Wait, Has Wednesday Addams Always Had Superpowers?
She's in her Marvel era.
The Addams Family franchise has always been home to macabre mysteries, supernatural scares, and pitch-black pithiness, so it may be surprising for some fans to learn that the dark and twisted family has never actually had superhuman abilities... until now. The Netflix series Wednesday reimagines the Addams’ dour daughter in a lot of inventive new ways, most notably by giving her mysterious psychic abilities. Even Wednesday herself doesn’t fully understand her powers, but throughout the course of the show, so much is revealed about the importance of Wednesday’s visions.
Spoiler alert: This post contains light spoilers from throughout Wednesday. The new series wastes no time in introducing its biggest twist. In the opening scene, Wednesday suddenly arches her back, stares straight up, and has a vision of the future. The psychic power is just as new to The Addams Family lore as it is to Wednesday herself, who reveals she’s only just begun having these visions. It isn’t until later in the season when Wednesday connected with her ancestor, Goody Addams, that she begins to get some answers about her powers.
Wednesday’s visions activate when she touches an important object or person, and they always portend some sort of threat or darkness. Goody calls Wednesday a “Raven,” which is a title she herself shares. On the contrary, Wednesday’s mother Morticia, who developed similar powers while at Nevermore, is a “Dove.” Morticia explained that as a Dove, her visions are more positive and are activated through pleasant emotions, whereas Wednesday’s Raven abilities are at their peak when she’s channeling her negative emotions.
Wednesday’s visions are core to Season 1’s story, as her connection to Goody helps fill in the mystery surrounding Nevermore, and her glimpses into the future provide necessary clues of what she needs to investigate next. She isn’t the only person with superpowers, though. Nevermore is filled with werewolves, vampires, sirens, and all sorts of other powerful beings. Principal Weems even has the ability to shapeshift, and Wednesday’s new buddy Xavier can bring drawings to life.
This addition of superpowers takes the Addams family to a whole new frontier, and hopefully fans will get to see Wednesday master her powers even more if Wednesday gets renewed for a second season.
