Every Way WandaVision Is Setting Up The MCU’s House Of M

It is beginning to look more and more like WandaVision is setting up the MCU’s version of House of M. The Scarlet Witch-centric storyline has been one of the most consequential events within Marvel’s comic universe, and one that, apparently, has been on actor Elizabeth Olsen’s radar even in the early days of Avengers: Age of Ultron. With only a handful of episodes left in this season of WandaVision, how can the popular Disney+ show reach a House of M-like crescendo?

Written by Brian Michael Bendis in 2005, the House of M crossover event took place some time after an out-of-control Scarlet Witch accidentally killed Vision, Hawkeye, and Scott Lang, leaving many in the superhero community – the Avengers and X-Men included – wondering if it may be better to kill her as a precaution. Hidden away by her father Magneto and brother Quicksilver, Wanda rewrites the universe with her incredible powers. In her new world, all the heroes (except Wolverine) find themselves with no memory of reality and lead relatively happy lives. Wolverine eventually helps to break the spell by reconnecting with the X-Men and Avengers, and they team up to pursue Scarlet Witch who, in this universe, is a member of the all-powerful ruling family, led by Magento. Attacked and robbed of her newly-created happiness, Wanda concludes House of M with an infamous panel in which she utters the phrase, “No more mutants,” depowering much of the world’s mutant population before setting the universe back to the main Marvel timeline.

It has been long-speculated that WandaVision‘s version of events will operate in reverse, with Scarlet Witch bringing mutants into the MCU instead of erasing them. Until the recent Disney-20th Century Fox deal, all X-Men and mutant characters were off-limits to Kevin Feige and his team of Marvel Studios creators. Now that mutants sit comfortably under Disney’s corporate umbrella, the question of how mutants will come into the story has been a big question – and there are several possibilities for how their introduction could unfold.

Wanda Can Bring in Mutants With the Multiverse

WandaVision episode 5 ended with Evan Peters’ Quicksilver appearing in Westview, seemingly imported from Fox’s X-Men universe. There are still so many questions regarding this “recasting” of Pietro, who had been previously played in the MCU by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Regardless of how Peters’ Quicksilver managed his way into Westview, he marks Marvel Studios’ first onscreen nod toward Fox’s X-Men franchise and, by extension, the mutant race. Peters’ entrance into the fray have brought fans into something of a frenzy, with many eager for other Fox-favorite mutants to come onto the scene (excitement made all the more palpable with teases that a cameo rivaling Luke Skywalker’s The Mandalorian debut is still on the way).

It’s possible Wanda is somehow – consciously or unconsciously – bringing mutants from other dimensions. Perhaps Westview is actually operating as a convergence point between worlds, made all the more accessible by Wanda’s extraordinary power. This theory is made all the more likely considering the hexagonal barrier which surrounds the town. In the Guardians of the Galaxy series, hexagons make up a network of “jump-points”, portals which allow for quick and lightspeed-like travel. WandaVision may be using this visual motif to indicate similarly speedy travel between neighboring universes.

CMBR Can Make Mutants

In WandaVision episode 4, Dr. Darcy Lewis makes note of a rare form of radiation being emitted by the bubble that surrounds Westview: “cosmic microwave background radiation“or “CMBR.” The term relates to a real-world phenomenon, a low-level electromagnetic radiation supposedly leftover from the Big Bang. Furthermore, the Big Bang initiated the creation of the Infinity Stones, as illustrated by Wong in Avengers: Infinity War. Is it possible a strong enough wave of this mysterious force could cause the activation of a dormant X-Gene and the arrival of mutants into the MCU? It should be said that, in the comics, mutants were originally introduced as individuals whose parents had been previously exposed to radiation.

Monica suggests Wanda is creating her own quarantine around Westview in WandaVision episode 5, so it could be that she is the one responsible for not letting the CMBR reach the larger world. But if she were to lose control as she does in the comics, perhaps she will serve as the catalyst for the radiation’s spread. In Avengers: Endgame, a holographic illustration of the effects of Thanos’ snap is shown, at which point Rocket says, “When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground-zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions.” Since the planet was subjected to not just one but three of these cosmic events (Thanos’ snap, Hulk’s snap, and Tony’s snap), it could be that some Earthlings are already susceptible to being altered by CMBR.

Wanda Could Reform the Mind Stone and Use It

The Mind Stone has returned in WandaVision and is sure to play a part in the story given its relationship to both Scarlet Witch and Vision’s MCU origin stories. All of the Infinity Stones were destroyed by Thanos shortly after his fateful snap at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, and while the surviving heroes recollected the gems from the past to undo the damage, those, too, are seemingly out of play since Captain America returned them at the end of Avengers: Endgame. In WandaVision, Vision still seems to have the yellow gem in his head, despite Thanos viciously removing it. If Wanda was somehow able to reform the Mind Stone (and perhaps the other Infinity Stones) with her reality-bending abilities, that could be a game-changer for the MCU.

In the stinger at the end of the Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it was established that both Wanda and Pietro derived their abilities from the Mind Stone, then housed in Loki’s scepter. More recently, in The Wakanda Files: A Technological Exploration of the Avengers and Beyond, an in-universe guide to the MCU authored by Black Panther‘s Shuri, helps to illuminate why the Maximoffs survived the dangerous experimentation. Shuri writes that Hydra chose Sokovia as the grounds for their base because of mysterious “genetic anomalies” found in their citizens. This could indicate a retcon is coming that would suggest Sokovians like Wanda and Pietro were predisposed to acquire powers because of a dormant X-Gene, which were awakened by the Mind Stone. Given Wanda’s seemingly limitless power, she could use the gem to activate mutancy all over the world.

There is some evidence to suggest the Mind Stone scene from the WandaVision trailer is actually a flashback to Wanda’s days at the Hydra base. She appears to be in a similar gray shirt that she wore in her first appearance and she looks uncharacteristically gaunt and emaciated. Further, it looks like she is breaking the yellow stone out of the blue casing of the scepter. If that’s the case, viewers may learn Wanda’s connection to the Mind Stone is even deeper than previously thought. Maybe she has already used the stone previously, to de-power or hide those with “genetic anomalies” – or else make the world forget their existence. Or perhaps the telepathy used by the MCU’s Scarlet Witch (an ability not really a part of the comic iteration’s skill set) is actually powered by her link to that particular stone.

Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios have never yet transferred a story directly from comic book continuity to the screen, opting instead to borrow elements from different arcs to construct a narrative that’s new but in service of its characters. So far, WandaVision has been something of a Wanda Maximoff character study, so bringing in some DNA from House of M would not be a surprising move. Wanda’s life in the MCU has been exceptionally bleak up until now – even by superhero standards – and is at something of a cross-roads at the moment. Perhaps giving her a central role in the inevitable rise of mutants will enable her to chart an exciting new path for herself.

About The Author