WandaVision- a stepping stone into alternate universes and dimensions (Brief MCU Recap of Wanda and Vision’s Journey)

Written by Adigun Boluwatito
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WandaVision premiered on Friday, the 15th of January, coming to be the first Disney+ drama series from Marvel Studios. Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen will be reprising their roles as Vision and Wanda Maximoff, coming to be Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first movie stars to headline a Marvel TV series since Clark Gregg of S.H.I.E.L.D.

It is quite obvious from the trailer released, that WandaVison will be making a lot of references to the 23 previously released MCU films. In fact, Kevin Feige, the chief of Marvel Studios has acknowledged that WandaVision will also set up another MCU upcoming movie; Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, set to be released on March 25, 2022. 

It’s totally understandable if you are not up to date with the Avenger sequel as 23 movies are a lot to catch up on. However, to fully understand where WandaVision is coming from, you will definitely need an overview of the lovers’ origin story. So, here is a short recap of Wanda’s and Vision’s stories in the entirety of the MCU.

Let’s start from where we last witnessed the lovers in action; the infinity war. The infinity war saw the death of Vision and the disintegration of Wanda into dust. To paint a full picture, Vision (Paul Bettany), is an android with a vibranium body that uses the mind stone as a source of energy. He was killed close to the end of the infinity war by his lover Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) when she destroyed the Mind Stone ultimately cutting off Vision’s energy source as an endeavor to deter Thanos (Josh Brolin) from collecting the sixth and last Infinity Stone he required to annihilate half of the entire universe. 

To everyone’s  (including Wanda’s) surprise, her actions proved to be in vain as Thanos made use of the Time Stone to reverse time using the opportunity to snatch out the Mind Stone from Vision’s forehead, which finally brought his end. Then, Thanos activated the gauntlet which saw the disintegration of Wanda alongside several other Avengers, merely reducing them into dust. However, she later made a victorious return in the Endgame during the pivotal battle against the purple villain.

For most of the MCU’s catalog, Wanda and Vision were majorly featured on the sidelines but that is about to change with WandaVision. Talking about first appearances, Wanda came to the screen during the mid-credits scenes of Captain America: The Winter Soldier which lasted for just a few seconds. However, the appearance was enough for viewers to recognize her abilities as she was using her telekinetic power to move blocks before allowing them to explode.

Wanda’s Full Debut 

Wanda was properly introduced alongside her brother, Pieto (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) in Avengers: Age of Ultron. They both got their powers via the Hydra experiment with the aid of the Mind Stone and started as the villains fighting alongside the vicious AI Ultron (James Spader) hoping to get their revenge against Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) who they pinned the deaths of their parents on. However, they switched sides to the Avengers’ once they discovered Ultron’s agenda to conquer the world. In the course of the final battle, Pietro lost his life in action which saw Wanda’s trauma heightened.

Vision’s Debut 

Vision’s first appearance was also in Avengers: Age of Ultron.  He was initially developed by Ultron to become his ultimate biological form, however, the Avengers stole the body just before Ultron could make the transfer. The Avengers then made use of a copy of J.A.R.V.I.S. (Iron Man’s AI assistance) and the Mind Stone to breathe life into Vision as his own entity. Vision then accepts to join the Avengers, fighting against Ultron. Thereupon the battle of Sokovia, Wanda, and Vision decides to join the Avengers as a full-time member. 

How Vision and Wanda became a pair

Vision and Wanda’s relationship starts to flourish in Captain America: Civil War, as the union kindles from the fact that they share the same source of power. However, the relationship becomes sour during a mission, when Wanda by mistake, kills several civilians forcing the United Nations to pass a law enforcing superhumans to enlist with the government. The lovers then find each other on different standpoints of the Avenger’s spectrum. Wanda sides with Captain America (Chris Evans) who believes the government cannot be trusted to determine where and when the Avengers will be required. On the other hand, Vision sides with Tony Stark who believes that the Superhumans need some kind of assessment and that the government’s supervision will be good for everyone. 

This caused a major disagreement within the team—splitting them into two sides—fighting against each other. However, during the Civil War, Wanda and Vision never traded blows during the in-team violence. Wanda was later captured by Tony Stark, but was again set free by Captain America and from there, she disappears, leaving everything behind. However, Vision stayed behind with the remaining Avengers in New York. 

After the Civil War, Vision and Wanda’s bond has grown into complete romance. Although, due to the government still being hot on her trail, the lovers could only meet in secret. However, during one of their late-night strolls, the couple was attacked by Thanos’ force with the hope of getting the Mind Stone from Vision but Captain America, Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johanson) came to their rescue to fight off the attack, after which they journeyed to Wakanda where Vision and Wanda eventually met their demise. 

Now, what should we expect from WandaVision?

If you’ve seen the WandaVision trailer, then you already have an idea that the drama series takes place after the Endgame in a kind of universe where Vision and Wanda are happily married.  The trailer shows that Vision and Wanda are reunited with the wedded couple living together as if they were in a 1960s sitcom, not weighed by the responsibility of saving the world. 

From the trailer, Wanda was shown to reshape reality, imagining her life as one in which Vision is still well and alive. Another part of the trailer shows that they are blissfully married with two kids. However, as the trailer proceeds, cracks start to materialize with Vision retaining no memory of his previous life seeming to be imprisoned in Wanda’s alternate reality. 

It is still a mystery how Wanda’s alternate reality comes to materialize. There are lots of speculations, such as the ‘reality’ being a coping mechanism for the pain she’s experiencing due to Vision’s death or it could be that an external force is messing with her head. However, irrespective of what the cause may be, Wanda is changing the fabric of reality, distorting the natural order of things which will ultimately have a ripple effect all over the MCU.

WandaVision features the Mind Stone several times as seen in the trailer and this could be very dangerous because if another Stone comes into play due to Wanda’s distortion of reality, then the outcome would be deadly. To correct this distortion, Doctor Strange would have to step in, which is why WandaVision is a direct set up to the upcoming MCU movie; Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

This is an indication that WandaVision is MCU’s stepping stone into creating more movies about alternate dimensions and realities. Wanda and Vision will be steering us into a new age of Marvel Studios television.