This episode contains spoilers for Episode 4 of WandaVision.
After the first third of Marvel Studios' first Disney+ show, WandaVision, Episode 4 took things in a new direction by fully diving into the real world for the first time.
The latest episode of Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany's show took a break from the sitcom hijinks to focus on everything going on outside the perimeter of Westview. This led to the plot centering on the unlikely trio of S.W.O.R.D. Captain Monica Rambeau, FBI Agent Jimmy Woo, and now-astrophysicist Dr. Darcy Lewis as they racked their brains to figure out what Wanda and Vision have gotten themselves into.
Due to the fact that Episode 4 centered on three supporting MCU characters who haven't enjoyed much screen time (Monica and Woo) or haven't been seen in a while (Darcy), it seems only logical that hints to the MCU's past are scattered through the new entry of WandaVision. This includes one that was first introduced in the franchise's early days nearly thirteen years ago.
WHIH NEWS MAKES ITS PHASE 4 DEBUT
In Episode 4 of Marvel Studios' WandaVision on Disney+, the oft-seen MCU news network WHIH World News can be seen on the huge TV screens in the S.W.O.R.D. facility. As Captain Monica Rambeau returns to work after returning from the Blip, the news network is showing coverage of celebrations for those who were brought back to life in Avengers: Endgame.
S.W.O.R.D. headquarters is shown with WHIH News playing on the TV screen in the upper left-hand corner.
The second angle of S.W.O.R.D. headquarters with a better view of the WHIH World News stream, covering celebrations after the Blip.
WHIH World News made its first appearance in the MCU in 2008's The Incredible Hulk as the news network reported on the battle between the Hulk and the United States Army at Culver University.
WHIH NEWS CONTINUES AS AN MCU REGULAR
The MCU's regularly scheduled news programming has served as a staple not only in the MCU movies but in the ABC and Netflix TV shows which are sometimes canon to the Infinity Saga. The network made appearances in all the series' on Netflix other than The Defenders, the ABC programs Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Inhumans, and the Hulu-based Runaways.
The network was also the center of multiple marketing pieces for 2015's Ant-Man and 2016's Captain America: Civil War. Part of this included a series with Leslie Bibb's Christine Everhart from the first two Iron Man movies as she reported on the events in Sokovia from 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron and Scott Lang's release from prison, which even featured interviews with Paul Rudd's Scott Lang and Corey Stoll's Darren Cross.
While WHIH didn't play a role in the actual plot of WandaVision, the network did its part to bring Phase 4 into the real world for the first time in Episode 4. After three episodes that used American sitcom history as their base, it was a welcome sign to see a familiar entity as the MCU snapped back to reality.
Episode 4 of WandaVision is now available to stream on Disney+.
