Vibe
In February 2013, Justice League of America’s Vibe #1 by Geoff Johns, Andrew Kreisberg and Pete Woods hit stores. The hero, who can discharge powerful vibratory shockwaves, had his debut tied to one of the biggest events of DC Comics’ “New 52”: Darkseid’s invasion of Earth. While the original Vibe had the power to emit powerful vibratory shockwaves, “New 52” Vibe has an updated set of abilities, including the fact that he cannot be recorded by video or still cameras.
Victor Frankenstein
With a plot outside the norms of traditional Hollywood “Frankenstein” tales, this 2015 film reveals Igor’s introduction to Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the experiments they undertake which lead to attempts to create life from death. The 2015 film stars James McAvoy as the legendary title character and Daniel Radcliffe as a more sympathetic and intellectual Igor.
Vidar
Vidar (from Old Norse Víðarr, which might mean “The Wide-Ruling One”) is a Norse war god, as well as the god of silence and revenge. He is one of the younger generation of gods who survived Ragnarok, the cataclysmic end of the Norse mythological cycle. Virtually all of the references to him in Old Norse literature are concerned with his role in Ragnarok; little is known of Vidar outside of that distinction. During Ragnarok, the gods (seen as the divine forces who uphold the cosmic order) and the giants (the divine forces of chaos and destruction) battled, and most of those involved on both sides were slain. The god Odin was devoured by the wolf Fenrir. Vidar, a son of Odin by the giantess Gríðr, immediately set upon the wolf to avenge his father’s death. He wore a shoe that had been crafted for this particular moment. It was the strongest and sturdiest of all shoes, and surely also charged with magical properties. With it, Vidar kicked open the wolf’s lower jaw, and then, holding the beast’s upper jaw open, he sliced Fenrir’s mouth to pieces with his sword, killing the monster and ending his devastating rampage.
Elsewhere, Vidar is called the “silent god,” although no explanation for this epithet is given. He is said to be the strongest of the gods after Thor. Two place-names in Norway contain his name: Virsu (from Viðarshof, “Temple of Vidar”) and Viskjøl (from Víðarsskjálf, “Crag/Pinnacle of Vidar”). This seems to suggest that Vidar featured in pagan Norse religious practice, and that he wasn’t just a literary figure. Turning to the archaeological record, depictions of a man tearing apart the jaws of a wolf appear on the Gossforth Cross from northern England and the Kirk Andreas Cross from the Isle of Man, both of which date from about 900 AD. These images could be those of Vidar and Fenrir.
Video adapter
See Video card.
Video card
A PC component used to process and enhance the graphics portion of the processing load of a computer, in order to ease a central processing unit’s CPU’s workload and help it run more efficiently. Because most of today’s programs are graphics-oriented, the video card can help almost any program run more efficiently. Videos cards, also known as graphics cards, video adapters, display cards, graphic adapters or graphic accelerators, can speed up the rendering of both 2D and 3D graphics. Most modern computers come with an upgradable video card installed into the motherboard. In the early days of computer graphics, video cards were not very sophisticated, and simply forwarded data coming from the processor to the display. Today, video cards are much more like co-processors. Video cards can make extra calculations on their end to check the quality of the output and then tailor this to take full advantage of the abilities of the display.
Video disc
See Laserdisc.
Viewtiful Joe
The red-clad superhero version of Joe, an average movie lover whose world was turned upside-down when he found himself brought into the world of movies, in the video game series of Viewtiful Joe. An especially big fan of Tokusatsu movies starring his icon, Captain Blue, Joe would always head to an old movie theater run by his father, Jet Black, to watch Captain Blue movies. One day, he was there on a date with his girlfriend Silvia, watching a Captain Blue movie, when suddenly, the villain reached out of the movie and kidnapped Silvia! As Joe watched, the hero mecha, Six Majin, was also knocked out of the movie, and brought Joe in with it! Inside the movie, Joe is given a V-Watch by Captain Blue and sets out to save both Silvia and Movieland! The game spawned two sequels, Viewtiful Joe: Secret of the Black Filmand Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble, and Viewtiful Joe is a playable character in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars. He also appears in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and its update, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and he is a guest character in the mobile game, Combo Crew.
