Scarlet Witch: Wanda Maximoff’s Best Moments In The MCU

Not to be a hipster or anything but I liked Scarlet Witch before she was quote-unquote “cool.” I distinctly remember seeing her in Avengers: Age of Ultron and, as a huge Harry Potter nerd, thinking “it’s about damn time we had some Marvel characters with some magic powers!” Only now is she truly getting the spotlight that she deserves, and honestly I am so thankful for that.

So, to celebrate this newfound hype around one of my favorite superheroes/villains, Wanda Maximoff, I’m going to go over some of her best moments yet from the MCU and of course the latest hit show on Disney+, WandaVision. I’m sure there will be several more in the years to come, but for now, these have been some of the times where I am just in awe of this awesome and phenomenal character.

When Wanda Controls The Minds Of Almost All The Avengers – Avengers: Age Of Ultron

This was one of the first times we ever saw the true power of which Wanda is capable of. At this point, we didn’t think anyone would really be a true challenge for the Avengers. But in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Wanda literally steps into their minds and gifts them their worst nightmare, haunting visions that seriously affect them.

I remember the first time I saw this, I was in awe. It was astounding that one woman could easily manipulate the minds of some of the most powerful people in the universe. And yet, just like that, they could be weakened severely by one vision. Truly a show of the strength she has.

When Wanda Joins The Team – Avengers: Age Of Ultron

Of course we love a character that can go from evil to good to evil – it’s that grey area between them that causes them to step into that line, almost like a Loki of some sorts. That’s why the moment Wanda decides to join the Avengers in the fight against Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron, I was cheering in the theater.

She comes out of this torn apart building, using her powers and swinging around these robots like they were rag dolls as if they meant nothing. It was the perfect way to show that she was on the Avengers' side now while still keeping that relatively badass form that she is as a character.

When Wanda Took Control Of The Hulk – Avengers: Age Of Ultron

But now we go back to villain-Wanda for a moment in Avengers: Age of Ultron when Wanda is able to do this. The Hulk is this big, mean, green fighting machine that doesn’t feel like anyone can take him down. I mean, he himself swung around Loki - God - like he was nothing but a little doll back in the original Avengers.

This is what makes this moment that much more powerful, seeing Wanda send the Hulk off into this murderous rampage by taking over his mind, sparking into his anger, and spiraling him. It takes Tony being in a Hulkbuster suit to somehow stop the damage that the Hulk was causing. Nothing else could calm him. It was an insane moment that again, showed the power which laid within.

When Wanda Attacked Vision – Captain America: Civil War

Now knowing what we know with the two of them, this moment seems all the funnier and cooler. We know they are romantically linked now, and while it was never confirmed in Captain America; Civil War, you could still tell from a mile away there was some chemistry going on between them.

However Wanda was on Steve’s side of the debate after the Sokovian accords, and she knew that in order to help him she needed to escape Vision and the Avengers facility. So she ends up taking him on and sending him right into the ground, despite the bond that they shared. Knowing now of what happened after makes it all the more entertaining. It’s almost like a couple’s fight when you think about it – but with superpowers.

When Wanda Rips Out Ultron’s Heart (After Pietros Death) – Avengers: Age Of Ultron

The emotions that you see in Wanda’s eyes is enough for anyone to put this on their list. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Pietro meets an untimely death by being riddled with bullets, and Wanda feels that to her core, the very moment it happens. Keep in mind that Pietro was her only family left. She lost her parents when she was a child, so she has no one now.

She uses this anger, sadness, and misery all combined to take on Ultron, and when he’s at his weakest, she stares him right in the face and rips out his mechanical heart, crushing it in her hands, as if to symbolize what Ultron’s movement has done to her. She has nothing. But she could at least get vengeance for it in her own way. Beautiful.

When Wanda Sends Proxima Midnight To Her Death – Avengers: Infinity War

I will always say that this was sort of the unofficial girl power moment in the MCU before that forced one in Avengers: Endgame, because of the simple badassery of this scene.

Wanda is on the ropes in Avengers: Infinity War, but through the help of Scarlet Witch and Okoye, they are able to distract Proxima Midnight enough before Wanda sends her into the path of one of Thanos’ machines, killing her instantly. It’s quick, it’s simple, and it shows her powers off and the strength of teamwork. Definitely one of the best moments for her – as well as the other superheroes that helped her too.

