The next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will take place on Disney+ on 15th January, 2021. WandaVision will focus upon the relationship between Wanda Maximoff (Elisabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). Although neither has had a solo MCU film, the strange romance between the burgundy-faced synthezoid and the Scarlet Witch has been brewing ever since they both fully debuted in Avengers: Age of Ultron (Wanda technically first appeared in a mid-credits tease during Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Although they only briefly interacted in that film, it was Vision who rescued Wanda from the falling capital city of her home country Sokovia. Plus, Wanda is somewhat indirectly responsible for Vision’s creation, given her hallucinations is what prompted Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) to make Ultron (James Spader).
Ultron subsequently made a new vibranium body for himself, before Vision was reconfigured with leftovers of Ultron, Stark’s user-interface J.A.R.V.I.S. and the Mind Stone from Loki’s Sceptre. The Stone gives Vision his extremely powerful abilities, and is also the seed that connects him and Wanda. Vision expands upon this to Wanda within Captain America: Civil War while cooking a pot of Paprikash. HYDRA had used the Mind Stone to experiment on Wanda and her brother, granting her telepathy and telekinesis, and it’s also what makes him function. Vision does not know precisely what the Mind Stone is, but it’s an energy source that empowered both of them, and links them together.
Another thing that unites them is their lack of outside lives. Given the death of her brother and destruction of Sokovia, Wanda’s only remaining "family" is the Avengers. Likewise, Vision was only “born” during Age of Ultron. Unlike, say, Hawkeye’s (Jeremy Renner) secret farm family or Black Widow’s (Scarlet Johansson) shadowy past, Wanda and Vision do not have anyone outside the Avengers. There are hints in Civil War that this pushes the two closer together, such as when Vision phases through Wanda’s wall into her room. Wanda affectionately nicknames him “Viz” and says “we talked about this”, implying the two have spent personal time together before. During the preparation of Paprikash, Vision also tells Wanda he only wants others “to see you as you as I do.”
This romantic gesture is stalled by how Vision is keeping Wanda locked inside under house-arrest. Vision’s pragmatic mind makes him support the Sokovia Accords, which Wanda’s accidental destruction in Lagos had catalyzed. Wanda escapes from the facility by manipulating Vision’s Mind Stone – the object that is also their common link – putting the prospective lovers on opposite sides of the Avenger’s split.
Although the two can’t stay apart for long. During Civil War’s airport battle, Vision comes to Wanda’s aid, which makes him “distracted” and accidentally miss his target, injuring War Machine (Don Cheadle). The event unsettles Vision, but the emotional “mistake” demonstrates his gradual “evolution” beyond calculating programming. This has increased by Avengers: Infinity War, where Tony reveals Vision has been sneaking away from the Avengers for increasing amounts of time. He and Wanda, despite technically being a fugitive, have been covertly meeting up in Edinburgh, Scotland. Between Civil War and Infinity War their relationship has blossomed, with Vision even proposing the two should run away together permanently.
They are never given the chance, however, as Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) Black Order arrive on Earth to fatally extract the Mind Stone from Vision’s forehead. The Earth-bound Avengers manage to fight them off, and take Vision to Wakanda so Shuri (Letitia Wright) can remove and destroy the Mind Stone without killing Vision as well. The entire Battle of Wakanda is fighting over Vision’s forehead. But since Shuri cannot complete the extraction before Thanos arrives, Visions asks Wanda to destroy it so Thanos cannot get it, sacrificing himself in the process. Unfortunately, this sacrifice was in vain. Thanos uses the recently-acquired Time Stone to resurrect Vision and rip the Mind Stone out of his head, leaving him a colorless dead shell before snapping half of all life (including Wanda) out of existence.
The remaining Avengers were able to reassemble the Infinity Stones through time-travel in Avengers: Endgame. Therefore they could resurrect everyone disintegrated by Thanos for the final battle, including Wanda, who seeks personal retribution against Thanos for killing Vision (even if this is a past version of Thanos who doesn’t even know who she is). However given Vision was directly killed by Thanos, instead of The Snap, he is not among those resurrected. Additionally the destroyed Infinity Stones seemingly mean Vision cannot be reconstructed. Although Tony Stark’s funeral dominates Endgame’s conclusion, there is a brief scene where Hawkeye and Wanda reminisce about the sacrifices of Black Widow and Vision respectively.
Fans knew about Wanda and Vision’s relationship before they even debuted, although in the comics their saga is even more complicated. There, Wanda is sometimes the daughter of Magneto; this being revealed in 1983 and then reversed in 2012. Vision is directly made by Ultron, although formed from the “brainwaves” of the (then comatose) superhero Wonder Man. Wonder Man himself had feelings for Wanda, which was potentially the origin of Vision’s affections for her too. Regardless, Vision and Wanda’s romance developed and they got married in the comics, but were hampered by Vision being dismantled and reassembled as an emotionless colorless robot, and Wanda going insane over the loss of their children (who Wanda had “willing into being” through her reality-warping powers). Crucially, neither have involvement with any Infinity Gems.
Shuri suggested the possibility of Vision living without the Mind Stone, but the exact circumstances of his revival will likely be shown in WandaVision. Or given the trailers, Wanda and Vision could be trapped in some kind of purgatory disguised in domestic bliss. Their suburban sitcom setting seems most reminiscent of the acclaimed 2016 miniseries Vision, written by Tom King and drawn by Gabriel Hernandez Walta. Here, Vision lived not with Wanda but his self-created robotic family, but it was revealed in Vision #7 that Wanda gifted her own “brainwaves” as the template for Vision’s robotic wife, Virginia. Vision saw Vision attempting to settle into some form of human “normalcy”, yearning to compute his logical computer-programming with human complexity. Likewise, WandaVision uses the format of various sitcoms to suggest a (highly artificial) domestic comfort following Wanda and Vision’s long and tragic love affair. Although, given the history of their relationship, it’s unlikely circumstances will allow these two to remain settled for very long.