The Avengers #160

"...The Trial!"

Following their battle against Graviton, a number of the Avengers depart on their personal business: Iron Man takes the ailing Whizzer back to the hospital. Yellowjacket and the Wasp head back to their home in New Jersey. Meanwhile, Thor takes Captain America to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters before departing on personal business. En route, Cap takes note that Thor seems quieter, more reserved than normal.

The remaining Avengers are surprised by the intrusion of their old adversary the Grim Reaper, the insane brother of Wonder Man.

The Vision tells a shocked Simon (Wonder Man) that his brother Eric (the Reaper) has pursued a vendetta against the Avengers for years, blaming them for Simon’s supposed death. He once even attempted to coerce the Vision into helping him as it was Simon’s brainwave patterns which the Vision's mind are based upon. But now that Simon is alive once more, the Reaper cannot determine whether he or the Vision is truly his brother. The Avengers attack, but the Reaper easily defeats them all, even his super-powered brother Wonder Man.

When the heroes revive, they find themselves seated around their meeting table and locked into shock bracelets. The Reaper states that he is holding a trial to determine whether Wonder Man or the Vision is really his brother. He appoints the Black Panther to be the council for the defendants but declares he will have the final decision on which being is the true Simon Williams.

First, the Grim Reaper demands that the Vision tell his origins, and the synthezoid complies: He explains that he was created by the evil robot Ultron, who used the inert body of the original Human Torch as a physical shell and the previously recorded brainwave patterns of Wonder Man (whom everyone thought was dead at the time) as a model for his psyche. Based on this, the Reaper contends that the Vision may in fact be Simon.

The Grim Reaper then “reveals” to those gathered that the Vision had once before taken part in a scheme by he and the Space Phantom to place the Vision’s mind into Captain America’s body, and how he had shielded the Grim Reaper from an assassination attempt by Hydra agents. But the Reaper is the one who’s surprised when the Avengers reveal they know all about the scheme. The Vision confesses to the villain that the real reason for going along with the plan was that Captain America himself had overheard the Reaper proposal and signaled to the Vision to pretend to go along with it in order to get the drop on the villains later on.

The Black Panther then goes on to explain that the Vision has gone on to have his own life, including marrying the Scarlet Witch. The idea that his brother could marry a mutant disgusts the bigoted Grim Reaper, and he then turns his attentions to Wonder Man. When the Scarlet Witch asks the Vision why he is not defending himself, the Vision responds by saying that he is not Simon Williams and he would not wish a second death upon a man who has suffered so much already.

When Wonder Man is asked to tell his origins, he explains how he was exposed by the Masters of Evil to Baron Zemo's ionic ray and used in a plot to defeat the original team of Avengers. He then explains about his subsequent resurrection at the hands of the voodoo sorcerer Black Talon. The Reaper confesses he paid Black Talon to revive him.

With the testimony over, the Black Panther disputes the notion that Simon was ever truly dead and states that he has been able to sense something different about Wonder Man, that he is more than the man he used to be. Admitting it, Wonder Man takes off his goggles to reveal that his eyes are crackling with ionic energy. Wonder Man had not died after his first encounter with the Avengers as everyone believed, he merely went into an inert state as his physical body transitioned into an entirely ionic energy form!

The Vision then denies being Simon Williams and asserts that he is a distinct individual. Enraged, the Grim Reaper activates the shock bands, knocking the assembled Avengers unconscious again. He rants about his intention to execute the Vision but Wonder Man steps in. Due to his new ionic energy form, he is immune to the Grim Reaper's weapons. He destroys his brother's scythe and knocks him out with a single punch.

With the battle over, the Avengers are freed and leave Wonder Man alone to mourn his now permanently ruined relationship with his brother.