On the surface, Disney+’s WandaVision is an homage to classic sitcom television, with Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) trapped in an evolving series of comedy setups that recall shows like The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, and The Brady Bunch. Of course, as with everything Marvel, scratch the surface and you’ll reveal a host of references to both the comic-book history of these characters and how they’ve tracked through movies like Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Infinity War. Some of them are obvious name-drops like Stark and Strucker, while others require a bit more knowledge of the source material. As each new episode drops further hints about where WandaVision is going and how it’s connected to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’ll update this feature with new references and connections you might have missed.
Episode 1: “Filmed Before a Live Studio Audienceâ€
An important date
The first episode opens with Wanda and Vision noticing a little heart on their calendar over August 23, and they’re uncertain what that date should mean to them. No, it’s probably not a reference to the kooky Jim Carrey movie, but the number 23 has been significant throughout multiple cultures and religions, with some believing that it’s a number that signifies companionship and teamwork, two things Wanda and Vision are going to need. And this may just be coincidental, but it feels like it might not be an accident that the number of movies in the MCU before this series happens to be 23. One more possible reason? Avengers No. 238 (the date followed by the month here) features a story in which Vision is reactivated after being previously deactivated, kind of like he is in this series after his fate in Infinity War.
Vision’s tie
There’s an unexplained pattern on Vision’s tie when he goes to work at his computational company job that likely has more future significance, but also looks a great deal like the clip that he wore in the recent comics series by Tom King, which every WandaVision fan should read. It’s just different enough that it could be another coincidence, but also prominent enough that it feels like something viewers are supposed to notice.
The Toastmate 2000
Every commercial on WandaVision has a reference or two, and the first one is multilayered. Of course, the fact that it’s made by Stark Industries is a callback that even casual fans will catch, but there’s more to it than just the namedrop of Tony’s company. When Wanda was in Sokovia, she was stuck in her apartment building at the age of only 10, trapped with her brother Pietro under rubble for two days, staring at an unexploded bomb with the Stark logo on it. The escalating beeping and splash of red in the light on the toaster feels meant to recall that childhood trauma.
Maison du Mepris Wine
When Mr. and Mrs. Hart come over for dinner with Wanda and Vision, there’s a quick shot of wine being poured and it’s a deep reference for comic fans. The winery is called Maison du Mepris and includes an M on the neck. The name of the winery translates as “House of Contempt,†which doesn’t bode well, but it’s also perhaps a reference to an event series called House of M from 2005, which seems to be a foundational source for WandaVision. In that comic, Doctor Strange reveals how much Scarlet Witch can manipulate reality in a way that defines her, even saying, “Imagination becomes the enemy. Structure disappears.†WandaVision is an amalgamation of multiple comics sources, but this Easter egg just reaffirms how central House of M is to the project.
S.W.O.R.D.
At the end of the episode, it’s revealed that an organization called S.W.O.R.D. is monitoring or watching what just unfolded. The shadowy organization may not be as well-known as Hydra or S.H.I.E.L.D., but the name isn’t new to Marvel fans. In the comics, its was a subdivision of S.H.I.E.L.D. that first appeared in Astonishing X-Men Vol. 3 in 2004, designed to monitor threats to the planet from extraterrestrial origin. The acronym stands for Sentient World Observation and Response Department — or possibly, as suggested by the logo seen on the series trading cards, Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division. Whatever it’s called, what exactly it’s doing monitoring Wanda and Vision is as yet unclear.
Abe Brown
The credits of the show within a show include the name Abe Brown as director. That name should be a little familiar for both comic and movie fans. In the books, it’s the original name of a character named Black Tiger, but he’s also been in the MCU in a different form as a classmate of Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming, played by Abraham Attah. He survived the snap in that movie, so he’s maybe old enough to have become a TV director for S.W.O.R.D.? There have been rumors of major MCU characters other than Wanda and Vision popping up on this show, but this is a connection no one could have predicted.
Episode 2: “Don’t Touch That Dialâ€
The opening credits
The new animated opening credits for WandaVision this episode are thick with references. The best ones come at the 3:27 mark of the episode in a shot that references the Tom King series in multiple ways. As the animated Vision phases through the floor, there’s a shot of dog bones (Vision made a fake doggo in the book), the slippers he wore to seem normal, and the helmet of a character named Grim Reaper from the King book. Will he surface in this series?
