Who are Tommy and Billy? Meet two future Avengers in WandaVision
While not quite House of M, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is doing some heavy lifting getting the Young Avengers to assemble.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe just got two new heroes. Even though they're babies now, they could grow up to become (Young) Avengers. Or maybe not. Who knows how WandaVision will end?
Until then, the third episode of WandaVision revealed to us two new characters, Tommy and Billy, who have quite a long comic book history. But who are Tommy and Billy? And what could they mean for the future of the MCU? (If they survive WandaVision and see the future, that is.)
Warning: Spoilers for WandaVision Episode 3 ahead.
In Episode 3 of WandaVision, Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) comically conceives and gives birth to twin boys, Tommy and Billy. The episode ends before the boys could grow up even more, so for now, they're just babies. But in the comics, Tommy and Billy grow up into something more.
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Who are Tommy and Billy in Marvel?
Buckle up, this going to get complicated.
Tommy and Billy were born Tommy Shepherd and Billy Kaplan. They were born into different families by different parents. They met each other in the Marvel Comics series Young Avengers, which you can deduce is about sidekicks and teenage superheroes who operate on their own.
Tommy, who went by the name "Speed" had the power of super speed (duh) while Billy (aka, "Wiccan") had psychic and magical abilities like flight, astral projection, force field generation, and more. You might notice that their powers mirror Wanda and her brother Pietro/Quicksilver. Well, there's a reason for that. And no, it's not gross.
In episode two of WandaVision, Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) becomes pregnant with twins. By the end of episode three, the twins are born, named "Tommy" and "Billy."
In the 2005 Marvel crossover House of M, Wanda used her powers to create twin sons — at the cost of the Marvel Universe as everyone knew it. To create her children, Wanda selfishly rewrote reality, which had many lasting effects that played out throughout the eight-issue series.
Long story short, Wanda's imagination — coupled with fragments of the demon Mephisto — allowed the souls of her House of M children, "Thomas" and "William," to become reincarnated into Tommy Shepherd and Billy Kaplan. So while Wiccan and Speed aren't brothers by blood, they are brothers by soul. Welcome to comic books! (That's about the most succinct way to explain their story, which is way more complicated.)
That's who Tommy and Billy are in comics. It's unknown what the two will ultimately become in WandaVision, which only loosely adapts the stories and mythologies of the comics. Due to the nature of WandaVision and its artificial reality, it's possible that the brothers won't make it out alive if Wanda's grip on Westview crumbles. Or perhaps they will. Wanda is, after all, a very powerful Avenger whose full capabilities have yet to be seen.
Cover of Young Avengers Presents #3, with Billy ("Wiccan") and Tommy ("Speed").
Is WandaVision setting up Young Avengers?
The timing of the brothers' arrival is interesting, as it ties nicely into what else is currently happening behind the scenes in the MCU.
- Hailee Steinfeld will star in the role of Kate Bishop in the Disney+ series Hawkeye, where she might inherit the name "Hawkeye" from a retiring Clint Barton.
- Xochitl Gomez will star in the 2022 movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as "America Chavez," a superhero who also debuted in the Young Avengers comics.
- There are rumors Elijah Richardson will star in the next Disney+ series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as Elijah Bradley, who also operated under the name "Patriot" when he was with the Young Avengers.
- In the 2022 movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Kathryn Newton will star in the role of Cassie Lang (replacing Emma Fuhrmann from Avengers: Endgame), who went by the name "Stature" in the Young Avengers.
- And finally, there's the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, where Iman Vellani, who stars as Kamala Khan who takes up the mantle "Ms. Marvel" in honor of her idol, Carol Danvers. It's important to note that Ms. Marvel has never actually been a Young Avenger, but she was a member of the Marvel teen team Champions.
That's right: There's a whole team being built right now! And WandaVision just may introduce two more in Tommy and Billy, but we'll have to see how WandaVision ends to know for sure.
WandaVision streams new episodes every Friday on Disney+.
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