So I have some questions about “The Series Finale.” What is the status of the white Vision? Our Vision transferred his consciousness into the desaturated synthezoid so isn’t he technically still out there? In the comics, the rebuilt Vision desaturated his green and yellow costume because he thought the white made him look more spectral, like a vision. He was drained of emotion but eventually regained it, so maybe there’s hope the love between the Vision and Scarlet Witch will survive.
I love the tear the Vision shed when he left. This was a reference to the Avengers #58 story, “Even an Android Can Cry,” when the supposedly emotionless Vision cries when the Avengers offer him membership.
It was emotional watching the Scarlet Witch make the right decision in letting her husband and children go. To do otherwise would mean holding the innocent people captive, and an Avenger wouldn’t do that. Those kids were imaginary but they were real to her and although it broke her heart to let them go, Wanda did the right thing. Of course, the people still resent her. That’s how it is in the comics: people hate mutants no matter how many times they save the world. The Transian villagers hated Wanda in the comics when she was starting out and lost control of her powers.
Another question: What are Monica’s powers? She seemed to be able to perceive mystical energy but then she also transformed into energy like in the comics. Monica is much more science-based than magic-based, but I guess mystical energy is just another form of energy that she’s be able to see. It was funny when Pietro kept her captive because in the comics, Monica would have laughed in his face. Quicksilver is pretty fast but Monica can move at the speed of light. I’m very pleased we’ll be seeing more of Monica, no matter what code name she takes.
It turns out there was nobody above Agatha Harkness and she was acting on her own accord against Wanda. I think it’s for the best, as it would have been distracting for there to be too much hierarchy pulling the strings. The irony is that in the real world, the accused women of Salem didn’t deserve the treatment they got. But Agatha was pretty evil, so that kind of proved the point of the intolerant people in that community. I mean, I wouldn’t burn anybody at the stake, but I think they were right to be concerned. I was disappointed that Agatha turned out to be a straight-up villain, as I wish her motivations mad been more complicated. I think this is the first instance of a comics hero in Marvel becoming a movie villain. Still, Kathryn Hahn’s performance was just too delicious to pass up.
I was concerned about Wanda’s punishment for Agatha. It was a satisfying taste of her own medicine but it did seem a little harsh. It reminded me of what Phoenix did to Mastermind. In the Dark Phoenix Saga in X-Men comics, the illusion caster Mastermind (coincidentally one of the original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants with the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver) had psychically manipulated Jean Grey, causing her to lose control of her vast powers and become the corrupt Dark Phoenix. When Jean found out what Mastermind did to her in the pursuit of power, she said, “You want power? Oh, I’ll give you power, little man.” She then expanded Mastermind’s consciousness so he could see the totality of the universe like she could. He couldn’t handle it and was catatonic for a time.
This demonstrated a few things: Jean achieved a serious level of power, she had done something morally questionable (she had been morally shaky for some time and this was the last thing she did before going full Dark Phoenix), and she had evolved to the point where she meted out her own higher level of justice. I see similarities in the way the Scarlet Witch imprisoned her own foe in her own creation, so I wonder if they’re suggesting she’s on a similar slippery moral slope. At the end, we see Wanda splitting off her astral form (while living in Mount Wundagore?) so part of her could study the Darkhold. That other side of her looked evil, and appearances definitely have meaning in comics: When Phoenix went evil, her costume changed to red. I mean, Wanda looked great in the headpiece and the red outfit, but it looked a little like it was edging into something darker.
The Darkhold, as its name implies, is not a force for good. It’s Marvel’s evil book of spells and it had previously been a big part of Agents of SHIELD. The book is very dangerous and you basically forfeit your soul if you try to use it. In Marvel Comics, you basically don’t even open it. During a conflict with Dracula, Doctor Strange was once able read the Montesi Formula, a Darkhold spell, to destroy Earth’s vampires (they later came back), in a story in 1983 that coincidentally co-starred the Scarlet Witch and Monica as Captain Marvel. Doctor Strange was powerful enough to resist the corrupting influence of the Darkhold but who knows what the effect on Wanda would be. She’s powerful but relatively untrained. Her powers are more instinctual.
So after all the speculation, there was no Mephisto, no Nightmare, no Doctor Strange, no Reed Richards, no X-Men. All those things were just what comic book readers projected onto it. It’s a lot of fun looking for Easter eggs and speculating and talking about classic Marvel comics but ultimately, the most important thing about the show was just the text.
In the end, WandaVision was a poignant look at grief, with great performances by Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, and a deeper look into my some of my favorite Avengers characters.
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