WandaVision finale theory reveals Marvel's genius twist on X-Men
"No, more mutants."
WandaVision has to introduce X-Men to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, right? After the Disney+ series faked us out with Evan Peters' Pietro, you might be thinking we'll never see actual mutants in the MCU, but one brilliant new theory reveals how Marvel could introduce the X-Men to the Avengers by changing one simple detail about the famous superhero team.
Is Wanda a mutant?
That's the question at the core of this theory, and it's one with no clear-cut answer.
In the MCU, Wanda and her brother, Pietro, were definitively not mutants when we met them in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but that's mostly because Marvel didn't have the rights to use that word at the time. It's also why she was never referred to as the Scarlet Witch until just recently.
But in the comics, Wanda was originally presented as a mutant — and Magneto's daughter, no less. Her character was later retconned to be something else entirely: a human who was given superpowers by the High Evolutionary.
Wanda and Pietro's origin story, according to the comics.
WandaVision seems to be sticking to this basic concept — with a couple of twists.
In Episode 8, Agatha Harkness heavily suggests that Wanda has some latent "abilities" (either superhero or supernatural) that would have "died on the vine" if not for her exposure to the Mind Stone. But what if Wanda is a mutant and Marvel just changed the rules? In the past, the core concept of X-Men is that a genetic mutation gives a small segment of the population superpowers. Maybe in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that mutation is dormant until unlocked by trauma and supercharged through exposure to tremendous power ...
Something like an Infinity Stone.
This explains Wanda's powers (and Pietro's, too). And as TikTok theorist Sam Russel argues, it might be exactly what WandaVision is setting up. It could also retroactively establish a few other key X-Men characters in the MCU while simultaneously setting the stage for a mutant revolution.
WandaVision and the X-Men
As Russell explains, the equation of "latent X-gene + trauma + exposure to Infinity Stone = mutant" not only explains Wanda's superpowers but could also set up several other key X-Men characters.
What if the Ancient One traveled to America in the 1800s, fought Agatha using the Time Stone, and accidentally gave Wolverine his powers in the process? Or what if during World War II, Red Skull brought the Tesseract to a Nazi concentration camp and encountered a young Magneto? (This could also explain what's happening to Monica Rambeau as she seemingly transforms into a superhero.)
It's possible there are already a handful of mutants in the MCU, but how do we go from just a few to thousands? That's where it gets really interesting.
Russell speculates that the upcoming Marvel movie Eternals will reveal that thousands of years earlier, the god-like Celestials visited Earth and tinkered with humans to create the X-gene in the first place. With thousands of would-be mutants ready to go, all they need is a traumatic event and exposure to an Infinity Stone.
On that point, the Mad Titan Thanos would like to have a word.
Celestials experimenting on Earth to create Inhumans in the comics.
You could argue that Thanos wiping out half the universe with the stones in Avengers: Infinity War did exactly that: traumatize the entire world with the power of the Infinity Stones.
But Russell suggests WandaVision will take things further, ending with Wanda essentially going supernova, expanding her Hex to (briefly) cover the entire world and activating all those X-genes at once thanks to a mix of trauma and Mind Stone energy.
Either way, thanks to WandaVision, all the pieces are in place for Marvel to bring mutants to the MCU. Now we just need to find the right actor to play Wolverine...
Follow all of Inverse's WandaVision coverage at our WandaVision hub.