Vili
Brother to the Norse gods Odin (Norse central god and father of Thor) and Ve, with whom he shared a decisive role in the original shaping of the cosmos. Also known by the name Hoenir, Vili was the son of Borr and the giantess Bestla, and the god of Conscious Intention (in Old Norse, “vili” means “will”). The three brothers were the first true Aesir gods to exist. Their parents were the proto-god (or primary god) Borr and the giantess Bestla. The three brothers slew the giant Ymir, the first being who had come into existence, and fashioned the cosmos from his corpse. They also created the first humans, Ask and Embla.
Viral
1. In biology, the name means simply having to do with a virus, which is any of various simple submicroscopic parasites of plants, animals and bacteria that often cause disease.
2. In the world of media, the word has evolved throughout eras of technology. In 1990, it generally meant a current popular story circulating in newspapers, television news or entertainment shows, or discussions across the nation. By 2000, it described an item being circulated around America Online (AOL) and/or posted on forums and usenet groups. By the 2010s, the word was common and used in connection to any item that might be seen on Facebook, Yahoo! or any number of news or bulletin board services.
Virtual mafia
Players who are obsessed with the Facebook game application Mafia Wars.
Virtual private network (VPN)
A network that is constructed by using public wires (usually the internet) to connect to a private network, such as a company’s internal network. Commonly abbreviated “VPN,” the network is designed to provide a secure, encrypted tunnel in which to transmit the data between the remote user and the company network. The information transmitted between the two locations via the encrypted VPN service, also known as a “VPN tunnel,” cannot be read by anyone else because the system contains several elements to secure both the company’s private network and the outside network through which the remote user connects through. Common elements of a VPN typically include a firewall and encryption. A VPN service is especially useful when accessing public WiFi hotspots because the public wireless services might not be secure. In addition to public WiFi security, a private VPN service also provides consumers with uncensored internet access and can help prevent data theft and unblock websites.
Virtual reality (VR)
An artificial software-created environment (often experienced through a virtual retinal display (VRD) that consists of visual and audio surroundings which are affected by the actions of a person who is experiencing it, known as a user. The goal of virtual reality is to make it possible for the user to suspend belief and accept his artificial surroundings as a real environment. Sometimes referred to as “VR.”
Virtual retinal display (VRD)
A headset display for gamers built around a small digital screen, or a low-powered color light-emitting diode (LED) reflected onto an array of tiny mirrors, which shape the light into a two-dimensional image, which is then beamed straight onto the wearer’s retina. Since the user isn’t looking directly at the light source, the image is said to appear more true-to-life and, according to some experts, reduces user eye fatigue. The effect has been compared to having a crystal-clear high-definition (HD) screen in front of your face, but without any visible pixelization.
Virus
1. An ultramicroscopic (20 to 300 nanometers in diameter) living infectious agent that replicates only within the cells of living hosts (mainly bacteria, plants, and animals) and causes a disease to spread from one person or animal to another.
2. A piece of code with the ability to copy itself, with typically negative effects, such as damaging or erasing data, or corrupting an entire system.
Virus signature
The “fingerprint” of a virus; a unique string of characters, numbers, bits or binary pattern, of a virus, used by antivirus programs to detect and identify specific viruses. Antivirus software uses the virus signature to scan for the presence of malicious code. One signature may contain several virus signatures, which are algorithms that uniquely identify a specific virus. A large number of viruses may share a single signature, allowing a virus scanner to detect viruses it has never seen before.
Visual novel
A Japanese novel read as a game-like application on a computer, but typically with no gameplay involved, and the only interaction that the player can make with the game is making certain choices at specific points in the game that decides which branch of the storyline that the player will take, much like a “choose your adventure” type of story. Visual novels usually feature anime-styled drawing. Some may contain sex scenes, and some are emotionally charged stories targeted at older audiences with a lot of plot and depth.
Viviane
See Lady of the Lake.
