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[aion-rsa]

Marvel’s WandaVision Episode 3: MCU Easter Eggs and Reference Guide

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This article contains WANDAVISION Episode 3 spoilers, and potential spoilers for future episodes, the wider MCU, and Marvel Comics. We have a spoiler free review here.

WandaVision episode 3 is the first full color episode of the series, and moves the setting from the black-and-white 1960s of the previous episodes to a vibrant Brady Bunch-esque Technicolor of the early 1970s. There’s lots of fun weirdness to find between the lines, both from a Marvel and MCU Easter eggs standpoint and callouts to classic sitcoms of its era.

Let’s get to work…

SITCOM INSPIRATION

Let’s start with the big one…

The Brady Bunch

This episode borrows almost the entirety of its aesthetic from all-time classic sitcom The Brady Bunch. Wanda and Vis’s house strongly resembles Mike and Carol Brady’s humble ranch home inside and out. The gorgeous wide wooden staircase in particular is a real tell – as is Wanda’s bold ‘70s attire that seems to be right out of Marcia Brady’s closet in later seasons.

The opening credits title card even adopts the 3×3 grid format as seen on The Brady Bunch. Of course, the Wanda and Vision household isn’t as jam-packed as the Brady’s but there is an undeniable underlying theme of family throughout this installment.

Mork and Mindy

Mork and Mindy was a 70s-into-early-80s show with a weird sci-fi couple, in the sense that the husband is an alien. In the final season, there’s a one-and-done pregnancy storyline episode called “Three the Hard Way.” In it, Mork is the one with child. Due to his alien biology, an egg comes out of his navel and out of it hatches an elderly man, as their people age backwards.

Other Sitcom Stuff…

When Wanda tries to hide her pregnancy from Geraldine, she holds a small basket of fruit in front of her large stomach. This is likely a playful homage to all of the not-so-creative ways that sitcoms have tried to hide actress’s pregnancies over the years.  And funny enough, it seems like the fruit Wanda is eating at various points in the episode corresponds to the fetus size as outlined by their doctor.

The doctor’s name is “Dr. Stan Nielsen.” As in the Nielsen Ratings. And maybe Stan as in, you know, Stan Lee…

And now for the Marvel and MCU stuff!

Scarlet Witch

In the opening credits when Wanda is reading a magazine on the couch and using her powers to vacuum, she’s reading another issue of Glamorous (which we saw in episode one). This magazine features a woman in a red bathing suit, kind of like some of the skimpier Scarlet Witch costumes Wanda has worn through the years in the comics.

Vision

Similarly, the scene of Vision barbecuing on the patio shows him wearing an era-appropriate shirt in his comics colors of green and yellow. The swingset he’s struggling to put together is also in his colors.

Wanda’s Pregnancy and the Twins

When Wanda gave birth to her kids in the comics, something similar to what we saw here happened: nobody, not even the doctors, were aware that Wanda was carrying twins, so the arrival of the second child was a surprise to everyone.

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The way Wanda’s pregnancy rapidly progresses through the episode feels like a reference to Avengers #200, one of the most hated issues of any Marvel comic. In the comic, Carol Danvers is discovered to be suddenly pregnant and goes through the entire process over the course of a day or so. Nobody really bats an eye at this and all the creepy, questionable parts are handwaved as a good thing.

When Wanda’s pregnancy starts causing chaos, she and Vision strike a pose based on The Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1.

Not particularly relevant right now, but in the comics, none other than Doctor Strange delivered Wanda’s twins. Given all the ways that this show is supposed to tie into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (some of which we think we’ve already spotted), this is just worth a mention.

Billy and Tommy

The twins are named “Billy and Tommy” just as they are in the comics. They were later reincarnated as Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd. You likely remember them as Wiccan, the First Gentleman of the Kree-Skrull Alliance, and Speed…uh…his best man? 

