Click here for video: 10 Reasons to Watch WandaVision
Hey everyone, and Welcome to What Did I Miss where today, I am giving you 10 Reasons to Watch WandaVision, which is airing on Disney + beginning on January 15th, 2021. It has been 19 grueling months since Spiderman Far from Home, and the last time the Marvel Cinematic Universe released new material to the public. Really, that may be reason enough to at least give this new series a chance, which is also the first MCU series on Disney +. Elizabeth Olsen returns to play Wanda Maximoff, who in the comics goes by the alias the Scarlet Witch, due to her being cursed by a demon god at birth that grants her magical yet chaotic powers she can hardly control, which are enhanced by her already present mutant genealogy. The films have had to take a different approach with the character since her first appearance at the end of Captain America: Winter Soldier, but now with the full rights of the character in the hands of Marvel and Disney, we may not only see the future of the character but also get a better look at her creation. The bulk of the series takes place after the events of Avengers Endgame, which saw Wanda mourning the loss of another man in her life due to the unimaginable powers that she has been given. After watching the multiple trailers that have been released as well as finding other details, I think that not only will we get a fun and heartfelt story from this series, but the events that transpire will mean that Wanda will also affect the Marvel Cinematic Universe in more ways than any one character before her. Honestly, I am very excited for this series and I am happy to share 10 Reasons to Watch WandaVision.
First, there will be spoilers from the movies, the comics and possibly the series so be forewarned. Also, I am not putting these in any kind of order these are just 10 things I expect out of the series.
- Let’s get it started: WandaVision will start Phase 4 in the MCU
As I mentioned, it has been close to 2 years since we saw a movie that had a Marvel character and while this schedule was obviously not planned this way, here we are. The events of the series promise to kick this universe back into high gear, as word is that the ramifications of the series will have lasting effects on the entire Marvel Universe. The basis of the story is that Wanda has created a pocket universe to live in, and there she is trying to live out a normal life by recreating scenes from the All-American television families she grew up watching. There are two theories as to how this has happened. One, is that she created this alternate reality is to coupe with the loss of not only the Vision in Avengers Infinity War, but also the loss of her brother in Age of Ultron, as well as the loss of her parents before that. But another is that someone is manipulating her and using her power for their own benefit, and I will go deeper into who or what that is later on in this list. But it stands to reason if you are a fan of the MCU you will need to know what is going on during this series to understand the next 3 years of new movies and series being released.
- Double Vision: Return of Paul Bettany as the Vision
You just can’t keep a good robot down, as Paul Bettany will be returning from the dead as the Vision on the series. Counting his appearances as JARVIS, this will be the ninth time Paul Bettany has voiced or played a character in the MCU and I have enjoyed his performances as both the snooty AI as well as the naïve android. From the trailers, it appears that Wanda may be able to rebuild the Mind stone given her connection to it as well as the Vision. If you recall, in Infinity War Suri was close to being able to replicate the Visions body outside of the stone, so perhaps she was somehow able to complete that metamorphosis or perhaps he is just a figment of her imagination within this pocket universe. From the trailers, it looks as though the Vision may wise up to the fact that he is no longer in reality and may be the driving force to understand what is really happening, if Wanda is under some sort of influence. It also stands to reason that if the Vision is only able to exist in this pocket universe, Wanda will not be willing to leave it no matter the cost to the outside. In fact, I believe I see two more reasons why Wanda and the Vision will fight to keep the contents of this universe safe.
- The Kids Aren’t Alright: Offspring
Another not so well-kept secret about the series is that it will show Wanda and the Vision as parents. Don’t even start with the, “How does an android get a woman pregnant” questions, because I think from what we see in the trailers that they are going to skip over parts of their lives as they transition to different decades of television. There are a few scenes in the trailers that show Wanda with a baby bump, as well as them trick or treating, which they are no doubt doing with their children, as well as a quick shot of two pairs of small feet behind Wanda as she greats the Vision. In the comics, Wanda’s pregnancy is part of a tragic story that see’s her lose her twin boys at first, and the pain of this loss causes her to create a cataclysmic event in the Marvel comic universe told in the House of M series. Later though, her children as brought back into reality and become the heroes Wiccan and Speed, each taking some form of powers from Wanda and her brother Petro. I believe that at least some part of this story will be integrated into this series, and the tragedy of losing these children will cause her eventual breakdown. I would not be surprised though if somehow, just like in the comics, the children are brought back and made part of the team the Young Avengers, who will not doubt be making an appearance in the next few years.
