The story of the Scarlet Witch from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier[]
Wanda made a cameo appearance in the mid-credits scene of the film as the twin sister of Quicksilver, with both of them volunteering to help Wolfgang von Strucker and HYDRA to destroy the Avengers and aid Ultron. At the end of the scene, she crushes two blocks together inside her cell.
Avengers: Age of Ultron[]
Wanda Maximoff and her brother Pietro initially are located in a HYDRA base that the Avengers are targeting. Together, they decide to engage them in combat, and Wanda, realizing that Tony Stark (Iron Man) is here to take Loki's scepter, uses her mind powers on him, convincing him that his actions will eventually doom the Avengers, and that the images of his allies dying are the future of his legacy. Wanda smiles mischievously as Stark rips the scepter free, now feeling the need to complete his Ultron project to better defend humanity. She and Pietro escape the HYDRA base.
After Ultron is activated, he escapes and begins upgrading his body into a powerful new threat, also finding out about the twins. He calls Wanda and her brother forth, and she states that she is unable to read him. Ultron reveals his new body and invites them to join him in creating the evolution of humanity by destroying the Avengers. Ultron reads into their backstory, and Pietro and Wanda explain that they lost their family when they were children to a missile attack in which Stark Industries weapons were used, revealing why they want revenge on Tony. Ultron states that Wanda has the ability to tear the Avengers apart from the inside with her mind abilities.
When the Avengers locate the three, Wanda battles and uses her mind powers on Black Widow, Captain America, and Thor, but before she can do the same to Hawkeye, he stuns her with an electric arrow to the forehead. Quicksilver rushes in, grabs her, and escapes. After she recovers, Wanda says she wants to "finish the job" and invades the mind of Bruce Banner, causing him to transform into the Hulk and rampage through the city.
When Ultron begins uploading his mind through a tube into a newer, more organic body that he wants to use, Wanda realizes that she can read him - and is horrified to discover that Ultron believes genocide and destruction is the only way to evolve. Upon Ultron next attacking Captain America before the uploading of his brain into the new body is complete, Wanda and Pietro turn on him, realizing that he was wrong, and side with the Avengers. Ultron asks Wanda not to do this, but Wanda replies, "What choice do we have?"
After Ultron leaves and the Avengers have secured the organic body, Wanda explains that she doesn't like the idea of getting the body anywhere near Stark, as she still feels that Stark is to blame for the situation, that Ultron cannot tell the difference between protecting and destroying the world, and that he gets it from Stark.
Captain America leads Wanda and Pietro against Tony and Bruce's plan to upload J.A.R.V.I.S. into the body. Bruce grabs Wanda in a chokehold, but she blasts him out of the way in self-defense. Thor steps in and completes the upload with his hammer, thus creating the Vision out of J.A.R.V.I.S. and the body. The new creation is able to convince the reluctant heroes that he is on their side. With the help of the Vision, they set out to find Ultron, Wanda gaining a new and curious interest in the Vision.
It turns out Ultron's plan is to propel the city into the sky and crash it like a meteor into Earth, causing mass extinction and resetting life once again. As the city rises and the Ultron Sentinels take over the city, Wanda undergoes a breakdown and shamefully tells Hawkeye the whole thing is her fault, and that if she hadn't invaded Stark's mind, he would never feel the need to complete Ultron. Hawkeye says it doesn't matter anymore, and what matters now is the present and future, saying that if Wanda steps outside to fight, she will be an Avenger.
After a minute, she becomes determined to rectify her mistake and joins the fight, using her telekinetic might to destroy the Sentinels. Joining the heroes to defend the mechanical core that keeps the city in flight so that every last living being can leave the island via SHIELD helicarriers, Wanda quickly destroys Ultron's army alongside her allies. One by one, the heroes split up to accomplish different tasks. Wanda tells Pietro that she will defend the core alone, and he leaves to help escort people onto the helicarriers while she continues to take on the drones single-handedly.
Ultimately, Pietro is shot down by Ultron, who had previously hijacked a Quinjet, causing Wanda to feel that her brother has been killed and break down screaming, her rage and grief destroying the remaining Sentinels in a powerful burst. After Hulk punches Ultron out and hijacks the Quinjet, Wanda confronts Ultron personally. He tells her that she'll die if she stays here, and she responds by saying she just did, meaning that she died on the inside, thanks to what Ultron did to Pietro, causing her to feel his pain. With that, she rips out Ultron's core with her hex ability, destroying his main body, saying that the pain she just gave him was how it felt for her upon her brother's demise.
Wanda is unafraid to die, but the Vision flies in and saves her as the island explodes with everyone successfully off of it. After, Captain America, along with Black Widow, starts a training initiative for Wanda, James Rhodes (War Machine), Sam Wilson (Falcon), and the Vision, hoping to create the best defense possible for the Earth, and Wanda begins her training as a new Avengers.
Captain America: Civil War[]
Vision and Wanda have gotten used to live together until the Sokovia Accords which pits the couple against one another.
