I’m enjoying WandaVision for a host of reasons, and I especially appreciate what it demonstrates about superhero storytelling.

Superheroes can work in any medium, and different mediums can open up new possibilities. It’s a versatile genre, and embracing that versatility is to its (and our) benefit.

WandaVision is not the first excellent superhero television series. Among others, Daredevil was at times amazing, and I’ve been loving Doom Patrol so far. But WandaVision might be the first that can only be a television series (or streaming series).

The sitcom gimmick isn’t just a gimmick, nor is it parody. It’s occasionally adjacent to parody while always being a distinct entity. The series is playing with different tropes than superhero comics or movies get to play with, and it’s employing those tropes to show what Wanda is going through.

And it doesn’t dispense with all comic book tropes in the process. The series remains part of a previously established shared universe, building on years of stories and pulling together various characters from various sources. The plot incorporates elements from older comic book stories, but it’s all structured in such an original way that it stands on its own as something new.

WandaVision is a strange, fascinating marriage of superhero tropes and sitcom tropes, uniting them in innovative ways to offer something fresh for comic book readers and television viewers alike.