- Season of the Witch: Origin Story
Mostly due to the fact that Marvel films did not yet have the rights to the word mutant, Wanda and her brother were instead given the moniker of enhanced in the Age of Ultron and were never really given a proper backstory, aside from why they hate Tony Stark. In at least one of the trailers, you can see Wanda in the same clothing that she wore in her first scene at the end of the Winter Soldier, promising that we will see at least some of the events that took place that made her, enhanced. You can see her break open the blue casing of the Mind Stone that was part of Loki’s staff and stare into it, then in another scene she is thrown back by a blast seemingly from the stone. If you remember in that scene in Winter Soldier, her cell was back-to-back with her brother so perhaps this blast not only gave her powers but also went through the wall and gave her brother his powers as well? This would add another layer of tragedy to her story because that would mean in a way she is responsible for her brother getting his powers. This could mean that we see Aaron Johnson return in either archival or new footage as Petro Maximoff while also getting a new moniker for the pair besides enhanced.
- New Mutants: Here come the X-Men
For years fans have been waiting for the X-Men to reemerge in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and so far, the closest things we got are the Inhumans which are wherever Jar Jar Binks and Halle Berry’s Catwoman are in the land of things we wish never happened. Now that Disney owns everything and Disney if you are listening, I love you and I submit, Marvel can bring mutants into their movies and this story is the perfect place to do it. In the House of M storyline in the comics, Wanda was responsible for almost eliminating the worlds mutant population due to her grief, but I think that she will cause the opposite effect on the cinematic universe. I think this will happen in one of two ways; the first possibly being that the same energy blast we see get emitted from the Mind stone will be emitted from her or perhaps from the destruction of this pocket universe and go out around the Earth effectively mutating the portion of the population that is able to gain powers or the loss of this universe will affect the multiverse in a way that will allow for characters from other dimensions to enter the prime cinematic universe. This could allow for new characters gaining powers while also allowing for some characters that have had some experience using them as well.
- Strange Days: Wanda will Return in Dr. Strange 2
It has already been confirmed that Elizabeth Olsen will be reprising her role as Wanda Maximoff in the next Dr. Strange movie, which is set for release in 2022 and currently has the title, In the Multiverse of Madness. It doesn’t take a huge jump to think that the events of this series will be felt in at least that movie, and perhaps that movie will be an attempt to fix whatever mess is created here. There are also rumors that Wanda will be appearing with Dr. Strange in the next Spiderman movie, but I think that every person that has ever been in a superhero movie has been somehow linked to the third Spiderman movie, so it will be interesting to see how the events that transpire in this series effect those two blockbuster movies. The comics have had several storylines that include different universe intersecting and threatening the other, with the newest incarnation of the Secret War being one of my favorite and one that I think will be sampled in at least one of these movies. In it, different versions of heroes and villains from different dimensions must fight each other to keep their universe from being decimated. I believe that it is not only the events of the series that will cause these events, but the puppeteer of this story and main villain as well. Please allow me to introduce him.