Very briefly, because a full discussion of this would take a while: Billy and Tommy were born to Wanda and Vizh in 1985’s Vision and Scarlet Witch. They were unmade when it was revealed they were figments of Wanda’s powers and imagination, imbued with shards of Mephisto’s soul and reabsorbed into Master Pandemonium’s arms in West Coast Avengers. They reappeared as heroes in the first Young Avengers series, and reunited with their mother in Avengers: Children’s Crusade. That is an extremely quick summary of what might be the most Gordian continuity knot in the entire Marvel Universe.

Geraldine

Teyonah Parris returns as “Geraldine” for this episode, but this time it’s even clearer that there’s more to her than meets the eye. As we’ve pointed out before, “Geraldine” is a cover for Monica Rambeau, the daughter of Carol Danvers’ best pal Maria Rambeau, and someone who will play a significant role in Captain Marvel 2.

“Geraldine” tells a rambling story about her boss, “Mr. Haddix.” There’s no obvious immediate Marvel connection with the name. However, it might just be part of the motif – the stork tries to eat the fish on Geraldine’s pants, maybe it’s actually “Mr. Haddocks”? We’re still not finding any Marvel connections with this one, though.

It’s also probably not an accident that Geraldine’s cover story involves her working for an ad agency. The commercials are one part of the show where reality peeks through vividly. Ad agencies are, in a sense, manipulating reality for consumers to make them want a product more, and there’s no shortage of reality manipulation going on here. 

Geraldine is rocking a striking blue and white outfit, with starburst type designs on them that could either recall the log she wore as Captain Marvel, Pulsar, and her other superheroic identities…or possibly dimensional portals.

SWORD

Geraldine is wearing a SWORD pendant, so it’s pretty clear who she’s working for. Those pesky SWORD agents seem to be everywhere, from our pal The Beekeeper to the folks monitoring Wanda in that command center to…well, who else in Westview is working for SWORD?

While we’re talking about Mr. Haddocks and Geraldine’s job, the cereal in Geraldine’s work story – Gravity O’s, with the marshmallow moon men – is likely a nod to SWORD’s mission in the comics, when they used to watch space rather than “sentient weapons.” 

We wrote more about SWORD here.

AGNES

Agnes’ brooch looks like it has three witches, one holding a scythe. There are a few options for what this might be referencing:

The obvious one is the three witches from Macbeth who use prophecy to steer the main character to his doom. 

Less obvious and much more unlikely is the Weird Sisters, Quasar villains (!) working for Maelstrom, an Inhuman/Deviant hybrid who has had several run-ins with the Avengers

And the least likely: Jennifer Kale (from Man-Thing), Satana (sister to Damian Hellstrom and the Daughter of Satan), and Topaz (of Werewolf by Night…fame?), three Marvel witches who starred together in a four-issue Jemas era series in 2004. It’s definitely not this one.

Pietro and Age of Ultron

Geraldine mentions to Wanda that Pietro was “killed by Ultron,” referencing the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. This is clearly one of the memories Wanda is trying to suppress with her sitcom antics, and it doesn’t go well for Geraldine/Monica…who finds herself “banished” back to the real world of the MCU.

We wrote more about what the Pietro connection could mean here.

Westview

We actually just wrote in detail about the significance of Westview (which is kind of a real place, too), but here we see the town’s slogan: “Home, it’s where you make it.”

Wanda is indeed “making” her home in whatever image she feels most comfortable with at the moment, so this is a further clue to the House of M-esque shenanigans that seem to be going on with her.

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Other Marvel Stuff

Not strictly a Marvel thing, but the opening credits feature a lot of hexagons, the same kinds of shapes you see in beehives, which brings our creepy beekeeper friend from episode 2 to mind.

The paint cans in the nursery are from a fictional brand known as “Simser” which promises “a universe of color.” Jeremy Simser who works as a storyboard artist on WandaVision, and who is also doing work on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. So…perhaps “a multiverse of color” might have been more appropriate?

Dottie’s husband fill is reading a newspaper with a headline that says “TWO FIRE HYDRANTS ADDED ON MAIN STREET” but the paper is folded so it says “TWO FIRE HYDRA” at one point. Also…twins. Note the “twin motif” on Phil and Dottie’s lamp, too.

Wanda sings a Sokovian lullaby to the twins.

