The final episode of WandaVision is here, and it’s 45 minutes of big screen Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster chaos magic action…but on the small screen. And while pound for pound it’s a little lighter on Marvel Comics and MCU Easter eggs than what we’ve seen in previous weeks (let alone sitcom references, now that we’ve left that world long behind), there’s still PLENTY to dig in to and fun things you might have missed. In particular, this episode sets up at least two upcoming big screen adventures with both Captain Marvel 2 and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But there’s elements from WandaVision that will also resonate in future MCU TV series on Disney+ as well. Let’s get to work…and if you spot anything we missed, let us know in the comments!
The Darkhold
The Darkhold has shown up in Agents of SHIELD and Runaways prior to this, but it had a very different look to it. While this could just be a retcon of its appearance, it also might be a statement that we shouldn’t consider those shows part of the MCU proper anymore now that we’re getting rolling with the Disney+ shows.
Monica Rambeau and the Skrulls
Monica discovers her Hex-rewritten form can now absorb the kinetic energy of the bullets Director Hayward fires at Tommy and Billy. It’s one of many powers she will have as she develops her superhero abilities, and we will no doubt see more of them in Captain Marvel 2 whether she adopts the superhero code name of Spectrum or Photon.
The first Disney+ MCU show ends with a hero being recruited by Nick Fury (albeit remotely this time), much like Iron Man, the first movie in the MCU. Basically, Fury is summoning Monica to join him in space, where we last saw him at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home. It’s also worth pointing out that WandaVision takes place about six months or so before that movie.
Doctor Strange 2
Sam Raimi, director of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (which Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda will play a significant role in) once directed a film called Oz, The Great and Powerful, which is playing at the Coronet Theater in Westview.
The post-credits features a zooming into a cabin filled with all sorts of dark magic going on (looks like there are subtle runes everywhere, too). Interestingly enough, this is to hype up Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, directed by Sam Raimi. Sam Raimi got his start directing Evil Dead and later its sequels. The first two of those movies centered around a demonic cabin and were filled with plenty of over-the-top zoom shots. We write about how this Evil Dead connection specifically sets up Wanda’s connection to Doctor Strange 2 here.
When we see Wanda in astral form reading a big book of magic, that’s something we’ve seen Doctor Strange do in his own film.
Squeaky Shine
At one point, Agatha is perched in front of a billboard for a cleaning product named Squeaky Shine, which boasts its “all natural formula using the power of Mother Earth.” This is a bit of a reach, but the author of the Darkhold is said to be the demon Chthon. The name Chthon derives from the word “chthonic” which usually implies some sinister, “underworld” connotations (it’s a creepy looking word, isn’t it?), but it can also sometimes just mean that things are of the natural world. The Greek goddess Persephone ruled the underworld at the side of Hades… and Persephone is one of the mythological earth mother symbols or…Mother Earth.
Miscellaneous Marvel Weirdness
The visuals on the superpowers in these fights were more interesting than they usually are. Vision’s beams had a cool spiral thing going on, very reminiscent of Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon from Dragon Ball, while Wanda’s underhand hex bolt slinging had a very Johnny Cage’s arcing fireball from Mortal Kombat thing going on.
Wanda tells Agatha, “I’ll be seeing you,” which is one final TV deep cut. On the classic show The Prisoner, in which a former secret agent was forced to live a “perfect” life in a creepily pre-fabricated and controlled town, everyone’s way of saying goodbye was an ominous “be seeing you.”
Jimmy Woo puts in a call to someone at the FBI named “Cliff” but that’s all we get. There’s a one-off character from Marvel Comics named Cliff Randall, a SHIELD agent who appeared in exactly one story (which nonetheless had some alien overtones). In this case, it’s probably all a coincidence. Also, Randall Park as Jimmy Woo is delightful and needs to be in everything going forward and basically be the new Agent Coulson.
The episode features a slightly different version of the utterly tedious “hero’s choice” that we see in every superhero movie and TV show on the planet and which needs to be retired immediately: “save innocents or catch me, bwaahahahaha!” But in this case, it’s more nuanced, where Wanda can have a life with her family, thus damning the citizens of Westview, or she can do the right thing and save them.
This isn’t an Easter egg, but Darcy’s “have fun in prison!” was priceless.
And that’s it for our series on WandaVision Marvel Easter eggs! Thanks for joining us these last couple of months, and we’ll see you soon for similar deep dives into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Spot anything we missed? Let us know in the comments!