Why WandaVision Is the Perfect Show to Lead MCU’s Phase 4

On January 15, WandaVision became the first project to kick off the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) Phase 4 and the first of many super-powered projects to make Disney+ its new home.

But it wasn’t supposed to be WandaVision that started the superhero franchise on this new streaming journey. In fact, the TV show was originally slated as the fifth project in Phase 4, and it’s the clear wildcard of the bunch before a pandemic caused Marvel to reevaluate its timeline.

Despite this, the first of Marvel’s Disney+ series demonstrates why it’s the perfect choice to lead this phase. Debuting to stellar reviews and overwhelming fanfare, this twisted superhero sitcom is currently the top TV show in the world according to Forbes. The weekly episode format and unrelenting cliffhangers have quickly established this mini-series as the latest television phenomenon to reach “water-cooler” status.

However, at first glance, it’s easy to see why WandaVision wasn’t initially slated to lead Marvel into a new age.

WandaVision is, at its core, a very polarizing concept.

Marvel had a massive roster of fleshed-out superheroes to choose from and decided to go with Wanda and Vision, two of its newest and least fleshed-out recruits.

This odd couple didn’t have the luxury of a beloved film trilogy, or an epic villain to hero arc. To casual moviegoers and long-time fans of the cinematic universe, these two might not seem worth their own spin-off series.

They are just too odd to be appealing, right?

That could very well have been Marvel’s concerns when mapping out Phase 4 all those years ago. After years of finding success in male-lead action-based franchises and keeping one foot planted firmly in reality, you can understand why The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was always meant to go first.

The very DNA of Sam and Bucky’s testosterone-fueled journey under the gaze of Captain America’s legacy has been incorporated into the fabric of the franchise since Iron Man first touched-down in theatres.

Meanwhile, WandaVision‘s loopy alternate-reality concept is something completely different and new for the MCU. While it could change Marvel’s style of storytelling for the better, it could have also been the entire phase’s downfall if it wasn’t received well by the larger fanbase.

Then a worldwide pandemic hit and Marvel was forced to scrap its original plan for relaunching the MCU — a first for the enterprise built on meticulous planning. Suddenly, WandaVision was the only project close enough to completion and the only hope Marvel had of launching its new content in a timely matter.

In the end, WandaVision goes first and quickly begins to demonstrate that the obscure differences that were doubted are what will set this phase up for a new kind of greatness.

The premise is unlike anything we have ever seen a superhero show do, and the doubts that Wanda and Vision’s obscurity would be this phase’s downfall are replaced by a realization that Marvel’s storytelling format can’t sustain itself forever in a world fed up with super-powered stories.

By not locking us into a fully fleshed-out superhero plot, this mind-bending show has the opportunity to be anything and everything we need this reintroduction to the MCU to be. 

WandaVision leads us into this new phase blind. It puts us smackdab in the center of a universe now foreign to us — with only Wanda and Vision to cling to for familiarity. We are forced to depend on these characters for clarity, and in the process, we find ourselves enthralled with the potential of the characters and the caliber of talent.

You could see WandaVision’s choice to dive right into this bonkers sitcom world without context as jarring, and its refusal to give us anything but small glimpses into the mystery of this premise as too slow a pace.

However, I say a clean slate is the only way Marvel can hope to move forward in this new medium of storytelling. Without completely reinventing the tone of the franchise with projects like Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel would never have been capable of staying relevant as long as it has.

WandaVision has the potential to bring in a far more diverse crowd than The Falcon and The Winter Soldier because it doesn’t have to stay bound by the reality of Bucky and Sam’s world.

The ability to hop between comedy-eras lends to the premise’s authentic strangeness and has become a major draw for nostalgic TV-watchers. The light dialogue gives the darker moments underneath real gravitas, delivering a depth to Marvel’s storytelling that will appeal to more than just the casual superhero fan.

Wanda’s story does not confine itself to any one genre, nor does it abide entirely by the rules of the pre-established MCU. The trauma underneath Wanda’s facade and these odes to our favorite sitcoms promise critics, fans, and TV enthusiasts alike a place in this new superhero-hybrid.

Bucky and Sam may offer us a familiar banter, but their dynamic, however loveable, is nothing new for the genre.

They would have offered Marvel a safe way to ease us into the next phase without complaint, but they wouldn’t have broken new ground, as Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s success lies in the franchise’s past with Zemo and Captain America. Whereas WandaVision‘s success resides in a future and multiverse we’ve yet to uncover.

WandaVision treads new ground and, therefore, is able to take some creative risks when it comes to storytelling and world-building.

The biggest risk it takes is the slow unraveling of the mystery surrounding the specifics of Wanda and Vision’s new sitcom life. The mystery of Wanda and Vision’s predicament tests our patience, but the pacing gives Marvel fans something no other project has — a challenge.

Those that have spent years combing over the stories of the MCU will be rewarded with easter eggs and teases at every turn. Binge-watchers and critics alike make take issue with the weekly episode drops and slow-paced mystery, but this blended-sitcom is looking to capitalize on that suspense in all the right ways.

To condemn a story this early in its ruse would be to condemn legendary-plot twist shows like Mr. Robot, Lost, and The Good Place for holding their endgame close to the chest for multiple seasons. If you take issue with WandaVision‘s lack of transparency, I encourage you to wait until this mini-series ends to pass judgment on what has yet to be seen.

There was a time when an ambitious concept like this would be too felt far-fetched in a market dominated by gritty male superhero dramas and ensemble films, but demand is changing and WandaVision‘s success demonstrates Marvel can change with it.

It’s a shame it took a global phenomenon for us to fully understand this show’s potential to lead.

At the end of the day, WandaVision was the underdog, the fifth draft pick in this phase, and maybe even a place filler to tide us over between films. But here we are and here is WandaVision — exceeding every expectation thrown its way by critics and fans alike.

WandaVision is willing to take risks, and just like all those years ago when Tony Stark deviated from the typical superhero with his line “I am Iron Man,” that decision to jump without a safety net is paying off.

This project, like so many of its film successors, comes at a time where we desperately need unlikely heroes to save us from reality, and there’s no two more suited for that job than Wanda and Vision. Clearly, a sentiment many would agree with as it is now one of the highest-rated MCU projects on Rotten Tomatoes.

Now, I couldn’t imagine a better show to set the stage for all the projects ahead than this truly wonderful and peculiar show.

So who cares if it came first, all that matters is WandaVision is here and it is glorious.

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WandaVision is streaming now on Disney+ with new episodes premiering on Fridays.

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