Additionally, in the shot of the water cooler, one can barely see “a-57.†Any number on this show is going to send people to their comic libraries, and there’s no way it’s accidental that Avengers No. 57 from 1968 marked the debut of Vision. It’s also easy to spot an ad for Bova Milk at the store behind Wanda, a reference to Bova Ayrshire, a highly evolved cow who actually served as Wanda’s midwife in the books. (Don’t ask.) Next to it? Auntie A’s Kitty Litter, adding to speculation that Kathryn Hahn’s Agnes is actually the legendary Agatha Harkness, a major character from the Scarlet Witch comics mythology, and one who has been referred to as Aunty Agatha. Oh yeah, she’s also got a black cat named Ebony.
The toy helicopter
This one isn’t hard to catch, but when the red toy helicopter breaks the fantasy of the black-and-white world that has been created, it has a clear S.W.O.R.D. logo on it. It also doesn’t feel too coincidental that the color recalls the bright red of Tony Stark and Iron Man, although the creators of WandaVision often use red to break the B&W façade, and the color is associated with the powers of Scarlet Witch. Red is everywhere on this show. Get used to it.
A question on the radio
After the planning meeting with Dottie, Wanda hears interference on the radio and a voice says, “Who is doing this to you, Wanda?†This is actually an auditory Easter egg in that the voice is credited to Randall Park, who played Jimmy Woo in Ant-Man and the Wasp, and can be spotted in the show’s trailer. Woo worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. and so it’s easy to believe that he now works for S.W.O.R.D. But why is he trying to reach Wanda? And who IS doing this to her? In the comics, he founded a group called the Agents of Atlas. Could that play a role here? Anything is possible.
The Strucker Watch
The second ad in the WandaVision universe name drops one of its most notorious villains with a commercial for a watch named after Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, the Hydra mastermind who has a long history with Scarlet Witch. He experimented on her and Quicksilver, even giving them their powers. Again, a commercial in the world of WandaVision recalls trauma for its heroine. There’s more: The time on the watch is 2:42, which should send all fans back to their comics collections. Avengers No. 242 tells the story of Vision being repaired after his deactivation, part of the same story arc that was possibly referenced by the calendar in the first episode.
The beekeeper
When Wanda and Vision go outside to investigate the sound, they come upon a beekeeper emerging from the sewers. The beekeeper has a logo on his back that looks like S.W.O.R.D. but he also recalls the uniforms of a group called A.I.M., who have been all over the Marvel comic books. Wolverine once described them as “an organized group of international science-terrorists,†and that sounds like a group that would inevitably find its way into the MCU. Who is he and what is his purpose here? And why is he wearing a beekeeper uniform? One more thing — guess who founded A.I.M.? Baron Wolfgang von Strucker.
Episode 3: “Now in Colorâ€
Wentworth’s
This could be a stretch, but the A.I.M. beekeeper man in episode two makes it feel distinctly possible. The store Wentworth’s features prominently in this episode. Yes, it could just be an ordinary store name, but it could also be a nod to Deidre Wentworth, a.k.a. Superia, who was the Minister of Education for, you guessed it, A.I.M.
Speed pregnancy
The third episode of WandaVision centers on a true speed pregnancy for Wanda, who goes from thinking about having kids to having them in a matter of hours. This is not a new concept for fans of the character at all. As in the movies and show, Vision can’t conceive a child normally, and so their twin boys were created via the magic of Scarlet Witch and the help of a villain named Mephisto. Since they were essentially products of imagination, they vanished in the comics, leading to a mental breakdown for Wanda. Time will tell if that happens again here.
The pose
At one point, Wanda and Vision are back-to-back with their arms raised in a pose that feels like it definitely is designed to recall the classic cover of the first issue of The Vision and the Scarlet Witch. A stretch? Maybe. But it’s an odd pose in the moment and an iconic cover.
Tommy and Billy
After Wanda gives birth to her two magical sons, they’re named Tommy and Billy, which comes as no surprise to fans of these characters. This isn’t so much an Easter egg as something that could be setting up the introduction of characters into the MCU, as Tommy and Billy in the comics, after being reincarnated after they vanished, became members of the Young Avengers named Wiccan and Speed. Could these two heroes end up a part of the Disney+ universe of shows? It seems very possible as another Young Avenger, Kate Bishop, is set to be a part of the streaming service’s Hawkeye. There were also rumors about a year ago that the show was going to incorporate Hulkling, another Young Avenger.
