Scarlet Witch has a long history in the comics, and with Wandavision, she's finally getting
her turn on the center stage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But even when she was more of a background player, the MCU has been dropping Easter eggs
about her long history in Marvel comics.
It can sometimes take a while for Marvel Cinematic Universe characters to take on the colorful
names of their comic book counterparts.
For example, Rhodey was only offhandedly referred to as a "war machine" by Tony Stark in Iron
Man 2, and he didn't officially assume that moniker until Iron Man 3.
Wanda Maximoff, on the other hand, has never been called Scarlet Witch in any MCU film
— although she did finally acquire the name in an episode of WandaVision.
"This is chaos magic, Wanda.
That makes you the Scarlet Witch."
Prior to that Disney+ program, the closest audiences had gotten to seeing Wanda Maximoff
being called Scarlet Witch came during a small piece of dialogue in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
In a scene when Tony Stark tries to calm Hulk down after he's been enraged by Wanda Maximoff's
superpowers, Stark makes an early nod to Wanda's comics name.
"That little witch is messing with your mind.
You're stronger than her.
You're smarter than her.
You're Bruce Banner."
Wanda never referred to herself as any kind of witch during her subsequent film appearances,
but it seems likely that after WandaVision, she'll own her superhero alter ego — Marvel
Studios chief Kevin Feige promised audiences that WandaVision would see the character finally
become Scarlet Witch.
Wanda was introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe before Disney purchased Fox, which
meant significant portions of her comics backstory needed to be changed.
Because Wanda in the comics was both supposedly a mutant and a mainstay on the Avengers team,
both companies had the rights to use the character on screen.
However, both studios were restricted on what they could do with Wanda — as well as her
brother Pietro Maximoff, a.k.a. Quicksilver.
For Marvel Studios, this shared custody agreement meant that they could use Wanda, but couldn't
make her a mutant — or, obviously, the daughter of Magneto.
Thus, while Wanda still has a twin brother named Pietro Maximoff in the MCU, her parents
are normal human beings.
Another part of her origin story that was altered: The MCU's version of Wanda hails
from the European country of Sokovia rather than her original comic book country of origin,
Transia.
Though the names of the countries have changed, Sokovia bears more than a passing resemblance
to Wanda's original homeland.
Like Transia, Sokovia is a fictional Eastern European country rife with political turmoil
— making it a subtle nod to Wanda Maximoff's original home for comics fans.
Not all superheroes start out as superheroes.
Some start out like Tony Stark — arrogant people so blinded by their own wealth that
they can't see how their actions affect others.
Other superheroes begin their journeys as outright supervillains — like Wanda Maximoff.
She and her brother Pietro began their time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as voluntary
human guinea pigs for the terrorist organization known as Hydra.
These experiments gave them both their superpowers, and they eventually joined forces with the
diabolical robot Ultron as his super-powered henchmen.
In their time working for Ultron, Wanda and her brother tormented the Avengers and helped
lay the groundwork for the maniacal robot's plan for world domination.
While this is different from the duo's origin story in the comics, it isn't a complete change
— Wanda also started out as a villain there as well.
There, she and Pietro, as the children of Magneto, were critical figures in the Brotherhood
of Mutants and frequently fought the X-Men.
Much like their film incarnations, though, Wanda and Pietro didn't stay villainous for
long.
"How could you?
"
"How could I what?"
"You said we would destroy the Avengers make a better world."
"It will be better."
In both mediums, they eventually turned against their evil masters and went on to work for
the Avengers — just as comics readers always suspected they would.
The suburban New Jersey setting of WandaVision is a gift that keeps on giving.
On the surface, it allows the show to pay homage to classic sitcoms, many of which also
take place in the suburbs.
It works for the show, but it wasn't just invented for TV — this superhero duo's New
Jersey roots actually go all the way back to an offbeat storyline in the 1985 comic
series The Vision and the Scarlet Witch.
In that series, the couple moves to the New Jersey suburbs after getting married to enjoy
a life together.
Unfortunately, it isn't that easy — the locals aren't happy with a human/android marriage
happening in their community.
That source of conflict in The Vision and Scarlet Witch is more mundane than the supernatural
goings-on that fuel the plot of WandaVision, but putting the pair in Westview adds connective
tissue to Wanda and Vision's prior comic book series — as well as 2016's Vision series,
which saw the character of Vision once again retreating to the suburbs with a new synthezoid
family.
In the MCU, Hawkeye and Wanda Maximoff have developed a close bond since meeting in Avengers:
Age of Ultron.
Their first big meeting didn't seem to signal that dynamic, though, as it entailed Wanda,
still working as a minion of Ultron, trying to sneak up on Hawkeye only for the archer
to plug an electric arrow onto her forehead.
However, the two superheroes grew closer once Wanda defected to the Avengers.
This was solidified by the climax of Age of Ultron, which saw Hawkeye giving Wanda a big
speech about what it means to be an Avenger.
"The city is flying, we're fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow.
None of this makes sense."
His rapport with Wanda took on a paternal sense of protection after her brother Pietro
sacrificed himself to save Hawkeye.
Just like that, she had lost the only family she had left in the world -- so Hawkeye stepped
in to help her feel like she still had somewhere she belonged.
The pair has also had a close bond in the comics, though it's been more complicated
there.
Instead of having paternal feelings for Wanda, in the comics Hawkeye sees her more as a romantic
interest -- at least, until Vision shows up in her life.
While their relationship has been altered for the movies, Hawkeye and Wanda's closeness
in the MCU echoes the comics that came before it.
Though WandaVision marks the first time Wanda Maximoff has used her superpowers to create
a persistent alternate reality in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's something she's accomplished
in the comics before -- more than once.
Her abilities in this department were most famously the crux of the comic book storyline
House of M, which was penned by Brian Michael Bendis in 2005.
Here Wanda, much like in WandaVision, is in a period of deep emotional distress — though
in House of M her grief is the result of losing her children, not losing Vision.
To cope with her crushing sadness, Wanda decides to escape by creating her own alternate reality.
This decision doesn't just impact Wanda, though — it sends the entire Marvel Universe into
chaos, creating a world run by mutants, under the cold rule of the family of Magneto.
When the rest of the heroes in the Marvel universe wake up to what's going on, they're
forced to come together to stop Wanda at any cost and set the world right again.
Looking at House of M's broad strokes, it's clear WandaVision takes cues from this comics
event, including the emphasis on Wanda navigating very real emotional problems through her superpowers.
There are clear and major differences between the comics and the show, but the similarities
between the two are impossible to miss.
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