Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch is one of the most beloved, but also one of the most turbulent MCU characters. Elizabeth Olsen has been playing the character in the MCU since 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, and since then she walked on the thin line between being a hero and a villain. Well, definitely been more of a villain in the last two years.
Tatiana Maslany, who is set to debut as Jennifer Walters, the lawyer who will become She-Hulk in her own Disney+ series this week, was recently asked which Marvel villain she would like to defend in court, and Maslany’s answer was pretty interesting.
“Yeah, I mean, I feel like Wanda has had some tough times. And I feel like that’s a nuanced defense that would have to be placed for her.” — Tatiana Maslany for Phase Zero
Of course, we know how the law works. To bring someone to court, the defendant would need to be arrested and charged first. But, is that even possible? Because let’s be real, even though she maybe deserved it, how the hell you’re imagining someone so powerful like Wanda to be placed in handcuffs, booked, brought to court, and then locked up? I mean, we’re talking about Scarlet Witch here.
After the events of WandaVision, many fans were wondering how the series ended with no consequences for Wanda, and, whether we want to admit it or not, she did kidnap the whole town and subdued its citizens into something that was a dream for her, but a nightmare for everyone else. Some fans defended that ending with the argument that Wanda was too powerful to be held responsible by anyone because even the Avengers would have a tough time bringing her to justice. Bringing all the crimes she committed in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Wanda would probably face a severe sentence in court, hypothetically speaking.
When we look at it, yes, Wanda facing consequences for her actions in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would have a sense if we were talking about any other character, some character that would be possible to apprehend. The only way we could see Jennifer Walters defending Wanda in court would be if Wanda would willingly turn herself in, which isn’t only highly unlikely, but it would probably be negatively received by Wanda’s fans.
Of course, Wanda was locked up once before, during the events of Captain America: Civil War, where she was placed in a straightjacket to make sure she won’t use her powers to escape. So, in a way, it’s not entirely impossible for Wanda to face the music for her transgressions, but her further character development will probably need her to spend more time on the battlefield, and not in court. Still, we have to admit that Maslany’s idea still sounds interesting, and we wouldn’t be against seeing how that case would resolve.
What are the crimes that Wanda has committed so far?
Elizabeth Olsen made her debut as Wanda Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where Wanda and her brother Pietro started as the secondary antagonists before teaming up with the Avengers against Ultron. After that, Wanda became one of the most known members of the Avengers, she fought in Civil War on Cap’s side, she fought against Thanos’ army in Wakanda, and against Thanos himself in the Battle for Earth in Avengers: Endgame.
But, even though the Avengers were victorious in the end, Wanda lost Vision, which somehow messed up her mind, resulting in Wanda locking the entire town of Westview in her own dream, where Vision is still alive and they had two sons. WandaVision ended with Wanda officially becoming Scarlet Witch (you know, badass outfit and all that), reaching her full potential, defeating Agatha Harkness, and freeing up the town she subdued. After that, she escaped from town while the police were arriving. This begged a lot of questions among fans about how the series ended with no consequences for her. Still, some hoped that Wanda will redeem herself in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but no, she went even further on her villain path.
Wanda killed a lot of sorcerers at Kamar-Taj in her effort to kidnap America Chavez, and she was also responsible for the massacre of the Illuminati on Earth-838. The movie ended with Wanda coming to her senses and destroying the Darkhold, which poisoned her mind in the first place, and taking her own life in the process. Still, the way her “death” was shown gave the fans a clue that she definitely isn’t really dead and that she will return.
The writer of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Michael Waldron revealed in the documentary The Making of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that Wanda was first intended to be the villain of the next Avengers movie before they made her the villain of Doctor Strange 2. We don’t know if that idea is still on the paper now that we know that the next Avengers movie will be Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, with Kang the Conqueror as the main villain, but Wanda returning in that movie is something that a lot of fans are expecting, although no cast members were announced for the movie yet.
Elizabeth Olsen previously said that she wants to do more of Wanda, and the fans surely want that too. There are some speculations that we could see her in the upcoming series Agatha: Coven of Chaos, where Kathryn Hahn will return as the titular villainess. Also, some rumors around social media are saying that a Scarlet Witch solo movie could eventually happen, but we’re taking that with a grain of salt because nothing was officially announced yet. The whole future of Scarlet Witch in the MCU is in the air now, and we’re waiting for the official word if and when we’re going to see her again, regardless she’s gonna be the hero or the villain.