Simser Paint
Brand names on a show like WandaVision always send fans to their search engines trying to decipher the connection, and this one’s a little fun. Yes, the word “Sim†could have some reference to the simulation in which these characters now exist, but it’s also clearly a reference to Jeremy Simser, the storyboard artist on WandaVision. He’s also apparently working on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. No word on if he’s starting his own paint company.
Hydra Soak
This week’s commercial plays off the classic Calgon run of ads about someone needing a bubble bath to take her away from the problems of daily life. This time it’s Hydra Soak, a luxury bath powder that promises to let people “Find the Goddess Within!†Is this a reference to Scarlet Witch being transformed from within by the Mind Stone? Maybe.
Gravity O’s Cereal
This one needs some unpacking. The second half of “Now in Color†centers on Geraldine, played by Teyonah Parris. When she was cast in the show, she was cast as a character named Monica Rambeau, and she could still be that character given the action of the end of the episode, as she’s hurled out of whatever bubble is holding Wanda and Vision back into the “real†world. Who’s Monica Rambeau? She was the daughter of Maria Rambeau, the friend of Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel. In other words, if this is the grown-up version of the girl who helped Aunt Carol pick her superhero outfit, she knows from experience when she speaks of “little marshmallow moonmen.†Parris is reportedly set to play Monica in Captain Marvel 2 already, which feels like one of the most direct ties for WandaVision to the future of the MCU yet.
Pietro Maximoff
Just before she has her babies, Wanda suddenly remembers that she had a twin brother named Pietro, and Geraldine reminds her that Ultron killed him. This seems to trigger a traumatic memory in Wanda, breaking the illusion that she’s living in. Of course, fans know that Pietro was Quicksilver, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and he sacrificed himself to save Hawkeye and Costel in the Battle of Sokovia.
The S.W.O.R.D. necklace
It’s an obvious one, but don’t miss that Geraldine is wearing the logo of the mysterious S.W.O.R.D. around her neck. Does this mean Geraldine works for S.W.O.R.D.? It feels almost like she’s uncertain of what the necklace means, doesn’t it? Maybe Geraldine/Maria is as trapped and confused as Wanda and Vision. She won’t be for long.
Episode 4, “We Interrupt This Programâ€
Memories of childhood
As Monica Rambeau is coming back into existence after the reversal of Thanos’s snap, there are snippets of audio from Captain Marvel, including her mother Maria speaking about how she can’t leave her and Captain Marvel calling a young Monica “Lieutenant Trouble.†In the comics, the nickname was actually bestowed on a character named Katherine “Kit†Renner, but it was switched to Monica for the movie.
Sentient Weapon Observation Response Division
It turns out that the name of S.W.O.R.D. has been slightly shifted from its origins too, as suggested by those trading cards, replacing the word World with Weapon and Department with Division. Why the changes? Perhaps after the snap, the Powers That Be realized that weapons were a bigger concern than just other worlds, and maybe Division just sounds fancier.
Director Tyler Hayward of S.W.O.R.D.
Have too many Marvel villains in suits destroyed our ability to trust authority or is there something suspicious about Tyler Hayward (Josh Stamberg), the man in charge of S.W.O.R.D.? There could be more to this if you believe that surnames in the MCU aren’t coincidental. There was a character on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. called Brian Hayward, a super-soldier created by something called the Centipede Project, which was run by Hydra, which has already made loose appearances in this show. He attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. and was killed, but could he have a connection to Tyler? The name Tyler never came up on the ABC show, but coincidences — especially ones with such direct ties to Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. — are rare in the MCU.
Jimmy Woo!
Here’s the confirmation that the voice heard in episode two belonged to one Jimmy Woo, friend of Hank Pym’s from the Ant-Man universe — and that Jimmy seems to have finally figured out Scott Lang’s card trick from Ant-Man and the Wasp.
S-57
It’s probably nothing, but the number 57 keeps coming up, and it does so again here on the first helicopter drone that Maria tries to fly into Westview. Again, that’s the issue in which Vision was introduced way back in October 1968.
Darcy Lewis!
Kat Dennings is back as the character she played in Thor and Thor: The Dark World. (She was technically at the end of the first episode, taking notes on the sitcom within the show.) Lewis knows a thing or two about dimensional travel from her time with Erik Selvig, Jane Foster, and Thor. She now has a doctorate in astrophysics and gets invested in old sitcoms.
