Who is Agatha Harkness?

Who is Agatha Harkness?

Good question. 

Agatha Harkness in the comics is one of those background characters that essentially shows up whenever magic is involved in the current shenanigans and usually explains what's going on to whoever is in charge of dealing with it. First appearing as the Fantastic Four's nanny, she's best known for training Scarlet Witch... And not much else... 

Till, of course, now...

Marvel Comics

Agatha Harkness originally appeared in the Fantastic Four comics when she was hired to watch after Franklin Richards, the kid of Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman. Turns out she wanted the baby for some witchcraft crap and they ended up firing her. 

Next we saw her appear in Scarlet Witch's origin story, where she trained her powers since, despite being mutant powers, they closely resembled magic. This was repeated in the show X-Men: Evolution where Agatha also helped Nightcrawler and Rogue try to cure their petrified mother Mystique (Which ended in Rogue committing murder and Agatha peacing out). 

Throughout Agatha's multiple appearances in the comics and various video games, she had the attitude of Professor McGonagall with slightly more ambiguous morals. She showed up, explained the magic plot, then took off.*

*Note: There is some sort of recent development where she regained her youth to resemble the actress from Wandavision, but honestly I haven't been following the latest comics so whatever that was it was a thing. 

Wandavision

Most people know Agatha from the incredible series Wandavision, where she served as the dangerous antagonist, played by Kathryn Hahn. In the series, Agatha tests Wanda to see the true extent of her powers, revealing that Wanda's powers are magic, which was unlocked by the tesseract (See Avengers: Age of Ultron). Agatha is the only person inside Wanda's brainwashed TV town who knows what's really going on. Agatha wants to steal Wanda's chaos magic and mix it with the Darkhold, the magical MacGuffin which showed back up in Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.  Wanda ends up thrashing the witch in a magic duel and leaves her in a mind-wiped state, which is apparently reversed in the new series. 

That and the fact that she was apparently involved in the Salem Witch trials is far more backstory and characterization than we ever got in the comics. 

Marvel's Midnight Suns

In the sadly slept-on video game Marvel's Midnight Suns Agatha shows up as an NPC with more than her usual explain-the-plot role. She is a surrogate mother to the protagonist, the Hunter, and sadly was killed before the Hunter was able to be resurrected by Nico Minoru. Here Agatha helps the player character by appearing as a ghost and guides them through the home base on various quests to unlock secrets and collectables. We eventually find out that she was killed by Scarlet Witch in an accidental experiment with dark magic, so the main character has to deal with that when they finally get Wanda to join the party. 

Here Agatha feels more like comic book Aunt May with magic than the cold witch she usually is. She's kind and sympathetic to The Hunter, and misses her former partner the Caretaker (She doesn't get a name but think magic witchy Nick Fury). Her backstory is the same as the comics but she's far more relatable and interesting here, except maybe her version in Wandavision. 

The Beauty of the MCU

Fun fact: In the 90's comics weren't doing well and Marvel was hemorrhaging money so they started selling off their properties for movie adaptations, including X-Men and Spider-Man. They tried to sell the Avengers too but nobody wanted to buy it as the characters were "just not profitable". Today Iron Man and Thor are as well known as Superman and Batman because of what Marvel did with them in the MCU. Agatha Harkness got an even harder glow-up, as it can be argued how important the Avengers were in the previous comics, Agatha was usually just there in the background. They're were few if any Agatha Harkness fans clamoring for her to show up in anything before Wandavision, and now thanks to excellent writing, an amazing actress, and a couple slight adjustments to the character, she's now a vibrant piece of superhero media. 

-JOE

The Marvels Binge List

If all goes well, I’ll finally be back to the movie theater in the coming month. We’re vaguely planning on taking our three-year-old to the new Paw Patrol movie, but you can probably guess from the title that I’m not writing about Paw Patrol today (note to self: blog post about why Rubble is the best pup on the Paw Patrol). So instead of the pups, let’s focus on three marvelous ladies headlining in the MCU’s next month. So here’s what you need to review to be ready for The Marvels.

Captain Marvel (2 hours 4 min)

By no means is she the first Avenger (see Captain America), but she was the one who inspired the Avengers Initiative. I don’t understand the hate that Captain Marvel gets and I don’t think I’ll ever understand. First time I saw this movie, I really enjoyed it. Now that I have two daughters, I like having a powerful female hero, who refused to lower herself to the standards of a man who had oppressed her.

