WandaVision episode 4 finally reveals what’s happening in the “real” MCU – and it’s packed with Marvel Easter eggs. WandaVision may look like a comedy, but in truth it’s something of a mystery. Why have Scarlet Witch and Vision become caught up in a sitcom-based reality? In WandaVision episode 4, Marvel dropped some major clues by revealing SWORD is working on the mystery in pretty much the same way as viewers.
That’s literally the case, because the sitcom episodes are being aired out to the universe in the form of Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation. The SWORD agents monitoring the town of Westview are literally watching the same episodes audiences are – although they’re mysteriously being censored, meaning viewers on Disney+ have just a couple more clues. The concept is an entertaining one, and it will be fascinating to see what happens next.
But, while episodes of WandaVision are always packed with clues, they’re also full of MCU Easter eggs. In this case, WandaVision episode 4 actually subtly rewrites the history of the MCU itself – and features a number of key recurring characters to boot. Here are all the major pull-outs.
WandaVision episode 4 ties its story in to the main events of the MCU at last – specifically, to the moment from Avengers: Infinity War when Thanos snapped away half the life in the universe. It seems Monica Rambeau was a snap victim, and the episode opens with her being restored as a result of the Avengers’ actions in Avengers: Endgame. Tragically, Monica’s mother Maria – played by Lashana Lynch in Captain Marvel – died of cancer in the five-year interval. This is actually the first time the MCU has seriously handled the consequences of the snap, because Spider-Man: Far From Home dealt with them in quite a light-hearted manner. That said, the episode does retain Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s amusing term for the period where people were missing – when Monica walks into the SWORD offices later, the news broadcasts are discussing the “blip.”
WandaVision shows the blip from Monica’s perspective, with not just her body but her very mind reforming – the latter representing by a hubbub of voices symbolizing her memories. The most distinctive of these voices, at the very end, is that of Carol Danvers herself calling Monica “Lieutenant Trouble.” This was the nickname Carol gave to her when she was just a child, and it’s interesting to note this is the last and loudest memory – suggesting Monica’s experiences in Captain Marvel came to define her life.
WandaVision episode 4 formally introduces an organization named SWORD, who will be familiar to comic book readers – but have been switched up significantly. In Marvel Comics, SWORD is the “Sentient World Observation and Response Department,” but in the MCU they are the “Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division.” They’re still concerned with extraterrestrial matters – the episode references an astronaut program and missions to space – but superhumans also fall within their broader remit. According to Director Hayward their focus shifted during the blip, with SWORD becoming particularly interested in Terrestrial threats such as nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. This may indicate that the MCU’s SWORD lost a lot of their spacecraft due to accidents when astronauts were snapped out of existence; certainly Hayward mentions some crew are still missing.
SWORD is retconned to have existed in the MCU all along, founded by Carol Danvers’ friend Maria Rambeau after the events of Captain Marvel in the 1990s. This matches with a line of dialogue from an alternate ending to Thor, in which Erik Selvig told his team to “cross-reference… with the SWORD database.” It seems, then, that Marvel always intended to take this approach with SWORD, establishing them as a background presence. Amusingly enough, this mirrors how they were introduced in the comics as well, with Joss Whedon tossing them in as though they’d always existed as part of his Astonishing X-Men run.
A commemorative plaque in SWORD’s offices honors the organization’s founder, Maria “Photon” Rambeau. Photon was Maria’s call-sign in Captain Marvel, and it’s actually a smart comic book reference; in the comics, Maria’s daughter Monica becomes a superhero in her own right, and Photon is one of the many code-names she takes up.
WandaVision episode 4 reveals its main mystery is set just three weeks after the blip, with SWORD agent Monica Rambeau sent to the town of Westview, New Jersey. This is the first time WandaVision has made it clear Westview is a real location in the MCU, and it’s oddly appropriate that the town is situated in New Jersey; in the comics, Scarlet Witch and Vision headed to that state in order to start a family. Curiously, at least one of Marvel’s other Disney+ TV shows will likely be set in New Jersey as well – Ms. Marvel‘s Kamala Khan traditionally considers herself New Jersey’s protector. It’s possible the conclusion of WandaVision will set up the introduction of Ms. Marvel.
