WandaVision is finally here, and it isn't like anything we've seen before in the MCU. Except,
of course, for the usual treasure trove of references to the comics and other Marvel
movies. Here are the Easter eggs you may have missed in the first two episodes of WandaVision.
As soon as preview images began popping up for WandaVision, it became clear the show
was taking part of its inspiration from a fan favorite — but short-lived — comic book series.
In early 2016, Marvel Comics released the first issue of Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta's
Vision. The synthezoid had enjoyed a couple of miniseries before then, but this one was
unique. This Vision comic also found its title character trying to build an idyllic
and ordinary life in a quiet suburb. Rather than being married to Scarlet Witch, however,
Vision builds his family of synthezoids — his wife Virginia, his son Vin, and his daughter Viv.
Unlike the heroes of WandaVision, the synthezoid and his family make
no attempt to hide what they are in the Vision comic, which leads to more than a
few complications. No spoilers, but here's hoping WandaVision has a happier ending.
The style of the first episode of WandaVision is based on sitcoms of the '50s and early '60s,
and the faux intro includes a funny Easter egg calling back to one of those classic
programs – The Dick Van Dyke Show. The reference isn't so much about what happens, though,
as much as it is about what doesn't happen.
Fans of the The Dick Van Dyke Show will likely notice the similarity in theme
music with WandaVision's. They'll also remember that in some episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show,
the intro includes the titular star tripping over the ottoman in his living room and taking a
tumble. There was also an alternate version used occasionally where Dick sidesteps the ottoman.
In WandaVision's intro, Vision almost finds himself making the same mistake as he's carrying
Wanda into their living room. Unlike Van Dyke, however, Vision's powers allow him to phase right
through the precariously placed furniture and deliver Wanda to the living room without injury.
"Laughing at people in pain is a manifestation of
a deep-seated hostility."
There's a lot of twin imagery in the first two episodes of WandaVision,
usually in the form of matching sets of jewelry, furniture, and other objects. And in some cases,
the matching pair is missing. For example, when Agnes introduces herself to Wanda, she notices
Wanda doesn't wear a wedding ring — though Wanda takes care of this toward the end of the episode.
There's also the two lobsters that Wanda accidentally sends flying out of her kitchen
window that subsequently Vision can't find. There's the couple's twin beds and other twin
sets of furniture, and even the matching pieces of toast in the Toast Mate 2000 commercial.
Ever since the first trailer for the WandaVision miniseries dropped,
there's been speculation that it would involve Wanda Maximoff's twin sons Billy and Tommy
from the comics, both of whom ultimately prove to be constructs of Wanda's power.
It seems like a good bet all of this twin imagery is pointing to these as-yet
absent sons. Wanda's abrupt pregnancy at the end of Episode 2 seems to seal that particular deal.
Both of WandaVision's first two episodes include a fake advertisement. In Episode 1,
we get an ad for the Toast Mate 2000. Among other things,
it gives us the first indication that WandaVision could be taking place
in the same world as the rest of the MCU, as we find out the device is built by Stark Industries.
"The all-new Toast Mate 2000, by Stark Industries."
The Toast Mate 2000 is also a clever reference to both Vision and Wanda's comic book twin sons.
Vision is, after all, Wanda's "mate" — and like the toaster, he's part machine. The toaster,
of course, creates two matching pieces of toasted bread, just like Wanda and Vision's
"matching" twin boys. And who makes the Toast Mate 2000? Stark Industries.
Just like how it's Tony Stark who is one of Vision's creators in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
There are a lot of allusions to witches and witchcraft in WandaVision,
which is fitting considering Wanda's alter ego is the Scarlet Witch. One
such Easter egg is part of the format for the WandaVision show-within-a-show..
At the end of both of the first two WandaVision episodes, the couple is framed in a hexagon as
the end credits roll. That's not something commonly seen in sitcoms of any era.
One explanation is that it's referencing Wanda's powers.
While we've never heard them described this way in the MCU movies or TV shows,
in the comics Wanda's ranged blasts are called "Hex Spheres." Not to mention that a "hex"
commonly means a spell or curse cast by a witch.
When Agnes takes it upon herself to help Wanda create a memorable romantic evening in Episode 1,
she uses tips from a women's magazine called Glamorous. Now, you could understandably assume
there's nothing much to make of that title... until we get to Episode 2. Wanda and Vision
volunteer to be part of the talent show benefiting Westview Elementary and they put on a magic act.
Vision plays the magician and Wanda plays his lovely assistant, Glamour.
"I am Glamour and he's Illusion!"
This is yet another reference to witchcraft. While usually when we talk about "glamour"
we're talking about someone's attractiveness or their lifestyle, there's another meaning for
the word. A glamour can also mean a mystical enchantment — in particular, it's typically
an illusion. For a perfect MCU example, think of Loki. When Loki disguises himself as someone else,
that would be called a glamour. And considering how much you come to
question the reality of what's going on in WandaVision, that word carries some weight.
