Faith had always been something superheroes have been afraid to address, especially in those early days.

And if it was ever brought up, it was only because the person was a Christian.

It was a safe religion. One popular and generally thought of as the 'only' religion in America. All others were a minority, or something to see as odd and a sign of backwardness. It also made people an easy mark for harassment and ridicule by the ignorant.

It was so bad that some of us Jews had to keep our religion hidden. To try their best to blend in and swallow the jokes made at our culture and religion's expense.

But what could be done? It was the way of the world, and we saw how bad things could get over in Germany.

And yet, the Vision changed things. She wasn't a subtle Jewish hero like the fictional Superman, nor did she wear her religion on her sleeve. She simply was. She defended the Jews of New York when no one else would, she hung around Jewish temples, and observed the Sabbath. Sometimes you could even find her in Central Park reading the Torah alongside Shakespear plays and pulps.

It made me both proud and ashamed. Proud because the Jewish people finally had a superhero to call their own.

And ashamed of myself because I didn't have her strength.

- An excerpt from Victor J. Goldstein, Mister E, from the biography The Jewish Experience of the Golden Age


"Bah! How can this country stand by while this happens?!" Rabbi Meyer spat out as he walked the streets of New York City with a newspaper in hand. However, unlike the New York Times or The Daily Bugle that other men his age would be seen reading, it was a copy of The Jewish Independent. And on the cover was a simple statement.

NAZIS CLEAR OUT JEWISH GHETTOS!

"First they put my people in those horrid places, and then when they wouldn't die quick enough they decide to speed up the process!" Meyer rubbed his forehead. "Oy vey… this is not going to be good!"

He had heard whispers from members of his congregation of the temple. Either people who had family members in or who had recently escaped from the Old Country. About the horrors that were being committed overseas. The discrimination, the simple cruelty of the Nazi soldiers who encouraged the citizens to do the same against the Jewish people, the yellow stars, and the state-sponsored murders and beatings…

It was so much horror, so much pain, and the worst part was that no one seemed to care all that much.

And as Rabbi Meyer folded the newspaper and placed it into his grocery bag, he noticed the small stares and glares he received from more than a few people on the sidewalk. Things might be better in America than in the Old Country, but only because anything would be better than in Germany. The Jewish people were still considered second-hand citizens to these people who didn't know any better. Little more than money-hungry pagans who killed their beloved Christ and were seeking to steal their jobs or some other tired unimaginative drivel. It was exhausting and disheartening, but he needed to remember that he should not hate them in turn.

After all, only God could judge the evils in a man's heart.

"And yet… I cannot stand the existence of these Nazis. I do not want to stand idly by while these injustices occur!"

But what could be done? He was but a lone Rabbi in this vast country that seemed content to remain neutral into this war brewing across the sea.

"If only there was a way…"

He heard something smash against the ground down an alleyway. Curious, Rabbi Meyer turned the corner and walked down to see a curious sight. A man with combed-back white hair and mustache was throwing papers and strange devices into an oil barrel with a sour expression on his face.

"All the work I did for him… all the secret teachings and giving him the very gift of life, and he repays it by abandoning me?! And for what?! Seeking some well-deserved praise and success?!" The man screamed as he threw the box he had been carrying with its load to the side and dug into his pockets. "Fine! Have things your way, my ungrateful creation!"

"I know that man…" Meyer stroked his beard. Where had he seen that face before? Then it dawned on him. It was that scientist who created the artificial human that burst into flames! "The creator of the Human Torch! Doctor Phineas Horton!"

He hadn't been a loyal follower of the Torch's exploits, but he did know of the being. The Human Torch fought against all sorts of foes from the mundane to the fantastical, dishing out justice and fiery vengeance as if he were some sort of avatar of the Lord. And before Meyer could reconcile his teachings with the existence of this modern Golem, more extraordinary beings came out of the shadows!

It was as if God were making up for the existence of the Nazis by producing champions in America.

