The Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of beloved characters, but a few stand out as fan favorites. Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff is definitely in that category, partly because of how beloved WandaVision was when it was released at the height of the pandemic. She’d return to the big screen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but fans were shocked that Wanda was actually the main antagonist. In fact, Scarlet Witch’s Doctor Strange 2 story is still bothering me, and I need to talk about it.
I’ve always loved Wanda in the MCU, mostly because her story is so complicated and rich. She’s been seen as a villain various times throughout her tenure in the shared universe, oftentimes without any fault of her own. WandaVision was no exception, as we slowly learned how her power and grief made the hex, and her family. But the end of that series saw her realizing the errors of the ways, and finding redemption by sacrificing Vision and the boys in order to set things right. So why did things go down in Doctor Strange 2 like they did?
The short answer was that the Darkhold had corrupted Wanda’s mind and powers. And that’s presumably why she becomes such a stone cold killer throughout the runtime of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But even given that macguffin, her actions throughout Sam Raimi’s blockbuster are still hard to grapple with.
It would be one thing to see the Scarlet Witch use her powers to attack Kamar-Taj in order to find America Chavez and use her powers. But seeing her massacre countless wizards was another matter entirely. For someone with a strong moral compass who displayed guilt about accidental casualties in Captain America: Civil War, this was a major change. Then there’s Scarlet Witch’s brutal murder of the Illuminati, which was extra gruesome. I know the Darkhold is bad, but this degree of change in her character didn’t feel right– even if Olsen’s performance was strong and the visuals were effective.
Aside from the bodycount Wanda accrued throughout the runtime of Doctor Strange 2, it was also strange that she was so singularly focused on reuniting with Tommy and Billy. It makes sense that she would want to be with her kids, but why not pick another alternate universe where Vision was also alive? Are we supposed to just believe that her feeling of mourning and loss were gone? Seriously, I'm still baffled.
Hopefully Wanda gets another redemption arc if/when she returns to the MCU. After all, no one believed she really died at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But we’ll have to see if Elizabeth Olsen returns to the role, as she’s expressed interest in playing other characters. Personally, I’m not going to be satisfied until the Scarlet Witch returns and gets the hero treatment she deserves.
The next Marvel movie hitting theaters is The Marvels on November 10th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