Avengers: Endgame (3 hours 2 min)

I was vastly disappointed in how little Endgame used Captain Marvel. A bit at the beginning and then a power house during the final battle. I had expected her to be part of the main action (at least somewhat). Instead she was just somewhere up in space being underutilized by the Avengers. Disappointing. Biggest thing we got from her was a bad haircut.

WandaVision (9 episodes)

Pivot to another one of the Marvels, as Monica investigated Wanda’s incident in Westview. After multiple times going through the Hex, someone was blessed with super powers. Interesting to see her only exploring the beginnings of her powers in WandaVision before the series ended and she was taken away to Fury’s ship.

Shang-Chi (2 hours 12 min)

I’d watch this movie again just for the heck of it, but Captain Marvel only appears in the credit scene. Again, underutilized. Even for a credit scene. At least it establishes the continued connection between the Avengers (or at least between Wong, Captain Marvel, and Banner).

Ms. Marvel (6 episodes)

I had so many hopes for this series. Mostly hoping they’d have re-introduced Inhumans, but instead they hinted at Ms. Marvel being the first official mutant (and yet we’re no closer to getting the X-Men). But this is probably the part of The Marvels that I’m most excited for. Seeing Kamala fangirl over meeting Carol Danvers is going to be a sight to be seen. Especially after seeing Captain Marvel suddenly appear in the Khan home.

Secret Invasion (6 episodes)

Another series I had so many hopes for (but that was my problem, as I previously wrote about). Again, I hoped they’d re-introduce Inhumans (come on, Marvel, where’s Quake!?) but instead we got a weird super-powered Skrull. As if Skrulls aren’t powerful enough as it is. With how this series ended, I definitely lacked closure on everything with Fury and the Skrulls… but maybe some of that will be resolved during The Marvels. Please?

And in the meantime, while I wait for The Marvels, I’m going to keep watching Loki Season 2. I enjoyed the premiere, but we’ll see how the rest of the season goes. Curious how this season will proceed, as this may be the last time we see Kang before Phase Six. Who knows?

Secret Invasion Binge List

As Secret Invasion approaches on Disney Plus, I’m excited to see what Marvel will make of this intriguing storyline. My brother had told me about this plot from the comics years ago and then I saw it play out in cartoon form in Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Now we get to see it in live-action. I can only hope that Daisy Johnson (aka Quake) will return, as she was part of Fury’s team in the comics and cartoon. But since Agents of SHIELD is kind of semi-canon… we’ll see. There are two aspects of this show we know though: it will contain Nick Fury and the Skrulls. So let’s review Director Fury and his experience with these shapeshifters.

Captain Marvel

This prequel movie was Fury’s first encounter with the Skrulls, as well as ours. As a misunderstood faction of the shapeshifters infiltrated Earth, they sought only for the discovery and safety of their families. Along the way becoming allies with Carol, Fury, and Maria, they fought off the Kree before fleeing into space with Captain Marvel as their protector. We wouldn’t see the Skrulls again (knowingly at least) for many years yet.

Iron Man and Iron Man 2

This was our first present-day appearance of Director Fury. In the credits scene of Iron Man, he approached Tony Stark about the Avengers Initiative. Six months later, he set Black Widow undercover in Stark’s company to evaluate him. After helping Tony Stark save himself, Fury left as quickly as he’d arrived.

Thor

In the credit scene for Thor’s inaugural movie, we see Selvig in the aftermath of New Mexico, teaming up with SHIELD and Fury, leading directly into the events of The Avengers. Unfortunately, it’s obvious to the viewer that Loki is along for the ride with Selvig.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Again, Fury only makes a short appearance (he’s good at those). This time he appears in Times Square, welcoming Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) to the 21st Century. Defrosted after nearly 70 years, it understandably takes Steve a few minutes to acclimatize. 

The Avengers

A major player in this movie, Fury is the one who gets the Avengers together. It was his pet project after all, as we learned in Captain Marvel. First he was sending Widow to recruit Banner and then he was bringing Cap in himself. After Coulson’s death, Fury rallied them together and gave them someone to avenge (Coulson, of course) in the Battle of New York. He also helped them give the World Security Council the slip after the battle. 

Agents of SHIELD

Season 1, Episode 2

After assigning Coulson and his new team to the Bus, they got it wrecked leaving South America. So naturally Fury showed up to tell Coulson off, in a semi-humorous ending to the episode. Fury made a note to warn Coulson about his recruit, Skye. Things turned out okay in the end, so maybe that means Fury will recruit her as Quake to help in Secret Invasion (I’m going to keep dreaming).