Vivien
See Lady of the Lake.
Vivienne
See Lady of the Lake.
Vixen
Mari Jiwe McCabe was born in Africa (though the specific country varies, depending on the story). She is the daughter of the Reverend Richard Jiwe, who later came into possession of the magical Tantu Totem, a magical artifact, supposedly created by Anansi the Spider, the African trickster god, which bestowed the wearer the same powers as Anansi. Mari is orphaned when her her father and Jeanne-Mari Jiwe, her mother, are killed in separate events, and she moves to New York City to become a model. She later returns to Africa to reclaim the totem.
Vixen was originally intended to be the first African-American female superhero to lead her own series, but the series was canceled before its publication. (These issues were later printed in a collection.) This was during an event that would become known as the “DC Implosion.” Although her series had been canceled, the character eventually made her first appearance in 1981, in Action Comics #521, created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Curt Swan.
Undoubtedly, one of the most important moments for the character was her induction into the Justice League of America. At the time in the early 1980s, the comic book industry was dominated by youth-oriented series. With this in mind, it was decided to relaunch the Justice League with a younger and less mainstream cast. While most of these new characters were entirely new creations, Vixen was one of the more experienced of the new members, and one with a publication history (albeit limited) prior to her joining. Despite the attempt to give the title new life, this version of the League (dubbed by many as “Justice League Detroit” as it was based in that city) was not popular as fans did not take to the disappearance of the traditional League members very well. Soon after, the series was canceled, but Vixen did not stay in the background for long, as John Ostrander chose her as a member of his new Suicide Squad. After the dissolution of this version of the Squad, she would stay mostly in the background, appearing only during company-wide crossovers, until she rejoined the post-Infinite Crisis version of the team in 2006. With “The New 52” reboot of the DC Universe, Vixen was a founding member of the new Justice League International. Vixen is shown as one of the many heroes chosen to join the Justice League.
Mari originally required the Tantu Totem to channel the abilities of various animals, which would only work when being used for the benefit of Mankind. It was later revealed that she did not need the totem itself to access her innate power, but that the object merely focused her own innate power, which she later learns to control. Also originally, Vixen could only access the powers of one animal at a time, but has since acquired the ability to channel the skills of several different animals at once. For a period of time, Vixen was able to mimic the powers of other superhumans, due to Anansi’s influence. Vixen possesses razor sharp claws which she is skilled in using in combat. She also possesses some abilities in animal control. She was a relatively common member on the television show Justice League Unlimited, appearing for a time as the girlfriend of Green Lantern John Stewart. Vixen also appeared in the television show Batman: Brave and the Bold. Starting in 2015, Vixen was given her own self-titled animated series on the CW Seed channel, set in the same shared universe as Arrow and The Flash.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
Also referred to as internet telephony, IP telephony, Voice over the Internet (VOI) or digital phone, VoIP is a category of hardware and software that enables people to use the internet as the transmission medium for telephone calls. Voice data is sent digitally in packets using Internet Protocol (IP) rather than the traditional analog circuit transmissions of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). One advantage of VoIP is that the telephone calls over the internet do not incur a surcharge beyond what the user is paying for internet access, much in the same way that the user doesn’t pay for sending individual emails over the internet.
Voice over the Internet (VOI)
See Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
Voice recognition software
Alternatively referred to as speech recognition, voice recognition is a computer software program or hardware device that can perform computerized analysis of oral speech to identify the speaker. Used in modern security systems and voice-command tools, voice recognition software analyzes spoken words to identify the speaker (as in security systems) or to respond to vocal commands. The voice recognition tools perform this function by finding patterns in the incoming sound, and comparing them with stored patterns of elements of sounds. The first automatic speech recognition (ASR) device was used in 1952 and recognized single digits spoken by a user (it was not computer driven). Today, several ASR software programs exist that require the user to “train” the ASR program to recognize their voice, so that it can more accurately convert the speech to text. ASR programs are used in many industries, including healthcare, military, telecommunications and personal computing (hands-free computing).
