Powerful does not necessarily mean strong!



Scarlet Witch is one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel universe. In the movie Infinity War, the final battle began to turn toward the heroes when she joined the fight. And she had enough power to destroy a mind stone, and if not for the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet with all of the stones, she would have given Thanos a run for his money. Only Captain Marvel on the heroes’ side rivals the power of Wanda Maximoff. But having great power does not necessarily imbue you with great strength, which is the theme explored in the new Disney+ offering of WandaVision.


WandaVision does not immediately take off from the closing events of Avengers: Endgame (well, that’s not true; it does, but it is not what you think). It begins in the surreal world of 1950’s sitcoms in a town called Westview. 


Wanda Maximoff and Vision are living an idyllic suburban life trying to conceal their true natures. Neither seems to remember anything from their past, how they got to Westview, how they received their powers when they were married, and it doesn’t seem like they recall the Infinity War events at all. 

But then the world begins to evolve around them, and with it, the ideal suburban life they are experiencing is not exactly what it seems.


As the episodes progress, the world around them changes from a 1950’s I Love Lucyand Dick Van Dyke Show type sitcom to more of a 1960’s era, Bewitched type sitcom. 


With each adjustment to the world around them, more and more of the outside world (and likely influences we are not yet aware of) begin to creep in. 


And with these infiltrations, we begin to see that even though Wanda may not have remembered the outside world at the beginning, she begins to remember (or at least understand enough not to allow herself to remember). And we realize she is in control of the world in which they live, at least partially. 


Jump ahead to the most recent week's episode, and we find that Wanda is not only creating the world around them but has captured innocent people who now live in Westview. And not only captured them but is controlling their minds.  


Has this Hero become a villain? I truly hope not, but she is a very young person and has experienced so much tragedy. These are the classic makings of a villain, but also great heroes. And sometimes heroes act like villains, and villains like heroes. 


Having and using great power is a central theme to Marvel's IronManCaptain America, and other Avengers movies. 


Ant-Man began the movie by stealing Hank Pym's suit. Tony Stark created Vision, but only after accidentally creating Ultron. Spider-Man caided a Ferry accident that was only fixed with the help from Iron-Man. Hawkeye grieved his family's loss so powerfully, after Thanos’ snap, that he turned into the murderous Ronin. The Black Panther was so enraged by his father's death that he sought revenge and to kill Bucky. So heroes are not saints, and neither is Wanda. 

These powerful individuals would do wise to heed the advice given to Peter Parker from his uncle Ben om Spiderman 2002: 


"With great power comes great responsibility.”


The origins of the phrase pre-date its use in Spider-Man. It bears a close resemblance to the Christian bible verse in Luke 12:48: 


"For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. " 


In 1906, Under-Secretary of the Colonial Office, Winston Churchill said, 


"Where there is great power, there is great responsibility." 


And Superman Comes to Earth, the first episode of the 1948 Superman serial, Clark Kent is told by his foster father, Eben Kent:


"Because of these great powers—your speed and strength, your x-ray vision and super-sensitive hearing—you have a great responsibility."


All of these characters are powerful and physically strong, yet they are also weak-willed humans. In each case, their strength is developed over time and consists of continually choosing to adhere to their responsibility with the power they hold. 


It is not unlike any of us. We are blessed with talents that make each of us unique and valuable. Some people are blessed with musical ability, others with intelligence, and some with physical agility. 


There are a vast amount of talents and combinations of talents, the only end to which rival the sands on the worlds beaches. Some of us are blessed with a better life situation than others, but all of us are blessed with gifts that make us powerful. 


That is the story we are telling by living. 


We are continually deciding if we will accept the responsibility of our talents or squander them, or even worse, use them for evil. As we watch Wanda explore how she will respond to the power she has, let us each do the same. That is why I love these stories because they are our stories—even my story. 

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