Season 1, Episode 22

This episode takes place after Winter Soldier, but I’ll talk about it here while I’m already under the SHIELD heading. On his way to Europe after the events of Winter Soldier, Fury catches the signal of a stranded FitzSimmons. After rescuing them, it's off to help Coulson beat Garrett. And he does. And Fury goes off to do Fury-type stuff (starting to form his Secret Invasion team maybe?).

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I loved this team up of Falcon, Cap, and Widow. This movie is largely considered one of the best MCU movies and it’s not hard to see why. In a way, this movie probably set in motion Fury recruiting his private team for Secret Invasion. With the fall of SHIELD and Fury’s supposed death, it creates a power vacuum and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Skrulls used this vacuum to begin advancing their invasion. It was also nice to see Fury in more of a major role, instead of making an appearance that lasted maybe five minutes like many MCU movies.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

So after the Avengers get their butts and minds kicked by Wanda, they take a little respite at the Barton Homestead. And it’s there that Fury shows up to give the Avengers the needed pep talk (and some intel about where to go next to fight Ultron). With the Avengers on the mission, Fury goes to pick up Coulson’s fleet of helicarriers (per the Theta Protocol in Agents of SHIELD). And with Ultron defeated and the New Avengers Facility up and running, Fury slips back into the shadows. 

Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame

While the Avengers are off fighting Thanos and the SHIELD team is off fighting Graviton, Fury and Hill are in Atlanta doing who-knows-what. Just as things are heating up, they start dusting into the air. But not before Fury can use his pager to call Captain Marvel. The next time we see Fury, it’s at Tony’s funeral. Or maybe it was never Fury… you’d never know if a Skrull got dusted instead of him. Peter Parker certainly didn’t know… but we’ll get to that in the next section.

Spider-Man: Far From Home

We’re led to believe that Fury is featured throughout this movie (only to find out in the credits scene that he’s off-world and Talos is covering for him). However, that doesn’t mean the appearance of “Nick Fury” with Spider-Man is meaningless. Fury obviously trusted Talos enough to leave him in charge and to play him. And this Skrull does a pretty good job (though I’d say he doesn’t have Fury’s instincts, or else he wouldn’t have trusted Mysterio). 

WandaVision

Season 1, Episode 9

After Monica Rambeau became super-powered during the events of WandaVision, a Skrull messenger was sent to touch base with her. This takes place during the mid-credits scene, so hopefully you didn’t miss it. It’s likely that she was recruited to help Fury. Only makes sense I suppose.

In addition to what I've already noted for Fury and Talos, we've also been told that Rhodey and Agent Ross will be appearing. If you want to watch Rhodey's story, I'd say to check out the Iron Man movies (all 3) and the Avengers movies (2-4). For Everett Ross, check out Civil War and both Black Panther movies.

So now we wait. Who’s a Skrull? Who’s human? And who’s a Skrull we can trust? And will we finally get to see Quake in the proper MCU? Come on and make Agents of SHIELD fully canon! But that could be a pipe dream. Only time will tell who’s in Fury’s inner circle.

Doctor Strange Binge List

The multiverse has been opened and nothing will ever be the same. Or something like that. Doctor Strange is certainly in for something crazy. Multiverse of Madness premieres in about a month, so now’s your chance to refresh your memory on the adventures of our esteemed doctor thus far.

Doctor Strange (1 hour 55 min)

If you’re rewatching Stephen’s adventures, the natural place to begin is Doctor Strange (duh, right?). Our not-yet-magical doctor gets in his accident and goes soul-searching… sort of. Along the way of trying to heal himself, he learns magic, stops a group of fanatical zealots (perhaps that’s redundant), and basically makes himself Sorcerer Supreme. And there he is. Master of the Mystic Arts. Don’t forget it also introduces his rival Mordo, who’s set to return in the Multiverse.

Thor: Ragnarok (2 hours 10 min)

Half of Doctor Strange’s scenes in this movie are also in the Doctor Strange post-credit scene. The mystical doctor finds Thor and Loki in New York City. Detaining Loki for a moment, the good doctor takes a moment to talk with Thor before directing the two brothers to their father Odin. If you’re just trying to prep for Strange’s sequel, you can skip this movie. Though I do still love it.

Avengers: Infinity War (2 hours 29 min)

When Bruce Banner crashes through the roof of 177A Bleecker Street, Doctor Strange is pulled into an Avengers level conflict. First during the fight in Greenwich Village and then into space. While waiting for Thanos on the titan’s home planet, Doctor Strange fast-forwards to millions of different futures to find one in which they’d win. In order to make their victory a reality, Stephen gives up the Time Stone and is dusted not much later.

