How WandaVision Explores the Intersection of Mental Health and Heroism

Paul Bettany as Vision and Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff in Marvel Studios’ WandaVision. Marvel Studios.

Unless you’re actively not a fan, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its newest entry, WandaVision, need no introduction. At this point, there are countless reviews and hot takes about Marvel’s latest series. Not only is it our first real taste of the MCU since 2019’s Spider-Man: Far from Home, but it’s also our first step into Phase Four—one that sets a strong precedent for where the franchise can go post–Infinity Saga.

WandaVision takes us into a world reeling from the effects of the Blip (the sudden reappearance of half the population five years after Infinity War‘s snap). In exploring this, the central narrative works in a way that both parodies and pays homage to sitcom tropes from every decade since the 1960s but frames it with some relatively high-concept ideas that ultimately come together to tell a very personal and human story. Marvel’s strength lies in its ability to tell stories about, in writer Anthony Breznican’s words, “relatable, everyday people grappling with sudden phenomenal powers” (a quote, ironically, from a recent Vanity Fair article on Zach Snyder’s Justice League cut). But WandaVision takes this a step further. It asks the question of what happens when these “relatable, everyday people”—now made extraordinary by circumstances over the past 23 movies—experience and sit with the often messy realities of trauma, grief, loss, and personal tragedy?

Spoilers ahead.

Remembering the past. Marvel Studios

Despite some great performances from Elizabeth Olsen, Wanda Maximoff has remained relatively tertiary throughout much of the MCU franchise. At the show’s start, Wanda has lost her parents as a child, lost her twin brother in the Battle of Sokovia, and had to witness the death of the man she loves twice—once by her own hand. But by virtue of her abilities, she can’t grieve like those around her. When her personal world crumbles around her, the very fabric of reality falls along with it, and with that, her status as a hero is then brought into question.

“We were very clear that the big bad is grief,” Jac Schaeffer, head writer and executive producer of WandaVision said in a recent interview with Mashable. While the first few episodes of the series keep us shrouded in mystery, we ultimately come to this realization by the halfway mark. In realizing just how much she’s lost with the death of the Vision (Paul Bettany), Wanda escapes to the worlds of the TV shows she came to take comfort in as a child. In the way many us find relief and a sense of escapism in watching the shows we know and love, Wanda finds it by living them. In creating this world, however, she unwittingly strips the citizens of a small town called Westview of their free will, forcing them to live as extras in her manufactured television show—prisoners in their own bodies who viscerally share her psychological pain.

Much has been made of the question of whether Wanda—up until now a member of the Avengers—can be considered a “hero” in her own story given these circumstances. In WandaVision, most of the traditional heroics we’ve come to recognize come by way of Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), who we last saw as a child in Captain Marvel. In the process of trying to reach out and empathize with Wanda, Monica gets her own superhero origin story, gaining powers that comic book readers might recognize from her page counterpart’s time as the superhero Spectrum.

Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau. Marvel Studios

Speculation has arisen that Wanda’s actions in this series have put her on a path to becoming more of a villain than a hero in future stories. Regardless of what Marvel’s actual future plans for the character are, it’s interesting to look at this notion as it pertains to our perception of mental health. As Wanda’s grasp on reality lessens and her powers literalize that disconnect while bringing along a whole town, I’m reminded of some of Patrick Stewart‘s arc as Professor X in 2017’s Logan.

In that film, as Charles’s mental and physical acuity have weakened from old age, his grip over his powers has weakened with them. He suffers from “psychic seizures” that cause pain and even death to those unlucky enough to be nearby. The scene in which a grief-stricken Professor X tearfully apologizes to those he has hurt after one of his seizures in Las Vegas is evocative of Wanda’s shame when she’s faced with the realization that her dream life has effectively enslaved a town. But one of those scenes is played tragically with sense of sympathy for the character, and the other has a tense undercurrent with hints of malice.

Could the disparity lie in the fact that Professor X’s loss of control is more closely related to his physical health (aging, dementia), whereas Wanda’s is tied to her mental health (grief, trauma)? Is the fact that Wanda’s loss of control plays more foreboding related to our society’s perceptions of mental health in general?

It’s true that in Logan, the government declared Charles Xavier a “weapon of mass destruction,” just as SWORD’s (or at least Hayward’s) mission is to neutralize Wanda—meaning in both cases, authorities see these characters as threats. However, the distinction lies in whether we as the viewers are meant to share that view. WandaVision certainly demonstrates some sympathy for Wanda, and her story is undeniably tragic. After she releases the town from her spell and thus has to say goodbye to her children and Vision once again, Monica tells her, “They’ll never know what you sacrificed for them.” Yet this is still paired with hints of a darker path ahead for Wanda.

Throughout the season finale, the show’s external antagonist, Agatha (Kathryn Hahn), frequently makes the point that Wanda has only just barely realized the potential power she holds, calling her the “harbinger of chaos.” And when the tides turn in their final, CGI-laden battle and Wanda begins to go full Scarlet Witch, Agatha—even more ominously—simply says, “Oh god, you don’t know what you’ve done.” Our final moments with Wanda come to a head with a similar sense of menace: having taken possession of the mysterious Darkhold, she has isolated herself from the outside world to dedicate all her efforts to learning more about the power she possesses.

Marvel Studios

Of course, Wanda’s character in the comics has often tended to come off as more morally ambiguous than many of the other core Avengers, so questioning her status as a hero is in keeping with some of the source material. But this show seems to pride itself on its exploration of psychological trauma and its portrayal of one of Earth’s mightiest heroes in a much more nuanced light than before, so I wouldn’t be surprised if her path is not as clearly defined as some of the speculation might suggest. Still, these aspects of the story are interesting to consider.

Aside from all of this, throughout its nine-episode run, WandaVision gave fans a whole lot more to chew on than I was able to touch on here, proving to be a substantial first step into the uncharted territory that is Phase Four. With humor, heart, fun cameos, strong worldbuilding, surprisingly catchy songs, great characterizations, and—for better or worse—a traditional Marvel final fight, the series ultimately proved that this franchise can do new and different things while still retaining a sense of the familiar, comforting escapism that the MCU can provide.