Horton seemed to find what he had been looking for and took out a box of matches! He struck one and tossed it into the barrel. "I created you one, Torch, and I can create another fantastical being like you again! Let this be a funeral to a failure and a celebration for a new beginning!"

Rabbi Meyer couldn't believe what he was hearing! This man created such an extraordinary being who saved human lives… and somehow that constituted as a failure in the man's eyes?

When smoke began to rise from the barrel, Horton nodded to himself in satisfaction, turned around, and slammed the door from whence he came. After a few seconds to confirm that the man had truly left, Rabbi Meyer rushed forward and kicked the barrel down. "I hope I'm not too late!"

But it was no use. The fire was quickly consuming the paper and devices. So, in a hurry, Meyer quickly gathered what hadn't been wholly burned and left as fast as he could.

He didn't stop running until he reached his Temple. In the basement that only he had the key for, he spread the contents he had gathered on the table and stared at them. "Oh my!"

They were the blueprints for the Human Torch!

These papers described how Horton had created the artificial human, from his bones to the skin that allowed him to burst into flames! But they were incomplete. Pages were missing, most likely victims to the flames, and some parts of the blueprints were completely burnt. And a quick scan through them indicated that they made some of the crucial steps to the process of creation wholly illegible.

"If I had only acted sooner! I could've made my own…!" He hesitated. Despite the Human Torch not being the product of a man or woman, he was no Golem. He had not been molded from clay or given life through the will of the divine. "But… isn't he like a golem?"

Rabbi Meyer walked over to his private bookcase which contained texts so sacred that he never showed them to anybody. They were gifts from relatives and his own research. Texts of Jewish mysticism and secret lore, one of which was the Zohar.

And within these texts were the instructions to create a Golem.

Taking his copy of the Sefer Yetzirah and other texts, he spread them on the table and began look from them to Horton's blueprints. He frowned and tugged at his beard. What he was thinking of doing was ludicrous. Possibly even madness! A complete marriage of mysticism and technology? It had never been done before!

"And yet, wouldn't it be madness to sit by and do nothing?"

Decision made, Rabbi Meyer began to work.


Over the next several days, only taking breaks for the Sabbath and to eat the most basic of meals, the rabbi began to gather the ingredients for his creation.

The finest clay from artisan shops, yellow gems from old family heirlooms for the eyes and single focus point on the forehead, strips of wire from fallen telephone poles and gears from discarded watches in the junkyard.

It was fascinating creating something that was human and yet was not. Bones, a nervous system, muscle, and skin… it was as if he were putting together a watch.

And as he put his creation together, he would inscribe each layer and part with mystic formulas that would aid in her mission. Bones that would only break when encountering the strength of Solomon, muscles that would lift even the largest of whales from the oceans, and skin that would feel like that of a human's but could withstand the fires of Hell and the chill of the mountains.

He had decided to make his creation a female golem, for it was far simpler than creating a male with so many unnecessary parts. Much less work as well.

The Shem he began inscribing just below her collarbone was the most complex he had ever seen. So many characters and all so finely drawn together. It was a miracle he had managed to keep them within the three yellow-colored diamonds.

He looked upon his creation and smiled. She had red skin, a byproduct of her clay origins, and he had dressed her in a long dark green skirt that reached her ankles, red shoes, and a red button-up shirt with a green collar. The collar was only slightly open to reveal her Shem to the world.

And why should he worry about that?

With what he had in mind, they would never be erased.

Slowly, Rabbi Meyer began to chant in Hebrew. He called upon God and spoke his secret names. He begged and pleaded in between whispered formulas and incantations. He called for mercy, for the Lord to grant this creature life so that she may act as His sword of justice. To be the beginnings of his Vision for not not only the Jewish people, but the world.

