In more ways than one, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness marks the ending of Wanda Maximoff’s MCU journey. First introduced in 2015’s otherwise forgettable Avengers: Age of Ultron, Wanda is unique among MCU characters: flawed, inexperienced, highly traumatized, and holding far more power than anyone should.
A complicated journey For years, the MCU seemed unsure of what to do with Wanda. How to treat her when the source material itself went back and forth with her characterization? The Wanda from the comics is volatile and full of surprises, not necessarily of the good kind. Her vast and, let’s say, flexible powers also make her something of a deus ex-machina, a way for writers to retcon any given situation without putting too much thought into it.
Future Wanda appearances kept this trend going. She blows up a building in Civil War, killing several civilians and effectively causing the Sokovia Accords; two years later, she kills her lover, Vision, only to see him come back to life and get murdered again before she turns into dust. By the time Endgame arrives, it’s honestly surprising that she’s still a functioning human being. Except, of course, she isn’t. According to the MCU, she’s never been.
Alas, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness offers no clear answer. Wanda is the story’s primary antagonist, away from whatever sense of control she once had and giving in to her darkest desires. Under Sam Raimi’s directorial lens and Michael Waldron’s unforgiving pen, Wanda is all will and all power, ruthless and undeterred in the pursuit of her goals.
Where does that leave Wanda? The MCU is famous for its rejection of villainy, especially if a character is popular with the fans. Was Multiverse of Madness just a way to satisfy the itch for an evil Wanda? If it was, it was one heck of a scratch. More intriguingly, was it perhaps just a taste of what Wanda’s powers can achieve, a warning of sorts to this and every universe?