NOTE: THIS POST CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 9 OF WANDAVISION. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND WATCH IT FIRST BEFORE READING THIS POST.

This morning the curtain finally closed on the first (and maybe only?) season of WandaVision. We were treated to the conclusion of Marvel Studios' first attempt at unraveling a superhero-villain storyline in episodic fashion.

As is true with most finales, a number of key questions were answered. Several more were either introduced or left unanswered as we wait to see how the conclusion of this story ties into Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and other Marvel projects that were hinted at in this episode.

Where does the MCU pivot now and where do comic book fans go from here? What clues can we grasp onto that will point us in the direction where these characters are headed? Let's dive in to see where things might be going now that WandaVision has concluded.

"The World You Made Will Always Be Broken...Just Like You"

In the end, this was a story about sacrifice, grief, and trauma. Once again we see Wanda in an impossible situation, but she takes the hero fork in the road when she decides to free the people of Westview even when she knows it means losing everything she loves all over again. There is perhaps no more tragic figure in the MCU than Wanda Maximoff. After she turned the world upside down when she lost Vision for a second time, there's no telling where her grief and emotion will take her.

But as much as an emotional gut-punch this episode was, there are surely many fans and speculators out there who left feeling let down by the lack of a massive, jump-out-of-your-seat reveal. There was no Mephisto, no X-Men, no mutants, no Sony Universe crossover. No Reed Richards or Blue Marvel, no Dr. Strange, no real indication of an overarching "big bad" at all.

I'm sure there are many who were holding those books - or who invested in those keys like Silver Surfer #3 or West Coast Avengers #45 - based on fan theories and rumors that are now disappointed.

But it's clear the writers and producers wanted to tell a Wanda and Vision story. They only supplemented it with the complementary pieces necessary to tell that story.

"You Fought For It All Only To Lose It Again"

If you came into the finale looking for conflict and action, you are likely very pleased with what you saw. We had Wanda vs. Agatha Harkless. Mind Stone Vision vs. White Vision. Tommy and Billy vs. SWORD. Monica "Photon" Rambeau and her sweet new energy-body vs. incoming bullets. Darcy's ice cream truck vs. Hayward's armored vehicle (clear advantage to Darcy).

The most important conflicts, clearly, were the battle between Wanda and Agatha and Vision and White Vision. Last week teased that perhaps Wanda's powers were not from experimentation in Sokovia, but she is the most powerful dark witch ever. That was essentially confirmed in the finale, retconning the backstory of Wanda and setting up the interesting question of how did her brother - Quicksilver - gain his abilities. My favorite theory is Wanda granted him his powers, but we will likely never know.

Wanda overpowers Agatha with the overwhelming dark magic she possesses and sentences her to live as Agnes in Westview. I hope we see more of Agatha again - she was such a great character - but with her MCU future in doubt, Fantastic Four #94 may start to take a dive in the near future.

Double Vision

Fantastic Four 94 1st Appearance Agatha HarknessFantastic Four 94

The showdown between the two Visions that was so highly anticipated eventually turned into a battle of wits as they debated the Ship of Theseus question. Essentially it is a philosophical illustration that points to the nature of identity. What is it that makes up the essence of something? The two Visions eventually realize that they are only whole when they are combined and our conjured-by-Westview Vision imparts the memories and essence that SWORD's Vision needs to become the true Vision.

I saw plenty of sales of West Coast Avengers #45 in the $1,000+ range this week. Those who own this book now likely have a long wait ahead of them to see if we ever glimpse White Vision again.

"You Have No Idea What You've Unleashed!"

Where do our main characters go from here? Without much in the way of new introductions in the last half of the season, we can focus our speculative minds on where the MCU plans to take each of these key players.

Wanda/Scarlet Witch

With how much she has suffered, it was clear there is tension building in Wanda over how to use her powers. In the finale, she chooses the many over the few when she saves Westview, pointing her in the hero direction. But in the second post-credits scene, we see Scarlet Witch mastering something that looks like astral projection while reading the Darkhold. We last saw astral projection when Dr. Strange would read through ancient texts while his body slept.

This, frankly, does not bode well for Wanda's future. I feel the stage is set for Wanda's Chaos Magic to be the ying to Dr. Strange's Order Magic yang. This will undoubtedly be explored in the next Dr. Strange movie.

Vision

With only one Vision flying around again, there doesn't seem to be a clear or direct path for him now that WandaVision has reached its finale. It's noteworthy that there are at least some government agencies that want the Vision technology to use it as a weapon (like SWORD). Vision's next moments in the MCU may very well be fighting for his freedom as he also continues to search for his identity and his family.

Monica Rambeau/Photon

The mid-credits scene featuring Rambeau was perhaps the biggest surprise of the finale. I don't remember seeing any Skrull rumors floating around, but it's clear what's to happen next. Photon is going to partner up in some way with Nick Fury (last seen in space at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home) and play a major role in either Captain Marvel 2 or the Secret Invasion Disney+ show.

Seeing how they have set the stage for her, Monica Rambeau keys like her first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 are still undervalued.

Jimmy Woo

Our old pal Jimmy seems to be in full command of at least some part of the FBI by the end of the finale. He didn't get much of a character arc or resolution in this last episode. You can be confident, however, that he will show up with his buddy Scott Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, if not earlier. It wouldn't surprise me if Fury or Photon need someone with his skills soon.

"You Are My Sadness and My Hope. But Mostly You Are My Love"

One of the things that I love most about the MCU is that whenever several doors close, many more seem to open. It's a never-ending story and we have just cracked the door open into Phase 4. We had resolutions to some unknowns: Who controls Westview? Who was Pietro? Is Wanda actually a Witch? Is the WandaVision family real or merely projections?

But by the time the WandaVision credits stopped, there are still PLENTY of outstanding questions. Where is Vision? Who was Jimmy's missing person and do they matter? Was that Billy and Tommy's voices at the end of the post-credits scene? Will we see Wanda revert back to full villain mode? Does Agatha Harkless ever wake up?

For Marvel Studios' first stab at a dramedy played out across multiple weeks, I thought WandaVision was a smash hit. It makes me excited to see how they can align future shows and movie projects. What were your thoughts on the finale? Where do you think the story goes from here? Let me know in the comments!

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