When Wanda Has To Kill Vision – Avengers: Infinity War

You know, I didn’t think I’d find myself crying over the death of an android and yet Marvel has somehow brought that out of me. The moment we see Wanda kill Vision in Avengers: Infinity War, we are heartbroken. Well, at least I was. You can see the love between them. You can see how much they care about each other but Vision knows that she is the only one who can somehow try and stop this.

So, she does, hearing Vision say “I can feel you” to reassure her that this is alright while Wanda is crying at the loss of her love. It’s what needs to happen. While she destroys the Mind Stone, she is also simultaneously keeping Thanos away from him, attempting to stop the titan from getting the last stone, all at once, using all of her energy. It’s truly a powerful scene until Thanos goes and ruins it with that Time Stone.

When Wanda Literally Almost Kills Thanos – Avengers: Endgame

Wanda was this close to killing Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. She appeared right in front of him, remarking to him that he had taken everything from her. Thanos’ response? “I don’t even know who you are.”

Wanda responds. “You will.”

And oh my god, it was absolutely amazing to see the power that this woman can wield. She summons the power to bring up debris at Thanos, before using her powers to hit him and disarm him. Then she forcibly takes off his armor bit by bit, causing him to struggle. She was this close to killing Thanos all on her own if it wasn’t for Thanos calling down bombs. He knew he was beaten if he didn’t. Now that was just a tease of the power of which she holds. My god. Now that is how you do a superhero scene. No other Avenger came close to killing him like that – just her.

When Wanda Sends Monica Back To Reality – WandaVision, Episode 4

This was the moment I think everyone knew WandaVision was more than just some recreated sitcom. When Monica lets herself slip when she mentions Ultron to Wanda in her little made-up reality, we see Wanda grow angry and then force Monica out of Westview, using her powers, with barely any hesitation.

It’s an amazing scene, one that really starts to shift the tone of the TV series, and creates a whole new feeling of amazement at this powerful woman.

When Wanda Breaks Down The Reality Of Grief During A Quiet Moment With Vision – WandaVision, Episode 8

“What is grief, if not love, persevering?”

I’m sure as a Marvel fan you have most likely heard that quote at some point over the last couple of weeks. During Episode 8 of WandaVision, we see into Wanda’s past a bit and watch a quiet moment between her and Vision where she reveals the grief she has been going through since the loss of her brother. In an attempt to understand her, Vision simply says that phrase.

It’s quick, almost like a moment where if you weren’t paying attention, you would miss it, but the line is so powerful and speaks volumes to what will happen later on in the show when Wanda loses Vision – instead of saying a real goodbye, she remains hopeful, her own love persevering, speaking “We’ll say hello again.” It’s raw and emotional and everything you would expect from a woman who has truly lost everything – and is trying to somehow gain that hope and life back.

When Wanda Becomes The Scarlet Witch – WandaVision, Episode 9

Chills, I say to you. I got literal goosebumps all along my skin when I watched this scene. We are seeing the climactic battle between Agatha and Wanda in WandaVision, where it seems like all is lost for Wanda, until she turns the tides on Agatha, casting ruins to stop her from using her magic before Wanda takes back all of her power.

At that moment, we see her become the Scarlet Witch – costume and all. She embraces who she really is, and takes Agatha down to the ground, locking her away in her little “nosy-neighbor” lifestyle until Wanda can find a use for her again. Now that Wanda knows who she really is, God only knows what she will be able to do next.

When Wanda Astral Projects In The Cabin – WandaVision, Episode 9

The final post-credits scene of WandaVision starts out simple, with Wanda sitting outside in a cabin before going in and making tea. However, as the scene pans over to a bedroom, we see Wanda floating and reading the Book of the Damned at the same time, seemingly studying exactly who she is and what she can do. And before the screen fades to black, Wanda hears someone yelling “mother!” from another dimension. End scene.

The amount of depth this scene provides speaks volumes. First of all, we already know that Wanda is going to be appearing in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, which will be coming out in 2022, so this moment will most likely tie into that movie. However, something that you might not have noticed is the theme that is playing at the same time of Wanda’s studying is actually the Doctor Strange theme in a much more sinister tone – is it time for villain Scarlet Witch again?

Honestly, I’m down for it. If Wanda can already astral project as Doctor Strange can, who knows what she’ll actually be able to do by the time the movie comes out. I’m so excited.

All of this is making me hyped for the upcoming Marvel movies even more. In fact, I’m going to go and rewatch WandaVision right now because I have to see every single thing I missed.