WandaVision just set up the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first gay superhero
Wanda and Vision: now in full colour. (Disney)
WandaVision episode three introduced a very important character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Warning – spoilers ahead.
There’s a lot going on in this week’s WandaVision – most of it concentrated right in the last few minutes, which says something when the preceding 20 took the show into a brand-new, technicolour era and covered a full-blown pregnancy.
After teasing the obvious – that all is not what it seems – WandaVision episode three burst the bubble, confirming Wanda has some sort of control over the sitcom reality (she can rewind time, and appears to have ejected Geraldine from the town) and that SWORD (whose logo Geraldine wears around her neck) is trying to reach her.
But, before all that, we have the small matter of Wanda giving birth. Not once, but twice, as she and Vision welcome twins: Tommy and Billy.
Of course, we still have no idea what is real. The Scarlet Witch’s children could well be part of the fantasy/simulation/whatever the hell is going on. But in the comics, Wanda and Vision do have twins, and one of them is of massive significance to LGBT+ fans.
Wanda and Vision welcomed twins. (Disney)
After Wanda and Vision marry, they have twin children: Thomas and William.
William (Billy) grows up to be Wiccan, a member of the Young Avengers who in 2020, was revealed to have married fellow superhero Hulkling.
There had been same-sex marriages previously, but never between superheroes. It was a first for Marvel, taking place in a flashback on the final page of Empyre #4.
Fans had long suspected that a wedding was on the cards, with their relationship fleshed out in past comics. A celebration dinner in Marvel Comics #1000, released 2019, was the biggest clue of all.
“I’ve got a lot of love for Hulkling and Wiccan, both individually and as a couple” said Empyre writer Al Ewing at the time.
“So it’s a good feeling to be able to deliver this kind of ‘shock ending’ for readers, which hopefully lifts fans’ spirits a little rather than bringing them down.”
Hulkling and Wiccan tie the knot in Empyre #4. (Marvel)
Scarlet Witch’s children – a brief history.
The story goes much deeper than that brief explainer. WandaVision is yet to answer how Wanda became pregnant, given that Vision isn’t human. In the comics, Billy and Tommy were introduced in Vision and the Scarlet Witch Vol. 2 #12 in September 1986.
Scarlet Witch created them by magic, stealing fragments of soul from Mephisto, Marvel’s incarnation of the Devil.
When Mephisto reclaimed those fragments Scarlet Witch’s children were wiped from existence, driving her mad and causing her to create her own reality: the House of M.
Chaos ensued, and eventually Wanda had her memories of the twins wiped to save herself. Somehow, Billy and Tommy were resurrected decades later: separated at birth, raised by different families, but both with superpowers. Billy became Wiccan, with magic like that his of mother’s, while Tommy became Speed, possessing the gift of super-speed that his uncle, Wanda’s twin Pietro, also has.
With WandaVision racing through the decades, we may well get to see the grown up Billy and Tommy – and, we can only hope, Hulking too? Tune in next week to find out, we guess.
A new episode of WandaVision is released every Friday on Disney+. To stream it you can sign up to Disney+ with a free seven-day trial and then pay £5.99 per month or a discounted £59.99 for a whole year. To sign up go to www.disneyplus.com.
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