Disney’s marriage with Marvel had a monumental effect on streaming and ultimately led to one of the most masterful contributions to the superhero brand. In 2021, Marvel dipped a toe in the television pool, which led to a sci-fi masterpiece that has never been topped. WandaVision was the emotional and character-driven story that Marvel had been missing, and did it in nine short episodes. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision shows Wanda Maximoff’s (Elizabeth Olsen) journey following the death of her robot husband, Vision (Paul Bettany).
A love letter to the style of old sitcoms, almost every episode is an homage to a different decade of television. Starting in the ‘50s, the series buries the lede when it comes to Vision, showing the witch and robot happily married. This WandaVision trend would culminate in a finale unlike any other, revealing what really happened to Wanda’s husband. The series doesn’t ignore the events of the previous Avengers movie, but builds on it in a way that furthers Wanda’s character as well as her story in a rollercoaster of a television series.
‘WandaVision’ Is a Moving Study in Grief
It may be common knowledge now, but when WandaVision first aired, it was a revelation. Ever-changing and strange, the MCU series with the best ending kept viewers guessing as the carefully cultivated illusion the witch created crumbled. The final episodes reveal that in the wake of Vision’s death, Wanda experienced inconsolable grief. It was so strong that she enslaved an entire town in New Jersey to be extras in a show where Vision was alive.
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Collider · Marvel Which MCU Hero Are You? Ten questions · six heroes · one destiny
Six heroes. One destiny. Ten questions to work out which Marvel Cinematic Universe hero shares your personality, your values and your fighting spirit. Will you swing, fly or thunder your way to glory?
Identity confirmedYour MCU hero is
Spider-Man Queens, New York Responsibility is not something you chose. It found you, and you never put it down.
You carry the weight of the world on shoulders younger than they should have to be: funny, loyal and endlessly self-sacrificing. You do the right thing not because it is easy but because nobody else will. Whether it is a mugging two streets over or a crisis across the multiverse, you show up. Great power demanding great responsibility is not a slogan to you. It is the code you live by, even when it costs you everything. Why this is you
You show up for the small stuff nobody is watching.
You joke through fear rather than letting it stop you.
You take the loss personally, every time.
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Tom Holland was introduced mid-fight in Civil War in 2016, with no origin story needed.
No Way Home passed 1.9 billion dollars and became the biggest release of the pandemic era.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrived in 2026, his fourth solo outing in the MCU.
Shows up Carries the guilt Jokes through it
Daredevil Hell’s Kitchen, New York You looked into the dark and decided not to become it. That decision gets made again every night.
You fight in the space between law and chaos, steered by a moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk. You use every tool you have, your mind, your body and your faith, to protect the people the system overlooks. You have come close to the edge and stepped back from it more than once. Matt Murdock’s split, champion in the courtroom and devil in the alley, mirrors your own: relentless, conflicted and unwilling to stop. Why this is you
You work the problem legally first and physically second.
You hold a line you have genuinely wanted to cross.
You take the cases nobody else will touch.
From the Collider file
Charlie Cox’s 2015 series opened with a one-take hallway fight that reset the bar for
TV action.
Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin crossed into Hawkeye and Echo before the two reunited
on screen.
Daredevil: Born Again brought the pair back, and a second season followed in 2026.
Fights the dark Keeps the faith Never stops
Iron Man Stark Industries, Malibu You started out protecting yourself. Somewhere along the way the world became your problem.
Brilliant, driven and occasionally insufferable, but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem. You lead with your mind and back it with resources, invention and a stubbornness that edges into heroism. You began looking out for yourself and ended up carrying everyone else. Tony Stark’s arc from ego to sacrifice is your arc too. You build, you plan, and when the moment comes you are willing to give everything. Why this is you
You solve it with the thing you built last night.
You would rather be useful than liked.
You have a contingency for the contingency.
From the Collider file
The 2008 film launched the entire MCU on a casting choice the studio considered a real risk.
Much of Robert Downey Jr.’s dialogue was improvised, the closing line included.
Announcing himself at that press conference threw out the secret-identity rulebook for a
decade of films.
Builds the answer Ego to sacrifice Always has a plan
The Punisher New York City What is left after the fire is not broken. It is narrowed down to one thing.
You went through something that would break most people, and it did change you, completely. What remains is unyielding and operates by a code forged in grief. You do not ask forgiveness and you do not expect thanks. You looked at a corrupt, broken world and decided to do something about it whatever it costs. Frank Castle’s war comes out of love bent by loss, and so does yours. The world may never agree with your methods, but your conviction is absolute. Why this is you
You finish what you start, with no appetite for ceremony.
