Over the last few weeks, WandaVision has proven to be one of the most intriguing and unusual shows on television, with each passing installment peeling back one layer of the mystery before quickly wrapping itself in at least two more. However, one of the strangest moments from “On a Very Special Episode…” had nothing to do with either of the title characters, or even WestView at all.
A discussion between FBI agent Jimmy Woo and S.W.O.R.D.’s acting director Tyler Hayward stuck out like a sore thumb, with the two of them exchanging words hammering home the point that within the context of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s no such person as Scarlet Witch.
It was jarring for Woo and Hayward to go to such great lengths to establish that Wanda Maximoff doesn’t have an alias, which certainly felt as though it’s something that could be paid off over the next few weeks. After all, pretty much every one of the franchise’s marquee heroes has been referred to by either a code name or superhero identity over the last thirteen years, so there must be a reason why the WandaVision team decided to reiterate the point that Wanda hasn’t several times over.
Tony Stark called her a witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and an upcoming episode of WandaVision features a wink to her classic comic book costume, but as of yet she’s never been referred to by her most famous moniker. It might be an effort to humanize Wanda and paint her in shades of grey until her true motivations are eventually revealed, but based on how many of the MCU’s major figures have been given their nicknames by the media, once the world catches wind of what’s going on in WestView, she could yet end up dubbed as the Scarlet Witch.
