Although superhero shows–even Marvel superhero shows–are nothing new in the TV landscape, Marvel is attempting something pretty unprecedented with its slate of Disney+ original series. The studio claims they will not merely be spinoffs of the films, but will actually be integral components of its larger ongoing narrative. Unlike previous Marvel TV offerings such as Daredevil or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Phase 4 shows will center some of the MCU’s most popular characters, and will also be used to introduce new characters intended to ultimately cross over to the films, such as the upcoming Ms. Marvel show, whose protagonist Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) will also appear in the upcoming feature film Captain Marvel 2. Originally, the first Disney+ offering of Marvel’s Phase 4 was intended to be The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, following the theatrical release of the film Black Widow in 2020. However, the coronavirus pandemic threw a wrench into the studio’s plans, and many of the Phase 4 films and shows had to be moved to accommodate production delays and theatrical shutdowns. After a lot of shuffling around, the mind-bending series WandaVision, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany as the titular couple,wound up kicking off Phase 4 in January of 2021. Originally scheduled to be Marvel’s fifth Phase 4 offering, WandaVision is an intriguing way to introduce the next branch off the comic-based studio’s storytelling tree, and despite being a largely self-contained story of grief and family, its ending still sets up some interesting possibilities and clues for the rest of Phase 4 and beyond.
In the Multiverse…
While the finale of WandaVision seemed to squelch speculation that the series would end with Wanda creating a multiverse, there’s no denying that one is still in the works. Even if we didn’t know that the title of the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel is In the Multiverse of Madness, WandaVision itself sprinkles in a few hints that that’s where the MCU is headed. For starters, there are the voices of her children that Wanda hears in the post-credits scene of the finale. Although Wanda seemed to have created her children from whole cloth using her magic, the stinger indicates they’re actually still out there somewhere, even after Wanda cut the strings binding her fantasy world together. Whether that’s a parallel universe, an alternate dimension such as Doctor Strange’s Dark Dimension, or deep within Wanda’s own psyche, is yet to be revealed. Additionally, while WandaVision seemed to confirm that Evan Peters’ faux Pietro Maximoff (a.k.a. “Fietro”) was actually Wanda‘s hapless next-door neighbor Ralph Boehner, it’s worth noting that Peters is the second Marvel Movie alum to appear in an MCU property as a slightly altered version of their previous character. The first was J.K. Simmons in Spider-Man: Far From Home, reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson from the Sam RaimiSpider-Man films. While it’s definitely possible that the casting of Simmons and Peters is nothing more than a meta nod to Marvel’s long cinematic legacy, it seems not-insignificant that Marvel has now pulled this same stunt twice–the first time, in a movie which pointedly set up (and then dismissed) the idea of a multiverse, and the second, in a show that many believed would set up a multiverse, only to seemingly not deliver on that promise. Yet even after both of those seeming misdirects, we know that this is all still building toward Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness, which Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has confirmed will build off the events of WandaVision. Not only will Olsen be appearing in the film, but Feige confirmed that the events of WandaVision are what will lead Wanda to the Sorcerer Supreme’s doorstep. Since we didn’t see Wanda visiting the Master of the Mystic Arts at the end of WandaVision, one can only assume that Feige’s comments mean that something in WandaVision will have a direct tie to the promised multiverse that will factor into Doctor Strange 2. Furthermore, the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home has been rumored to contain cameos from numerous former Marvel actors. This includes ex-Spider-Men Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, and has in fact confirmed the involvement of Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx as Doc Ock and Electro, respectively, who previously played those same villains in two separate non-MCU Spider-Man franchises. Is it possible that the MCU has just decided that it would be funny to bring back all sorts of previous Marvel actors in Phase 4 as slightly altered versions of their past characters as a wink and a nod to long-term Marvel fans? Sure. Is it likely? Well, let’s just say it doesn’t seem to fit with the MCU’s established storytelling and humor patterns. A character like Deadpool (who is also apparently coming to the MCU at some point) is built around those sorts of meta jokes. But the MCU has always taken itself pretty seriously when it comes to the limits of its own universe. So while it’s possible that this sudden glut of ex-Marvel talent cast in similar-but-not-quite-the-same roles is just a series of Easter eggs cranked up to 11, it seems more likely that these appearances are intended to be meaningful in some way. So what does it all mean? Well, it’s safe to say that a multiverse is at least on its way, if it’s not already here. We didn’t see Wanda do anything to explicitly set up a multiverse in WandaVision. However, the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) explained in Endgame that the only thing preventing a multiverse from existing was the Infinity Stones, which no longer exist in the MCU as of the end of the film. Without the Stones, it seems reasonable to assume that a multiverse may already exist even without Wanda’s interference. That said, we may later learn that some of the events of WandaVision were clues about the nature of the multiverse, even if we didn’t realize it at the time.
