Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1358125
a p r i l • m ay • j u n e 2 0 2 1 c g w 2 1 F or decades, characters from Marvel Comics have successfully made the leap from comic books, to television shows, to feature films. Their popularity, however, began to sky- rocket when Iron Man (2008) kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) – a media franchise of properties produced by Marvel Studios that focused on various characters from the pages of Marvel Comics. The highest-grossing franchise in history, with 23 feature releases to date and numer- ous in development, the MCU extended its reach into the expanding TV market and launched Marvel Television in 2010 (which has since been folded into Marvel Studios). In 2012, Agents of SHIELD debuted on net- work television, followed by a string of others on broadcast and streaming outlets. The most recent MCU small-screen introduction to viewers: WandaVision, on Disney+. The limited streaming series centers on Wanda Maximoff (the Scarlet Witch) and Vision, a synthezoid, who began a relationship in the feature Avengers: Infinity War (2018). In that film, Wanda kills Vision when she tries to destroy the Mind Stone implanted in his head; he dies a second time when the villain Thanos turns back time, retrieves the stone, and crushes his skull. If you think WandaVision is simply a continuation of that film, or like any other previous MCU offering, you have not seen the series. WandaVision, in fact, is perfect- ly styled for TV. "It's a mash-up of classic sitcoms and large-scale Marvel action," says Matt Shakman, who directed all nine episodes. "I think it's really lovely that the first streaming show from Marvel Studios – producer of huge blockbuster films – is really a love letter to the history of television." And true to MCU form, WandaVision contains amazing effects – some big and bold, some subtle, and some charming and harkening back to a different time… several, in fact. WandaVision picks up soon aer the events of Avengers: Endgame, with Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and the now-alive Vision (Paul Bettany) having just been married, living a sitcom life, and hiding their powers from neighbors and friends, who seem to be playing along in the episodes. Vision has amazing processing speed and the ability to change densities, while Wanda is still capable of telekinesis and warping/altering reality. Domestic bliss seems to suit them well, but soon little clues surface that seem to indicate something is not quite right in this drama/ mystery/romance/sitcom/superhero series. In the town of Westview, New Jersey, where Wanda and Vision live, the concept of time is rather perplexing, oen advancing at breakneck speed. Meanwhile, Wanda and Vision's relationship progresses in classic television show styles, starting with 1950s black-and-white, then moving through the decades, with the sets, clothing, attitudes, technology, and even the effects reflective of the particular period. Moreover, a contrived commercial indicative of that time is inserted into each "episode," complete with Marvel references, such as a Stark Industries' Toast- Mate 2000 toaster oven, a Strucker watch, and Hydra Soak bath powder. "It was really important to us from the get-go that we weren't parodying sitcoms. We studied tone and style from era to era (from the 1950s through the 2000s)," says Shakman. "We wanted to make sure what we were creating was absolutely faithful to the original touchstone shows," he adds. And that includes the visual effects. "We watched all different sitcoms and films that had used visual effects in those time periods, to see what had been achieved," says Tara DeMarco, visual effects supervisor. "We tried to stay faithful to what could have been achieved in each decade." Through the Years For maximum authenticity, the first two episodes of the fictional WandaVision show Wire work and other traditional effects were used in the first episode to correlate with those used at the time.