In the final moments of WandaVision's premiere episode, we pull back from the
screen showing the sitcom to see a desk. The screen playing the faux sitcom is surrounded
by much more contemporary technology, and someone whose face we don't see is
sitting and watching the strange show. More importantly, on the monitor to the left of
the TV screen — and on a notepad on the desk — we see a symbol familiar to Marvel Comics fans.
The symbol with the blade — as the picture suggests — belongs to an
organization called S.W.O.R.D., whose acronym in
the comics stands for "Sentient World Observation and Response Department."
The agency is first revealed in Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's Astonishing X-Men run,
when they're introduced as the space counterpart to S.H.I.E.L.D. — while
S.H.I.E.L.D. deals with earthbound threats, S.W.O.R.D. handles threats from the stars.
Fans have been theorizing about the MCU's S.W.O.R.D. for years,
and the symbols at the end of episode 1 let us know they're finally here.
If you're familiar with the hit sitcom Bewitched – starring Elizabeth Montgomery as a witch who
both uses her powers to solve her family's problems and struggles to keep her identity
as a witch secret — it's impossible to not think of the show while watching WandaVision.
It comes to mind early in the premiere episode, when Wanda is putting her dishes
away with her telekinetic powers. But the similarities get kicked up a notch in the
opening credits of episode 2, when instead of using The Dick Van Dyke Show for inspiration,
WandaVision uses animation reminiscent of Bewitched's unique style.
It's a particularly fitting show to choose to pull from for episode 2 for a few reasons.
One of the most obvious is the fact that both shows deal with witchcraft. Another
is that just as episode 2 ends with the world of WandaVision changing from black and white to
color, Bewitched began its life as a black and white show in 1964 and changed to color in 1966.
Early in episode 2 we get color mixed in with the black and white,
and it's as striking as it is meaningful.
After practicing the magic act with Vision, Wanda is straightening up the
living room when she hears a whirring and a bang from outside. In the bushes of her
front yard she finds a toy helicopter. Unlike everything else in this black and white world,
the helicopter shows some color. It's red and gold, with some metallic silver mixed in.
The number 57 is on its side, and the S.W.O.R.D. symbol is painted on the front.
The number on the helicopter isn't randomly chosen. The first comic
book appearance of the Vision comes in 1968's Avengers #57.
And once again, just as the Toast Mate 2000 reminds us of Tony Stark,
for some reason or another, the helicopter happens to be painted in Iron Man's classic colors.
Like the premiere WandaVision episode, the second episode treats us to another faux advertisement.
This time, instead of a toaster, we get a watch manufactured by a company called Strücker,
and the commercial is chock full of Easter eggs.
First, there's the most obvious reference. Baron Von Strucker — whose short MCU life
ends with Avengers: Age of Ultron — is in charge of the experiments
which give Wanda and her late brother Pietro their powers.
He's a part of Hydra, whose sinister logo is visible on the watch face.
Aligned as they are, the watch hands can't help but bear a resemblance to
Loki's scepter, from which Wanda and Pietro's powers spring.
Then there's the time. The watch is showing the time of 2:42,
and if you're looking for Easter eggs in Marvel media, pay attention to numbers.
Consequentially, 1984's Avengers #242 is a pretty important one for the team — and for
Vision and Scarlet Witch in particular. The pair are reunited when Vision's body
finally is restored after injuries he'd suffered during a previous adventure.
Early in episode 2, Wanda and Vision practice their magic act for the talent show in the
living room, and later we get to see that act completely go off the rails when swallowing
a piece of chewing gum messes with Vision's insides so much that he acts like a raving drunk.
"Is this your card? Is this your card? Is this your card? Is this your card? … Is this your card?
In both scenes we also see what Vision calls the Cabinet of Mysteries,
equipped with a secret door to let its occupant seem to have disappeared.
Adorning the cabinet is a picture of the Mind Stone stuck to Vision's head.
It's not just an Easter egg, but a meaningful reference. After all, we still don't know how
or why Vision isn't dead, or why the Mind Stone is with him. His Mind Stone was destroyed off-camera
by Thanos, and the Stone from the past was presumably returned by Captain America.
The purpose of the cabinet as a device to make things disappear
and reappear might also have some significance. After all, both the Mind Stone and Vision are
things that were supposed to disappear, but didn't. At least not completely.
When Wanda and Dottie confront each other in the middle of episode 2, the 1965 hit single "Help Me,
Rhonda" by the Beach Boys is playing on a nearby radio. It may seem like a song chosen just because
of the era, until you think about both the name of the song and some of the lyrics.
First of all, there's the title — "Rhonda" sounds a lot like "Wanda." Then there's what the Beach
Boys are singing. On the surface, the song is about a man devastated by his fiancee cheating
on him, and asking Rhonda to "get her out" of his heart. But if you think of it in the context
of Vision and Wanda's shared history, it becomes a much darker story, particularly with these lyrics:
"She was gonna be my wife/And I was gonna be her man/But she let another guy come between
us/And it shattered our plans." The last thing Vision and Wanda
talk about before being attacked by the Black Order in Avengers:
Infinity War is making their relationship more permanent. Then "another guy," i.e. Thanos,
shatters not only their plans, but literally shatters Vision.
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