WandaVision‘s commercial for Strücker Watches features ’60s-era wood paneling and underhanded misogyny as a voiceover says, “They say a man is never fully dressed without two important accessories: his special lady and his Strücker.” Over a close up of the Strücker watch, the voice says, “Strücker — He’ll make time for you.” It ends with an ominous ticking sound speeding up as the camera zooms in on the watch face, which has printed on it the word “HYDRA” next to the organization’s symbol.
HYDRA, the Nazi organization whose members have been a long-time enemy of Captain America, was certainly operating during the ’60s in the MCU, but this Easter egg is likely in WandaVision because of its personal connection to the characters. If the name “Strucker” sounds familiar, that’s because HYDRA agent Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (played by Thomas Kretschmann) appears in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (in a post-credits scene) and in Avengers: Age of Ultron. He and his team experimented on Wanda and her twin brother Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) with the Mind Stone contained in Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) scepter, giving them their superpowers. In the middle of Age of Ultron, Strucker is killed by the robot villain Ultron, but Wanda certainly hasn’t forgotten him. Or, at least, she probably hasn’t. Now in her sitcom-world, she doesn’t seem to remember much about her life before everything was smiles and hijinks, but it’s slowly bleeding back through.
How exactly might the memory of Strucker fit into the WandaVision mix? We’ll just have to wait and see.
