WandaVision's White Vision: Who is He and What Are His Powers?

Credit: Marvel Studios

Credit: Marvel Studios

WandaVision has taken a toll on surprises when it comes to dropping the biggest revelations not only in the story but also with the characters involved in the show. With a number of character introductions and re-introductions, it is no surprise that one of the banner names of the show gets this as well.

The canon series of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been giving a weekly punch through the air as every episode seems to have a bomb of answers waiting to explode as it has been built up throughout the 9 episodes of the series. With one episode left, it is surprising that they introduced yet another important piece of the puzzle.

Elizabeth Olsen's portrayal of Wanda Maximoff is truly impeccable from her decade-by-decade appearance to her Sokovian persona to being Scarlet Witch but while the series is focusing on her, another name on the title seems to have been left out for quite some time, Vision. Vision has been in and out of the episodes recently but this one appearance of him is something most would never let pass.

Vision has been introduced to the MCU since Avengers: Age of Ultron when the synthezoid was supposed to be the host of Ultron but was taken in time by the Avengers to become the Vision we all know and love today. Played by Paul Bettany, Vision played an important role from the moment he entered the MCU as the host body of the Mind Stone.

In Avengers: Infinity War, when Thanos only has one Infinity Stone left, a war in Wakanda between the Mad Titan's crew and the Avengers and the Wakandans happened to ensure that Thanos would not get close to the Mind Stone, to Vision

.

Knowing that only Wanda can save half of the universe from being snapped, Vision and Wanda took the ultimate sacrifice of destroying the Mind Stone despite still being connected to Vision's head and would definitely mean his death.

As heartbreaking as it can be, Wanda herself managed to destroy the Mind Stone whilst facing Thanos (yes, people, she is THAT strong!) only for Thanos to turn back time using the Time Stone to retrieve the stone from Vision's head causing his death the second time in a day.

This is why it is so confusing that he is alive in WandaVision. Still, who doesn't love the relationship Wanda and Vision showed in their sitcoms? From the words of Darcy herself, their love is in its truest form. What Vision and Wanda have in the sitcoms is something of pure and genuine love.

Warning! This portion may contain spoilers for WandaVision. Read at your own risk!

In the most recent episode, Episode 8, the penultimate episode titled "Previously On" explained how Wanda brought Vision back to life in the hex she created accidentally. The Vision we see in WandaVision is a fragment of the reality that Wanda made which is why Vision cannot leave the hex in Episode 6 without deteriorating – he was made alongside the hex itself.

Vision in Westview sprung from Wanda's own powers in Wanda's dream of having the chance in life she never had with him after finding the lot Vision bought for them to grow old in. (If you didn't cry or feel the pain of Wanda, you must be seriously numb.) Wanda, grieving and in pain, was on her knees in the unfinished home they were supposed to be living, in the life Vision wanted to give to Wanda.

Because of this, Wanda had a phoenix-like burst of power creating the whole hex and sitcom reality where she and Vision can live out the life they have always dreamed of: a quiet and normal life with their family.

But there is more, there's more to the episode than this. In the mid-credits scene, it was revealed that S.W.O.R.D. and its director, Hayward, are not after Wanda, but on Vision. Hayward considers Vision as the most impeccable sentient weapon ever created of vibranium. Though he was corrected by Wanda that Vision is not a weapon, he still thinks otherwise.

Hayward has botched the body of the original Vision stashed in the S.W.O.R.D. facility to create a sentient weapon of his own using the energy from the hex in the drone they sent through the barrier, project codenamed Cataract – White Vision.

White Vision is a direct callback to the Marvel comics of John Byrne's 1989 Vision Quest where Vision has a run as part of the West Coast Avengers in the West Coast Avengers issues #42-#50. The storyline follows Vision and Wanda who just moved to the suburbs where Vision is abducted and pieced in parts. (hmm this is oh so familiar, right?)

After Hank Pym started piecing him back, Vision had all his memories and emotions wiped off and he returned as the White Vision which shook Wanda horrified.

This ties up to the vitality of Vision, his colors. In the MCU, we have seen him fully colored when he was born, or rather, brought into life. When Thanos killed him, he turned gray throughout. In this version of Vision, he is all white meaning he is stripped of his humanity and soul, no emotions, no memories, just a sentient weapon, as visualized by Hayward himself.

The capabilities of White Vision are pretty much the same as Vision's original powers, sans the powers of the Mind Stone, of course. He can phase himself to his liking, his brain functions as a superhuman computer, his manipulation of holograph, and his very own density.

White Vision is set to face-off Vision of Westview, maybe prove that we are our worst enemy? Maybe. But this White Vision is an entirely different character than the Vision we know of. He is soulless, emotionless, and memory-less, unlike the Vision we love from Westview which knows so much about love and compassion, he was willing to be torn off by the hex just to help the people of Westview.

In the upcoming final battle in Westview, tune in to find out how White Vision will be playing a part in the series finale of WandaVision coming next week, on Disney+.

Related: Is Scarlet Witch's WandaVision Origin Story Canon?