What’cha gonna do brother, when Hulk Hogan and Wanda and Vision run wild on you!? Believe it or not, there may just be a small connection between the professional wrestling legend and the latest episode of the new hit Marvel series on Disney+.
Warning – WandaVision episode four spoilers ahead!
If you actually think the Hulkster himself made an appearance in this latest episode of WandaVision, you’ve got another thing coming. But there may just have been a subtle nod to the leader of Hulkamania at the end of the episode, that leads me to believe somebody over at Marvel might just be a big wrestling fan.
The fourth episode, titled “We Interrupt This Program,” sees Wanda throw Monica (formerly Geraldine) out of her house and eventually her reality. While S.W.O.R.D. and others on the outside have been wondering who’s trapped Wanda in this sitcom reality, Monica reemerges to reveal to them that it’s all Wanda.
The episode comes to a close with Wanda and Vision sitting happily on their couch with their newborn twin boys. Of course, none of this has anything to do with Hulk Hogan. That connection comes from the song that accompanies this final scene.
As the episode comes to a close, the song “Voodoo Child” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience plays. This song choice makes a lot of sense, with its obvious connection to a form of dark magic and lyrics like “If I don't meet you no more in this world then uh, I'll meet ya on the next one.” But there might just be another layer to why Marvel chose this song for the end of this episode.
When most people think of Hulk Hogan, they think of the red and yellow, the flashing lights, the Hulkamania and the “Real American” theme song. As well as some really bad roles in some truly terrible movies, but we don’t need to get into all of that right now. But Hogan is not only arguably the greatest hero in the history of professional wrestling, he’s also the owner of the single greatest “heel turn.”
In wrestling terminology, a “heel turn” simply refers to the moment when a hero becomes a villain. In 1996, Hulk Hogan, the biggest hero in the history of wrestling, did the unthinkable when he shocked the world by joining Scott Hall and Kevin Nash in his “heel turn” moment. Hogan would eventually adopt the name “Hollywood” Hogan and the group would be called the New World Order or nWo.
The nWo used an entrance theme as a group, which eventually became one of the most recognizable wrestling anthems ever. As a singles competitor though, “Hollywood” Hogan would enter to an altered version of “Voodoo Child,” with that same familiar guitar at the beginning.
So why would Marvel be drawing comparisons to Hulk Hogan at this moment in WandaVision? Simple: this is Wanda’s “heel turn.” We’ve seen the look on Wanda’s face when her new reality starts to crumble. Her troubled visage combined with her references to being in control tell us that is willing to do anything to keep this happy sitcom life standing. And, after seeing what she did to Monica, it’s clear she’s not going to let anyone or anything get in her way.
Monica coming out of the sitcom world and telling S.W.O.R.D. and everyone else that “it’s all Wanda” is a way of telling them she’s the enemy now. Wanda Maximoff has always had unthinkable power and to this point she has been one of the biggest heroes the world has ever seen. But now, after her “heel turn,” you can bet she’s going to put up a fight to protect her New World Order.