Avengers: Endgame (3 hours 2 min)

After the core Avengers snap half the universe back into existence, Doctor Strange opens his portals to bring probably hundreds of heroes to the destroyed Avengers Compound to fight the Mad Titan and his followers, who’ve arrived from 2014. It took the sacrifice of Tony Stark for the good guys to win, leaving Doctor Strange the leader of the Avengers, but Iron Man will not soon be forgotten.

WandaVision (Episodes 1-9)

We don’t know exactly what role Wanda will play in Doctor Strange 2. Many have speculated she’ll be the villain. Seems like there’ll be multiple versions of Wanda, so anything is possible. But before you watch Doctor Strange 2, it’s a good chance to rewatch WandaVision. In her grief post-Endgame, Wanda ends up trapping the town of Westview in her chaos magic. As she tries to hide from her grief, things get progressively worse and convoluted in town, finally climaxing in a witch fight against Agatha. Also, check out Wanda’s history prior to Westview.

Loki (Season 1, Episodes 1-6)

During the Avengers time travel shenanigans in Endgame, Ant-Man and Iron Man accidentally set free a version of 2012 Loki. It doesn’t take long before this Loki is apprehended by the Time Variance Authority. Working on their consultant, he betrays them (naturally) and teams up with a female Loki who ends up killing a Kang variant at the end of the universe, bringing us the multiverse. We don’t know exactly what way Loki will tie into the movie, but it’s rumored that Loki and Sylvie will appear. Maybe even Mobius. If you’re interested, you can also check out Loki’s previous adventures too. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2 hours 28 min)

Following the events of Far From Home, Peter Parker wants a quick fix from Doctor Strange to save his anonymity. Unfortunately, things are never that simple. So a botched spell brings two other Spider-Men and their respective villains to the main MCU branch of reality. So Spider-Man fights Strange, the villains fight Spider-Man, and in the end Doctor Strange ends up casting a spell to make everyone forget Peter Parker. It’s horribly heart-breaking and tragically beautiful. But the breach in the multiverse wasn’t solved that easily. 

And that brings us to the Multiverse of Madness. We’ve got lots of other characters teased and rumored. If you want more Wong, make sure you watch Shang-Chi. If you’re one that believes Professor X will appear (though Patrick Stewart has denied his involvement), I’d recommend at least watching the original X-Men trilogy. At least two new versions of Doctor Strange are appearing, possibly Strange Supreme, so you can also check out What If (episodes 4, 8, and 9). Captain Carter from What If is also rumored, so check her out as well (episodes 1 and 9). But regardless of who you think you’ll see, it’s going to be an exciting ride.

Agony, Misery, and Identity in WandaVision

Warning: spoilers contained for WandaVision.

For the past year and a half or so, I have struggled with my own identity. I've had a lot of turmoil and grief in my life, and at 43 years old, I'm just now starting to grapple with who I am. It's not an easy road, and it never is for anybody who is trying to figure out where they fit in the world. Trying to juggle all the parts of your identity (like your job, family, spirituality, social connections, values, and self worth) can be painful at times. 

After the first few episodes of the excellent WandaVision, we saw a show that was about something incredible, but it was hard to identify exactly what direction the story was taking us. But now that the entire season is complete, it's clear that WandaVision is about one thing: a woman dealing with grief and pain, and trying to figure out who she is, and how she fits in the world. I relate to Wanda's agony. She has lost so much, she is figuring out how to relate to society, and she just wants to live the impossibly simple life depicted in her childhood sitcoms. 

Identity has always been a question in the MCU. From the get-go in Iron Man, Tony bucks the system and announces that "I am Iron Man" (cue Black Sabbath). Steve asks Tony, "Take away that suit of armor and what are you?" Peter tells Tony, "I'm nothing without the suit." And Tony comes full circle, in his ultimate sacrifice, and counters Thanos's "I am inevitable" with "I am Iron Man". Heck, even that tree guy has been known to say "I am Groot" every once in awhile. 

But this question of identity is never brought more to the forefront than in WandaVision. Vision asks "What AM I?" and then summarizes beautifully, "I have been a voice with no body. A body, but not human. And now a memory made real. Who knows what I might be next?" The two Visions debate the Ship of Theseus thought experiment. And Vision ultimately concludes that “Perhaps the rot is the memories. The wear and tear of the voyages. The wood touched by Theseus himself.”

