The WandaVision trailer has suggested Marvel Studios is retconning Scarlet Witch's powers, transforming her into a sorceress who manipulates reality itself. Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch made her debut in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, one of two "miracles" who had survived exposure to the Mind Stone. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver's powers were explained in throwaway dialogue by Maria Hill when she briefed Captain America. "He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neural electric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation," she told the Avengers. "He's fast and she's weird."

The MCU was originally hesitant to introduce magic, with Marvel unsure how well sorcery would work in the context of the science-based universe they had built. That's why Thor wasn't originally treated like a god, but instead suggested he came from a world where magic and science were one and the same thing. Naturally, all that changed when Marvel introduced Doctor Strange in 2016, and to their relief audiences welcomed the new mystical dimension now incorporated into the MCU. Given that context, attentive readers noticed a single line of dialogue in the Marvel Studios Visual Dictionary, suggesting a retcon was in the works for Scarlet Witch's powers. "Whether it altered her or merely unlocked something latent inside Wanda," the book observed, "the Infinity Stone on Loki's scepter bestowed incredible powers of the mind." In other words, the Mind Stone may not have been the source of Scarlet Witch's powers, but rather simply how her magical potential was unlocked.

Related: WandaVision Trailer Breakdown: 23 Story Reveals and Secrets

Marvel Studios has released a new WandaVision trailer, and it appears to confirm Scarlet Witch's powers have indeed been retconned. She is now a sorceress in her own right, manipulating reality in the same way seen with Doctor Strange and the Masters of the Mystic Arts. There's abundant evidence in the trailer, including the soundtrack, which features the magical Disney song "Bibbidi-Boddidi-Boo" from Cinderella. Parts of the trailer are clearly influenced by the sitcom Bewitched, which starred Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens, a witch who married a mortal man and had to keep her powers under control. What's more, the traditional power flare accompanying Scarlet Witch's abilities is absent from many scenes, including one in which Wanda pours glasses of "Maison du Mépris" wine.

In an interview back in 2016, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige suggested Scarlet Witch was going to be retconned as a sorceress. He described her abilities as paralleling those of Doctor Strange, apparently setting aside the previous portrayal in Avengers: Age of Ultron:

"Her powers, she's never had any training, I'm talking about Scarlet Witch. She never had any training; she's figuring it out. Arguably, you could say that that's why her powers are much more chaotic and much more loose in the way that we showcased those light effects. In [Doctor Strange], some of what you might see today, even the cover of Entertainment Weekly, it's much tighter. It's all about focus. It's all about pulling energies from other dimensions in an organized and purposeful fashion, which is why they can do a lot more than she can in, at least, a much more precise way."

This account fits perfectly with Scarlet Witch's powers as seen in the WandaVision trailer, and the reference to the "Maison du Mépris" wine is a significant one. The words translate as "House of Contempt," while the wine carries an M logo; put them together and you have an explicit reference to "House of M." This comic book event saw Scarlet Witch's growing mental instability coupled with her Chaos Magic to construct an entire alternate dimension. As Doctor Strange revealed in Avengers #503, the power to alter reality itself comes at a terrible cost. "Can you understand the delicate mindset of a woman, a person, who has control over reality," he asked the Avengers. "It means reality controls her. Imagination becomes the enemy. Structure disappears." Every day, Wanda faced the subtle temptation to wish away anything bad that happened to her. And every time she did that, her grip on reality itself began to slip away. That sets a troubling pattern for the MCU, suggesting Scarlet Witch's expanded powerset will be the cause of her downfall in WandaVision, as she constructs a reality in which her beloved Vision is still alive.

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