main imageALEX LIPTON

Real Name: Alexander Lipton

Identity/Class: Normal human

Occupation: Research and Development for Roxxon Oil

Group Membership: Roxxon Oil;
    formerly his little league baseball team

Affiliations: Laura Lipton, Dr. Miles Lipton;
    formerly Roxxon Oil

Enemies: Roxxon Oil (including Blair and Moyer)

Known Relatives: Laura (wife), Miles (father, deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Long Island, New York, USA

First Appearance: (mentioned): Avengers Spotlight#40 (January, 1991); (seen on video screen): Avengers I#348 (June, 1992)

Powers/Abilities: Alex Lipton had no superhuman powers but was skilled in research and development.

History: 

(Avengers I#348 (fb) – BTS) – As a child, Alex Lipton would often play catch with his father, artificial intelligence researcher Dr. Miles Lipton, and was a member of a little league baseball team. As he grew up, he graduated college and married Laura. Living on Long Island with Laura, Alex would sometimes visit the nearby beach to watch the sun come on. Taking joy from his life, Alex would plan the future with Laura.

(Avengers Spotlight#40 (fb) – BTS) – Alex had his father copy his brain engrams for research. While working for Roxxon Oil Research and Development, Alex discovered their top secret weapons. Not long after, Roxxon sent some of their thugs to kill Alex.

(Avengers Spotlight#40) – Determined to bring Alex’s murderers to justice, his father Miles constantly hacked into Roxxon Oil’s databases hoping to find evidence of the murder. After the Avenger Vision came to visit Dr. Lipton hoping to find purpose of his new life, some Roxxon thugs broke in and kidnapped both the then-deactivated Vision and Dr. Miles Lipton. Secretly bringing Alex’s brain engrams with him, Dr. Lipton uploaded Alex Lipton’s engrams into the Vision, allowing Vision to reactivate and defeat the Roxxon thugs.

(Avengers I#348) – Dying of cancer, Dr. Miles Lipton moved in with Alex’s widowed wife Laura and constantly viewed old film footage of Alex’s life. Asking Laura to bring the Vision to the Long Island home once shared by Alex and Laura, Dr. Lipton revealed to Vision that he had come up with a way to allow Alex’s personality to briefly take control of the Vision’s form. He then explained to Vision that he would like to say goodbye to his son and asked Vision to submit to his device and allow Alex to take over his form long enough to do so. At first unsure of the idea, Vision was convinced by the Avenger Crystal to respect Miles’ dying wish. The device worked and Alex was able to act through the Vision’s form. Alex, as Vision, stayed with Dr. Lipton until he passed away at near dawn the next morning then went out on the beach to speak with Laura. The two shared an intimate kiss before Dr. Lipton’s programming ceased and the Vision returned to normal. The Vision then apologized for the losses Laura had to endure with the deaths of Alex and Miles.

Comments: Created by Len Kaminski, Carrie Barre, Gavin Curtis and Dan Panosian. Further fleshed out by Bob Harras, Kirk Jarvinen and Tom Palmer.

Alex Lipton was never actually seen on panel. Only on video footage in Avengers I#348. While mentioned heavily in Avengers Spotlight#40, Alex never actually appeared.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Alex Lipton has no known connections to

Blair & MoyerBlair & Moyer

Blair & Moyer were thugs in the service of Roxxon Oil. While working for their boss, they helped murder Alex Lipton and later confronted Dr. Miles Lipton after Miles had been hacking into Roxxon’s databases for evidence of Alex’s murder. When Dr. Lipton uploaded Alex’s brain engrams into the Vision, allowing the Avenger to reactivate, Vision phased himself into Moyer’s body and took control of it, knocking out Blair with a punch. After defeating the other thugs, Vision confronted Blair and Moyer’s boss, forcing a confession to Alex’s murder out of him.

--Avengers Spotlight#40

Dr. Miles LiptonDr. Miles Lipton

Dr. Miles Lipton was the father of Alex Lipton and a leading researcher in artificial intelligence and consciousness theory. When Alex was still alive, Miles copied Alex’s brain engrams for research and following Alex’s death, the crippled Miles constantly hacked into Roxxon Oil’s databases in search of evidence of Alex’s murder. When the newly-mind-wiped Vision visited Dr. Miles seeking purpose to his new life, Miles explained that a sense of purpose was not something that could be programmed and designed a holographic image-inducer for the Vision to use while observing humanity. One week later, Vision (using the alias of Victor Shade while using the inducer) met with Dr. Miles Lipton and Alex’s widowed wife Laura to discuss the progress he had made in finding a purpose. When Vision entered a fugue state, Dr. Miles used a portable diagnostic interface to monitor Vision’s internal systems. Vision soon began experiencing fatal system errors and Dr. Lipton placed Vision in sleep mode just as Roxxon Oil thugs arrived, having learned of Dr. Lipton’s hacking attempts. Kidnapping the deactivated Vision and Dr. Lipton, the thugs ordered Dr. Lipton to reprogram Vision for their control but Dr. Lipton instead uploading the brain engrams of Alex Lipton into the Vision’s systems, allowing Vision to reactivate and defeat the thugs. Leaving one thug awake for questioning, Vision and Dr. Lipton learned that Roxxon had placed a hit on Alex after Alex had discovered top secret weapons. Happy to have a confession to Alex’s murder, Dr. Lipton and Laura Lipton later met with “Victor Shade” again, where Laura thanked “Victor” for his assistance in bringing Alex’s killers to justice. As thanks, Dr. Lipton gave Vision a copy of “The Naked Ape” by Desmond Morris, hoping Vision could learn more about humanity through the book. Soon learning he had contracted cancer, Miles moved in with Alex’s wife Laura on Long Island and designed a device that would allow Alex’s personality to dominate the Vision’s form for a few hours. Asking Laura to bring the Vision there, Miles asked the Vision to submit to the machine and allow Miles to say goodbye to his son. Vision reluctantly agreed and the device worked, allowing Alex to control the Vision’s form long enough to be at Miles’ bedside when Miles died. With the last few moments of Miles’ programming, Alex walked out on the beach and kissed Laura before the Vision returned to normal.

--Avengers Spotlight#40 (Avengers I#348

images: (without ads)
Avengers I#348, p12, pan2 (Alex Lipton headshots)
Avengers I#348, p12, pan3 (Alex Lipton graduating, main image)
Avengers Spotlight#40, p14, pan4 (Blair & Moyer)
Avengers I#348, p17, pan3 (Dr. Miles Lipton)

Appearances:
Avengers Spotlight#40 (January, 1991) – Len Kaminski, Carrie Barre (writers), Gavin Curtis (pencils), Dan Panosian (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Avengers I#348 (June, 1992) – Bob Harras (writer), Kirk Jarvinen (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks, colors), Ralph Macchio (editor)

Last updated: 01/02/12

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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