- Devil in the Details: Call Him Mephisto
Thanos proved to be not only one of the most powerful villains any superhero team has ever faced on screen, but a complicated anti-hero in his own mind that proved worthy of the lengthy introduction to his master plan. It will be very difficult for Marvel to create another presence that matches the magnitude of dark prouesse that Thanos exuted throughout his run through 3 phases of movies, but I believe Marvel will take their first shot by introducing a very old foe with a name you may not know them by. Mephisto is based on Mephistopheles, who is the devil character in the legend of Faust, and he is a villain that has tormented the Marvel heroes for over 40 years. Specifically, he is a torn in the side of Dr. Strange as he is one of the most powerful magical creatures to ever exist. Although you do not see him in any trailer, we do get a glimpse of a dark figure in a beekeepers outfit, in the middle of a street in a neighborhood, that’s not weird. In the trailer for the Loki series, which will be debuting in May on Marvel + and I will be doing a ton of videos for that too, we do see a stained-glass depiction of what looks like a devilish creature and since that show will also being dealing with different timelines and dimensions it would not surprise me if Mephisto is not only pulling some strings there. I think we may only get glimpses of him in this series, similar to the slow crawl buildup of Thanos, with a proper face-off in the Dr. Strange sequel or maybe the upcoming Spiderman movie.
- New Faces, New Places: New and Returning Characters
Besides the Vision, the trailers show us that at least two characters that have appeared in prior Marvel movies will be making an appearance on this series. Kat Denning’s, who played Darcy Lewis in the first 2 Thor movies as well as Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, who appeared in the last Ant-Man movie, will also be appearing in the series. One new face on an already introduced character is that of Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, who we were introduced to as a child in the 90’s setting of Captain Marvel but now looks to be an agent, along with the others, of an organization named SWORD. In the comics, they were much like SHIELD but focused on threats in outer space and I believed they were teased at the end of Far from Home, when we see Nick Fury awaken on a space station. Since SHIELD has been destroyed, thanks to the events of the Winter Soldier, SWORD may be the new incarnation. Another new face is that of Kathryn Hahn as a character named Agnes, but who I think is actually playing a character named Agatha Harkness, who is very important in the comics to Wanda gaining control over her powers. I think she will be a willing or unwilling accomplice to Wanda being incarcerated in this pocket universe during the series.
- She Has the Power: Most Powerful Character in the MCU
There is some debate among fans of who is the most powerful character in the MCU, but if you ask Kevin Feige, you know the guy in charge of the creative direction of every franchise in the MCU, Wanda is the most powerful hero. I think this is pretty evident if you realize that she really has only touched the periphery of what she is capable of, having first been a test subject of HYDRA and then only getting a few years of training as an Avenger. Don’t forget, she was lost during the snap, so she literally has only had her powers for a couple of years and still was able almost hold off two members of the Black Order after a surprise attack as well as kick some major butt on the battlefield during Infinity War and Endgame. The addition of Agatha Harkness may be a clue that Wanda will finally get some proper training of her powers and if she is going to spend a movie with Dr. Strange you have to think that he will have some pointers for her as well. With the multiverse in a shambles and the prospect of not one but many new villains on the horizon, getting Wanda to her full potential may be something that saves the multiverse from total annihilation, or may be the catalyst that causes it.
- Something Old, Something New: American Television Families
Disney has shown with the Mandalorian that they will spare no expense when it comes to creating an environment that makes fans feel comfortable and nostalgic and WandaVision looks to be carrying on this by recreating sets and scenes from some of the most popular television shows of the 50’s through the 2000’s. It looks like we start in the black and white 50’s and 60’s era of I Love Lucy and Dick Van Dyke, complete with separate beds for Mommy and Daddy. Then, we get to see the 70’s Brady Bunch style as well as what looks like a recreation of the Keaton household from the 80’s sitcom Family Ties. As things progress and it looks like they have children, we take a trip to the 90’s version of the home that looks like it could be Roseanne and finally stopping in the 2000’s in what looks like a recreation of the set of Modern Family. I grew up watching most of these shows so I can’t wait to see the little details that Disney and Marvel add to make these sets special. Speaking of details, I will be releasing videos each week after the shows release that break them down for you and point out easter eggs, so be sure to subscribe and hit the bell to get notified when those come out.
Well, that is my list and let me know in the comments if I convinced you to watch, because I really do think it is going to be a great show and unlike anything we have seen yet in the MCU. If you would like to support the channel, you can like this video and check out my merch as well as my Patreon page. See you next time on What Did I Miss.