…of Madness?
While the multiverse seems to be a done deal, with or without Wanda’s assistance, the madness part of the Doctor Strange sequel’s title begs a few questions, especially given the events of WandaVision. We saw in WandaVision that Wanda isn’t in what we might deem a healthy mental state after losing her brother in Avengers: Age of Ultron and her soulmate in Avengers: Infinity War. For most of WandaVision, she oscillated between the denial and bargaining stages of grief. And while she appeared to reach acceptance by the end, it would be reasonable to assume that she didn’t magically get better all at once. Grief is a process, and as we saw in WandaVision, Wanda has dealt with more than her fair share of heartbreak and loss. If the loss of Vision was enough to get her to inadvertently enslave an entire town, what more will the loss of her children do to her? At the end of WandaVision, we see Wanda learning about the true nature of her powers (which she now knows to be chaos magic) from Agatha Harkness’ (Kathryn Hahn) Darkhold text. Similar to how Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) studied the Mystic Arts in Doctor Strange, Wanda has learned to study while astral projecting, while her physical body engages in other tasks. While we’ve already seen this established as a tried and true magical study technique, it does seem to at least hint at the idea of Wanda’s psyche becoming fractured following the numerous traumas she’s experienced. In the House of M comics storyline, Wanda’s grief over losing her children leads to her creating an entire alternate universe in which she can be reunited with her family. Following her realization about what she’s done, she rewrites reality again, this time wiping out all of mutant-kind. While mutants don’t yet exist in the MCU, and WandaVision already explored the idea of a grief-fueled alternate reality, it’s still very possible that Multiverse of Madness will continue to deal with Wanda’s mental and emotional trauma following the events of WandaVision, which in some ways left her worse off than she started.
Villains
The final episodes of WandaVision revealed that Wanda’s neighbor, Agnes, was really the centuries-old witch Agatha Harkness, who entered Westview after being intrigued by Wanda’s powers. Agatha is determined to understand how Wanda created her little sitcom bubble universe, and once she realizes that Wanda doesn’t understand the nature of her own powers, she decides that Wanda is unworthy to wield her magic at all and attempts to steal it from her. Of course, Wanda winds up turning the tables, and ends the series by imprisoning Agatha in Westview indefinitely, magically manipulated into permanently inhabiting her “nosy neighbor” sitcom role, even after she lets all of the other citizens go. But of course, this being the MCU, we know Marvel isn’t likely to let as compelling a character as Agatha Harkness just wither away in Westview forever. Chances are, she’ll come back eventually, and we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s sooner rather than later. Originally, In the Multiverse of Madness was slated to come out just a few weeks after the conclusion of WandaVision, making them more explicit companion pieces. While they’re now separated by more than a year, the stories are still expected to be closely intertwined, and the world of Doctor Strange already is set up to welcome in a character like Agatha Harkness. At the end of the first Doctor Strange, sorcerer Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor)–who served as an ally to Stephen Strange throughout the film, but grew increasingly uneasy with how both Strange and the Ancient One wielded power–seemed to take a turn toward the villainous side. He sought out former Master of the Mystic Arts Jonathan Pangborn (Benjamin Bratt) and stole his magic since he disapproved of how he was using his powers. This is very similar to Agatha’s own worldview, since she told Wanda that she takes power from the “unworthy.” With Mordo set up to serve as an antagonist in Multiverse of Madness, it would make sense for he and Agatha to team up, realizing they’re both cut from the same magical cloth. Of course, that would require someone to first free Agatha from her magical mental prison, but if Agatha could sniff out Westview thanks to the magical scent left by Wanda’s powers, we’re sure that another magic-user could eventually do the same thing. It’s also possible that whenever Agatha returns, she won’t ultimately be a villain at all; in the comics, Agatha serves as a mentor to Wanda. But even if she eventually warms up to the Scarlet Witch, we imagine it’ll take some time for her to let bygones be bygones.
Children are the future?
