Amidst the chaos of reality alteration and time fluctuation, this weeks WandaVision episode explores the gut-wrenching lifecycle of one member of the Vision/Maximoff TV family, whose all too brief life and death may amount to a tragic hint at the nature of Wandas Westview.
Introduced partway through the episode as a stray dog found by Wanda and Visions rapidly aging twin sons William and Thomas, Sparky quickly becomes part of the family. However, things take a turn for the worse when Sparky eats some poisonous plants in Agness yard and dies, at least according to Agnes, prompting Wanda to explain to William and Thomas why they cant just undo the death of a living thing. However, it may or may not be significant we do not see Sparkys demise – its only explained by Agnes when Wanda and the twins find her suspiciously rustling in her flower bushes. Sparkys lifeless body is also never seen – its covered by a towel or dishcloth the entire scene.
Sparky the dogs tragic TV history foreshadows the episodes biggest twist (we wont spoil it here) – but his comic book history is somehow even more tragic.
Created by writer Tom King and artist Gabriel Walta for their Vision (opens in new tab) limited series, Sparky the dog became a part of Visions synthezoid family, but his brutal, violent life became much more a symbol of the storys calamitous themes than of the normal, human family Vision sought in the suburbs.
Since his earliest days joining the Avengers, the synthezoid Vision has sought to understand the complex nature of his existence, and to become closer to humanity through his actions. At one point, that meant forming a relationship with Wanda Maximoff and attempting to raise children – the comic book saga that forms the spine of WandaVision.
But after his marriage with Wanda crumbled, and after Vision suffered an escalating series of personal misfortunes including being fully disassembled for years, he resolved to form a new kind of family in the suburbs of Washington, DC, building an entire synthezoid family consisting of his wife Virginia and twin children Viv and Vin.
Unfortunately, as with many of Visions attempts to embrace the nature of human life, everything went horribly wrong.
First, the villainous Grim Reaper, brother of Wonder Man whose mind formed the basis of Visions original personality, attacks. With Vision away, Virginia defends her family by straight-up murdering Grim Reaper, then burying him in the backyard – the start of Virginias violent streak, which becomes the driving force in the downfall of Visions family.
This comic book moment may even be what WandaVision episode 2s Grim Reaper Easter egg was referencing.
In the Bewitched-style animated opening credits of WandaVision episode 2, Grim Reapers distinctive helmet is seen stuffed under the floorboards of Wandas house – perhaps metaphorically standing in as a skeleton in Wanda and Visions closet (or a body in the backyard, so to speak).
Sparky is a character featured in the Marvel Disney+ series, WandaVision. He is the pet dog of Billy and Tommy Maximoff, and makes his debut in the fifth episode. Sparky was created by Peter Cameron and Mackenzie Dohr.
Marvel characters returned for the Disney+ original series, ‘WandaVision’
They are an unusual couple. Wanda and Vision have a second chance at their relationship, thanks to the Disney+ series, WandaVision. In this sitcom-inspired world created by Wanda, the two have an opportunity to start a family.
This Marvel original show featured Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, the Avenger who previously starred in movies like Avengers: Endgame and Captain America: Civil War. Paul Bettany portrayed Vision of Avengers: Infinity War.
WandaVision also introduced fans to a few new characters. There was Agnes, who lived with her insufferable husband, Ralph. This series also included a small dog named Sparky, who the Maximoff family adopted for one episode of this Marvel series.
Sparky ran off and was killed by Agatha Harkness.[2] Wanda Maximoff and her children found Harkness outside her house, holding Sparky’s corpse, wrapped in a blanket, in her arms. She told them that he had eaten leaves from her plants, and that she found him after he was already dead. The boys, devastated, asked Wanda to resurrect him, but she refused and told them that they needed to accept loss and move on.[1] It was only after Maximoff discovered “Agnes” true nature as Harkness that she admitted to having killed Sparky.[2]
Sparky was found by Billy and Tommy Maximoff outside of their house. They brought him into the kitchen and were washing him in the sink, when Wanda Maximoff found them. They tried to hide him from her, causing her to become suspicious. Sparky sneezed and barked, leading Wanda to approach the sink and find him. She searched the dog for a collar to return him to his owner. Finding none, the boys became more determined to keep him. Vision came in, accepting the dog, and Agatha Harkness, under the name of “Agnes”, arrived, carrying a dog house for him. She asked if the dog had a name and decided he needed one. They saw him sniffing the wall and Billy suggested naming him Sniffy. The dog then shocked himself on the outlet, and Agnes suggested Sparky. The family agreed and Wanda made a collar for him, which they then put on the dog. Wanda and Vision decided the children were not old enough to care for a dog until they were ten years old, prompting them to rapidly age themselves to be ten years old so they could keep the dog.
In the show’s latest episode, Wanda and Vision’s twins, Billy and Tommy, magically age themselves up to age 10 to convince their parents to let them keep a dog they found. After the dog received a shock from an electrical outlet, Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) jokingly suggested the name Sparky, which was taken up by the twins. Later on, Billy and Tommy were upset to discover Sparky had died after ingesting azalea flowers in Agnes’ front yard. The boys, who somehow knew that Wanda could bring people back to life, begged their mother to resurrect him, but she maintained that death could not be undone. Sparky was later buried offscreen by Vision.
WandaVision episode 5 gave Scarlet Witchs family a dog named Sparky, who has an interesting yet bizarre origin in Marvel Comics. Heres who he is.
Another interesting note about Sparky is that his role in WandaVision, as brief as it was, just gave the MCU its third canine character from the comics, with the first being Guardians of the Galaxy’s Cosmo the Space Dog and giant teleporting bulldog Lockjaw in Inhumans. Neither dog was utilized much, but the next one stands a good chance at getting more screen time. Marvel is poised to introduce Clint Barton’s canine companion, Lucky the Pizza Dog in its upcoming Disney+ series, Hawkeye.
Sparky actually exists in Marvel Comics as a recent creation of Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta. He made his first appearance in 2016’s Vision #6 as the synthezoid Visions android dog. In the comic book series, a lonely Vision decided to build his own android family. Living together with him in his home was his wife, Virginia, their two kids (Viv and Vin), and the dog, Sparky, having created Sparky from the brain patterns of their neighbors dog, Zeke. Sparky was a green dog that shared many of Vision’s powers, including his ability to phase through solid objects. This was right in line with Vision’s own origin story, as he too was given life by the brain patterns of another living being, who in his case was the superhero, Wonder Man.
Vision’s dog from Marvel Comics bears little in common with his MCU counterpart, but one thing they do share is an unfortunately short lifespan. The comic book version of Sparky was abruptly killed when Virginia went berserk. Given that WandaVision isn’t using Vision’s android family, it made sense for the series to create its own take on Sparky by making him a regular dog in Wanda’s fake world. Though he wasn’t utilized as an android, he still served as a fun homage to Tom King’s Vision comic. Also, it’s worth mentioning that Billy and Tommy’s dog wasn’t the show’s only nod to Sparky. A dog bone was spotted next to Grim Reaper’s helmet in the intro to WandaVision episode 2.
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