You keep your circle small and your mission smaller.
You accept being the villain in somebody else’s telling.
From the Collider file
Jon Bernthal arrived in Daredevil’s second season in 2016 and earned a two-season show
of his own.
The character was created in 1974 by Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru, as a
Spider-Man antagonist.
Bernthal returned in Born Again, with a Disney+ special following on from it.
Forged in grief No forgiveness asked Absolute
Thor Asgard, the Nine Realms Worthiness is not a thing you are given. It is a thing you keep earning.
Powerful, proud, and on a long journey toward being worthy of the legend you carry. You lead with strength, and you learned, sometimes painfully, that the real thing comes from humility and growth instead. You are larger than life and more vulnerable than you let on. Thor’s story is a long transformation, from arrogant prince to worthy king, from isolated warrior to someone people genuinely love. You bring the storm when it is needed and the warmth when that matters more. Why this is you
You go first, and loudly.
You take the lesson, eventually.
You are the morale of the room as much as its muscle.
From the Collider file
Chris Hemsworth nearly missed the part. His brother Liam got further in the process at
first.
Taika Waititi’s Ragnarok reinvented the character through heavy on-set improvisation.
Hemsworth has headlined four Thor films, from 2011 through to 2022.
Brings the storm Still earning it Warmer than he looks
Captain America Brooklyn, New York Strength was never the point. Refusing to move was the point.
You believe in something bigger than yourself, and you fight for it even once the world has moved on and nobody else will. You do not bully the small guy and you do not stop when it gets hard. Steve Rogers did not become a hero when he got the serum. He already was one, and so are you. Your strength is not in your fists, it is in refusing to compromise what is right whatever that costs. In a world of people taking the easy road, you are the one who stands back up. Why this is you
You say the unpopular thing in the room where it costs you.
You hold the plan together when it starts coming apart.
You get back up. That is the whole trick.
From the Collider file
Chris Evans turned the role down more than once before finally taking it.
The Winter Soldier recast the series as a political thriller and is still held up as its
best.
Anthony Mackie took over the shield and led Brave New World in 2025.
Holds the line Stands back up No compromise
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As the episodes progressed, the composite of Vision started to realize what was going on and that he was just as much of a prisoner as everyone else. The reality was that Vision was dead and Wanda didn’t revive him. He was entirely a construct of her own making. Vision’s sentience and the people who existed in the town offered an ethical quandary that Wanda would have to solve.
No matter how aggrieved she was, she had forced an entire town into scenarios against their will. Many begged to be released from the nightmare. This was the first time that Marvel actually empowered a character to make controversial decisions and then pay the consequences. Wanda became more comic-accurate because of it, as the series allowed her to make monumental mistakes. It went a long way in righting the wrongs of past Marvel movies when it came to Wanda’s character.
Wanda Maximoff Finally Gets Her Due in ‘WandaVision’
One of the biggest oversights in Marvel has been the treatment of its female characters. Wanda Maximoff was one of the big ones who, at first, paled in comparison to her origins in the comics. Introduced as a mutant and one of Magneto’s daughters, Wanda was so powerful that she could rewrite reality.
In the divisive Age of Ultron, this was only represented in her powers of telekinesis and mind control. WandaVision wrote the wrong of severely powering Wanda down by showing what she was really capable of. Her grief unlocked latent abilities that ensured she was just as powerful as she is in the comics.
WandaVision also opened the door to her moniker of the Scarlet Witch, which had been glossed over at that point. Wanda’s place in the MCU has been a little shaky since then, especially taking into account the repetitive storyline she had in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In any case, it was still a step forward that allowed the character to flourish in a way that many of the static characters from Marvel Studios are not allowed.
WandaVision was a masterpiece, showing what the television universe was capable of. Though not all Disney+ series in the MCU have been slam dunks, the ones that have all have something in common. Experiences like Loki, Agatha All Along, and VisionQuest stick to the path of the strange. These stories veer away from the common denominator viewing that the Marvel feature films always seem to stick to.
Wanda’s story bends the mind and encourages change in a way that has been lost in much of the storytelling on the platform. Wanda’s future in the MCU is up in the air, but perhaps that is because WandaVision immersed viewers in the perfect story for the character. Wanda Maximoff’s narrative was told in nine episodes, clocking in at under six perfect hours.
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