The episode goes from fullscreen to a more MCU-appropriate and cinematic widescreen when it cuts to Geraldine/Monica back in what appears to be the real world. Not that there was any doubt, but whatever is happening in “sitcom land” is definitely not reality, and time travel has nothing to do with whatever’s going on here.

The final song is The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer” which was also used in trailers. The title is pretty on-the-nose if you consider the dominant House of M-esque theory about what’s actually happening on this show, and that Wanda is using her powers to manipulate reality.

THE COMMERCIAL

Hydra Soak implores its consumers to “Find the Goddess Within.” We don’t have to tell you what HYDRA is, but what about this “find the goddess within” stuff?

Well, we can kind of speculate that this is a reference to the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder, in which Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster will end up becoming the new god/goddess of thunder, just as she did in the comics.

Spot anything we missed? Let us know in the comments!

The post Marvel’s WandaVision Episode 3: MCU Easter Eggs and Reference Guide appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[cottontail20]

A Legend All Their Own, Chapter 57: As Long As They Live

Summary: Vision is home. 

Queen Wanda sees no reason to wait.The Avengers scramble to turn the planned Coronation into a Coronation/Wedding.

Ao3 link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/16736589/chapters/48349618

Clint and Natasha loaded into the cart to ride back with Laura and the kids. This left Wanda and Vision to take to the sky together, flying back towards the castle. They swooped and spiralled around each other, hearts alight with the joy of their reunion.

"I knew you were coming back for me" Wanda grinned. She'd been flying just below him, so she twisted onto her back to look into his face. "Some were starting to doubt it.."

"Of course I came back" Vision frowned. "I couldn't leave you and the baby.."

Wanda opened her mouth to correct him (babies), but paused, smiling slyly to herself. No, not yet. She'd save the news that they were expecting twins for later, a special little Wedding gift for him.

"Where were you, Vizh?" She chose a different question, flying a loop so that she now hovered above him. "We searched everywhere. A few people were worried that you'd fallen in the river and drowned.."

"I did fall in the river" Vision chuckled, twisting to look at her as she had for him. "But I didn't drown. I think the Mind Stone protected me. Remember how you thought the river probably had a branch feeding into our Spring?"

"Yeah.."

"Well, that's where I ended up."

"At our Spring?" Wanda's smile widened.

"Yes" Vision grinned. "It's so wonderful, isn't it? Meant to be. The only downside was how long it's taken me to travel back from there.."

"It's okay. You're here now" Wanda replied, dipping slightly so she could kiss him. Vision's arms instinctively wrapped around her. The pair hovered there for a moment, enjoying each other's embrace.

"I'm here" Vision promised. "I'll never leave your side again."

"You'd better not. I've missed you far too much."

Both shifted again until they flew side by side, Wanda reaching to hold Vision's hand. Then, the new Queen burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Vision asked, although his heart soared at the sound of her laughter.

"Well, there could be a bit of panic going on back at the Castle. I was in the middle of getting ready for my Coronation when Clint showed up with the letter about you, and.. I may have pulled a jailbreak out the window without telling anyone."

Vision couldn't help laughing at that.

"Just like old times then." --

"What do you mean the Queen is missing?" cried Tony. Princes Thor and Loki, and Doctor Strange were also present.

"She was supposed to be getting ready with Natasha" Steve, now Head of the Royal Army replied, equally worried. "I went to ask if they needed anything, and when there was no answer, I checked inside.. Window open, and no Queen Wanda!"

Peter Parker, dressed in fine new clothes reflecting his position as the Castle's new Messenger, hurried over to them.

"I can't find Miss Romanoff anywhere, Captain Rogers" He told Steve. "No sign of Mr. Barton, either."

"Great!" Tony threw his hands in the air. "Great advisers we all are. We've only been at the job a few weeks, and we've lost our Queen before her first big royal event. What if she's been kidnapped or something?"

"Weren't you going to kidnap her before a big royal event?" Doctor Strange asked. Contrary to the panic currently settling over the two leaders of the Avengers, the Sorcerer seemed remarkably unfazed by the current situation.

"That was a completely different situation!" Tony snapped.

