Marvel May - WandaVision (2021)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we've reached the penultimate review of Marvel May, and it's a good one. Back when Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige announced Marvel's Phase Four slate, it included both movies and Disney+ original series. To wrap up Marvel May, we'll be looking at the first two of these series: WandaVision. 

        The series is set in the town of Westview, New Jersey, where Wanda Maximoff is living an ideal life with the Vision...in the style of a 1950's television sitcom. Not just the 1950's, but also the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, and 2000's eras of television sitcoms are referenced throughout the series. Wanda's neighbors include the ever nosy and bubbly Agnes, Mr. and Mrs. Hart, Geraldine, Norm, and several others. Wanda and Vision also have two sons: twins Billy and Tommy, and Wanda's brother Pietro stops by, and takes the boys trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Looking at it, this all seems nice...

         However, the sitcom reality is false. The town of Westview is surrounded by a cosmic anomaly known as the Hex, and the citizens of Westview are trapped within, their true selves being suppressed by Wanda's powers, and several government groups, including the FBI and S.W.O.R.D, are gathered outside of the Hex, investigating how to get inside, and how to reach Wanda. For those who are unaware, S.W.O.R.D. (which stands for Sentient Weapon Observation Response Division) is similar to S.H.I.E.L.D. but they deal with space-related stuff. Among the many people based outside of the Hex include S.W.O.R.D. acting director Tyler Hayward, FBI agent Jimmy Woo, and astrophysicist Darcy Lewis. Yep, Jane Foster's former intern got her doctorate in astrophysics, and was called in to help investigate the Hex. In fact, Darcy is the one that figures out that the signal eminating from the Hex is a television signal. Oh, and as for Geraldine? She's actually Monica Rambeau, daughter of Maria Rambeau, and agent of S.W.O.R.D. Monica gets ejected from the Hex by Wanda, and works with Darcy and Woo to help Wanda, while Hayward wants to get ahold of Vision. 

        Back in the Hex, Wanda realizes that Pietro is not who he says he is, and Agnes is not who she claims to be either. After expanding the Hex to save Vision, who tries to escape and nearly dies from the effort, Wanda is exhausted and losing control. Billy and Tommy are taken nextdoor by Agnes, and after a day to herself, Wanda goes to Agnes' place, and finds a strange book, the Darkhold, in the basement. Agnes reveals that she is, in fact, a witch named Agatha Harkness, and she comes from the time of the Salem Witch Trials. 

        Wanda and Agatha go through Wanda's past, learn why she's obsessed with sitcoms, where her powers really came from, her connection with Vision, and how she created the Hex. Wanda is the Scarlet Witch: a mystical entity born every once in a very long time, wields chaos magic, and is more powerful than even the Sorcerer Supreme. We also learn that, contrary to what Hayward claimed, Wanda never took Vision's dead body from S.W.O.R.D, and Hayward rebuilt Vision into what is referred to as White Vision. Oh, and Monica got back into the Hex, and has unlocked superpowers of her own. 

        So, the final battles are on: Wanda vs. Agatha, and White Vision vs. Hex Vision. Hex Vision restores the original memories and identity of the Vision to White Vision, who flies away, and Wanda fully embraces her abilities as the Scarlet Witch and defeats Agatha, trapping her in the persona of Agnes. Oh, and as for fake Pietro? Well, Monica learns that he was the rightful owner of the house Agatha was staying in, and his real name was Ralph Bohner. Wanda takes down the Hex, says goodbye to Billy and Tommy, and reveals that Vision is the part of the Mind Stone that lives inside of her. After saying farewell to Monica, Wanda flies off to learn more about the Scarlet Witch. Hayward is arrested, Monica is given an opportunity to go to space, and at a lake house in the middle of the frontier, Wanda hears her son's calling for help. 

          WandaVision was a show that I had a lot of fun with. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany were terrific as Wanda and Vision, and I definitely loved Wanda's Scarlet Witch outfit during the finale. Kathryn Newton was terrific as Agatha, and I loved the song Agatha All Along that was written for the reveal of the character's identity. Kat Dennings, Randall Park, and Teyonah Parris were terrific as Darcy, Woo, and Monica. Finally, we have Evan Peters as Ralph Bohner, aka the fake Pietro. Evan previously played a version of Quicksilver, named Peter Maximoff, in 20th Century Fox's X-Men films, and I thought it was great that he got to play a version of the character again in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yeah, it all lead up to a disappointing joke/pun (Bohner, Boner, get it?), but he was still a lot of fun. 

       The biggest draw here, for those who aren't big Marvel fans, would be the nods to several eras of sitcoms, from the fifties to the 2000's. If you grew up on any of these eras of sitcoms, you'll probably get a kick out of the references. Overall, I enjoyed WandaVision thoroughly, and definitely recommend checking it out on Disney+.  WandaVision gets a rating of 5/5. Now, Wanda's story is set to continue in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, while Monica Rambeau is set to join both Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan in The Marvels, both set for theatrical release in 2022. 

       This is Chuck signing off, and we will conclude Marvel May this Sunday with the second MCU Disney+ series: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.