This article contains spoilers for VisionQuest Episode 8
The MCU has taken something of a beating in recent years, but it’s had a remarkably strong 2026. Spider-Man: Brand New Day was the biggest movie of the summer, Wonder Man was critically acclaimed (if prematurely canceled), and, of course, Avengers: Doomsday is still to come. Then there’s VisionQuest, the third and final entry in the “WandaVision trilogy,” which has continued the franchise’s impressive run of so far having a full year of well-received projects.
Over at the Distinguished Competition, however, things are not looking so rosy. The news that James Gunn and Peter Safran are on the outs at DC Studios has left Marvel’s rival superhero cinematic universe in dire straits for the second time this decade. As the DCU enters yet another period of upheaval and uncertainty, in a bit of awkward timing, Marvel has just released the VisionQuest series finale, featuring a jaw-dropping post-credits scene that inadvertently highlights DC’s shortcomings.
VisionQuest’s Post-Credits Scene Contains Two Major Cameos
Episode 8 Delivers Something Fans Have Been Waiting Years For
The super-sized VisionQuest finale — it clocks in at 72 minutes — mostly stuck the landing for what has been an entertainingly quirky and intelligent series. Not only did it wrap up the plot threads of this particular show, it also lived up to its status as the concluding chapter of the storyline that began with WandaVision by calling back to that beloved Disney Plus series in various ways. Vision traps Ultron in a hokey sitcom simulation at one point and, in a follow-up to Agatha All Along, Joe Locke returns as Billy Maximoff and Vision gets to reunite with both his long-lost sons.
That put three quarters of the WandaVision family back together again, but what about Wanda Maximoff herself? Though it seemed like the finale only had room for one cameo (not even Kathryn Hahn showed up as Ghost Agatha), VisionQuest went and surprised viewers with its explosive post-credits scene, which has major repercussions for where the MCU goes next. Not only did it feature a certain masked multiversal villain, but it also confirmed a much-missed fan-favorite will be back for Doomsday, after all.
The short sequence begins with a clip from the end of Doctor Strange 2, with Wanda’s castle collapsing on top of her, apparently leading to her demise. However, the clip then transitions into brand-new footage, as the rubble rises to reveal none other than Doctor Doom. “Scarlet Witch . . . awaken,” intones Robert Downey Jr.’s Latverian leader. ‘Your power will be mine.” With a gasp, Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda snaps back to life, with Doom’s green magic reflected in her eyes. What this tells us is clear: Scarlet Witch will return in Avengers: Doomsday, and she won’t be on the Avengers’ side.
New Doomsday Tease is a Timely Reminder of DC’s Shortcomings
Unsurprisingly, this revelation has left Marvel fans buzzing, as Wanda lovers have been waiting for her resurrection ever since Multiverse of Madness released in 2022. A full four years later, Scarlet Witch is finally back, which just goes to show that a little patience goes a long way when it comes to the MCU. Likewise, it also proves that it pays for fans to watch every new MCU project, whether movie or TV series, as you never know when a major change to canon or a surprise cameo is going to drop.
In that sense, it’s ironic that this franchise-quaking VisionQuest finale should release just days after the DC universe was similarly shaken up, only in a much more negative way. The ousting of DC Studios’ current regime, with Gunn and Safran replaced by former Marvel producer Jeremy Latcham, leaves the future of the DCU wildly uncertain. While Gunn has assured fans that his upcoming slate of projects, including series like The People Vs. Gorilla Grodd and Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, are still on their way, it’s anyone’s guess whether DC is headed towards yet another universal reset.
Gunn and Safran’s tenure as DC architects ultimately only lasted four years, meaning this incarnation of the DC franchise had a much shorter lifespan than the DCEU, which kicked off with 2013’s Man of Steel and stumbled on until 2023’s The Flash. Gunn has hinted that the castings he has made, such as David Corenswet as Clark Kent, will endure, yet it is sure to become even more confusing for fans to keep up with what is and isn’t canon over at DC and whether it really matters for them to keep up with every new DC project that releases. That couldn’t be in sharper contrast to how Marvel has done an admirable job in bolstering its own once-weakening hold on audiences.
Marvel and DC are Ending 2026 in Very Different Places
As 2026 comes to an end, it’s fascinating to consider how Marvel and DC’s fortunes have completely reversed from where they were at the beginning of the year. While the MCU had suffered a disappointing 2025, releasing three underperforming movies, DC was coming off an exciting fresh start that made Superman the year’s highest-grossing superhero film. Now, however, Marvel has bounced back in a big way and DC has squandered that initial goodwill thanks to an embarrassing box office bomb in Supergirl and corporate shifts once again derailing creative plans.
VisionQuest got a lot of mileage out of the idea that the eponymous synthezoid is like the Ship of Theseus, as his constituent parts have been replaced so many times. In contrast, the fact that the MCU has maintained a canon consistency for almost 20 years is its greatest asset, as it allows for even a single episode of a streaming series to be an integral, must-watch part of the overall tapestry. In many ways, the real Ship of Theseus is actually the DC universe, which has had its system rebooted and its hard drive wiped so many times at this point that it’s no longer user-friendly. Maybe DC will crack the Marvel code at some point, but for now, that quest remains ongoing.
- Release Date
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December 18, 2026
- Runtime
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165 Minutes
- Director
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Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
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Robert Downey Jr.
Victor von Doom
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Pedro Pascal
Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic
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Vanessa Kirby
Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
