Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Vision

  • ‘WANDAVISION’: Vision’s ‘Secret Identity’

    ‘WANDAVISION’: Vision’s ‘Secret Identity’

    Right now, we’re less than 2 months away from the debut of WandaVision (2021) on Disney+. I’m excited, you’re excited, we’re all excited. While working on my next Theory Thursday article, I was looking over some of the promo images from Entertainment Weekly and found something particularly interesting in one of them.

     

    (L-R): Kathryn Hahn as Agnes, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany as Vision in Marvel Studios’ WANDAVISION. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2020. All Rights Reserved.

     

    Anything interesting catch your attention (Besides the pineapple?) No? Let’s take a closer look then.

    At the bottom right of the original image, you’ll notice Vision’s briefcase and the initials “T.D.”, engraved on top.

     

    Now, I did my research on the briefcase and question found this Samsonite model.

     

    A nearly exact model, except without the T.D. initials on top. Meaning that if this suitcase belongs to Vision, and he has those initials engraved onto the briefcase, it’s safe to assume that Vision has taken up a new alias if both he and Wanda are trying to live out their suburban lives undercover, without any ties to their previous lives. Vision in the comics is definitely no stranger to aliases in the comics. His most notable alias was Victor Shade.

    SO, IF HE’S WEARING A DISGUISE AND HE HAS A NEW ALIAS, THEN WHAT DOES “T.D.” STAND FOR?

     

    T.D. could mean many different names and it’s definitely not something ripped directly from the comics, though I believe I’ve zoned in on the possible first name for Vision’s new alias:

     

     

    Why Thomas (Tom) D. you ask? Well, because of multiple connections Vision has to people with that name.

     

    Character Co-Creator: Roy Thomas

     

    Roy Thomas is a comic book legend, mainly for being Stan Lee’s first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and is known for co-creating characters such as Vision, Ultron, Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), etc. One could assume that the name pays homage to the man who created the character, but that’s not all.

     

    Comic Book Writer: Tom King

     

     

    Tom King wrote one of the most fascinating stories about Vision in his comic series named after the character. And we know that the limited series will draw inspiration from King’s run, along with several other comic runs. So it could also be seen from the perspective of paying homage to a fantastic writer. And last but not least…

     

    Thomas Shepherd aka Speed

     

    The reincarnated son of Wanda and Vision. We know that the “new” Maximoff twins are bound to appear in the show and most parents across multiple time periods tend to name their sons after the father, so it isn’t that far of a leap in logic to think that it’s possible that perhaps Vision being named Tom or Thomas could be a reference to his future “soon-to-be born-son” Tommy. Bit of a bootstrap paradox for you there. (Look it up).

     

    WANDAVISION PREMIERES EXCLUSIVELY ON DISNEY+ ON JANUARY 15TH.

  • Theory Thursday: Welcome to New Salem

    Theory Thursday: Welcome to New Salem

    It’s been known that comics usually take inspiration for their stories from our world and the times that we live in. And Marvel Comics is no exception. After all, Stan Lee himself once said; “Marvel is the world outside of our window”. During the week, I started to look around for any sort of clues that Marvel Studios could tell us about WandaVision and the town that it’s going to be set in, which is WestView. Now, while looking around, I noticed something really interesting in Google Maps. There are multiple WestViews across the United States, but the one in particular that caught my attention was WestView, Indiana. The reason why it caught my attention was that in Indiana, WestView is “an unincorporated community in SALEM Township…” And then my brain clicked.

     

     

    For my US History nerds (and for those forced to read The Crucible in High School), we know that Salem (in Massachusets) was infamous for the Witch Trials they held in 1692. Many “witches” were persecuted, tried, and executed as part of those trials. And Marvel Comics acknowledges Salem as well in the comics, but where real-world history ended, Marvel Comics continued to write the story their own way. After their persecution, many witches sought refuge near Colorado and founded their own community known as “New Salem”. Now, in order to keep themselves safe, they isolated themselves from the rest of humanity and made their community only accessible to those who possess magical abilities. Now, why is New Salem so important to Marvel Comics and possibly to WandaVision? Well, it’s the home and residence of one of the most powerful witches in Marvel Comics, Agatha Harkness.

     

     

    Theory: ‘New Salem’ might be an important location in WandaVision.

     

    Going back to the Google Maps research I did, whenever I looked up Salem across the US, nearly every Salem location was associated with WestView. WestView Drive, WestView Ave., WestView Manor, the community of WestView, etc. While I am hesitant to say that WestView is specifically a “dummy” location and that WestView is actually the community of New Salem, I am certain that we might see the community of New Salem appear at some point during the show. Most of Agatha Harkness’ story in the comics is set around the community of New Salem and the strain she possesses with the members of that community, who have branded her a traitor for leaving them and deciding to interact with the commoners, mainly the Fantastic Four. Wanda and Vision also play very pivotal parts in the comics after Agatha Harkness’ spirit contacted them to come to New Salem during the 2nd series of comics for “The Vision and the Scarlet Witch”. 

     

     

    In this particular comic above, Wanda and Vision faced off against Vertigo and the “Salem Seven” after Agatha Harkness contacted them to come to New Salem. At one point, Vertigo absorbed the power of all of the residents of New Salem and lost control, killing the residents of New Salem in the process. But Wanda actually tried to contain and redirect the power after Agatha Harkness had taught her how to channel magic or “hex”. Eventually, Agatha’s astral form in that comic had told Wanda not just to channel that power, but to actually use it and she actually succeeded in using her power to redirect it to the mountain and destroying New Salem. If we were to see this portion of the comic play out in WandaVision, it would actually be a nice callback to Captain America: Civil War (2016) when Wanda couldn’t contain and redirect her power properly causing the explosion in Lagos and the death of dozens of innocents which brought about the events of that film.

     

    WandaVisionIS CURRENTLY SCHEDULED TO PREMIERE AT SOME POINT THIS YEAR On Disney Plus.