Skrulls
Blink and you’ll miss that someone, probably Woo, wrote “Skrulls†on the lower-left corner of the white board tracking the operation trying to figure out exactly what’s happening in Westview. Of course, the Skrulls were behind the drama in Captain Marvel and are a natural suspect with anything related to false realities, given their tendency to shape-shift and cause trouble.
The ‘cast’ of WandaVision
As they go through the real identities of the show within a show on WandaVision, the producers inserted a few name-drops. Sharon Davis plays Mrs. Hart, and she’s the supervising art director on the show. Another name in the fake cast is John Collins, another art director. Finally, someone named Todd Davis plays Mr. Hart and an actor by the same name played a townsman in Iron Man 3, but this feels like it’s probably just a genuine coincidence. Who knows anymore?
More credits Easter eggs
The credits for the ’70s-set third episode are seen a few times and include Leeann Patrick, a post-production coordinator at Marvel Studios, and WandaVision art director Chikako Suzuki, who was also a set designer for Agent Carter.
Episode 5, “On a Very Special Episode …â€
Satellite.348
Outside of Westview, the briefing displays footage of Wanda at S.W.O.R.D., and one can make out “Satellite.348†on the left side. Numbers are often intentional on WandaVision — any guess what Avengers No. 348 from 1992 just coincidentally happens to be about? The Vision is visited by someone named Lipton and asked to create a computer program in which a dying man will believe that Vision is the man’s deceased son Alex, so the two can communicate one last time. Sound familiar? Using powers to change reality and hide grief? It gets even better. In the opening of the issue, Vision fakes emotions using something created by Reed Richards called the Encephalo-Helmet, which he’s using to try to recover human feelings by re-creating happier memories with Wanda Maximoff. Thematic connections abound.
A dog named Sparky
Fans of Tom King’s fantastic comics series Vision have noted how much WandaVision ties to that narrative both literally and thematically. Take for example the name of the dog that magically appears in Wanda and Vision’s sink, which shares a name with the synthezoid created by Vision in the 2016 book. Also interesting is that the dog dies in the book, too, and in that source, Scarlet Witch brings it back to life.
Some local news
This isn’t so much a Marvel Easter egg as something that viewers might miss if they’re not quick with the pause button. When Vision picks up his morning paper, the headline is entirely mundane —“Local Homemakers Innovating Recipes†— but there’s apparently a story deeper in the paper, as teased in the header, that indicates maybe some journalist is digging into what’s going on in town: “More Dramatic Details About the Lights in the Sky Over Westview.â€
Computational Services Inc.
The street address for Vision’s day job is 103, in what seems to be another clear reference to Marvel comics history. Does anyone think it’s accidental that Avengers No. 103 from 1972 is about Quicksilver rescuing Scarlet Witch after she’s kidnapped by the Sentinels? Nah.
Lagos paper towels
Every commercial in the show-within-a-show contains a blatant reference to something dark from Wanda’s past, and this week is no exception. The Nigerian city of Lagos features prominently in Captain America: Civil War, the place where Wanda redirects a blast into a building that kills Wakandan citizens. The tagline in the ad in WandaVision is dark: “For when you make a mess you didn’t mean to.†What happened in Lagos was a tragic, guilt-inducing moment for Wanda that really shaped the MCU for the next few years because it led to the Sokovia Accords. Does its inclusion here mean she’s starting to feel guilty about what she’s doing to innocent people, this time in Westview?
The WandaVision crew
As Vision and Wanda fight over the closing credits of the show within a show, the creators of WandaVision drop shout-outs to some lesser-heralded members of the MCU team:
• Carly Plasha — assistant to Matt Shakman
• Jimmy Gadd — postproduction at Marvel Studios
• Jeremy Simser — storyboard artist
• Leeann Patrick — postproduction coordinator
• Brandi Hawkins — extras casting (also on the upcoming Falcon and the Winter Soldier)
• Virginia Burton & Associates — costume supervisor
• Scott McPhate — visual effects production manager
• Crawford Norman — assistant to Teyonah Parris
• Temple Tucker — set production assistant
• Michael Webber — first assistant editor on Thor: Ragnarok
• Anele Onyekwere — supervising music editor
• Sarah Eim — visual effects supervisor
• Lacy Hudson — prop person (on Falcon too)
• Kate Pulley — staff additional second assistant director
• Jason Petty — crew member on Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 and Black Panther
• Anedra Edwards — visual effects editor
• Mariam Yacoub — assistant production coordinator
• Patrick Haskew — visualization supervisor
• Courtney Young — dialect coach (also on Falcon, Loki, and Ms. Marvel)
The ‘return’ of Pietro
“She recast Pietro,†says Darcy when Evan Peters shows up as Wanda’s brother Pietro, a.k.a. Quicksilver. Sorta. Even casual fans probably know they’ve seen Peters in the role before, playing the part in X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, and X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Yes, this is kind of like a big deal, and for more than just what it means to Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s bank account. It really amplifies the concept of a multiverse that could span pre-MCU films as well as the universe of X-Men actors. Anything is possible now, bub.