And once he finished, a dim light began to form around the golem. Rabbi Meyer took a step back, gasping in shock as she began to float off the table as if gravity were only a mere suggestion. She seemed to fade from existence before solidifying to reassert itself. Green hair suddenly sprouted from her formerly bald scalp, looking soft and silky while shimmering like emeralds.

A part of him could swear he heard the flapping of wings.

Then, as if she were still laying on a table, the golem sat up in the air and turned her head towards him. Her eyes opened and those yellow gems sparkled with curiosity. "Are you… my father?"

Rabbi Meyer smacked his dry lips and whispered out, "I-I suppose, in a way, that I am."

She then floated to him, and to his astonishment her feet seemed to phase through the table as she descended. Slowly, she stood on the ground. And leaned down with her arms outstretched. With no effort, she lifted him onto his feet and smiled up at him. "Thank you for creating me, father. Can you please tell me my name?"

This had astonished him. He had imagined that his creation would gain some form of sentience, but to this extent? Was the Human Torch himself this independent? Well, that would explain Horton's dissatisfaction for his creation's altruistic intentions, especially with his character.

Reaching into the back of his mind, Meyer plucked out a single name. "V-Vivian, I suppose."

"Vivian… Viv…" The golem spoke these names as if tasting them. Slowly, her smile grew wider and she said, "I like that. Thank you. Now, can you please tell me why I was created?"


Rabbi Meyers and Vivian, or Viv as she used for a nickname, began their lessons together for the next few days. He thought he would need to tell her about the most basic of things as if he were teaching a baby, but the spells he cast transferred his knowledge into her. She knew everything he did and somehow was hungry for more. She had read the entirety of the Torah within a night and then read every book in his personal library. She seemed to have a special fondness for the Shakespeare plays and admired the style. She was cold at times, but more than capable of warmth and kindness like any human.

She even shared his beliefs about the Nazis.

"We cannot stand by and allow those men to do as they please." Viv declared with a scowl as she stared at the newspaper he had brought to the temple. "Why have none of the superheroes or the government done anything?"

"They are frightened, Vivian." Rabbi Meyers sighed while sipping his tea. "Fighting in a war brings back memories of the Great War, something that this country still hasn't recovered from. Many people want to do the right thing and fight Hitler's men, but they are few and those who are indifferent or approve of his actions are the ones in power."

"And this is why you created me?" Viv asked as she stared at him. "To fight the Nazis?"

"Yes. But not only that." Meyers raised a finger. "You need to be a shining beacon that the men and women of this country can rally behind. To be God's vision of a better tomorrow by being a paragon of righteous justice."

She nodded and rubbed her chin. "But where can I start? There is so much that I can do…"

As if the Lord was answering her prayers, the two heard the sound of glass breaking and cruel laughter from upstairs. "What was that?" she asked while standing up.

Rabbi Meyers groaned. "Oy vey… it's them! Those no-good hoodlums!"

"You know them?"

"In a sense. They are a group of young men from a neighborhood over. Entitled, spoiled, and cruel. They hate that which they do not understand, save for what their parents teach them about Jews." The rabbi blinked as Viv began to float off the ground. "Viv?"

"I will handle this, father." And like a ghost, she went through the ceiling as if it were a mere mirage.

The trio of boys sniggered as they threw stones through the temple's windows. "Hah! Why don't You come out and play, Rabbi?!" One shouted with a sneer. "Make this easier for the both of us!"

"Ah quit it, you know how these Jews like to hide. They don't got no spine." The leader muttered as he took out a bottle of alcohol and stuffed a rag into the open neck. "You gotta smoke them out!"

"Hold on! I still gotta draw somethin' here." The third of the youths dipped his paintbrush and black liquid, half of a swastika already painted. "Was also thinkin' of writing somethin'. You guys have any id-?"

Suddenly a ghostly hand shot out of the very wall, grabbed the youth by the collar, and drew back. The young man only had time to let out a short scream before his face slammed against the brick wall before sliding down.