This ultimately mirrors the identity crisis that Wanda has. She rejects that she is grieving. She rejects things that go wonky in her world. She rejects that she is a witch at all. But, but, but ... but when Wanda finally accepts who she is, finally embraces her power, finally admits to her grief and pain and trauma, that's when the real healing begins. Afterall, Wanda couldn't really move forward until she was allowed to process her misery and loss. And that is why it was so powerful when Wanda finally becomes the Scarlet Witch and says, "I don't need you to tell me who I am." We see her journey, we have experienced her mourning and her loss, we know what she has been through. 

Listening to Double Vision go through an identity crisis helps me frame my own "who am I?" question. Watching Wanda deal with her sorrow helps me deal with my own. I know nobody can tell me who I am or what I can become. Nobody can overcome my pain and grief for me. After all, what is grief, if not love persevering? It's the rot of my life that makes me who I am: the hardships and the sludge and the rotted wood that turns me into the man I am becoming. Every step I take to embrace my own heartache, I am one step closer to loving myself, to embracing my true power, and to know who I really am. 

And then I can finally say, "Okie dokie artichokie!"

Who are the Young Avengers?

(Guest Post by Jared)

**SPOILERS ahead for WandaVision finale**

It seems that Marvel is setting up a brand new Avengers team in the form of a fan favorite long running comic. This team was formed by a kid named Iron Lad from the future who came back in time to have the Avengers help him fight a time travelling Kang the Conqueror. When Iron Lad arrived he found that the Avengers had been disbanded after the Scarlet Witch lost her mind and killed several team members. Without the Avengers to aid him Iron Lad went through the Avengers files to find and build a new team, the next generation of Avengers.

Stature

Cassie Lang is our first Young Avenger to be introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She appeared as daughter of Scott Lang in both Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp. She again appeared, but now as a teenager in Endgame reunited with her missing father. We’ll see a re-casted Cassie in Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania next year in 2022 portrayed by Kathryn Newton.

In the comics Stature was not one of the original Young Avengers, but joined the team shortly after. She has the same powers as her father, however she doesn’t need a suit to grow and shrink in size. She confesses to her teammates that she repeatedly stolen Pym particles from her father for years, but only had recently begun to experience any effects.

Wiccan and Speed

The comic versions of Vision and Wanda’s twins is very convoluted, but now that they’re official in the MCU after appearing in several episodes of WandaVision, we can be confident they’ll join the Young Avengers team, but the biggest question mark is how since by the finale of WandaVision the kids have been erased and Wanda is off isolating and searching for a way to return them to reality. We hear them screaming as she’s searching the darkhold in the finale after credits scene. Are they in pain or in danger somewhere? This tease would only exist if Marvel planned for their return.

In the comics the twins are created by Wanda, and then removed from reality by Doctor Strange. Later when Iron Lad comes from the future to form the Young Avengers he finds two teenagers who mysteriously look alike, but have never met. Turns out that these two are the long lost twins whose souls had been merged with teenagers.

Their comic characters share the same powers as their MCU counterparts, magic and super-speed. Only time will tell how these will emerge on screen when their fully grown. Assuming that they age up again to teenagers and are recast, which would line up with their story in the comics.

Hawkeye

Kate Bishop first appeared alongside the original Young Avengers team after Clint Barton’s Hawkeye had been killed by the Scarlet Witch. The Young Avengers accidently ran into Bishop during a fight where she jumped in as a highly skilled archer and swordswoman. She later followed the team and insisted she join permanently. 

There’s a common misunderstanding that Barton’s daughter in the MCU will be joining the Young Avengers after her quick appearance with the bow in Endgame before she was snapped out of existence. However Bishop has no biological connection to Clint Barton’s Hawkeye in the comics. Will it be the same for the MCU? Only time will tell, but we know she is not the daughter we’ve seen several times already. 

Bishop will take on the codename Hawkeye in the upcoming Hawkeye series where she’ll costar with Jeremy Renner. Hailee Steinfeld has been cast to portray her in the upcoming series slated for late 2021.

Patriot

In the comics Eli Bradley was actually the second hero to go by the name of Patriot, the first was his grandfather who was a test subject for a super soldier serum project. When approached to join the team by Iron Lad, Bradley claimed he gamed powers through an emergency blood transfusion from his grandfather, but this was untrue. He had gained his abilities by using a street enhancement drug called Mutant Growth Hormone and later left the team.

While his future in the MCU is uncertain it’s heavily rumored that he’ll be appearing soon in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier played by Elijah Richardson. The story revolves around the US government demanding that the Captain America codename belongs to the military and can’t simply be handed over to Falcon. Since the story revolves around the super soldier serum and a new government created Captain America it seems likely we could be introduced to others who have been experimented on.

