The term "Marvel Zombie" was originally coined by fans of other comics companies (such as the one Stan Lee referred to as "the Distinguished Competition"). It was meant to disparage their blind or exclusive loyalty to a comics publisher, but the apellation eventually became perverse source of pride for anyone who read primarily Marvel Comics.
I read comics from all sorts of publishers, so I never really considered myself a Marvel Zombie until the Marvel Cinematic Universe established itself. With 23 cinematically released features in just over 12 years, I find myself eagerly anticipating each new release, even from characters whose stories I rarely read on paper. Now, thanks to the global pandemic and the delayed release of the Black Widow, Shang-Chi and Eternals films, I have found myself without a new Marvel Studios offering for the longest time since Iron Man came out in 2008 - until Friday.
Friday afternoon I finally subscribed to the Disney+ streaming service (it was an inevitability, really) so we could all watch the first Marvel Studios series on that platform - WandaVision. It was also one of those rare experiences where the whole family was available to watch, which made it even more enjoyable.
WandaVision is a wild ride, to be sure; a delirious take on pop culture and television history wrapped in both humour and pathos, with absolutely nothing in the way of traditional tights-and-fights superheroics in the first two episodes. It is entertaining, both funny and ominous, and with seven episodes to go, absolutely none of us have any real sense of what is going on.
As outlined by the trailer, we know WandaVision starts out in a traditional, b&w tv sitcom format, complete with title sequences and commercials. Styles and mores from the period abound - not just the clothes and hairstyles but for instance, the idea of a housewife cooking a meal for her husband's boss in hopes of better consideration for a promotion. Full marks for the historic looks achieved in hair, wardrobe, production design and even cinematography.
And here is the weirdest thing - the characters actually work really well in this format. The idea of a telekinetic wife and robotic husband trying to fit in and pass themselves off as normal people has been established via classic sitcoms like Bewitched and My Favourite Martian, to name but two. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany have good comic timing and very decent chemistry together, so as a one-off vanity project and period pastiche, WandaVision has potential all on its own.
But things are not quite right, are they? The last time we saw Vision, he was being destroyed by Thanos in 2018's Infinity War before Wanda helped to (ahem) avenge him in Endgame a year later (or five years later for some folk in the MCU). Right off the hop, you can ask "how is Vision back?" as well as "why are they on tv in the 50s (then 60s)?" and finally "where are they and what the hell is actually going on?"
Thankfully there are clues: odd moments of meta-awareness by Wanda within the "show." Bits of spot colour like a red light on an ominously beeping Stark Industries toaster or a toy helicopter found in a bush. A mysterious message heard over the radio. Out of place interrogations from Vision's boss Mr. Hart or their nosy neighbour Agnes. A clear progression from the 50s to the 60s even in the first two episodes. And most tellingly, the depiction of person or persons unknown having watched the same show we have in a modern-day, high-tech setup, with a SWORD logo displayed on a nearby monitor.
Lots of teases and possible clues for us comics fans too, from an ominous bone and helmet shown in the animated opening sequence of episode 2 and tiny, crypto references like ads for Bova milk (the name of the cow-human hybrid midwife who delivered Wanda (and her brother Pietro/Quicksilver) in the comics). Just how much of an influence was Tom King's brilliant 2016 Vision miniseries?
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| (Picture supplied by The Rare Hipster) |
But is there more? Does Vision's opening quip about 'flying saucers' reference actual extraterrestrials? After all, SWORD could stand for Sentient Worlds Observation and Response Department like it does in the comics. Or could the innocuous chewing gum Big Red be a reference to Mephisto, the Marvel Universe's analogue to Satan? Wanda has had her own run-ins with the same fiend who undid Spider-Man's marriage. Wanda is also rumoured to future prominently in the next Doctor Strange movie, The Multiverse of Madness, so mystical implications could be at play here as well. Hmm, in the comics, Wanda is taught in the arcane arts by the witch Agatha Harkness...Ag...nes? Hmm...
Well, speculation is futile (and fun!), but with the control Wanda seems capable of exerting within her televised environment, the biggest question seems to be whether this whole situation is being done to her, or by her. And either way, who is watching?
Lots of people, I bet - and the four of us, for certain.
Kudos to Marvel for a bold entry into the streaming content wars with a show that feels like superhero movies by way of the original Twilight Zone and surreally peppered with bits of Twin Peaks for good measure. This Marvel Zombie will be coming back for more.
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