I think it”s safe to say there was a lot going on in The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Maybe too much, if the broken and defeated form of director Joss Whedon is any indication. Between defeating Ultron, setting up Civil War, heading to Hawkeye”s farm, and dealing with Black Widow and Hulk”s burgeoning romance, there wasn”t a lot of room for the new characters to breathe. Luckily, fans are plucky and can find meaning in a single glance.
Which is exactly what happened when Vision (Paul Bettany) saved Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) during the climatic battle.
Why was that glance important? In the comics, Vision and Scarlet Witch have been in a relationship for years. At the moment, they are currently married. As comic books are basically soap operas, the couple has had their ups and downs. But for the most part, they”ve been as stable a couple as the Marvel universe allowed them to be. They even have twin sons – Wiccan and Speed. That glance in Age of Ultron was all the hope fans needed to believe this couple would become a reality in future MCU installments.
As part of the Civil War set visit last summer, I asked writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely if the movie left any room for Vision and Scarlet Witch to explore their connection. Markus confirmed it does come into play:
I will say, we play with it. For the same reason Steve and Sharon can't go to the movies five times in the movie. But it is kind of fascinating. But he's got the stone in his head that I think Strucker used to give [Scarlet Witch] her powers. So it's all sort of, 'These things are getting really weird.' So there's fun toys to play with there.
The co-writers weren”t the only ones dropping hints about the nature of Scarlet Witch and Vision”s relationship. During the interview with Elizabeth Olsen, she also talked about her character”s unique bond with Vision.
There”s something unique in the fact that her powers come from the same thing [Mind Gem] that powers [Vision]. That is how we”ve made them have that kind of [bond]. Giving them that specifically in common, as opposed to it being something else that the comics kind of created, which has been pure romance. But they do have something uniquely special because of that.
Olsen may have been hesitant to call it “pure romance,” but her co-star Jeremy Renner wasn”t. “I think there”s a great connection between [Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch]. I mean, I don”t know if she”s coming over for dinner on the Barton ranch…maybe with Vision…”
Armed with this knowledge, I”d been expecting to see something of this relationship in the Captain America: Civil War trailer. Instead, I got this:
What is happening? Why is this Civil War tearing everyone apart!?! I suppose Scarlet Witch could always be doing something to help Vision? Or something that needs to be done, but neither of them are happy about? Maybe? Hopefully?
To end on a lighter note, this is what the Russo Brothers had to say about Vision”s attempts at normal human clothing:
JOE: That was a fun conversation because he sort of projects his own clothing so it's an interpretation of his personality. He's rather dashing. It looks really good.
ANTHONY: We always thought about it from the point of view, Vision is thinking about how does he make himself fit in to situations and fit in with people and connect to characters. It's a very interesting projection. It's like how anybody chooses to dress, it's how you want to be or who you think you are.
Captain America: Civil War breaks your heart on May 6, 2016.