Miss America

Although she wasn’t an original member of the Young Avengers she’s become one of the most popular. America Chavez is an inter-dimensional traveler with superhuman strength and speed.

With her reality hopping powers it’s no surprise she’s rumored to be in Doctor Strange the Multiverse of Madness, this rumor has gained speed since it was announced that Xochitl Gomez has been confirmed for the cast of the film in an unknown role.

Ms. Marvel

Even though she’s never appeared as a Young Avenger in the comics it seems very likely that she’ll be joining the team in the MCU. We already have an upcoming television series starring Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, Ms Marvel slated to premiere in late 2021. She is also confirmed to be co-starring alongside Brie Larson in Captain Marvel 2 in November of 2022.

In the comics Khan was an American Muslim from New Jersey who idolized Captain Marvel, and taking a previous codename from her now that Danvers was solely going by "Captain". Khan was introduced and then later revealed to be an Inhuman, so with the cancelled (and seemingly non-canon) television show Inhumans it’s unknown how they’ll introduce her powers for Disney+, but her powers will be unique to see as we haven’t had a elastic powers appear in the MCU yet so Khan will premiere these before even Mr. Fantastic!

Hulkling

We met both the Skrulls and the Kree in first Captain Marvel film, and the story did a 180 from the comics making the Skrulls the lesser of the two evils. We’ll see how this plays out for Hulkling as he is actually half Skrull and half Kree and destined to be the ruler of both and finally bring peace to the races.

In the comics he has absolutely no connection to the Hulk but takes on his persona for public relations as the shapeshifting Skrulls are very much hated across Earth. He typically appears as a large green man with giant gargoyle wings.

We do not have any rumors on casting, and nothing is confirmed for an MCU story as of the ending of WandaVision but there are a few places he could easily pop up that make the most sense. We have an upcoming Secret Invasion TV show with Nick Fury in production and an estimated early 2022 release. The comics Secret Invasion story revolves around several key Avengers, X-Men and world leaders that are replaced by shapeshifting Skrulls in hopes of taking over Earth. Fury finds out and goes into hiding not knowing who to trust. Since we saw Fury at the end of Far From Home and he’s working with the Skrulls we can guess as to what the story will turn out to be, but with the Skrulls being a huge player it seems like the most likely place for Hulkling to pop up! 

Hulkling is the only member of this lineup that is not announced or rumored, however with his romantic relationship to Wiccan and his status as an original Young Avenger it seems unlikely they’d leave him out of the team’s first teamup!

There are other members of the team such as a newly rebooted Vision, Kid Loki from an alternate timeline, Prodigy a former student at Xavier’s School for the Gifted, and Iron Lad who turns out to be a younger Kang the Conqueror from the future. These kids could show up down the line, but with these previous mentioned eight other Young Avengers already all but confirmed or rumored (aside from Hulkling) it seems like the lineup is pretty large as it is. 

Bewitched by WandaVision!

For our review following the finale of WandaVision, see here.

My first impression? "What the H - E - double hockey sticks am I watching?"

Okay, my second impression? I can't wait to find out more.

This is not your normal MCU fare. There is no intricate plot, no action sequences, no bad guys. (No, Kathryn Hahn does not count as a bad guy. She's not going to turn into her Spider-Verse incarnation of Doctor Octopus. Or is she?!) Even the displays of superpowers are punctuated by silly animated stars and magical symbols. 

So seriously, what the heck are we watching?

WandaVision is definitely a classic style sitcom, and a darn good one at that. The first two recall the 1950s and 1960s, with later decades represented in later episodes. It's so well done that it can hardly considered a parody of The Dick Van Dyke Show or Bewitched. This is authentically a good sitcom, down to the word choice, the era-appropriate humor, and the blocking. WandaVision was even filmed in front of a live audience using camera lenses from the time period, and tungsten lights to add to the authenticity of creating a sitcom. Incredible work on the details!

So how does WandaVision fit into the larger MCU? Wanda and Vision have no recollection of their past, and it's clear by the end of the first episode that they are being observed. It's great to have some genuine mystery in this show: Who is watching them? Is Vision alive? And how is Kathryn Hahn so incredible in everything she does?

It's also important to point out the two MCU elements that were introduced in WandaVision. The symbol of a sword in a circle was seen several times. Is this the symbol for S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation Response Department)? Of course it is, this is Marvel, afterall!

And finally, Monica Rambeau. Remember her from Captain Marvel? She's the daughter of Maria Rambeau, and she's the one who helped Captain Marvel pick out her suit's colors. Well, she shows up in this strange and intriguing world of WandaVision as an adult. Why? Not sure, but I'm on board to find out...