"W-What the…?!" The young man holding the rock shouted as Viv began to appear from the wall and was floating through the air.

"Your reign of terror and childish threats end here!" Viv shouted as her yellow gem eyes glared at the remaining two. "Surrender now, or suffer the consequences! So speaks… the Vision!"

"I-It's one of them superheroes!" The rock-holding youth said in a quavering voice. "Since when the hell did they save Jews?!"

"Town's gone nuts since that Ms. Marvel dame came in!" The leader growled as he lit a match and ignited the cloth in the bottle. "So what?! She's just some red girl! We can take…!"

"No, you cannot!" The yellow gem on Viv's forehead grew brighter until a beam of solid yellow light shot out. "Feel the condensed power of the very sun!"

As if it had been shot by a bullet, the bottle burst in the boy's hand and his arm, doused in the liquid, quickly caught on fire. "He screamed and tore off his shirt, leaving him distracted as Viv flew forward and uppercutted him so hard his head snapped back.

Screaming, the remaining boy slammed his rock on Viv's forehead only for it to shatter. The golem's density was so solid that her body was as tough as the strongest diamond.

Then, as if she were picking up a misbehaving child, she lifted the boy by the front of his shirt and threw him across the street where he remained motionless.

"Vivian!" Rabbi Meyers ran outside and stared at the three unconscious delinquents. "Good god!"

The golem turned her head and smiled.

"This is only the beginning, father."


On the next day, the Jewish population of New York began their daily routine of grabbing breakfast from their local bakeries and then heading to work. It was on one of these occasions where a member of Rabbi Meyers' congregation approached him with a concerned look on her face.

"Rabbi! I heard the news from last night! How dreadful!"

"Yes, yes it was quite a shock!" He laughed and patted the woman on the shoulder. "I'm just glad those young hooligans were caught!"

"Yes, but it was a superhero who caught them!"

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow. "And what do they call her?"

"Apparently, she named herself. She calls herself the Vision!"

"A fine name if I do say so myself…"

"But honestly, Rabbi, what is the world coming to? Why are so many fine young women deciding it is acceptable to dress like harlots and prance around committing such…!"

Before the conversation could continue, a young girl with slightly dark skin and black hair walked over to the Rabbi holding a loaf of rye bread. She was dressed in a respectful long skirt, shoes, and a red top. Curiously, despite her hair being tied back into a bun a streak of green colored hair was to the left while to the right was a red streak.

"Uncle, I had gotten our order. We can go now, if you wish." She glanced at the member of the temple's congregation and smiled. "Oh, hello. My name is Vivian Meyer."

"She is my niece from the Old Country." Rabbi Meyers explained with a smile. "A very nice young woman. Very curious and with a noble heart."

"It is nice to meet you." The woman said with a smile. "And I can see that, Rabbi! Surely, a nice lady like your niece would never dress up like that horrible Vision!"

As the woman laughed at her observation, Viv Meyer, the Vision, simply glanced at her 'Uncle' and gave him a secretive wink.

Our tale may come to a close, but it isn't the end of the story! One of a young woman growing up and fighting against injustice as… The Vision!


And more whimsical fun can be expected in next month's adventure!


Notes: So yeah, Viv Vision everyone!

I had actually thought a bit on this one, because how could you adapt Viv into the Golden Age? Especially since her creation was that of a robot building another robot. Have the Human Torch make her? I thought no, because it would interfere with his own adventures. Have her become a creation of Horton made after the Human Torch ditched him? Too easy and would copy too much from Human Torch.

Then I thought about all the obvious Christian-inspired superheroes such as Samson and the Specter. Then I thought about Viv's interest in religion back in Tom King's excellent Vision series and Vin's reciting of the Merchant of Venice, and it hit me.

She would be a Jewish superhero. Not only that, but a golem!

The rest is written before you here.

Still, I hope that you all liked it and it was a suitable Golden Age romp for you all!

Be sure to leave reviews of what you think!