SPOILER WARNING: this article dives into the ending of WandaVision episode 2 (as well as 1), and potential connections to the comic books. And we also explain what it could mean for the next episodes of the Disney Plus series — and the MCU as we know it.
At the end of WandaVision episode 2, we saw a mysterious beekeeper, who appears to be related to the Wizard of Oz-like hands that are behind the scenes of Westview, the town where Wanda and Vision have landed.
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And that beekeeper's uniform had the same sword logo that eagle-eyed WandaVision viewers have seen since the end of episode 1. You know, when we learned that there's an unseen force monitoring Wanda and Vision's actions?
Yes, that little medieval sword icon, inside of a circle, is the emblem of an organization that may be controlling, or at least monitoring the situation that Wanda and Vision have found themselves in.
What is S.W.O.R.D.?
More specifically, comic book fans may know — there is a S.W.O.R.D. in Marvel's comics to be concerned about. For the uninitiated, that acronym stood for Sentient World Observation and Response Division, and it's a group of heroes, just like S.H.I.E.L.D. Or at least that's what it stood for in the comics. There's an increased amount of speculation that the "W" in the MCU S.W.O.R.D. will stand for Weapons — more on that below.
S.W.O.R.D. was almost referenced in Thor, but the scene where Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) asked Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) to "cross-reference with the S.W.O.R.D. database" was deleted due to issues with the rights for S.W.O.R.D. members. Then, some fans speculated that the spaceship seen in a post credits scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home, where Nick Fury was enjoying a fake vacation, was the S.W.O.R.D. headquarters known as The Peak.
First appearing in Avengers director Joss Whedon's run of Astonishing X-Men in 2004, S.W.O.R.D. splintered out of S.H.I.E.L.D., to tackle "matters extraterrestrial," as its leader Abigail Brand (who is part human mutant and part alien) explained to the X-Men. She's got green hair and we've never seen her in a Marvel movie before. S.W.O.R.D.'s most famous agent is the X-Men member known as Beast, aka Dr. Henry Philip “Hank” McCoy.
Other noteworthy members of S.W.O.R.D. throughout the ages include Magneto, Lockheed, Spider-Woman and Cable. So, with that explained, any MCU fan worth their salt knows what's possible.
How does S.W.O.R.D. fit into WandaVision?
Since S.W.O.R.D. is watching Wanda and Vision, and can break the fourth wall of Westview by climbing up through the sewer, it's fair to think this entire reality could be their creation. Since S.W.O.R.D. exists to monitor powerful extraterrestrials, it's not a leap to think they're trying to contain Scarlet Witch, one of the most powerful beings on Earth.
Kat Dennings, we know, will reprise the role of Darcy Lewis in WandaVision. So, if the Thor deleted scene shows Marvel's plans to have her liaise with S.W.O.R.D. in some way, she could be added to their ranks in this movie. Other returning MCU actors who could be S.W.O.R.D. agents include Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris).
And now that Disney owns the rights to characters from the X-Men (from its $71.3 billion acquisition of 20th Century Fox), the rights issues that led to the S.W.O.R.D. line being dropped from Thor are gone.
So, true believers, we have reason to think that WandaVision could finally call mutants mutants, and do so with the introduction of Beast or Magneto. The latter is more interesting, of course, as he's Wanda's father. Which would create the largest ripple effect in the MCU possible for WandaVision. And remember how I said that the W could stand for Weapons? That same speculation posits this will be how the organizations are referring to mutants. This could have serious ramifications for how the MCU will treat the relationship between mutants and the government, tying back to Tony Stark and Steve Rogers' arguments about the Sokovia Accords and superhero registration in Captain America: Civil War.
Stay tuned to Tom's Guide, as we follow the series throughout its 9-episode run, and wonder how it will impact future Marvel movies.