Episode 6: All-New Halloween Spooktacular!
Halloween Costumes With a History
The Halloween costumes worn by Scarlet Witch and Vision in this episode are clever nods to the design of their original outfits from their early days in the Marvel Comics Universe. Quicksilver’s eventual outfit also recalls his original character design.
Yo-Magic, the Snack for Survivors
Every commercial in the preceding five episodes has included a nod to Wanda’s past, but this week’s incredibly dark advertisement felt a little different, perhaps nodding more to Wanda’s present. In it, a cartoon shark gives a boy on a deserted island a yogurt called Yo-Magic, but the kid can’t open it and he starves to death. Is it a reference to Wanda’s magic not being able to stop the inevitable? Her magic doesn’t have all the answers.
Double Feature With a Twist
After the commercial in a show within a show, Wanda, Pietro, and the boys are coming out of a theater playing two flicks with thematic relevance to this week’s episode. Of course, The Incredibles is about a family of superheroes, just like WandaVision, and The Parent Trap is about two people who switch places, much like the Pietro recasting dynamic of this week’s chapter. They even change accents, too.
Halloween Costumes With a Future
The boys end up wearing outfits that hint at the powers they got from mom and dad, as well as potential future roles in the MCU, given that they should become Wiccan and Speed, eventual members of the Young Avengers.
Agnes As Agatha Harkness
Fans speculated for weeks that Kathryn Hahn’s Agnes could actually be the powerful witch Agatha Harkness in disguise, a theory that seems put to rest after Vision breaks the spell that Wanda has cast on her in this episode. Still, seeing her in a witch outfit for Halloween feels like a nod to the theory that she might be Agatha, something that the creators had to know would happen.
RIP Janell Sammelman
When Wanda blasts her brother across the square, he zips past a fake tombstone for poor Janell Sammelman, the first assistant director of WandaVision.
Episode 7: Breaking the Fourth Wall
“I Know What You Are Doing Wandaâ€
This isn’t so much an Easter egg as something you might miss if you blink. In the opening credits of this week’s Modern Family-inspired sitcom, the name Wanda is presented in various forms, but it appears the credits are acting up as much as Wanda’s furniture, as one of them reads “I Know What You Are Doing Wanda†instead of just her name.
License plate date
In the opening credits of the show within a show, there are multiple shots of the name ‘Wanda,’ including one on a license plate with a number at the top. Always pay attention to numbers on WandaVision. This one is 122822, or January 28th, 1922: The birthday of one Stan Lee. Excelsior!
Why does 10 have a heart?
There were theories as to why the writers chose August 23 for the first episode’s “very important date,†so why end the credits on the shot of a calendar with a 10 circled with a heart? It’s a little harder to decipher and there are no clear answers, but Pietro and Wanda were trapped under the rubble in Russia when they were 10 and the show is very much about Wanda’s grief and history. Feels like a plausible theory for something that may also be totally random.
Major Goodner
When Monica said that she knew an aerospace engineer who might be up for the challenge of Westview, the internet exploded with theories, some of them suggesting it could be Blue Marvel or even the possible introduction of Reed Richards, rumored to be played by John Krasinski. It turns out to have been someone entirely different named Major Goodner, which isn’t an obvious Marvel reference, but could be a nod to an artist named Kevlen Goodner, who dubbed himself the “illest-strator†and died in 2019 from a stroke. Read more about him here.
Nexus antidepressants
The commercials on the show within a show have shifted from Wanda’s past to her present and now possibly her future. This week’s nod to the never-ending wave of pharmaceutical ads on television introduced Nexus, a drug that can make everything better. “Because the world doesn’t revolve around you, or does it?†It’s likely a reference to the concept of Nexus Beings, which Wanda could be, people who can intersect all realities and possibilities, like Vision still being alive and Pietro coming from another cinematic universe. This really opens up the idea that the Marvel films are about to seriously play with realities and franchises as has been rumored with the Spider-man films and appears to be happening with an X-Men actor in an MCU product.
