The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) has been known for its blockbuster movies, starting with the first movie, Iron Man, released in 2008. Iron Man served as the start to Phase 1 of the Marvel storyline. 

Now in 2021, the Marvel storyline has reached Phase 5, and WandaVision is the first television series. 

Many fans were shaking their heads and asking, “What?” on social media.  I say this is a creative new show that every Marvel fan (or newbie) should see.

WandaVision has nine episodes released exclusively on Disney+. The show stars Wanda and Vision, living in a typical American sitcom suburb named Westview as they try to hide their powers from their neighbors. 

The first episode starts as a 50’s styled sitcom with the same set design and technology as familiar shows such as the Dick Van Dyke Show. The first episode introduces Wanda and Vision in black and white and the viewers are trying to figure out what the heck is going on. Isn’t Vision dead? How is Vision’s Infinity Stone back? Are they married? This is weird.

It takes all nine episodes to make sense out of it all.

Towards the end of the first episode it takes a dark turn. In fact, every episode gets darker in its tone as the real plot progresses. Wanda slowly becomes portrayed as the villain, bringing a few people back into this world: Wanda’s dead brother Pietro and brings new life into the mix with her twin baby boys. 

In fact, everyone in Westview is being mind-controlled.

All of the scenes inside Wanda’s false reality in the first three episodes leave the viewer in a mystery to what is going on, but by the fourth episode the mystery begins to be solved.  S.W.O.R.D gets involved.

The WandaVison series overall is a very good addition to the MCU. It provides viewers with a new platform to reveal the story line Marvel fans love. Personally, I loved the change in pace with the TV show compared to the movies they usually release. The TV show allows for the viewer to always be excited, anticipate, and create theories to what is to come in the next episode. In the movies you would watch it, talk about it for a few days, and then wait a year or two for the next film.

The cast is perfect, especially Elizabeth Olsen who plays Wanda Maximoff (Here she is missing her scarlet witch appearance.) She is such a brilliant actor in how she is able to balance the acting with the ever-changing set and design.

The main villain played by Kathryn Hahn, Agatha Harkness, is also terrific. She adds a new category of super villain–“the next door neighbor.” The usual villain is a person who has powers or money to develop dangerous technology to battle our favorite heroes. Instead, she is a witch from the town of Salem, trying to unveil the true powers of dark magic. She is one of the most influential characters in the story as she shapes what Wanda would do with manipulation and lies. Her character also adds many funny moments, since she is the sneaky and nosy neighbor.

From the throwbacks and tie-ins, Wandavision is great. I love how the show incorporates many characters from the previous movies in the MCU story line: Monica Rambeu from Captain Marvel, Jimmy Woo from Ant Man, and Darcy Lewis from Thor.

Even with all those throwbacks, WandaVision brings many new ideas for fans to talk about. Most Marvel fans know who the scarlet witch is if they have read the comic series. The TV show gives Wanda the origin story.

Monica gains powers while trying to maintain the false reality. To an extreme fan, they know that in the comics she becomes the hero named Photon. This opens up the possibility to introduce a new hero into the mix and new character developments and involvement with the existing heroes.

I’m very excited to see what Marvel does with her next.