WandaVision's surreal suburb may contain a huge Fantastic Four clue

Westview is a strange place. The quaint suburban town where WandaVision’s lead characters take up residence appears to be a bright, charming, and safe place. But it’s not. Everything about Westview is just off, and we’re not even talking about the beekeepers lurking in the sewers. It’s a place where time, the environment, and even people are... malleable. What makes it worse is that many of the townsfolk seem to have a better idea of what’s going on than either Wanda or Vision.

Maybe that’s because they’re not all “normal people” either.

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The Theory — One of the leading theories about WandaVision right now is that Wanda has literally taken over an entire town — trapping its citizens in her bizarre alternate reality.

But what if Westview was never a normal town in the first place? What if Wanda was drawn there by the town’s own collective power?

What if Westview is actually New Salem?

A fictional town from the Marvel Comics, New Salem was created in the 17th century by a group of witches following the Salem Witch Trials. It’s a strange city, hidden from the rest of the world as a safe haven for witches, warlocks, and other magical beings. As such, it is only accessible to those who can wield magic. The town’s leader for a long time was also none other than Agatha Harkness — the powerful witch that Kathryn Hahn’s Agnes is rumored to be in WandaVision.

If Westview is actually New Salem — or a version of it — then it could very easily tie back into some of the rumors that were floating around about WandaVision and Agnes last year. Specifically, it would help explain the leaked WandaVision set photos that showed Hahn’s Agnes dressed in colonial-era clothing about to be burned at the stake.

Assuming Westview is New Salem, it’d make perfect sense for WandaVision to include some kind of flashbacks to the Salem Witch Trials — if only to explain the town’s history and origins. It would mean that characters like Dottie and Herb — both of whom have behaved peculiarly up to this point — could be magic users like Agatha. It’d also make sense that a character like Wanda might be drawn to a town like it, why her powers might be amplified there, or why a villainous manipulator like Mephisto could have taken up residence there.

A Fantastic Place — The WandaVision premiere included an odd Fantastic Four Easter egg during its final minutes. At first, the Easter egg seemed like just a random, obscure reference included for die-hard Marvel fans. But New Salem’s possible inclusion in the series means the premiere’s reference may have a more substantial meaning.

The Fantastic Four have a lengthy history with both New Salem and Agatha Harkness. In the comics, Harkness was recruited to be the governess of Reed and Sue Richards, to care for their their son Franklin. Through Harkness, the Fantastic Four not only discovered the existence of New Salem but also faced off against villainous forces in the town (including Harkness’ evil son, Nicholas Scratch) multiple times.

The Inverse Analysis — The ending of WandaVision’s third episode seems to establish that Westview is itself an actual, physical place. The episode’s final moments showed Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau being thrown out of the town through a powerful magical forcefield and landing on the ground next to a modern-day version of the Westview sign. That latter detail suggests the town may not have been hidden like New Salem was in the comics, though it’s possible Wanda’s powers made the town visible.

Either way, WandaVision has made it clear that there’s a lot more going on in the town than it seems. Agnes’ presence suggests that Wanda and Vision aren’t the only special, powered individuals living there, and it’s unlikely that S.W.O.R.D.’s efforts to break into the town are responsible for every odd thing going on. There are a lot of possible explanations for Westview, and it being the MCU’s version of New Salem is one of the boldest.

If so, Marvel may be setting up many more important events to come in that town beyond WandaVision — events that could involve Agatha and the Fantastic Four.

WandaVision is streaming now on Disney+.