The first-look trailer for Marvel’s Disney Plus debut WandaVision has arrived, promising all sorts of classic sitcom tropes, creepy moments and mind-melting, reality-warping action as deceased android Vision (Paul Bettany) and Avenger Wanda (Elisabeth Olsen) play house.

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But could the trailer also be hinting at something more? And could that something more mean big changes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole?

Well, that’s what we’re wondering after fans spotted a sneaky little Easter Egg during the new footage which hints at a significant storyline for Wanda in the comics.

Specifically, the Easter Egg is this – a bottle of wine (levitated in a Charmed-esque scene by Wanda) has a label which appears to nod at House of M, a comic book storyline from 2005 that many fans have theorised for a while could be a part of WandaVision.

The basic story is this – at one point in the comics the reality-warping mutant Scarlet Witch inadvertently created children for herself and her android husband The Vision, an action later undone and removed from her memory by her friends and teammates to spare her pain.

However, Wanda subconsciously remembered the change and gradually had a mental breakdown, attacking the Avengers (and apparently killing some of them) in the Avengers: Disassembled storyline. Her mind broken, Wanda was taken away by Magneto (her father in the comics, though not in the Marvel movies currently), and she later used her powers to reshape the entire world into a new reality where all her friends and family would have their heart’s desire.

In this reality, mutants accounted for 50 per cent of the population and controlled the world, with humans considered a lesser race and somewhat oppressed. Most Marvel heroes were present in this new world in one way or another living happy lives, but were gradually woken up to the truth and battled to reverse the change.

The storyline concluded with Wanda, tired of the violence proclaiming “no more mutants”, using her abilities to return the world to normal but reducing the rising mutant population from millions to just hundreds. In other words, a lot of mutants lost their superpowers.

Now, we know what you’re thinking – what does any of this have to do with the MCU? There are no mutants in Marvel’s movie universe (the copyright for the term originally lay with a different studio), and even Wanda and Quicksilver were presented as being empowered by an Infinity Stone rather than having their comic book mutant identities.

But despite these differences, there are some intriguing crossovers between House of M and WandaVision. Both stories appear to involve Wanda creating a strange parallel world where she can be with those she loves, both involve her raising characters from the dead and both may even include her “creating” children (in the new trailer, Wanda and Vision can be seen holding twins just like the comics’ fictional kids).

Paul Bettany Elisabeth Olsen
Elisabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany with twin babies in WandaVision (Disney+)

In other words, maybe this is the movie version of Wanda’s diminishing grip on reality as seen in the comics, preceding a grand change like the one seen in House of M. Assuming it isn’t just a coincidence, the wine bottle Easter Egg could even be hinting in this direction, teeing up comic book fans that while this isn’t a direct adaptation, that storyline could be key in bringing WandaVision to life. It is the most famous Scarlet Witch story, after all – why wouldn’t they try and include it?

And following this, we have to wonder what the equivalent ending could be. Ever since Disney bought 20th Century Fox, reuniting that studio’s X-Men characters with their Marvel brothers and sisters, fans have wondered how and when Marvel will introduce mutants to the MCU. And maybe this is it.

Think about it – while Wanda can’t snap and depower mutants that aren’t there, maybe a new breakdown could lead to her doing the opposite and creating homo superior instead. Maybe this even ties into Evan Peters’ rumoured involvement in the series as the alternate reality version of Quicksilver, Wanda’s super-fast brother (originally played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Avengers: Age of Ultron) who remained the only crossover between the separate Fox and Disney movie universes.

Of course, it could be that the bottle’s label is just a coincidence, and even if it is a House of M callback it might be more of a nod than a clue, there to emphasise the similarity of two very distinct stories about Wanda changing the reality around her.

But considering the series is already apparently set to tie into upcoming Doctor Strange sequel The Multiverse of Madness (which Olsen will also star in), we do have to wonder if there’s more here than meets the eye. Get ready to dial M for Mutant…

WandaVision is on Disney+. If you don’t have Disney+, you can sign up for £5.99 a month or £59.99 a year. Wondering what to watch first? Check out our best shows on Disney Plus and the best movies on Disney Plus guides, or rewatch the MCU with our Marvel movies in order.

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Want something else to watch? Check out our full TV Guide.

Authors

Huw FullertonCommissioning Editor

Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.

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