Nerd Alert: Recapping Wanda and Vision

We sat down Friday afternoon and watched the two new WandaVision episodes. I felt a tinge of nostalgia for the old afterschool 1960s programming that I’d watch when I was little. Shows like Bewitched, Gilligan’s Island, etc. But the difference is WandaVIsion is wrapped up in the very modern Marvel Cinematic Universe. But watching the show got me wondering more about Wanda and Vision and their relationship. So I went back and re-watched Avengers: Age of Ultron, one of the least favorite of the MCU movies. And then I re-watched Infinity War. Well, I had to see Endgame, too! So this MLK weekend I ended up binging Avengers movies.

So, Spoiler post if you haven’t watched these, but that sounds silly to say because the movies have been out for years.

For a recap of Wanda and Vision, here is where the series left off at the end of the movies: Vision is one of the only true deaths in the movies. Gamora and Black Widow are taken for the Soul Stone, and Vision was killed twice: first by Wanda when she destroyed the Mind Stone, and a second time by Thanos, who uses the Time Stone to resurrect Vision so that he can claim the Infinity Stone.

At the end of Endgame, Wanda is recovering. Like many others, she was “dusted” at the end of Infinity War. She comes back to life when Hulk snaps everyone back, and she fights Thanos directly for killing everything she loved. She almost kills him, too. But then Thanos orders his ship to blast the entire area into nothing. That’s the only way he escapes her. It’s a pretty cool action beat that sets up Captain Marvel’s entrance when all the cannons suddenly shift up into the sky and unload into the clouds.

After the battle, at the funeral scene, Wanda and Hawkeye share a moment whether or not Black Widow and Vision know that the Avengers won. Wanda says “They both knew.” There is a little side-hug, and the clip leads us to believe that these characters are moving on. I think that’s important because it means that if Wanda has created this world where Vision is still alive just to be alive with him, it’s a bit problematic.

But that’s where it ended. Where it began was in Age of Ultron, when Wanda is presented as a powerful “enhanced” and an enemy of the Avengers. It isn’t until the end of the movie when she and her brother see the villainy in Ultron that they join the Avengers. Vision is created in Age of Ultron, and becomes the first character not named Thor to be able to wield Mjolnir. This is important to the story because it is the convincing argument in whether or not this new sentient AI is dangerous like Ultron or a friend.

As an aside, one of the reasons that Age of Ultron is given such a hard time is that it is trying to do too much. And re-watching, I tell you, it is. It sets up a lot of the things that happen for the rest of the Avengers movies, and I’m including Civil War in that statement. It creates Vision, introduces Wanda, explores the relationship between Hulk and Black Widow, escalates the tension between Captain America and Iron Man (which will lead into Civil War) and ends with the destruction of Sokovia, which directly impacts Civil War. It just does SO much. And so much of Endgame will echo back to this movie. So while it isn’t the fan favorite, Endgame doesn’t work as well without it.

The other thing to mention about Age of Ultron is that at the end, Wanda falls over, and Vision swoops in and carries her off. It is a nice little nod to the connection these two characters will have.

Infinity War begins for Wanda and Vision in Scotland. They have apparently been keeping out of the light and living together. Clearly, a deep connection has grown between the two of them since the end of Age of Ultron. I don’t have a lot to say about them in Infinity War because not a lot is said about them. Infinity War and Endgame have giant casts and lots of plot beats to hit, so while the things that happen to Wanda and Vision don’t feel rushed, they don’t say a whole hell of a lot, either. Wanda and Vision love each other. They haven’t been checking in with other Avengers like they are supposed to, and then the Children of Thanos show up to claim the Mind Stone. What I do like is that, after Civil War, a lot of the heroes have split up. Some are in hiding like Captain America and Falcon, and others are living their best lives in the US like Iron Man. Apparently Wanda and Vision decided screw it – they’d just head out together somewhere. I’d like to think that they traveled the globe, visiting random places, taking bad Instagram photos, and forgetting about the world.

That should catch you up on where the characters are. Wanda isn’t trapped by anyone. Where she goes after Endgame isn’t really said, but it hasn’t been said for many of the characters. The pandemic has been a big cause for that. This is the first thing (television or movie) that the MCU has put out in over a year. I still can’t believe it’s been that long. And while I’m not sold on WandaVision yet, I love that the MCU is back, and I love that we are getting the chance to explore some characters that haven’t really been explored in the main cinematic universe. Think about it: How are they bringing Vision back? Are they bringing him back? Who has trapped Wanda? Why have they trapped her? I have so many questions, and the nerd in me who loves watching these movies is really curious where we’re going with these characters. (Hopefully to episodes with better plots than talent shows and bosses coming home for dinner.)

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