Elizabeth Olsen plays Wanda Maximoff in “WandaVision” on Disney +.

Disney

Kevin Feige warned us that the Marvel series on Disney + would have an impact on the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. And he kept that promise.

The fifth episode of “WandaVision” hit the streaming service on Friday, bringing with it a big cameo that made viewers think a lot before episode six comes out next week. The reveal not only impacts the sitcom-based TV show, but the entire Marvel Universe … or should I say Multiverse.

Now would be a good time to look the other way if you haven’t seen the latest episode of “WandaVision”.

** Spoiler ahead **

The fifth episode, entitled “On a Very Special Episode …”, our ragged team of FBI agent Jimmy Woo, Dr. Darcy Lewis and Captain Monica Rambeau, take a step closer to understanding the Westview anomaly.

Meanwhile, Vision, which is still part of the simulation but is now set in the 80s, is getting more and more suspicious of the world around him. The neighbors have started acting strangely, his twin sons are aging at their own will, and his wife Wanda trying to resolve his concerns only makes them grow.

Just as the newly minted husband and the newly minted wife are prepared for an overpowering argument, the doorbell rings. Wanda, confused by this phrase, answers. Pietro Maximoff is at the front, just not this Pietro Maximoff.

Elizabeth Olsen plays Wanda Maximoff in “WandaVision” on Disney + with special guest Evan Peters as Pietro Maximoff.

Disney

It’s Peter Evans, not Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who appears on the other side of the door. The actor portrayed the mutant Mercury in several X-Men films that were owned by 20th Century Fox until 2019.

It is implied that Wanda did not plan on including her brother in her sitcom simulation. After all, just a few scenes earlier, Wanda refuses to bring her sons’ deceased puppy back from the dead.

“You can fix anything, mom, fix dead,” notes a son. After the demise, even the nosy neighbor asked Agnes, who is believed to be pulling at least some of the strings in Wanda’s simulation, if she could actually do that.

“I’m trying to tell you that there are rules in life,” Wanda explains to her two boys. “We can’t just accelerate aging because it’s convenient and we can’t undo death no matter how sad it makes us. Some things are forever.”

This statement raises two questions: is Vision dead or did Wanda (or someone else) bring him back? And did Wanda accidentally bring back another Pietro or did someone else?

Both of these will likely be answered in a few weeks before the credits roll in for the final episode.

Audiences got a glimpse of what had happened prior to the Westview anomaly at the beginning of the episode when Wanda appeared on surveillance cameras and stole Vision’s body from a secret laboratory. And there are likely still many Easter eggs to be discovered that provide further clues.

Welcome to the multiverse

What about this new Pietro?

Before Disney acquired Fox’s $ 71 billion in entertainment brands, the two studios signed an agreement. Disney could use Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, but not point out that they were mutants or children of Magneto. That’s why Wanda and Pietro in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” derived their powers from an infinite stone and not genetically.

Interested viewers might have noticed in the Friday episode that Tyler Hayward, the director of SWORD, asked if Wanda had a nickname like some of the other Avengers that she didn’t. Wanda wasn’t named Scarlet Witch in any of the MCU films.

As for Fox, the studio was allowed to use Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in their films as long as there was no evidence of the Avengers. In fact, Peters’ mercury goes from Peter and not Pietro.

Elizabeth Olsen plays Wanda Maximoff in “WandaVision” on Disney + alongside Paul Bettany as Vision.

Disney

Rumors have been circulating in the past few months as Marvel executives hired some familiar faces to return in future MCU films.

Disney has already confirmed that Jamie Foxx will return as Electro from “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” with Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. And Alfred Molina, who portrayed Doctor Octopus as the famous web slinger during Tobey McGuire’s play, is also confirmed to appear in the film.

Dr. Strange by Benedict Cumberbatch will also appear.

There has been speculation that other characters from the MCU or even from previous iterations of Spider-Man will join the cast, but Disney has not confirmed those rumors.

The return of Pietro in the form of Peters signals that Marvel is already well on its way to explore the multiverse. This was teased during San Diego Comic-Con in 2019 when Marvel announced that the sequel to Doctor Strange would be titled “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.”

For the stranger, the Marvel Multiverse is just a fancy way of saying a collection of alternate universes. They are similar to each other, but with slight differences. It’s a very popular concept in comics as it allows writers to reinvent characters and storylines for new generations.

With Wanda already confirmed as part of the Doctor Strange sequel and Doctor Strange as part of “Spider-Man 3”, it’s no surprise that Marvel is throwing breadcrumbs over it early on. After all, the seeds of the infinity stones appear in “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger” long before they are called such.

Marvel used the gems of mind, power, reality, soul, space and time over the course of a decade to weave new characters and situations that ultimately led to “Avengers: Infinity War” and the highest-grossing movie of all time. ” Avengers: Endgame. ”

The introduction of the multiverse in “WandaVision” works on several levels for Disney. Not only are they paving a path for future MCU movies and shows, the company is also making its streaming content a must-see television program. Fans need to watch these shows if they don’t want to miss any storylines or character introductions that are incorporated into feature films.

WandaVision may have been the first Marvel project since Spider-Man: Far From Home in July 2019, but it won’t be the last in 2021. Disney + will soon be followed by “The Falcon and” The Winter Soldier “in March,” Loki “in May and the animated series” What if …? ” in summer.

Marvel will debut “Black Widow” on May 7th, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” on July 9th, “Eternals” on November 5th and “Spider-Man 3” on November 5th. December.