Void, The
1. Mentioned in J.R.R. Tolkien’s posthumous “creation of the world” saga The Silmarillion, The Void is the unknown expanse outside of the known world.
2. When Robert Reynolds took a secret formula created by a man known as “the Professor,” he instantly became The Void, a creature of evil and malice. A counter-entity, the Sentry, was created in his mind. The Void and the Sentry are two parts of the same torn psyche, so no matter how many people the Sentry saves, the Void will kill the same number. The Void believes he is integral to the Sentry’s survival. As the Sentry’s power hinges on his emotions, any individual could crush him if the Void were not there to kill the Sentry’s adversaries. Though he is twisted and insane, the Void cannot be killed as long as there is a Sentry.
The Sentry/Void made his first appearance in Marvel Comics’ Sentry #1 (2000), by writer Paul Jenkins and artist Jae Lee. The series was falsely touted as a forgotten Stan Lee hero from the Silver Age of Marvel. This story was, of course, fabricated and further pushed by the comic magazine Wizard: Guide To Comics. The hoax involved a false discovery of lost sketches by artist Artie Rosen of a Stan Lee-created superhero who predated The Fantastic Four. A seemingly normal man, suddenly recalls that he is the superhero known as the Sentry, the man with the power of one million exploding suns. Along with this recollection, he also realizes his arch-nemesis, the Void, is returning to the world. Reynolds immediately begins seeking out the rest of the world’s most prominent superheroes to warn them of the coming threat. Most importantly, Mr. Fantastic remembers that he and Robert Reynolds had been best friends and that Sentry and his former sidekick Scout had often teamed up with the Fantastic Four to fight the world’s greatest threats. Over time, the general public slowly remember the Sentry and the good he had done for the world.
The reason the world forgot the Sentry was that Reynolds had used his power to erase the Sentry from the memory of everyone in the world, including his own, thus destroying the Void once and for all. With the heroes of the world united and waiting for the Void to come, Reynolds comes to the realization that he must make the sacrifice again. With the help of the Centrally Located Organic Computer (C.L.O.C.), Mr. Fantastic, and Doctor Strange, he once again erases the memory of Sentry from the world.
Sentry is one of the few superhumans to be considered invincible. He firmly stated that he cannot die, and is for all intents and purposes immortal. Though his mind is fragile, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Iron Man have not been able to find any other areas of physical vulnerability. He also had an affair with the X-Men’s Rogue, so is resistant even to her touch-sensitive powers. During the 2006 Marvel crossover event Civil War, Spider-Man and a group of SHIELD agents ranked Sentry as the most powerful of all Earth’ heroes, with the Hulk ranked second most powerful. It is commonly believed that the Void has a larger variety of powers and is more powerful than the Sentry himself, but this is not true. The Sentry has defeated the Void on more than one occasion by pure physical force, displaying either a greater power level or a pure will that eclipses the Void’s. Since the Void and Sentry are one and the same, it could also be presumed that the Sentry shares the same powers that the Void does. Sentry has recently been revived by the Apocalypse twins to become part of a new team of Horsemen, known as the Horsemen of Death, the team consists of Banshee, Grim Reaper, Daken and Sentry.
VoIP
See Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
Volatile memory
Also known as volatile storage or temporary memory, volatile memory is a type of computer memory that needs power to preserve stored data. In other words, the computer must be turned on in order to save the data stored in volatile memory. Users need to save their work to a nonvolatile permanent medium, such as a hard drive, in order to avoid data loss when the computer is turned off. One common example of volatile memory is random access memory (RAM).
Volatile storage
See Volatile memory.
Vomer
The facial bone, named for the Latin word for “plowshare” due to its split triangular shape, forms the posterior and inferior parts of the nasal septum.
Vorenus, Lucius
See Lucius Vorenus.
Vorpal blade
See Vorpal sword.
Vorpal sword
Also referred to as the “Vorpal blade,” the weapon is used by the hero in Lewis Carroll’s nonsensical poem “Jabberwocky” to slay the beastly Jabberwock. “Jabberwocky” was published in Carroll’s 1871 Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, a sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
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