remained even after the Supreme Court struck down anti-miscegenation laws, and it is within this cultural milieu that Wanda and the Vision’s relationship begins.
At the end of issue 108, Hawkeye complains about having a “hard day,” and Wanda responds by asking him if it has been harder than trying to figure out if her brother is still alive or not. As she turns and walks away, Vision looks at her and approaches. He tells her that the recent adventure has taught him about brothers and feelings. He consoles her and says, “I can offer no promises about your brother, but I can offer my shoulder, if you wish it.” Vision shows support for a grieving Wanda, and in that support, a relationship is formed. The final panel shows the two embracing with Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man in the foreground letting Wanda and Vision have their moment. This image foreshadows the Avengers’ acceptance of the couple and their role in protecting the couple from those who seek to tear the them apart.
