The Hex name used in WandaVision is an Easter egg to Scarlet Witch’s original powers in Marvel Comics. In the Disney+ series, the name refers to the field of energy that surrounds the small town of Westview, New Jersey, but it's also a hint at something more going on with Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen).
It was implied in WandaVision that shortly after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Wanda came to Westview and used her abilities to create a fake world for herself. Now, she and Vision (Paul Bettany), who was mysteriously resurrected, are living together in this suburban community along with numerous other Westview residents who are seemingly under Wanda’s mind control, if that is indeed what's happening. Right outside Westview is SWORD, who is monitoring what’s going on in the town while simultaneously working on a solution to the problem. They’ve discovered that Wanda created an enormous, hexagonal forcefield that encompasses all of Westview, preventing anyone from leaving.
When talking about the the forcefield in WandaVision episode 5, Darcy (Kat Dennings) named it “The Hex”. Obviously in the show, the name relates to the shape, but in actuality, its meaning goes much deeper than that. The word is a direct reference to Scarlet Witch’s abilities, specifically the ones she used in her early Marvel Comics appearances. Before Wanda started using chaos magic and reality-warping abilities, she was known for her use of “hex bolts”, which date all the way back to her debut in 1964’s X-Men #4.
Scarlet Witch’s hex bolts and hex spheres could be used to alter probabilities and create bad luck - and because of that, Wanda could cause all sorts of wild outcomes. She could knock opponents off their feet, create gusts of wind, interfere with the powers and weapons of others, and more. The problem, though, is that her hex bolts had a tendency to be unpredictable. This served as a challenge for the Avengers, because that aspect of her abilities made them difficult to count on in battle.
It wasn’t until a few years later that Marvel evolved Scarlet Witch’s skillset by having her cross paths with Agatha Harkness. Through Harkness, Marvel sent Wanda down a path to becoming an incredibly powerful magic-user. Wanda’s powers continued to develop from there, but she still does make use of original hex bolts when the need arises. The MCU made big changes to the origin and nature of Wanda’s abilities, but did at least retain the visual appearance of her hex bolts and spheres. In WandaVision, some of the effects Scarlet Witch was able to generate from her hex bolts were adapted to the small screen, such as the way she has manipulated objects to her liking. The difference here is that she doesn’t need her hex bolts to get results.
In any case, the name of Scarlet Witch’s barrier for her fake world provides for a fun reference to her comic book counterpart. Thus far, the series has had no shortage of Easter eggs related to Wanda and the MCU, and more are expected to come, as previous trailers have confirmed her comic costume is expected to make an appearance in WandaVision eventually.
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February 10, 2021 at 05:00AM
