The following contains spoilers for the first three episodes of WandaVision.
Wanda Maximoff seems to be getting her version of a happy ending with Vision in the Disney+ series WandaVision, but everything is not as it seems. In a handful of episodes, the audience sees that Westview isn’t as picture perfect as the titular characters think. Westview has secrets. The audience has also seen Wanda manipulate the reality of her situation herself, leading to even more questions about just what’s going on.
Wanda has largely only used her abilities in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to move objects with her mind and fly. She does, however, have another big power that WandaVision, and to a degree, Avengers: Age of Ultron demonstrate. Wanda is able to “warp reality.” That includes things like rewinding an event, or in the comics, declaring a whole new way of being for the universe, as she does with House of M when she proclaims, “no more mutants.”
It’s clear that WandaVision borrows elements from the House of M storyline. It remains to be seen just how much the show will use from that particular comic book story. In the comics, the story spins out of Wanda suffering a breakdown. She realizes her memories of the children she lost have been completely erased. Fellow witch Agatha Harkness actually erases the memories. Agatha reveals that Wanda created the children from a piece of the demon Mephisto’s soul. Wanda lashes out, rewriting reality so she can have her children back. When members of the Avengers attempt to stop her, she destroys them, simply erasing them from existence.
So far, nods to House of M have included a “house of misery” wine bottle as an Easter egg in the first episode, the pixelated effect of her power usage in the credits, and even the appearance of the children she lost. Tommy and Billy, the twin boys Wanda has in the third episode, are the same children she rewrites reality for in the comics. Fans are quick to point out the similarities to House Of M, but just because it’s one of Scarlet Witch’s best known comic book arcs doesn’t mean it’s the only Marvel storyline that the show may use for inspiration.
In 2016, nearly a dozen different marvel comic book titles told the story of Avengers: Standoff. Primarily set in a suburban community known as Pleasant Hill, the initial set up for the story isn’t unlike WandaVision and its sitcom style. In it, the focus is initially on a man named Jim who keeps getting hints that his new neighborhood isn’t what he thinks it is. He finds a forcefield around the town, sees a girl taken away when she exhibits powers, and is told by another resident that the community is a lie.
Sound familiar? Wanda and Vision experience the same things after moving to Westview. Unlike WandaVision, however, Avengers: Standoff reveals its hand very quickly. The first issue ends with “Jim” recovering his memories as villain Baron Zemo. Transformed villains make up the population of Pleasant Hill.
That transformation comes courtesy of the Cosmic Cube. The Cosmic Cube has been used to rewrite reality in a variety of ways in the comics; it made Steve Rogers a Hydra operative. Here, it simply hides memories and identities of the villains while heroes go undercover. Elektra becomes Sheriff Eva, responsible for keeping everyone in check. Pleasant Hill’s Mayor is SHIELD agent Maria Hill. SHIELD runs this unconventional prison. The prisoners, predictably, revolt. The villain Fixer creates a device that unlocks real memories, leading to all out chaos.
That same idea of agents as citizens is what makes “Geraldine’s” infiltration of Westview so intriguing. Fans who keep an eye on Marvel casting announcements know that Teyonah Parris is playing a different character. She is the adult Monica Rambeau fans saw as a child in Captain Marvel. Her necklace appears to match the logo for SWORD seen in the series, likely making her an undercover agent. Are there more in Westview? Viewers can’t be sure yet.
Of course, characters like Agnes and Dottie also intrigue viewers. While the running theories say Agnes is really comic book witch Agatha Harkness and Dottie has a connection to the devilish Mephisto, neither of those characters played a role in Avengers: Standoff. If the fan theories prove correct, a larger magical presence looms for the MCU.
The possibility that Westview could be a magical community instead of a prison of sorts, one that government organization SWORD just happens to stumble across, also can’t be ruled out. After all, the magical community did have New Salem in the comics. Witches created New Salem for safety after they suffered persecution. That kind of community could be a better fit for Agatha Harkness or Mephisto, who has reality-bending abilities of his own. It would also answer the question of what Agnes means when she says, “we’re all…” but never finishes her statement to Vision in the third episode.
With the writers drawing inspiration from Marvel comics, as well as the promise that the Disney+ shows will link up to the upcoming Marvel movies, it’s entirely possible that Marvel is playing an extended game. It might take longer for fans to understand Westview’s reality than anticipated. They can attempt to unravel the mysteries of WandaVision every Friday as new episodes are made available to stream.
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