WandaVision has proved a divisive first entry in Marvel Studios’ foray into Disney+. The Scarlet Witch/Vision team-up is effectively a lengthy parody of classic TV with a sprinkling of Lynchian strangeness on top. I’m sure it’s all going somewhere, but right now, it’s difficult to get much out of it unless you’re a fan of very dated sitcoms.
All that might change soon, though. The show is progressing through the decades with each episode, with this week’s being 1980s themed and reportedly a pastiche of Family Ties. So far, it’s been full of little nods to Marvel Comics stories and now, fans have spotted one that they think could be a clue that none other than Magneto may soon appear.
This came in episode 2 during Vision and Wanda’s magic show, in which a chewing gum addled Vision referred to a “cabinet of mysteries” as a “magnet of crysteries.” So, “magnet of,” or magnet-o, = Magneto!
Of course, in the comics, Magneto was the father of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, though a few years ago it was revealed that he wasn’t after all (and that they’re not even mutants). For a long time, that was irrelevant to the MCU, as the studio didn’t have the rights to the X-Men, so this Wanda and Pietro got their powers from HYDRA experiments with the Mind Stone.
But after the Fox merger, Marvel Studios now have the rights and it’s at least possible that the iconic character could appear. Still, I think it’s unlikely, particularly as the eventual reveal of the MCU Magneto is bound to be a big deal. That being, Kevin Feige was asked about “other family members” turning up in WandaVision and stated:
“This is more about that relationship with Vision, and more about that dynamic and the evolving relationship of that couple, and how that grows and evolves and unfolds. [But] there are other characters in other episodes of this show. Who they are, what they are, not worth discussing right now.”
Much more likely is an appearance from Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver, who died in Age of Ultron and was spoken about in the most recent episode. His return was rumored during the show’s production and mentioned in audition pieces, and given Wanda’s apparent power to resurrect the dead, him dropping by makes sense. In any case, WandaVision has been economical with an explanation for what’s going on up to this point, so let’s hope this Friday’s episode provides some real surprises.