The FBI agent who has called in SWORD is a familiar face – Jimmy Woo, played by Randall Park. Jimmy was introduced in Ant-Man & the Wasp as an FBI agent tasked with ensuring Scott Lang stayed under house arrest. Here, he’s working a missing persons case that swiftly expands to become the mystery of a missing town, and he has the wisdom to call in SWORD.
Jimmy Woo can’t resist showing off when he hands Monica his business card, pulling a magic card trick. Amusingly, this is a direct callback to Ant-Man & the Wasp, where Scott Lang had spent his time in house arrest learning card tricks, and Jimmy Woo was fascinated by them. Apparently he’s now mastered them – which may suggest Jimmy was not a snap victim, because he didn’t exactly seem to be a fast learner.
Another returning character is Kat Dennings’ Darcy Lewis, who was introduced as Jane Foster’s intern in Thor. It’s easy to forget that, however scatterbrained Darcy may seem, she’s probably one of the most brilliant and experienced scientists in the MCU. Darcy interned under Jane Foster, a Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist, and her experiences with Thor will have given her a deep understanding of the nature of reality. Darcy immediately proves herself the most capable of SWORD’s advisers, spotting background levels of radiation and figuring out how to tune in the WandaVision broadcasts.
Darcy detects unnaturally high levels of “Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation,” which she defines as “relic radiation dating back to the Big Bang.” It’s unclear how this cosmic radiation ties into the story of WandaVision, but comic book readers will immediately recognize it as a reference to the raw energy of creation in Marvel Comics – and the source of the Fantastic Four’s powers. Marvel has recently confirmed a Fantastic Four film is in the works, so this can only be direct setup for Marvel’s First Family. It’s possible that, in the MCU, the Fantastic Four are connected to SWORD; note that Director Hayward has a strong reaction to the mention of cosmic radiation, and claims to still have teams of astronauts missing.
There may also be an Eternals connection in this reference to cosmic radiation. Marketing is yet to begin for Eternals, which has been pushed back to November 2021 as a result of changes to Marvel’s slate caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but details are beginning to slip through courtesy of merchandise leaks. One batch of Eternals merchandise revealed new characters, powers, and story details, and it suggested the MCU’s Eternals wield cosmic energy.
Jimmy Woo has evidently decided to stick around the SWORD investigation – perhaps in part because he’s enjoying watching WandaVision with Darcy – and he takes to jotting down thoughts on a whiteboard. Most of them are focused on the actual mystery, but there is one amusing Easter egg; he jots down a reference to Skrulls. Presumably he heard someone at SWORD talking about shapeshifting aliens, and the Skrulls are playing on his mind.
WandaVision episode 4 explains some of the mysteries of previous episodes, revealing the toy helicopter Wanda found in episode 2 was actually a SWORD drone interpreted into a form that roughly fitted in with Westview’s sitcom environment. The beekeeper was a SWORD agent who was sent through the sewers in an attempt to penetrate the reality bubble, and in reality he was wearing Hazmat gear. His fate is unknown – Scarlet Witch reversed time around that particular agent, and he’s completely disappeared.
The final Easter egg in WandaVision episode 4 is the most shocking of them all – a glimpse of Vision’s broken head. Scarlet Witch’s control of reality appears to slip immediately after expelling Monica Rambeau from Westview, and for a moment she sees Vision as he truly is – destroyed by Thanos, with the Mind Stone torn out of him. Given the other “parts” in Westview are played by real people who have been repurposed for Wanda’s sitcom, it is possible Vision is actually a corpse animated by her magic – and that for a moment, she sees him as he really is.
Originally from https://screenrant.com/wandavision-episode-4-mcu-marvel-easter-eggs/