Marvel has already announced a massive slate of upcoming projects for Phase 4, but it seems that they’re quietly working on getting the pieces in place for a property they haven’t yet officially confirmed: the Young Avengers. In the comics, the Young Avengers are, well, exactly what they sound like–a superhero team made up of teenagers and young adults, many of whose powers and monikers are similar to those of the adult Avengers. Much like the Avengers, numerous characters have rotated in and out of the Young Avengers throughout the team’s existence in the comics, but between characters we’ve already met and characters who have been confirmed for Phase 4, a solid roster is already shaping up. Two key members of the Young Avengers in the comics are none other than the magical Wiccan and the quick-footed Speed, otherwise known as twin brothers Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd. While the surnames are different, WandaVision introduced Billy and Tommy as the twin sons of Wanda and Vision, created within the Hex using Wanda’s magic. This is similar to the twins’ creation in the comics, in which they were conceived via chaos magic. WandaVision also followed a similar trajectory with their destruction. In the comics, the twins’ souls were cast back in time and reborn after attempting to be absorbed by the demonic Mephisto (who is still rumored to be making an appearance in Phase 4). In WandaVision, Wanda destroyed them herself when she took down the Hex, realizing that it wouldn’t be right for her to keep her family if it meant enslaving an entire town. Tommy and Billy are actually not the first potential Young Avengers to be introduced in the MCU; the teenage Cassie Lang (played by Emma Fuhrmann in Avengers: Endgame and by Kathryn Newton in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) is also a Young Avenger, known as Stature. The MCU has also confirmed several other members of the team for Phase 4, including Kate Bishop a.k.a. Hawkeye (Hailee Steinfeld) in Hawkeye, and America Chavez a.k.a. Miss America (Xochitl Gomez) in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Additionally, while he hasn’t been confirmed, rumor has it that Isaiah Bradley a.k.a. the Black Captain America will be making an appearance in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, whose grandson, Elijah Bradley, is the Young Avenger known as Patriot. And the upcoming villain of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), is actually a Young Avenger himself in the comics, albeit in his younger form. The young Nathaniel Richards is the Young Avenger leader known as Iron Lad, who eventually learns he will one day grow up to be the villainous Kang. So while Billy and Tommy are currently gone from the MCU, it seems likely that we’ll eventually see them again, although probably not the 10-year-old versions we met in WandaVision. Most likely, whenever Wanda gets her sons back–and judging by the stinger at the end of WandaVision, that’s at the top of her to-do list for the future–they’ll be older, and may not even realize they’re related to one another, if the MCU follows the trajectory of the comics. We can’t know for sure yet how or when the twins will return, but given their introduction in WandaVision and the other young characters set to make an appearance in Phase 4, it seems like all but a done deal that the Young Avengers are on their way.
What’s next for Monica?
Although the character was originally introducedas a child in Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris made her debut as the grown-up Monica Rambeau in WandaVision. She was portrayed as a smart and highly competent S.W.O.R.D. agent who was recently “grounded” after being “Blipped” for five years following the events of Avengers: Infinity War. Although Monica starts WandaVision fully human, she ends as something more after passing through Wanda’s magical Hex barrier several times. We only ever saw brief glimpses of Monica’s newly found superpowers in WandaVision, with short scenes of her doing a superhero landing while crackling with electricity, seeing a vast array of colors all around her while her eyes changed colors, and absorbing bullets with her body so that they fell harmlessly to the ground after passing through her. But WandaVision was never really about Monica, and most of her story is yet to be told. In the comics, Monica’s abilities are all about energy manipulation, which give her a vast array of superpowers. She can transform her appearance, fly, phase through solid matter, turn invisible, move with superhuman speed and blast energy beams from her body. She’s gone by many superhero names in the comics, including Photon, Spectrum and even Captain Marvel. In WandaVision, we see that Monica has some hangups about the current Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), possibly tied to Carol’s absence during her mother’s illness. At the end of the series, a brief scene shows Monica meeting with a shape-shifting Skrull agent, who claims to be sent by “an old friend of your mother’s.” Given that we previously saw Captain Marvel costar Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) aboard a Skrull base at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, odds are that Fury is the person asking for Monica, which could potentially tie into his upcoming series Secret Invasion. In the comics, the Secret Invasion storyline follows a long-term infiltration of Earth by the evil, shapeshifting Skrulls, who gradually replace a number of Marvel superheroes with imposters. In the MCU, this storyline is likely going to take a different approach, since Captain Marvel made the surprising choice to reveal that the Skrulls in this universe are actually good guys. However, especially with a multiverse on the horizon, it’s always possible that there could be another group of evil Skrulls out there who will carry out a similar scheme to the one in the comics. Either way, it seems likely now that Monica and her newfound superpowers will somehow factor into the events of Secret Invasion, if her presence has been requested by the Skrulls and/or Nick Fury. Parris has also been confirmed to be appearing in the upcoming Captain Marvel 2, which will likely precede Secret Invasion. That may be where Monica’s powers are more fully explored, and also where we learn which (if any) of her comic book aliases she’ll be adopting. We’ll also hopefully learn the source of her animosity toward Carol Danvers, although we hope that the two won’t be at odds for long, since Monica’s mother’s friendship with Carol was the beating heart of the first Captain Marvel.
