Darcie 
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff in DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
Darcie and Thomas are back to talk about another character who rules the screen – the Scarlet Witch!
After their joint piece about the importance of Padmé in Star Wars, Darcie and Thomas are back with another collaboration. This time, they have journeyed into the Marvel Cinematic Universe to talk about Wanda Maximoff a.k.a the Scarlet Witch!
WHAT DOES WANDA MEAN TO US? WHY DO WE LIKE THE CHARACTER?
Darcie:
Wanda has been my favourite MCU character for a while now. I think what initially drew me to Wanda was the relationship she had with twin brother Pietro aka Quicksilver (although he was not in the MCU long enough to earn the superhero name). This sibling bond was relatable, it reminded me of the close relationship I have with my brother. Throughout Avengers: Age of Ultron we see Wanda and Pietro always by one another’s side, protective and supportive of one another. Pietro’s death was suddenly, heroic and served a purpose, it humanised Wanda a character with immense power and anger. Emotionally I could understand and imagine the pain of losing a brother, from that moment I felt connected to her, I routed for her to kill Ultron and thus became invited in her future story and happiness.
The second reason I was drawn to Wanda was her power, her introduction in Avengers: Age of Ultron was bold, as we now know this was only a small showcase of the amount of power she holds. For me it meant a lot to see a female avenger with superpowers, prior to Wanda joining the Avengers lineup, Black Widow was the only female member and she had not actual powers. I think a lot of people forget that Wanda was the second woman to join the team and she came in powerfully.
Thomas:
I have loved Wanda Maximoff since Avengers Age of Ultron. She is such a strong, complex and powerful character with an incredible character development. Not to mention that her Scarlet Witch costumes in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are absolutely amazing. Throughout the years, she has become one of my top five favorite MCU characters. Elizabeth Olsen’s performance along with Wanda’s character development have a lot to do with this. Olsen truly owns the role. She has perfectly captured the different nuances of the character. I had encountered Wanda before in event storylines in the comics. But, it’s really the MCU that made me read comics about her. And she is just as interesting in the comics.
THE EVOLUTION OF SCARLET WITCH
Darcie:
Although I think that Wanda’s overall arch has been miss-managed, there is no denying she has her fair share of evolution. The overall theme surrounding Wanda is pain, she lost her parents, her brother, team members, her children and vision multiple times. Wanda knows loss like no other character, she has depth, emotion and motivations unlike any other MCU character. The Grief she endures is best summed up by Vision: ‘what is grief if not love persevering.’ This love and loss is what drives her, to fight for freedom in Captain America: Civil War, to fight for love and humanity in Avengers: Infinity War, to take revenge in Avengers: Endgame.
All this grief and fighting finally come to a breaking point in WandaVision when Wanda finds Visions dismantled body. This causes Wanda to create an alternate to her reality, where she could be happily married, with children. This denial was essential to her progression as a character, it unlocked her powers beyond even what was unlocked by the infinity stone.
Wanda has only just embraced her identity as a witch with chaos magic. Which means she is one step closer to realising her full potential. Wanda’s powers are as power and as impressive as her loss. I loved seeing her nearly kill Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, seeing her shadow walk and take down the illuminati in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Her powers are exciting, thrilling to watch and with each film we see her use more of them.
Thomas:
Thinking about it, Wanda Maximoff’s story is a tragedy. The first time we see her, she looses her brother. She then falls in love with Vision. However, she has to kill him and just after that, she has to see him die a second time. After the Blip, she is so heartbroken that she traps a whole city to create for herself a fake happy life with children and the man she loved. Obviously, she has to loose that as well. Though, before it ends she becomes the Scarlet Witch. After that, the Darkhold corrupts her and turns her into a villain that threatens the fabric of the Multiverse. Finally, she frees herself from this dangerous book and destroys it in every universe.
She has been through a lot since her debut in the MCU. In fact, she is the character who had the hardest life. It is really sad. Everytime, there is something good in her life, she looses it. All this trauma is an intricate part of who she is. It is what built her. Honestly, she has had the most interesting character evolution in the MCU. Starting as a reluctant villain working with the remnants of Hydra to being an Avenger is quite a change. But the biggest development in her story yet is her becoming the Scarlet Witch. It’s her “superhero identity” from the comics and what I would call her full powers. With Captain Marvel, she has become the most powerful character of the MCU. How many other characters can be defeated only by themselves?
Moreover, Wanda’s place in the MCU has also changed throughout the years. She started as part of an ensemble group to getting her own series and being the co-lead in a movie. It’s what the character deserved. And I think it reflects how far she has gone. When you are part of an ensemble movie, you can only get a limited amount of development. But when you have your own series, you can fully explore the character. WandaVision has done this in a brilliantly creative way.
WHAT COULD BE NEXT FOR THE CHARACTER?
Darcie:
I was super excited for Wanda’s villain arch after WandaVision but for me it fell short. Wanda was pigeonholed into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. We saw zero development prior and by the end of the film it would seem Wanda is dead, crushed by her own temple. So what is next for our Scarlett Witch? I think it’s safe to assume that Wanda is not dead, but where she is I don’t know. Although we cannot go back and re-do her storyline after WandaVision we can speculate on where the MCU might take her next. I would like to see Wanda make an appearance in Agatha: Coven of Chaos, a cameo would work. After that it’s time for Wanda to get her own solo movie, that leads to a trilogy similar to that of Iron-Man and Captain America. Realistically though I don’t think that will happen even though Captain Marvel was a huge success there is still a studio hesitancy around female lead superhero movies. Even Captain Marvel 2 has become The Marvels and is an ensemble movie.
Narrative wise, Wanda needs to regroup after the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. I think her villain arch still has some miles in it, so Marvel needs to lean into that, perhaps making her a grey character for a while would be perfect. I don’t want a reunion with Vision straightaway, Vision and Wanda are both not in a healthy place to live happily. As the multiverse saga comes to an end, my dream would be too see Wanda rejoin the Avengers and have a big 1-to-1 battle with Kang.
Thinking even further afield I would love to see Wanda and Vision raising and fighting alongside their sons Billy and Tommy, perhaps even an alternate version of Quicksilver could be with them.
Thomas:
Even though, Doctor Strange thinks the Scarlet Witch is dead at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, I think it is quite obvious, it’s not her last appearance in the MCU. She has just become the Scarlet Witch. So, there is still a lot that can be told with this character. I want to see Wanda team up with the adult versions of her sons. How awesome would it be to see in live-action the Scarlet Witch, Wiccan, Speed fighting together the enemy? The main MCU Wanda deserves to be happy again. In my opinion, adapting The Children’s Crusade would be a great way to bring back the character. Plus, it could be an interesting starting point for the Young Avengers. From then, we could get a Scarlet Witch solo movie. After her own series, I think her own movie is the next step.
Darcie Gray is the Fashion Editor of The Future of the Force. Aside from being a passionate Star Wars fan, she loves every genre of movies and she channels her passion for film into her personal blog Just Another Film Blog. Follow her on Twitter where she shares her love of film regularly.