And honestly? I'm hooked! I can't wait for the next installment of this interesting world. Not just because I love the MCU and want to find out how it plays out. But I'm genuinely engaged by WandaVision. 

And by Kathryn Hahn.

WandaVision Binge List

WandaVision is surprising us with a 2020 release date (I hadn’t expected it until 2021 or later at this rate). We still don’t have an exact release date, but if you need some reviewing of our titular characters, take a look at this watchlist. I also included movies featuring more minor characters already confirmed for the show. 

Thor (1 hour 55 min)

This movie is the first of our optional viewing. Since Darcy is set to appear in WandaVision (although we don't know in what capacity). Darcy is one of my favorites (as I've said before) so I'm excited to have her back again. So start with this Thor backstory movie.

Thor: The Dark World (1 hour 52 min)

Another optional viewing to see Darcy. While she wasn't super involved in the action of this movie, she moved the plot along and definitely helped with the final battle (even if she got a bit distracted by her intern at that one point).

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2 hours 16 min)

This is our first movie to actually feature one of the main characters of WandaVision. It might only be the credits scene, but it's still definitely relevant for Scarlet Witch's backstory. If you don't have time to watch Winter Soldier, just google the scene.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2 hours 22 min)

Wanda's first true appearance and Vision's creation. If you've been following these binge lists, you've already seen this addressed for Black Widow. This time we're focusing on Wanda's growth, from working for Hydra to losing her brother and becoming an Avenger. We also obviously get Vision's creation by Ultron/Thor.

Captain America: Civil War (2 hours 28 min)

While the Avengers have their issues in this movie, this movie gives us our first glimpse of Wanda and Vision's relationship. They ended up on different sides of the Avengers Civil War, but they still showed they had a connection, though it wouldn't be fully explored.

Avengers: Infinity War (2 hours 40 min)

This was the first true appearance of Wanda and Vision's relationship, in my opinion. And just like that we put them in a spot where their lives were on the brink. Especially Vision. He had to die for the Avengers to win, but even then it wasn't enough and they lost anyway.

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2 hours 5 min)

Another optional one for a side character. Agent Woo is set to appear in WandaVision, but we don't know to what extent. He was sort of a side antagonist/comic relief in Ant-Man and the Wasp, so I'm not sure what to expect from him next. I was surprised to see him return.

Captain Marvel (2 hours 5 min)

Our final optional one. This time it's because Monica Rambeau is set to appear in WandaVision. She's getting re-casted, due to the 20+ year time jump between them. Not sure how much Monica is even going to appear in the show, but we'll see.

Avengers: Endgame (3 hours 2 min)

Wanda didn't appear until the end of the movie and the final battle, but it's an important step in the story right? The thing we have yet to find out is how WandaVision is gonna happen with Vision still dead. There are some theories out there, but I guess we'll find out.

What are you expecting from WandaVision? Any theories or things you're looking forward to? I'm looking forward to seeing how it'll play into the Doctor Strange sequel. 

What We Know About the MCU Post-SDCC (TV Shows)

Last week I checked in with updates on the MCU news Post-San Diego Comic Con for the movies. We also got a chunk of news/release dates for some upcoming Disney+ MCU shows. With the release of Jessica Jones Season 3, the Marvel Netflix shows have officially ended, leaving us now with Disney+, Hulu, and (for one more year) ABC as our MCU TV Show distributors. So let's see where we're at.

Runaways Season 3 (December 13, 2019 on Hulu)
Last we saw the Runaways, they were all split up. So were the parents. Alex, Nico, Molly, and Leslie were last seen at the Hostel. Karolina, Chase, and Janet were captive by the Magistrate's family (currently possessing Victor, Stacey, and Tina). Gert is captive by her father Dale. We haven't really heard much about where we'll be taken during Season 3, but I think it's pretty safe to assume that we'll pick up right after Season 2. That means the whole of the series will take plenty of time before the Snap. The only thing we really know that's coming up is the introduction of Morgan le Fay, a sorceress from the Dark Realm. She's fought the Avengers in the comics, but it'll be interesting see how she approaches "Runaways".

Ghost Rider (2020 on Hulu)
We don't know much about "Ghost Rider" yet except that we have the same Robbie Reyes coming back to star in this Hulu series. It'll be interesting to see where they take this show. We last saw Robbie/Ghost Rider at the defeat of AIDA in 2017. So presumably at least 3 years will have passed. However, which timeline will he be in? Agents of SHIELD has deviated from the MCU Timeline, so will he be in that timeline or will this series be before/during/after the Snap? More details to come, I hope.