Nick Fury and Captain Marvel
As Monica is trying to push her way into Westview, there are audio easter eggs from Captain Marvel, including clips of Brie Larson as Captain Marvel and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, who says, “Only if you learn to glow,†which Monica kind of does by the end of the episode.
It’s been Agatha All Along
Fans who guessed that the mysterious Agnes was actually Agatha Harkness were proven correct this week with the big episode-ending reveal that Agatha has somehow been using Wanda’s abilities to help create this world in which she is now trapped. A little history seems in order. Agatha Harkness first appeared in Fantastic Four #94 in January 1970. She is an immortal witch, someone who was alive thousands of years ago and has been around for major world events, including settling a colony of witches in Salem. Years later, she ended up crossing paths with the Fantastic Four when she was hired to be the governess of the baby Franklin Richards. She ended up an ally of the team, often helping them by warning them of impending danger from supervillains.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Later in her comic life, Agatha crossed paths with Wanda, and it was Wanda’s encounter with Harkness that led to her speed pregnancy. In a book called Avengers West Coast Vol. 2 #51, she told Wanda that her twins were fragments of the soul of Mephisto, who has been rumored to appear on WandaVision (possibly even played by Al Pacino?!?!) It gets better. In Avengers Vol. 3 #11 she trains Wanda in how to use what she calls her “chaos magic†and they resurrect a character named Wonder Man.
Snoopers gonna snoop
This isn’t so much an Easter egg as a heads up that, for the first time, there’s a WandaVision mid-credits scene! After the first set of credits, Monica can be seen investigating Agatha’s house, popping open a cellar door to reveal her twisted lair. Then she’s caught by Pietro, who says, “snoopers gonna snoop.†Uh oh.
Episode 8: “Previously Onâ€
A logo of a different color
The Marvel Studios logo goes purple instead of red, reflecting a shift from the color scheme of Wanda to that of Agatha Harkness, whose power reflects in that shade instead of the Scarlet Witch’s crimson color. Agnes has been seen in purple a few times over the course of the show, including through all of episode seven, leading up to her reveal as Agatha.
“It May Look Like a Walnutâ€
As Agatha guides Wanda through her past, they watch a scene in which Wanda and her family watch an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show. This isn’t a Marvel Easter egg, but the choice seems worth unpacking anyway. The episode from the second season of this TV comedy classic wasn’t chosen by accident, of course. In it, Rob (Dick Van Dyke) and Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) watch a scary movie about an alien invasion and then become convinced that it’s coming true. At the end of the episode, Rob wakes up to reveal that he’s been dreaming this story the whole time, reflecting the manufactured world of WandaVision.
Stark Industries
It’s hard to miss this one, but just in case: The bomb that fell on Wanda’s family bears the logo of Tony Stark’s weapon-producing company.
Hydra logo
Another one that’s impossible to miss: The door that guides Agatha and Wanda from her childhood to the experimentation chapter of her life bears the logo of the evil Hydra, which was referenced obliquely in episode two’s commercial for Strüker watches.
Loki’s scepter
The Infinity Stone is being housed by Hydra in Loki’s famous scepter, the only thing that can hold it.
“Kitty Karry-All Is Missingâ€
Another episode of classic television can be seen in Wanda’s flashbacks, and this specific episode was again clearly chosen for its thematic relevance. In this chapter of The Brady Bunch from 1969, Cindy freaks out when her doll goes missing because she treats the doll like her real baby. Again, it’s an episode about a manufactured reality.
Make Cleaning a Snap!
As Wanda turns Westview into her own private sitcom, the town is washed in her magic, transforming it to something akin to the world of The Dick Van Dyke Show. It turns out her psyche was playing games with her from the very beginning when it comes to advertising, as a billboard for Lagos cleaning products can be seen with the slogan “Make Cleaning a Snap!†Of course, like the other Lagos ad, this is a reference to one of the formative tragedies of Wanda’s life, with another embedded reference to Thanos’s snap.
