When Marvel Studios first announced it would be moving beyond the big screen to the streaming world with a show about Wanda and Vision and a show about Sam and Bucky, fans weren’t particularly excited for the series – at least not as much as upcoming cinematic sequels likeGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3andBlack Panther II– because those characters had all been underutilized in their previous appearances. Audiences were far less invested in Wanda and Vision than, say, Spider-Man or the Hulk, because they’d never been in the spotlight; they’d only played supporting roles in other heroes’ solo movies and rounded outthe whopping casts of larger ensemble pieces. The same goes for Sam and Bucky.
ButWandaVisionandThe Falcon and the Winter Soldierhave emerged as wildly popular series, because they used the long-overdue spotlight to effectively flesh out what makes these underserved characters tick.WandaVisiongave fans a much more in-depth look at Wanda’s relationship with Vision and her intense grief following his death, all while wrapped inthe show’s unique TV-verse mysteries.The Falcon and the Winter Soldierhas introduced fans to Sam’s family and explored the gravity of his decision to continue Steve’s legacy, as well as taking a deeper dive into Bucky’s psychology than ever before.
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Now that Wanda, Vision, Sam, and Bucky have been more clearly characterized, their scenes in big ensemble movies likeCivil WarandInfinity Warare much more interesting. Wanda and Vision’s final scene inInfinity War, for example – with Wanda making the ultimate sacrifice on Vision’s behalf, only for Thanos to use the Time Stone to make that sacrifice moot – has much more emotional impact now that their relationship and the ensuing grief have been fully fleshed out inWandaVision.
When Wanda and Vision fell for each other inCivil War, it was instantly panned as one of the MCU’s worst romances. In a movie that introduces both Black Panther and Spider-Man into the MCU andculminates in a brutal, emotionally charged fightthat tears the Avengers apart, Wanda and Vision’s banter about spices came off as pretty mundane and uninteresting. But sinceWandaVisionput that banter at the forefront and refrained from any big action scenes until a few episodes in, Wanda and Vision’s scenes inCivil Warnow play as much more compelling.
After Wanda and Vision’sCivil Warromance was dismissed as unconvincing (though not as unconvincing as Bruce and Nat’s toxic “not the only monster on the team” romance inAge of Ultron) and bland, the writers ofWandaVision– led by Jac Schaeffer – made Wanda and Vision’s love seem much more believable. WhileCivil Warwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely always focused on the technicality that they both got their powers from the Mind Stone – a pretty thin view of star-crossed love – Schaeffer and her team dug a lot deeper into Wanda’s genuine emotions for Vision and Vision’s artificial, but still surprisingly real emotions for Wanda. InWanda’s TV world, she reconstructs Vision based on what she misses about him, like his dry humor, which gave fans a closer look at their relationship than any other romantic entanglement in the MCU.WandaVisionwas a love story told from the perspective of grief, which is rarely explored in the media (especially in child-friendly media), but is nonetheless important to discuss as a difficult reality.
Wanda and Vision’s dialogue inCivil WarandInfinity Warisn’tas sharply written as it is inWandaVision, but after the show emerged as one of the surprise TV hits of the year, it’s great to just see Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany performing scenes together. Some of their falling-in-love scenes inCivil Warheartbreakingly foreshadow their coming-to-terms-with-death scenes later down the line.
Sam and Bucky’s brief interplay inCivil Waris much more fun to watch now thatThe Falcon and the Winter Soldierhas better established their buddy cop dynamic. The series’ Sam/Bucky dialogue is much better-written than in the movies. In the movies, the two just barb each other with general insults, like “I hate you,” carried entirely byAnthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan’s impeccable on-screen chemistry. InThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the title characters have more character-specific banter, like Sam complaining about Bucky doing “the staring thing” or Bucky’s deadpan clarification that Sam means the Avengers when he says “our friends,” not the Nazis.
Sam and Bucky’s fears about Steve’s legacy inThe Falcon and the Winter Soldierhave retroactively reinforced their friendship with him in the Infinity Saga. InCivil War, Sam goes with Steve to Peggy’s funeral for emotional support.Infinity Warreveals that Sam, along with Black Widow, went off the grid to fight with Steve as the Secret Avengers over the Sokovia Accords debacle. Bucky has been Steve’s best friend since childhood, but Sam was a very solid replacement when Bucky wasa cold-blooded assassin brainwashed by Hydra.
ThroughoutCivil War, Steve sticks his neck out for Bucky to the end of the line, which was always a powerful story about friendship, but now plays as even more powerful afterThe Falcon and the Winter Soldierhammered home just how much Steve means to Bucky and how much he’ll miss him now that he’s gone. Sam and Bucky only share a handful of scenes in these movies, but it’s always a joy to see Mackie and Stan’s chemistry at work.
Hopefully, the trajectory of Marvel’s streaming series improving their characters and therefore retroactively improving their previous movies will continue intoLoki. The trickster god isalready a beloved MCU icon, but this is the first time he’ll take center stage as an antihero as opposed to being a supporting player in his brother’s story or a full-blown villain.
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