Dangling threads
WandaVision made sure to answer most of its biggest questions over the course of its nine episodes and set up some new ones that are clearly meant to keep the door open for future Marvel storylines. But it left a few smaller, subtler pieces of the puzzle still missing, possibly to get filled in down the road, when we’re least expecting it. One of the first mysteries WandaVision set up–and then promptly never addressed again–was the identity of the witness F.B.I. agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) lost in Westview. The only clue we ever get as to the witness’ identity is that Jimmy refers to him as male, but that’s the last we ever hear of him. Even as Jimmy and the other agents obsessively watch Wanda’s sitcoms and identify various members of the town, he never mentions spotting his witness on the TV screen, which seems to indicate that he never made an appearance. One possibility we’re not ruling out is that Evan Peters’ “Ralph Boehner” isn’t actually the real Ralph Boehner, and that there still is more to Feitro than meets the eye. After all, Agatha mentioned that she was able to control him and access his senses through a “crystallum possession,” which she achieved through an enchanted necklace that Monica breaks in the finale. But a possession that allows her to access his senses and control his thoughts still doesn’t seem to indicate that it would have given him superspeed. Agatha loved her monologuing so much that it seems odd she wouldn’t have mentioned how she gave her Fietro his superpowers. Is it because he came with superspeed already intact? If that’s the case, he almost certainly would’ve had to be a ringer, a speedster that Agatha picked up somewhere else and then possessed, perhaps replacing the original “Ralph.” Would that make him the real Pietro from another universe? Tommy from the future? WandaVision plays those cards close to the vest–if, in fact, they exist at all–but if there really is more to Fietro than meets the eye, we’re sure Marvel will take great joy in revealing it in the future. If Fietro was in fact an imposter, then it could be that the real “Ralph” is in fact Jimmy’s witness, who never made an appearance in the sitcom because Agatha had him stashed away somewhere. It’s also possible that the witness is someone we never saw during WandaVision and who was never even mentioned, but it seems unlike Marvel to not drop at least a few clues along the way. The third option is that he is one of the townspeople, and that Jimmy just never recognized him for some reason, but that seems the least likely of all. Regardless, we expect the identity of Jimmy’s witness to come back again at some point, which hopefully means we’ll get to see Jimmy again too. WandaVision also left some questions hanging about White Vision, who was last seen flying off into the unknown after regaining his memories (up through Infinity War, anyway, which means he is indeed the Vision Wanda fell in love with, but is not the father of her children, which could present an interesting dynamic in the future). He will almost certainly return, although when is anyone’s guess. And of course, there’s the giant hanging question mark over Wanda, now that she’s fully embraced her Scarlet Witch identity (and costume!) and is studying up on chaos magic. Is she still the hero who joined forces with the Avengers in Age of Ultron, or the world-ending villain Agatha Harkness feared her to be, or something else entirely? Now that she understands the nature of her magic, she may still be the prime candidate to split open the multiverse by the time Doctor Strange rolls around–or possibly even before. In addition to Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, numerous other Phase 4 properties have hinted at a multiverse angle. This includes Thor: Love and Thunder’s announcement that Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) will be stepping into her comic book role of Thor after her character was previously written out of the MCU following Thor: The Dark World, and Loki’s time-hopping plot that revolves around an alternate-reality trickster. None of that is a clear indication that Wanda will be the one to crack the multiverse–or that the multiverse will necessarily play a role in those film’s plots at all–but Agatha did make a point of saying that Wanda was more powerful than even the Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange. So if anyone can split the multiverse open like a piñata, it’s probably her. Will there be a WandaVision Season 2?