Tannhäuser Gate: Put the Fun in Dysfunction
When Wanda’s magic reaches the Coronet Theatre it has a marquee that references not the MCU but a classic sci-fi film, Blade Runner. In that film, Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) references the Tannhäuser Gate in his dying speech, saying, “I’ve watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate.†There, the name was often read as a reference to German folklore and a knight named Tannhäuser who has to journey into the underworld to find a pagan queen.
Big Red and Kidnapped, Now in Color
The marquee shifts to two classic films: 1962’s Big Red and 1971’s Kidnapped. Of course, the two titles reference what is literally happening as the people of Westview are being kidnapped by a “Big Red†who will be known as the Scarlet Witch.
The White Vision
There’s another mid-credits scene this week that features Hayward launching the rebooted version of Vision that they’ve been working on for so long. They used the downed drone to legitimately bring Vision back to life, but will he be the same? The bad news is that he bears a strong resemblance to what happened to Vision in the West Coast Avengers arc by John Byrne, known as “Vision Quest,†and it wasn’t pretty. The action of that controversial story run basically dismantled everything established about Vision and Scarlet Witch, turning a colorless Vision into an unfeeling machine. One more thing: That arc included the reveal that Wanda’s children were merely fragments of Mephisto’s soul. Does including what looks like White Vision in the end of this episode give weight to the theory that Mephisto himself will appear in the finale? Discuss amongst yourselves.
Episode 9: ‘The Series Finale’
The Wicked Witch of Westview
This isn’t an MCU easter egg, but the finale episode’s references to The Wizard of Oz feel worth mentioning, nonetheless. One of the most prominent comes after Wanda hurls a car at Agatha, tossing her into a house, leaving only her boots sticking out from under it. The image is a clear nod to the image of the legs and shoes sticking out from under Dorothy’s house in The Wizard of Oz, which crushed the Wicked Witch of the East.
Who is Cliff?
After freeing himself, Jimmy Woo calls someone named Cliff for help with what Hayward is about to do in Westview. Naturally, any time a name is used that prominently in the MCU, it has to mean something. And when no one shows up in the town square and yells, “Hey, I’m Cliff!,†it means he’s probably being saved for a new movie or show. Could it be Cliff Randall? Way back in 1968, a comic book called Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. told the story of an alien race who infiltrated the planet, pretending to be humans, and one of them was named Cliff, an alien who ended up siding with his new planet-mates. Guess where he worked? S.H.I.E.L.D. A shapeshifting character who works for S.H.I.E.L.D. and has a connection to Nick Fury? He could easily be a part of Captain Marvel 2 and/or the upcoming Disney+ project Secret Invasion, a show about Skrulls who have posed as major power players on Earth.
Oz the Great and Powerful
The action in Westview’s town square takes place in sight of the Coronet Theater, which goes through several changes as Wanda’s hold on the city falters, eventually landing on the 2013 Sam Raimi film Oz the Great and Powerful. It’s another reference to The Wizard of Oz on a show about witches, but also a sly nod to a legend in comic-book movie history, the director of the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies.
“I was sent by an old friend of your mother’s.â€
In the show’s mid-credits scene, a Skrull agent approaches Monica in the empty Coronet and tells her that she was sent by an old friend of her mother. Who is that? It’s almost certainly Nick Fury, who was not only a friend of Maria Rambeau but was last seen far from Earth, where the agent could be pointing when Monica asks where she’s going. (Although it should be noted that the post-credits scene with Fury and the Skrulls in Spider-Man: Far From Home technically takes place after WandaVision). Is this setting up Monica for action in Captain Marvel 2 or the Secret Invasion series? Why not both?
The Scarlet Witch Studies
This isn’t an easter egg as much as a heads up that there’s a post-credits scene that could be major. In it, Wanda is in full Scarlet Witch form in the back of an isolated cabin, and she’s studying the Darkhold, the evil volume of dark magic that Agatha Harkness had been using all season. This lends credence to the theory that Scarlet Witch could be the villain of the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. And then she hears her kids in jeopardy! Where are there? And what will she do to save them? Give us a season two!
Thanks to Screen Rant, Collider, Marvel Fandom, Looper, ComicBook.com, and Den of Geek for assistance with this feature.
(If you subscribe to a service through our links, Vulture may earn an affiliate commission.)
More WandaVision
- ‘We’re All Going to Die, and I Think About It a Lot’
- Elizabeth Olsen Sees Marvel as ‘Insurance’ to Make Indie Films
- What Agatha All Along Has Been Telling Us About the Future of Marvel TV