Why Wanda’s villain arc was the logical next step for her character’s MCU journey
*WARNING: Contains Spoilers For Doctor Strange: the Multiverse of Madness”
Eight years ago, Elizabeth Olsen stepped onto the screen as Wanda Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Now she’s back again in Doctor Strange: the Multiverse of Madness stealing the spotlight from the main star Benedict Cumberbatch as the Scarlet Witch.
Wanda’s journey has been complex, to say the least. Orphaned at a young age Wanda and her brother Pietro were recruited by Hydra for their powers. After the defeat of Hydra the twins allied with Ultron to take down the Avengers. The twins would then defect to the Avengers to take down Ultron. Sadly Pietro didn’t survive which left Wanda with nowhere to go. So Wanda joined the Avengers and worked on becoming a hero.
Once again Wanda’s life was thrown into disarray when she became a fugitive after siding with Cap during Civil War. During this time Wanda and Vision fell in love but sadly this too didn’t last. In an attempt to stop Thanos from getting the Mind Stone she killed Vision which was ultimately meaningless when Thanos just resurrected him before snapping away half the population on Earth. When the battle was over, Thanos defeated Wanda and was overwhelmed with all the tragedy she’d endured unleashing a blast of magic. This would be known as the Westview anomaly and is where WandaVision comes into play.
Why WandaVision Matters
For fans to understand Wanda’s change and motivations in Multiverse of Madness, Disney+’s WandaVision needs to be watched. In WandaVision the writers delve deep into Wanda’s trauma exploring all the loss and loneliness she’s endured. Unable to cope with her grief, Wanda gave herself the ideal life she desperately wanted. However, this came at the cost of the citizens of Westview. When she comes to this realization Wanda is forced to grapple with her denial and reluctance to give up her new life. Towards the end of WandaVision, she releases the citizens and destroys an alternate reality. It seems like Wanda is now taking accountability and would learn how to cope with her grief. But at the very last moment, Wanda is using the Darkhold in hopes of getting the one thing she thought could make her happy again, her kids.
Enter the Scarlet Witch
The Scarlet Witch, revealed by Agatha Harkness, is a witch born with Chaos Magic granting her power that rival’s even the Sorcerer Supreme. Combined with the corrupt powers of the Darkhold Wanda becomes an unstoppable force. With everything Wanda has been forced to endure becoming a villain is a creative and logical direction for her character to go. Now with the recent discovery of the multiverse, writers and directors get an opportunity to play with characters in a way they never would have before.
To a degree, Wanda is being influenced and corrupted by the Darkhold but she is mostly making a conscious choice in her actions. As she says to Dr. Strange “you break the rules and become a hero, I do it and I become the enemy, that doesn’t seem fair.” Wanda just wanted to live a happy peaceful life and all her attempts at doing the right thing only left her with more pain. Now she’s convinced that her sons need her in every universe and Wanda uses the Darkhold’s powers to gain access to the Multiverse and all that lies within it.
Scarlet Witch and the Multiverse
Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness explores what Wanda is capable of without anyone to hold her back. Dr. Strange and many others try to reason and empathize with her to save America Chavez and prevent her from taking control of the Multiverse but it was all futile. Their words were just empty platitudes because none of them could truly grasp all that she had been through. Which is potentially the reason why we didn’t see Vision in any capacity. Much like in Westview, Vision would have never approved or let Wanda get away with her actions. No matter the justification she tried to make what she was doing was wrong and if Vision had been alive at the end of WandaVision the events of Dr. Strange 2 never would have occurred.
Fans watch on in horror or in excitement as Scarlet Witch is done holding back and obliterates anyone who stood in her path be it sorcerers or even the Illuminati. It seems all is lost when Wanda finally gets a hold of America and gains access to the multiverse.
Much to Wanda’s hope, her children are not happy to see her in fact they are terrified of her even calling her a monster. With her illusion shattered Wanda breaks free from the Darkhold’s corruption. Wanda is overcome with sadness and regret at all that she’s done. Stepping up to comfort her is none other than her multiverse counterpart. The only one who knew what Wanda had been through and why she did what she did. doing this was herself. “Know that they’ll be loved” are the parting words given to Wanda before she leaves universe 838.
In the end, she destroys the Darkhold and topples the temple down on top of her supposedly sacrificing herself in an attempt at redemption. With no clear indication of Wanda’s survival, fans will have to wait for news on the future of Wanda and the Scarlet Witch.
Written by Haley Samulski
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