By Lexi Meola
Elm Staff Writer
The TV series “WandaVision” is the newest addition to the Marvel universe. The TV show is streaming on Disney+ and is about halfway through its first season.
With a catchy theme song, the first part of “Phase 4” centers around Wanda Maximoff known as Scarlett Witch — played by Elizabeth Olsen — and Vision — played by Paul Bettany — in what seems to be a fictional TV sitcom reminiscent of series from the 20th century, including “I Love Lucy” (1951-1957), “Bewitched” (1964-1972), and “Family Ties” (1982-1989).
So far, each episode has taken place in different eras copying popular American sitcoms from each decade with the appropriate technology and costumes.
The show also includes Jimmy Woo — played by Randall Park — from the “Ant-Man” movies, Monica Rambeau — played by Teyonah Parris — from “Captain Marvel,” and many other surprise guests from inside and outside the Marvel Universe.
“WandaVision” follows the titular Wanda and Vision as the newly married couple in the town of Westview, N.J..
What starts out as a seemingly innocent show quickly becomes confusing as it is discovered Wanda and Vision are being watched by the Sentient World Observation and Response Department, otherwise known as S.W.O.R.D.
“The sitcom is a show within the bigger show — a mystery of how these characters got to this point since we last saw them on the big screen together,” Vox reporter Alex Abad-Santos said.
The show leaves viewers questioning who the real villain is and what happened to Wanda and Vision — who was believed to be dead, after “Avengers Endgame.” No one knows how Wanda and Vision ended up in Westview, nor who is controlling everyone within the town.
Movies with the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been known for their intricate fight scenes, stunts, magic, and long movies filled with twists; now, the MCU is taking all these things and putting them into TV series releasing one episode weekly.
The show is the first TV series of the Marvel Universe and breaks from the typical long movie events, bringing a breath of fresh air for fans.
“In fact, the first three episodes that I’ve seen contain none of the usual Marvel trappings — no fight sequences, no CGI villains — and the result is an intriguing, fresh, genuinely delightful deviation from what we’ve come to expect,” TV Line writer Rebecca Iannucci said.
MCU fans can find multiple hidden easter eggs throughout each episode. The easter eggs come from other Marvel universe movies and from the comics themselves. Even if you are not the biggest MCU fan, you can still appreciate the show.
“If you have somehow skated through life without seeing a single Avengers film, you can still find delight in the riffs on ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show,’ ‘The Brady Bunch,’ and others, as well as the big kick that Olsen and Bettany seem to be getting from putting a superpowered spin on sitcom tropes,” Vulture reporter Jen Chaney said.
“WandaVision” is helping to create a new era of the MCU with more TV shows like “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and “Loki” coming to Disney+ this year.
The show so far has only been approved for nine episodes for the first season, but if the rest of the Marvel TV series are anything like “WandaVision,” Phase Four of the Marvel Universe is going to be full of fun twists and surprises.
Featured Photo caption: The most recent inclusion into the Marvel Studios cinematic universe, “WandaVision” brings audiences elements of wonder and mystery — all set to the staples of nostalgic television. Photo by Izze Rios.