Avengers: Infinity War[]
In the two years since the Avengers Civil War, Wanda Maximoff and Vision are now living together off the grid in Europe, having formed a strong relationship with each other. Vision even began to take on a more human appearance, while Maximoff received training from Black Widow to mask her thick Sokovian accent with an American one.
One night, the Mind Stone within Vision begins to go haywire in reaction to Thanos' forces invading Earth for the Infinity Stones. While on a nightly stroll outside, they learn from TV news that Iron Man had gone missing while pursuing Thanos' minions off-planet. The couple suddenly found themselves attacked by Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive, two of the Mad Titan's minions who sought to extract Vision's infinity stone. The sudden attack left Vision severely weakened, forcing Maximoff to hold the aliens on her own. Eventually, Captain America, Black Widow, and Falcon emerge from hiding to aid their two teammates and fend off Midnight and Glaive.
Returning to the Avengers base in New York, the team reunites with Bruce Banner and War Machine. As the Avengers contemplate with how to handle Vision's infinity stone, the synthezoid volunteers himself to be destroyed along with the stone, but Rogers refuses to go along with such a sacrifice. Instead, he takes them to Wakanda, believing that the nation has the resources to safely extract the stone without killing Vision. There, Shuri began the process of the stone's removal.
When Thanos' army begins to descend on Wakanda for the stone, Maximoff remained behind to stay at Vision's side. However, gigantic war wheels began to be deployed on the Wakandan armies, forcing Maximoff onto the field to shield her allies. Her departure allows for Glaive to infiltrate Shuri's lab and halt the stone removal process, forcing Vision to fend himself against Glaive. After nearly killing Vision and Rogers, Glaive is killed by Vision from his own weapon. In the meanwhile, Maximoff, along with Romanoff and Okoye, kill Midnight by sending her into the path of a war wheel.
The remaining Avengers converge with Rogers and Vision when Thanos arrives to Wakanda, five of six infinity stones in hand. At the urging of her lover, Maximoff tearfully begins to fire a blast of her magic into Vision's stone. After Thanos takes out all of the Avengers, she is forced to fend the Titan off while continuing the process. Before his eventual destruction, Vision gives one last "I love you" to Maximoff.
Despite the valiant effort, Thanos used the Time Stone to reverse the destruction and claim the Mind Stone for himself, killing Vision again while completing the Infinity Gauntlet in the process. With the snap of his fingers, Maximoff was one of the quadrillions of life forms lost in the fallout.
Avengers: Endgame[]
Five years after Thanos' ultimate victory and his destruction of the Infinity Stones, the remnants of the Avengers had reunited and embarked on a time-traveling mission to steal past versions of the Stones and reconstruct the Gauntlet. While Black Widow lost her life during the mission, they were successful in bringing the Snap's victims back to life, Wanda Maximoff included.
Wanda fighting against Thanos.
When a past version of Thanos destroyed the Avengers Headquarters, Maximoff was one of the many heroes summoned to the area in a final confrontation against the Mad Titan. The Avengers aimed to keep the Stones as far away from Thanos as possible. With Thanos closing in on Black Panther, who has the Gauntlet, Maximoff threw herself in the Titan's path and began to unleash her vengeance on him. Her flurry of attacks overwhelmed Thanos to the point of him calling in an aerial strike just to free himself.
The airstrikes were soon stopped by the arrival of Captain Marvel, destroying Thanos' flagship in the process. She soon obtained the Gauntlet, while a band of female Avengers including Maximoff aided Danvers to Ant-Man's van, hoping to send the Stones back to their respective eras and out of Thanos' reach. The van was destroyed by the Titan, forcing Danvers, Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man to make their last stand. It was Iron Man that eventually stole possession of the Stones and used them to kill Thanos and all of his forces, at the cost of his own life.
At Stark's funeral, Maximoff reunited with Hawkeye. Both assured each other that Black Widow and Vision would've known of their eventual triumph despite them being gone.
WandaVision[]
Two weeks following her resurrection and Thanos' defeat, Wanda is left alone in the world, as her lover Vision was killed by Thanos five years prior. She attempted to retrieve Vision's body from S.W.O.R.D. Headquarters for a funeral, meeting with Director Tyler Hayward, who wouldn't allow her to do so due to the agency's legal and ethical obligations, and the valuation of the vibranium in Vision's body. (All of which was complete bullcrap; Hayward really wanted a robotic slave to do his bidding.) Wanda proceeded to drive into Westview, where Vision had purchased a plot prior to his death, intending for the two to live together for the rest of their lives (or rather hers, as Vision was artificial and had an infinite lifespan). She arrived at their supposed home, but found it empty with ruined foundations.
