When Superheroes Grieve

 “But what is grief, if not love persevering?” -The Vision, uttering the best line of the entire MCU.

Let's take a moment to appreciate how great Marvel is at having its heroes deal with emotional trauma. WandaVision may have started as a decades-spanning sitcom starring two Avengers, but at its core, it has always been a show about grief. How we move on—or in some cases, don't—from the loss of a loved one. How we would do anything to see that person again, and what happens if we actually are in the position to do something (You know, like magically reincarnating the deceased, then enslaving an entire town to turn into our very own sitcom universe. That 'ole chestnut.)

Perhaps that's why Marvel Studios produces better stories on the whole than its Distinguished Competition; the characters are written as people before they're written as superheroes. The whiz-bang is secondary to their humanity. Tony Stark spent multiple films dealing with crippling anxiety. Steve Rogers became an international fugitive because of his love for a friend. Vision, even as his body was being torn apart, pleaded with Hayward to save the citizens of Westview. (Mjölnir chose his worthiness well.)

When Natasha Romanoff sacrificed her life for the Soul Stone, we felt Clint's grief as he beheld his shining prize. We can almost hear the distant echo of Gamora's “what did it cost?” as it weighs on this moment. We know. We know the cost.

Wanda has lost everything. Her parents, her brother, and then the one person who was able to connect to her through her grief. If that wasn’t enough, she's also haunted by a mistake that cost innocent lives. Unlike Tony Stark, who received a hero’s sendoff, there was no memorial for Vision. The last she saw, his body was lying broken on the ground. Wanda wants to bury him; he deserves that much. Instead of closure, she is shown his ruined parts strewn about on cold tables, being poked and prodded by technicians. She is denied the right to even lay him to rest.

“Do you think maybe this is what you deserve?” Agatha asks from off-camera, seemingly feeding off Wanda’s torment. “You’re not supposed to talk,” Wanda replies, as though trying desperately to keep the pain hidden away. (Speaking from personal experience, I can vouch that this never works.)

Steph wasn’t shot by a murderous killbot; cancer worked its horror over the course of years. When Wanda ripped one of Ultron’s mechanical hearts straight out of its chest to demonstrate the pain of her brother’s loss, anyone who has ever lost someone felt it immediately.

If I possessed chaos magic, there’s a nonzero chance I might have tried to have at least one more conversation; one last chance to say the things I never did. Wanda emphatically states “this is our home” when the recreated Vision asked what is outside of Westview. She doesn't want to leave the bubble of fantasy. (Any credible artist will confess the best art comes from pain.)

Yes, these characters are fictional, springing to life through a writer’s mind, a director’s instruction, and incredible acting talent...plus several minutes’ worth of credits. Yet they are relatable despite the fantastic circumstances that surround them.

When superheroes grieve...so do we.