This 'WandaVision' Theory About Vision Is *A Lot* To Wrap Your Head Around
Real talk: No one knows what the hell is happening on WandaVision. The first Marvel Cinematic Universe series is unlike anything the franchise has done until now. Wherever the comic adaptations used to zig, WandaVision refuses to move; wherever the source material played plot points straight, this show zags wildly instead. With so many directions WandaVision could go, fans are realized pretty much anything can happen at this point. And if that's the case, could it be that Vision actually still alive on WandaVision? A new theory suggests the show may be going "full comic book" for the lovable red android.
Warning: Spoilers for WandaVision follow. Until now, the assumption was that Wanda used her magic on Vision's dead body in some wacky reanimation scheme. Everything points that way: S.W.O.R.D. Acting Director Tyler Hayward insists Wanda broke into HQ and stole Vision's body, which was in pieces, and reassembled them. In Episode 4, Wanda even sees Vision's dead body standing in front of her, re-animatedly talking. If this is the case, then the "alive" version of Vision couldn't exist outside the Hex.
Except, in Episode 6, he went and exited it.
Granted, Vision didn't exactly get all the way out, nor did he fare very well in his attempt. Shards of his body were peeled away by the Hex's gravitational pull. But the version of Vision who exited the Hex was not greyed-out, nor was there a hole in his head where the mind stone should have been. Although he was being pulled apart, he was not the dead body everyone expected him to become.
So what gives? The most obvious answer is time travel. It's an old-school comics gimmick. Even better, the MCU already has an upcoming show with a time-traveling antagonist who Wanda could browbeat into helping her rescue Vision: Loki.
Most early WandaVision theories assumed Mephisto, the demon antagonist from the comics, would turn out to be the show's ultimate bad guy. He is the main antagonist in the House of M comics, which inspired the series. He's also a primary bad guy in the Dr. Strange comics and WandaVision's plot is supposed to feed directly into the Dr. Strange sequel.
But both Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany have teased the big reveal for this season brings in an actor fans already know from Marvel's stories — someone they hadn't gotten to work with before, but who had always wanted to. Mephisto hasn't been in the MCU (although he appeared once in the forgettable Nick Cage Ghost Rider in 2007), nor is he a well-known character outside of comic book readers.
But Loki is. And neither Olsen nor Bettany has ever shared the screen directly with Tom Hiddleston in the MCU.
That doesn't necessarily mean Loki is 100% showing up. Plus, notably, when Pietro asked Wanda how she reanimated Vision, Wanda didn't say anything about time travel. She said she doesn't remember what happened at all.
However, even if Loki is not involved, there seems to be far more than meets the eye regarding Vision. For example, Hayward seemed utterly unsurprised to see Vision with his head in one piece walking out of the Hex. Instead, he seemed pleased with how much Vision "really wants out of there." A dead Vision wouldn't be able to want anything.
Chances are fans won't find out the whole story for a while. With Wanda's expanded Hex, it's unlikely Vision will attempt to leave again (at least not right away). Regardless, it's worth questioning every essential assumption fans had about WandaVision, because whatever fans thought this show was, it's something completely different.
WandaVision releases new episodes on Fridays on Disney+.
