We know that the Disney+ series are just as integral to the MCU as the movies. Kevin Feige has said so since the very beginning. If that’s the case and the MCU follows through on everything WandaVision is setting up, we could have Billy and Tommy Maximoff around for quite some time. That’s why it’s more than relevant to take a second and discuss the super-powered twins.
With the introduction of Billy and Tommy and their powers, WandaVision creates new tension in Westview, sets boundaries for Wanda’s powers, and lays the groundwork for introducing the Young Avengers later on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That’s a lot, we know. It’s a lot especially for a show that wasn’t intended to be the MCU’s first Disney+ series, let alone launch Phase 4.
Before we get into what Billy and Tommy are like on WandaVision, it is necessary to take a brief look at their origins in the comics. They are Wanda and Vision’s children, but only because Wanda goes to great lengths to create Billy and Tommy. This leads us down the dark path of learning that Wanda accidentally created the boys with fragments of the demon Mephisto. Later, Mephisto takes the fragments back and reabsorbs her children’s souls into him. It’s real tragic stuff that we hope WandaVision doesn’t use as an endgame, because we don’t know how much more Wanda (and we) can take. If you’re interested in reading more about that story, we suggest House of M by Brain Michael Bendis.
As for their powers, Tommy does have super speed similar to his Uncle Pietro, whereas Billy’s powers resemble his mother’s — telepathy and telekinesis. Obviously there are more details to their powers, but that is the basis of their abilities. They go by the aliases Speed and Wiccan respectively when they become superheroes after being reborn to human parents. They eventually discover that their reincarnation happens because Mephisto didn’t entirely absorb their souls as he intended. It’s also important to note that Billy, aka Wiccan is gay and has one of the most beloved love stories in the comics. If you want to read about all of this and more, we suggest Young Avengers written by Kiernon Gillan and illustrated by Jamie McKelvie.
On WandaVision, things haven’t gotten as advanced as the comics yet. The boys were just five years old a little while ago. Although, maybe we should give them more credit because they seem to be aware of Wanda’s magic and inherently theirs from the very beginning. How can we forget when Billy and Tommy used their powers to age themselves up in order to keep Sparky? This is a funny nudge at sitcoms that age children up to avoid the complexities of having younger kids on shows. It’s also such a power move on the twins’ behalf, even if it is a little creepy.
It makes sense that their powers would manifest now on WandaVision since Pietro is visiting. Tommy so clearly looks up to Pietro and leaps at the chance to hold his hand to race around Westview and get all the candy. His little face lights up when Pietro cheers on his super speed. Billy’s clearly more hesitant around Pietro, and we can’t blame him. Tommy is more than willing to take things as they come and find ways to have fun along the way. Billy gives off a completely different vibe. He’s much more careful and that could be because of his latent (until now) telepathy. Without that sixth sense, Vision could be dead again.
Since there are only three episodes left of WandaVision, the chances are low that we’ll get to see a lot of what happens to Billy and Tommy in the comics manifest on the show. There’s a lot to explore with them and WandaVision feels like the beginning. Hence, the giant possibility of the Young Avengers project. Kevin Feige even hinted at such at SDCC in 2019. We already know Kate Bishop is on the way with Hawkeye. Xochitl Gomez will portray the character of America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Marvel Studios loves to plan ahead, and it looks like that’s what they’re doing here.
For now, though, we have to look at what we know and what it could mean for Wanda on WandaVision. We’ve seen the ways Wanda is unable to control the ones closest to her. Vision’s pushing back in every way he can. Pietro knows too much but never reveals how or why, proving he can act on his own. Tommy and Billy show their immunity to Wanda’s magic as babies. Some could theorize this has to do with Mephisto, but that would in turn mean that Billy and Tommy aren’t real. Vision and Wanda have an argument about this in Tom King’s The Vision: The Complete Collection, illustrated by Gabriel Hernandez Walta.
WandaVision may have nodded to the Mephisto storyline by having Pietro shout, “Unleash hell, demon spawn,” to his nephews. Then again, that could have just been Peters’ Pietro being “Pietro.” It’s hard to tell with this show, which is a part of the fun of it all. Regardless, Monica tells us that the twins are real on WandaVision Season 1 Episode 5, “On A Very Special Episode….” Wanda can’t create things, only rewrite reality in a way that can become permanent. This in turn instills confidence in the Young Avengers theory.
Most importantly, this shows unavoidable cracks in Wanda’s “perfect” sitcom. Wanda exhibits more and more power every week trying to hold everything (including herself) together, but she can’t control it all. It’s revealing that she has the least control over the ones she wants the hold the closest. Pietro is becoming more of a pin in Wanda’s side than a reprieve. She loses Vision with every second he learns more about what’s really happening in Westview. Billy and Tommy are still young enough to keep under her wing, but they could be young adults in time for Episode 7.
Things are spinning out of Wanda’s control, especially with Billy and Tommy’s rapid growth, and there’s nothing she can do stop them. Wanda’s awareness of this has never been more evident than on WandaVision Season 1 Episode 6, “All-New Halloween Spooktacular!” Wanda assumedly created this anomaly to avoid the unavoidable, and that’s just not possible anymore. She can’t avoid the reasons why she created it and she can’t avoid the ways it’s falling apart. They’re staring back at her every single day through the faces of those she loves the most.
WandaVision has always been about Wanda’s grief, trauma, and mental health. It’s reckoning with those aspects of her in ways the movies never really could. We as viewers can see it. Vision, Billy, Tommy, and Pietro can see it. Now it’s about getting Wanda to reckon with those things herself. It’s going to be hard and surely heartbreaking, but it’s reassuring to think that maybe, just maybe, Wanda will have her sons with her when all of this is over. The events of Episode 6 prove how fatal the end of all of this could be for Vision, but we have no reason to believe the same thing will happen to Billy and Tommy. After all, the Young Avengers wouldn’t be complete without Wiccan and Speed.
What did you think of Billy and Tommy? Let us know in the comments below!
New episodes of WandaVision drop weekly on Disney+!
