WandaVision: How That Quicksilver Cameo Can Reintroduce Wanda as a Mutant

The introduction of Evan Peters as the new Quicksilver in WandaVision could build to a reveal that Wanda Maximoff's powers are and have always been mutant in nature. WandaVision's fifth episode had Marvel fans' jaws hitting the floor when Pietro returned from the dead but recast with Peter Maximoff from the X-Men movies, Evan Peters. There are still many questions lingering around Quicksilver's reintroduction into the Marvel Universe. Yet, assuming he is whom he appears to be, a single conversation between these two multiversal siblings could reveal that the cinematic version of Marvel's Scarlet Witch has been a mutant all along.

Let's revisit what we currently know about how Wanda and her brother -- original flavor -- came into their powers. The twins joined Hydra and volunteered for experiments where the terrorist organization's scientists experimented on them using the Scepter, later revealed to house the Mind Stone. The experiments killed most of its subjects, but the siblings obtained strange new powers. There's never been a good explanation for why Wanda and Pietro, linked by blood, not only survived but were empowered by the Mind Stone.

Conversely, like all mutants in the Marvel Comics universe and the X-Men movies timeline, Peter Maximoff was born with his gifts. Now imagine a conversation where Wanda recalls the experiments that granted her powers, only for Pietro to reply that he's always had his powers. This conversation would be a reason to reexamine Wanda's assumptions about her powers' origin.

What if Hydra was terrible at science? Having gotten the results they desired, they assumed that Wanda and Pietro's powers came from the Mind Stone and left it at that instead of testing the theory. It could be that the Mind Stone experiments coincided with the twins' powers emerging but did not cause those powers to exist.

Based on Marvel Comics lore, mutant powers often emerge when a mutant undergoes stressful or traumatic experiences. Considering Hydra's experiments were fatal to most subjects, it is safe to assume that Wanda and Pietro were under stressful circumstances when they discovered their powers. It could be those powers were always there in their DNA. The Scepter didn't give them their gifts, but the experiments' life-threatening stress unlocked the abilities in Wanda and Pietro's DNA.

Their mutant genes would explain why Wanda and Pietro, twins, came out of those experiments empowered instead of dead. It could also tie into a previous fan theory that Wanda's powers emerged during an earlier instance of extreme stress, subconsciously disarming the explosive that trapped her and her brother when they were children.

There's a lot we still don't know about WandaVision and Evan Peters' unexpected appearance, but this seems like an opportunity to gracefully retcon Wanda's origin to tie into the Marvel Cinematic Universe's future. We'll see what happens as WandaVision continues to unfold Fridays on Disney+.