"We must search the Castle!" Thor declared. "Search the grounds! Search everywhere until.."

"Calm down, brother" Loki cut him off. "I'm sure there's no need for alarm just yet. We all know Queen Wanda is a little more free spirited than the average royal. I'm sure she's just.."

The rest of Loki's words were cut off by an almighty cheer from outside. The assembled group looked at each other. Then they ran. --

"Are you absolutely sure you want to go ahead with this, Vizh?" Wanda asked him, as the city came into view. "Becoming King is a pretty big life-changer.."

"It is" Vision nodded. "I'm still not entirely sure what kind of King I will be. But I am sure of you, Wanda. If I have you by my side, I can face all the rest of it."

"Well then, soon to be King.." Wanda grinned cheekily as they hovered near the City's edge. They could hear quite a lot of commotion, the streets full of well-wishers out to celebrate Wanda's Coronation. "Are you ready to greet your people?"

"I think I am.." Vision smiled.

"Then let's go.."

A few people were already beginning to point and whisper at the strange figures in the sky. Still holding hands, Wanda and Vision flew over the City walls. They swooped low, and the crowds scattered, but soon erupted into cheers once they recognised their new Queen. They flew onward toward the Castle, gathering a following of excited commoners as they went. The pair soon arrived at the Castle, landing just inside the gates as the Avengers, Doctor Strange, and the Asgardian Princes burst out the front door.

"Where the hell have you.." Tony began, then froze. "Vision! You're alive!"

"Of course he is" Wanda grinned, letting go of Vision's hand now that they were safely home, and moving to rush inside. She had a few preparations to make. "Get him Wedding-ready for me?"

"Uh.." Tony and Steve glanced nervously at each other.

"I will help him, Your Majesty" Loki bowed.

"Thank you. If it helps, he looks really great in teal. Peter, spread the word.. Today we will have a Coronation and a Wedding."

"Yes, Your Majesty" Peter bowed and sped off.

"Nat and Clint should arrive soon via Horse and cart with Clint's family" Wanda added before disappearing inside. "Make sure they're all allowed in.."

"I'll handle it" Steve nodded.

Loki turned to Vision.

"Hmm.. let's see what we can do for you.." --

Surprisingly, adding 'Wedding' to the Coronation day itinerary was not that difficult. Both ceremonies could take place in the same venue, and be performed by the same person, an elderly and slightly eccentric Holy Man who resided in Stanville, and had arrived at the Castle a few hours earlier.

Getting Vision ready, too, was easier than one might have expected. While Vision bathed, Loki raided the Castle's vast wardrobe, finding a fine outfit of teal gold, and a few striking streaks of red, that had belonged to Wanda's father. It fit Vision perfectly.. Once again, meant to be.

Vision took a deep breath, readjusting the Mind Stone's circlet on his brow.

"How do I look?"

"Quite handsome, as far as I can tell" Loki replied with a smile. "Your Queen will be pleased."

"I hope so" Vision took another deep breath. "I think I'm ready." --

"Out of my way, special adviser to the Queen coming through!" Natasha pushed past the group of slightly annoyed Ladies' maids Wanda had shut out, bursting into the room and quickly slamming the door behind her. "I'm here!"

"Great" said Wanda, relieved. "Could you button me up please?"

"Of course" Nat rushed over to help.

Wanda had changed from the gown she'd been wearing earlier into a dazzling white Wedding dress. She'd had the dress commissioned soon after her return to Sokovia, in hopes that Vision would be back before it needed any extra bump-concealing adjustments. Once Nat had buttoned up the back, Wanda settled the veil atop her head, pulling it carefully into place over her face.

"How do I look?"

"Beautiful" Natasha smiled. "Ready to go get married, Your Majesty?"

"Yes" Wanda's eyes sparkled. "I am." --

Vision waited nervously at the front of the Castle's great hall. The Holy Man, an elderly fellow with a moustache wearing strange, dark glasses, sensed Vision's nerves, and gave him a comforting smile.

"You'll do great, kid."

"Oh, thank you Mr..n Um.."

"Stan" the man smiled.

