Marvel Makes a Comeback: “WandaVision” Review

After a year and a half without Marvel, we finally see a return to the big screen, well, depending how large the screen in your house is, of course. Marvel has made its first Disney+ television debut with the premiere of its new show WandaVision. This is the show that Marvel fans have been anticipating for over two years. This last year was the first time in 10 years that Marvel fans didn’t have at least two movies released because of the coronavirus pandemic. So it is safe to say that WandaVision is the fix that Marvel addicts need, and it also provides a little bit of a distraction from the world’s dismal current events.

            In WandaVision, we see Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen, and Vision, played by Paul Bettany, involved in a romantic relationship that takes place throughout different time periods. The show is set to have nine episodes and each episode will be a twist of a beloved show from that time period. The show takes place after the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, in which the Avengers team up to restore the world after Thanos stole the infinity stones and erased half of every living thing in the universe. The overall feel of the show so far is that everything is nifty (as they said in the 50s), but there is something that is not quite right happening behind the scenes.

            In the series, there is still the air of mystery about what exactly is going on. Is this all happening inside of Wanda’s head or is this a trap devised by HYDRA, the evil organization whose main goal is world domination? This is why, in part, the show is so attractive to many viewers. The mystery around the origins of the universe that the show gives off leaves the viewer wanting to know more about this world that Wanda and Vision are living in and why it is happening in the first place. Because of the timeline, we know that Vision is supposedly dead, which leads to more questions and mysteries as to why he is alive and well in this supposed alternate reality. Each episode gives the viewer another clue in which to piece together the overall mystery taking place.

            The sitcom feel of each episode also lends to the success of the show so far. It gives the viewers a reprieve from the normal action packed scenes they are used to seeing from Marvel. The episodes each take on a different style from the decade that week. The first few episodes take place in the 50s/60s and progress into the 70s. These two episodes were shot to look like the classic Bewitched from the 1960s, even recreating the title sequence to fit Wanda and Vision. The third episode was shot to look like fan favorite The Brady Bunch. For this viewer, the incorporation of this style delivers a warm nostalgia to the screen. It brings together all Marvel fans by keeping the traditional theme and characters, but adds an old school sitcom twist the entire family is sure to enjoy.

            The adding of the sitcom and mystery elements to the show creates for engaging entertainment that all Marvel fans can look forward to every week. Fridays are beginning to become an even more anticipated day of the week as fans across the world sit down to watch WandaVision and decipher for themselves the answers to the mysteries that the show holds.