Does WandaVision secretly introduce the X-Men to the MCU?

But even if Schaeffer managed to trick us on an epic scale akin to Agatha Harkness, that doesn’t mean WandaVision didn’t finally step toward introducing some marvellous mutants – aka the X-Men – to the MCU.

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While the show’s name implied WandaVision would be about the MCU’s golden couple, there’s no denying that Ms. Maximoff – a famous mutant in the comics, recent retcons aside – was at the centre of the story. In particular, episode eight fleshed out her backstory, with Wanda and Agatha’s trip through trauma stopping off at the death of her parents in Sokovia.

In the episode, Agatha implied a probability hex is what saved the twins from a Stark missile, but others think it was the birth of her mutant powers. Later on, we were shown how Wanda got her powers from the Mind Stone and how she adopted the mythical force of the Scarlet Witch, with the show finally naming Wanda after her comic book counterpart. There was also a mention of her abilities “dying on the vine” if not for the Mind Stone’s interference, which gave audiences a further tie to the famous X-gene.

Specifically, this Mind Stone activation ties into old fan theories that the X-Men and mutants in general will be linked to the Infinity Stones. When Avengers: Endgame came out, some fans believed the various "snaps" would activate the latent mutant gene in those who will eventually become the X-Men. Alternatively, it could be that mutants were already being scattered across the globe, and the snap(s) activated a whole new generation of them.

Given this background, it's not hard to see why some could see Wanda's own witchy awakening via Mind Stone as a connection to these theories. The films changed Wanda's backstory to being someone "enhanced" by an Infinity Stone, but WandaVision pulls it back to suggest she had abilities all along. With that in mind, is it possible that Wanda was always secretly the MCU's first mutant – or does that honour go to her slightly older "brother?"

Because when we're taking about WandaVision's mutant hints, we can't forget Quicksilver. Instead of the return of Avengers: Age of Ultron’s Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the writers made the brilliant move of bringing back Evan Peters from Fox’s rebooted X-Men franchise. As well as reintroducing the arguably superior Quicksilver, it also gave the franchise an in-route to play with the Multiverse, and hinted at a route (extra-dimensional arrival!) for where the mutants could come from.

Plus, it's worth noting that if the Mind Stone "awakened" Wanda's magic powers rather than just giving them to her, Quicksilver's super-speed similarly had to come from somewhere. Was he also a latent mutant waiting to be awakened?

Sadly, we may never know. Much like when Spider-Man: Far From Home punk’d us with Mysterio’s Multiverse backstory, WandaVision eventually revealed Fake Pietro (Fietro) as Agatha’s fictional husband, Ralph Bohner (cue snigger). Bit of a disappointment for fans, and a bit of a pushback to anyone who thought his arrival hinted at a wider parallel-universe storyline.

Though perhaps we shouldn't give up hope. As well as Spider-Man: No Way Home being expected to dabble in the Multiverse with the potential return of Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus and Jamie Foxx’s Electro, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness seems set to explore the potential of alternate realities. Given Peters’ lauded return, it remains to be seen whether he’ll be back again to play Quicksilver for real – and whether "Ralph" is more than he appears.

And even if Peters was just an in-jokey cameo, it doesn't rule out a mutant return. It could be that Marvel supremo Kevin Feige would rather reboot and recast Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters entirely rather than rely on Peters and the Old Guard, but rest assured - now that Marvel has the rights to the X-Men, there's little chance of them keeping the characters in the vaults forever.

And even though WandaVision still stopped short of calling Wanda a mutant, the signs are clearly there, with Scarlet Witch’s origin story not the only nod to the X-Men. The show’s stylist told IndieWire that Quicksilver’s Halloween hair was a clever Wolverine Easter egg, while others noted how Wanda’s finale costume echoed Michael Fassbender’s Magneto. Given that Magneto is Wanda’s father in the comics (or at least he was, prior to a plot that retconned their connection) and one of the most powerful mutants of all time, it’s a not-so-subtle homage that’s raised a few eyebrows.

Up there with the introduction of the Fantastic Four, the arrival of mutants in the MCU is a major plot point moving forward. Aside from their own movies, there’s speculation we’ll get an epic Avengers vs. X-Men movie, meaning that the potential for crossover fun is much more than just adding a few new spandex-clad supes to the MCU.

While much of WandaVision was wrapped in a neat bow and leaned toward Kevin Feige’s promise there won’t be season two, there were still some questions left unanswered – and arguably leapfrogging the burning question of whether we’ll get to see Kathryn Hahn deliver another wicked turn as Agatha Harkness and give the Sanderson Sisters a run for their money, fans are asking, “Did WandaVision introduce mutants to the MCU?”.

And the question is still open. Although there was no cameo from Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, WandaVision delivered some major hints that Charles Xavier’s gifted youngsters could be out there somewhere. Even if WandaVision doesn't officially make the X-Men canon, it’s given them a potential origin story.

WandaVision is available to stream on Disney Plus. You can sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 for a year now. Check out more Sci-Fi coverage on our dedicated page, or find something else to watch on our TV Guide.