The hall was full to bursting with all the people who had helped Vision and Wanda come this far. The Avengers, Doctor Strange and the sorcerers of the Sanctum Sanctorum, Thor, Loki, Valkyrie and the other Asgardians.

Vision's heart was racing. Then, the door at the far end of the Hall opened. Vision saw Wanda, making her way slowly towards him, and all his fears melted away. Before he knew it, she was standing before him, smiling shyly beneath her veil, and Vision couldn't help smiling as well.

"Hello.." He whispered.

"Hello.." Wanda's smile widened as she whispered back.

The Holy Man was speaking, but neither Vision nor Wanda really heard him, entirely lost in each other's eyes.. Until he cleared his throat, nudging Vision.

"Hmm?"

"Your vow, kid.."

"Oh.. um.." Vision took another shaky breath, searching for words. "Wanda.. I don't have much to give you, except myself. I hope that's enough. I do know that I love you, more than anything else in this world, and I promise that I will continue to love you, always. I will stay by your side and help you to rule Sokovia to the best of my ability, for as long as I live.

Wanda looked up at Vision, happy tears in her eyes, and took a deep breath of her own.

"My life was supposed to be so different.. So much.. Well, looking back now, it feels like it would have been less. I wanted to just run away from it all. Then I met you, Vision, you with your strange wonderful eyes.. And you saw me. Not just as a Princess, you saw me, Wanda, who I really was. I don't know if I can ever express just how much I loved you for that.. And you loved me, just as I was. So, I promise to always love you, just as you are. You are enough, you have always been enough. I wouldn't be here without you, and I wouldn't want to be. Nothing will make me happier than to rule Sokovia with you at my side."

Vision gazed at Wanda as she spoke, entranced by her, his own strange eyes filling with happy tears.

Stan cleared his throat.

"Vision, do you take Wanda to be your wife, for as long as you live?"

"I do" Vision smiled softly.

"Wanda, do you take Vision to be your husband, for as long as you live?"

"I do" Wanda nodded, her eyes sparkling.

"Well then" Stan grinned. "I now pronounce you Man and Wife. You may kiss the Bride."

Wanda threw back her veil, and Vision swept her into his arms, kissing her deeply.

The cheers of their friends and supporters rang in their ears. The newly married couple kissed until it almost hurt, only breaking the kiss when their lungs burned for need of air. After a few moments catching their breath, gazing adoringly adoringly into each others eyes, Wanda and Vision were about to dive in for another kiss, until their Holy Man interrupted again, calling for quiet from the crowd.

"Usually," said Stan, "You'd be allowed to run off and celebrate now, but we have one more piece of business to attend to. If you would both kneel, please.."

"Oh, of course.." Vision knelt, suddenly nervous again, but Wanda's continued presence beside him was a comfort.

Stan moved to take Wanda's crown, one of two sitting on a pair of elevated cushions nearby.

"Wanda Maximoff, do you swear to rule the people of Sokovia fairly and justly, to the best of your ability?"

"Yes" Wanda nodded. "I promise."

"Very well.. then I bestow upon you this crown, a symbol of your commitment to your people.." He gently placed it atop Wanda's head, then moved to retrieve the other crown.. Vision's crown.

Vision watched, his heart racing. The crown looked heavy, and he knew that it was. So many responsibilities, so many people relying on him..

Then Vision felt Wanda taking his hand in hers, flashing him a warm, comforting smile. Almost instantly, his worries began to fade. The crown was a burden, but he could bear it easily so long as he was with her.

"Vision, do you swear to rule the people of Sokovia fairly and justly, to the best of your ability?"

"I swear" Vision replied. Stan laid the crown on his head, the Mind Stone's circlet fitting surprisingly well against it.

"Arise Queen Wanda, King Vision, Rulers of Sokovia!"

Vision and Wanda rose, together, to rapturous applause from the crowd. They turned to each other with amazingly bright smiles.

They'd done it. They'd defeated Ultron, taken back the Castle and the Crown. They were the King and Queen of Sokovia.

But more importantly, Wanda and Vision were together. They were married.

Nothing could tear them apart now, not ever again.

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