Helstrom (2020 on Hulu)
This series was announced around the same time as Ghost Rider. However, we don't know much yet. Daimon and Ana Helstrom will appear. They're the children of a mysteriosu serial killer. Their father in the comics was Satan, so it'll be interesting how they swing that in the live action. Being half-demon hybrids (according to the comics), I'm curious what'll happen. Like with "Ghost Rider" we'll have to see what happens with "Helstrom".

Agents of SHIELD Season 7 (Summer 2020 on ABC/Hulu)
Since Season 6 has yet to complete, it's unknown what's going to happen with Season 7. However, we know that they're done filming. Because of how they've filmed it, I've wondered if it's going to be more like two halves of a season, instead of two separate seasons. Presumably the main cast of Season 6 will all return. But with the last couple episodes still yet to aire, we could stil have some fatalities for all we know. I think at this point it's pretty safe to say that we won't have any MCU crossovers in the last season.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Fall 2020 on Disney+)
This six-episode series will be the first of the Marvel series on Disney+. It seems like these series will play more into the movies than previous TV series have, so it'll be interesting to see how that happens. Currently we know that Sam/Falcon/New Cap and Bucky/Winter Soldier are returning as obvious series regulars. Helmut Zemo (last seen in custody in "Civil War") seems to be returning as the show's villain. We also have it confirmed that Sharon Carter will return (last seen in "Civil War"). Since this show is reportedly going to take place after "Endgame" we can expect to see Sam dealing with the Captain America mantle being transferred on to him and how that impacts him.

WandaVision (Spring 2021 on Disney+)
We don't know much of what's going on yet with WandaVision. I've seen differing reports on whether it'll take place before or after Infinity War. If current reports are correct and this takes place after Endgame we must be in for some sort of craziness. With Vision dead and Wanda resurrected in the Blip, who knows what'll happen. In the comics, Scarlet Witch used her powers to "create" children for her and Vision. So is that what she's going to do for Vision? Is she going to "resurrect" him using her powers? It could be an interesting take on the grieving process for Wanda. The only other thing we know is that Monica Rambeau, last seen as a child in Captain Marvel will appear. Since they've recasted her it would make sense that she'll appear primarily in the present day. Also, since Scarlet Witch is set to appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, this series (or at least season one) will act as a prequel of sorts to the movie.

Loki (Spring 2021 on Disney+)
Not much is known yet about the Loki series. In the main timeline, Loki is dead, as of 2018. However, this series will reportedly take place in an alternate timeline, after Loki stole the Tesseract during the Time Heist of "Endgame". This was the villainous version of Loki though, instead of the anti-hero from "Ragnarok" and "Infinity War". So that leaves me with a lot of questions about how the series will proceed.

What If...? (Summer 2021)
The "What If" comics are ones I'd never heard of before. Basically, as the name implies, it follows the idea of "what if" certain events had unfolded in the Marvel universe. As the other Disney+ series will tie into the movies, I'm curious how they'll make this one relevant. Will more time travel be involved? Or will it be a stand-alone series that doesn't make an impact on the others and is just for fun? Regardless, we have confirmation that many MCU characters (25 that were listed on the MCU wiki) will return. The ones I found most interesting were Thanos, Dum Dum Dugan, Jane Foster, and the Grandmaster.

Hawkeye (Fall 2021)
Last we saw Clint Barton/Hawkeye, he was back on the family ranch. Who knows where we'll head next with this show, but it's been reported that this series will take place after "Endgame". I heard rumors that it'll explore Clint's time during the Blip, acting as Ronin, but I guess we'll see. We do have reports of Kate Bishop being introduced. In the comics, she worked alongside Clint, both using the name Hawkeye. So we'll see.

Cloak & Dagger Season 3 (??? on Freeform/Hulu)
We haven't had confirmation that "Cloak & Dagger" will be back, but we also haven't heard word that it's been cancelled. Last we saw, Tandy/Dagger and Tyrone/Cloak were on a bus, presumably heading out of New Orleans. This could be our one continuation of the Netflix show, as we've seen Newspaper clippings of Luke Cage and Brigid alluded to previously working with Misty Knight in New York. But I guess this is another one that we'll just have to wait for more news.

I think I caught all the pending MCU shows. Which one are you looking forward to the most? I'm really curious how the Disney+ series will pan out. Will they make it supplemental to the movies or will they make me watch them to understand what's going on in the movies? That would bug me. But I guess I don't have to decide for another year anyway.