Phase 4’s Biggest Accomplishment Will Be Explaining MCU Magic

After years of skirting around it, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will finally explain magic properly in Phase 4. Each MCU release has built enough authority to make future stories believable, such as the somewhat realistic technology of the first Iron Man, which paved the way for more fantastical innovations in Iron Man 3 and the birth of Ultron and Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Magic is always more difficult to explain than science, so the MCU justified it for a long time according to Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

Although magic is only just now beginning to become a prominent element in the MCU, it has existed as early as 2011’s Thor. From Odin’s enchantment on Mjolnir (“Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor”) to Loki’s mischievous shenanigans, most of Asgard has always relied on magic. In fact, all of the Nine Realms seemingly base their culture around magical aspects, such as Jotunheim’s Frost Giants and the Dark Elves’ pursuit of the Aether in Svartalheim. The MCU has tried to explain all of this as much as possible with science, and even the first Doctor Strange movie had Stephen Strange starting out as a skeptic while dealing with magic firsthand.

Wanda Maximoff’s official transformation into the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange’s trip through the multiverse undoubtedly open up countless magical possibilities, which have to be clarified with an official explanation. Before that, Agatha Harkness has already been established as a seasoned witch who knows how magic works and how it can be harnessed. Agatha’s incantations in WandaVision suggest there’s a different way to learn magic than the Ancient One’s standardized learning in the world’s three Sanctums, and confirm that magic can be either learned — as is the case with Agatha, Strange, and Karl Mordo — or acquired naturally, as happened with Wanda, Billy Maximoff, and Loki.

However, there’s much more to magic than learning how to use it. As The Ancient One and Kaecilius revealed, magic can tie into other dimensions, which can become so dangerous that the Earth can be plunged into eternal darkness. Some individuals may know the effects of magic on the multiverse and different timelines, while others can simply tap into it intuitively and others, like Dormammu, are basically made out of it. There’s also the issue of fate and ancient legends, such as Doctor Strange’s path to becoming the best Sorcerer Supreme and Wanda Maximoff’s possession of the legendary Scarlet Witch title.

Just as Avengers: Endgame‘s use of time travel set up Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Loki, Phase 4 offers the basis for multiple new storylines, something that couldn’t be remotely possible just a couple of years ago, let alone during the very beginnings of the MCU. The possibilities for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are endless if literal chaos magic has become so easy to digest.