Ravaged with grief, Wanda collapses in anguish and inadvertently releases a massive amount of chaos magic, building a house. She releases another wave of energy, which places Westview under her control and forming a barrier at the edge of town, in addition to recreating Vision from a piece of the Mind Stone within her. The couple would go on to enjoy an idyllic suburban life as the stars of the sitcom WandaVision. The FBI soon began investigating a missing persons report regarding Westview, with S.W.O.R.D. soon joining in to lead the effort. Captain Monica Rambeau accidentally found herself in the enthralled town while investigating the static forcefield, forcing her to pose as the character "Geraldine" within the sitcom. Wanda would meet and befriend her, and the two maintained a lively friendship until Geraldine mentioned Pietro's death to Wanda. Enraged, Wanda forces Geraldine out of town, and would cover up the incident to ensure her husband does not grow suspicious about the reality.
S.W.O.R.D. was able to tap into the WandaVision sitcom thanks to Darcy Lewis, and began making repeated attempts to breach into Westview, first by sending an agent through the sewers, then through radio signal contact, and employing drones of the same time period as of the current episode of WandaVision to prevent a reality overwrite. With Monica piloting a drone, Hayward gave the order to execute Maximoff, but she stalled long enough for Wanda to take the drone offline. Wanda then confronted S.W.O.R.D. outside Westview, warning them to leave her alone and allow her to maintain the life she never had. To make a statement, she used her telekinesis to briefly turn each of Hayward's gunmen against him, before going back inside town and fortifying the static field.
At work, Vision received an email from Darcy regarding the Westview Anomaly and was able to temporarily free a co-worker from Wanda's influence, who pleaded for him to stop her. Vision angrily confronted Wanda about the Anomaly, and she maintained that she has no control over what happens in the town, but their argument was cut short by the sudden arrival of "Pietro". On Halloween night, Vision would go on by himself to investigate the edge of town, finding various residents eerily standing idle. He would then attempt to breach the forcefield into the real world but began disintegrating into particles. Wanda was informed by her children about Vision, but when "Pietro" joked about Vision's second death, she blasted him away. She then expanded the Westview perimeter to save her husband.
However, expanding the edge of town soon caused Wanda to lose control of her reality. Further complicating this was Agatha Harkness, a witch who had infiltrated Westview as Wanda's neighbor "Agnes" to learn more about the origin of her power. She had also enthralled a Westview resident to pose as Pietro and get closer to her. Agatha forces Wanda to relive her past, and upon doing so, deduces that she was the mythical Scarlet Witch-- a dangerous being capable of spontaneous creation, forged into existence with a destiny to destroy the world. Agatha attempted to strike a bargain with Wanda: absorb her chaos magic in exchange for keeping her happily-ever-after reality. Aiming to emotionally manipulate her, Agatha releases every Westview resident from Wanda's influence, who then immediately bombard her with pleas and questions about their loved ones.
Overwhelmed by guilt, Wanda again releases another wave of energy, this time creating bands around the residents which begin to suffocate them. She hastily reverses the effect but finally grasps the extent of her damaging influence on Westview, and begins to destroy the Anomaly. However, her Vision and children begin disintegrating right in front of her, prompting her to halt the process. Wanda's children were left to confront S.W.O.R.D., while she dueled with Agatha. Wanda was able to neutralize the malevolent witch by casting protection runes, rendering her unable to utilize her magic, before proceeding to absorb her magical essence. The surge of magical energy causes Wanda to morph into the Scarlet Witch as depicted in legend. She then placed Agatha under a spell which reverted her to "Agnes" and trapped her within the town.
Scarlet Witch reading the Darkhold.
The aftermath of their battle saw the Maximoff family come to terms that it is time to move on from Westview. The Anomaly begins to dissipate, reversing its reality overwrites across town and restores the town to normal. Knowing that her newfound family will not be able to exist outside the Westview reality, Wanda bids goodbye to her children as she tucks them into bed, while she tearfully embraces her husband one last time before he ceases to exist. Wanda returned to the town center to apologize to Monica, who had joined her in the battle against Agatha and S.W.O.R.D., before fleeing Westview for exile in the wilderness. She took the Darkhold with her to better understand her powers, however it began to corrupt her by giving her a peek into other universes where her children existed naturally.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness[]
Unfortunately, not even the great Scarlet Witch could resist the corrupting influence of the Darkhold, with it taking advantage of her desperation to be reunited with her children Tommy and Billly; its magic even corrupted the countryside she resided in, turning it into a hellish landscape. No longer caring about reuniting with Vision (having been attacked by White Vision, the reborn version of her lover), Wanda only sought to be with her children. She found a version of them by dreamwalking to Earth 838, desperately seeking a way to open a path in the multiverse so she could kill and replace the Wanda of that Earth. She soon discovered America Chavez, a girl who could travel the multiverse with her powers but lacked any control over when and how they worked. Deciding it would be a mercy to end her suffering, Wanda planned to drain Chavez's life force along with her powers. To this end, Wanda began using the Darkhold to send demons after Chavez, forcing her to jump between universes whenever she was scared enough. This led to a confrontation with Defender Strange, who sought the book of Vishanti, the opposite of the Darkhold, to defeat the demons. However, while Wanda's emissary successfully killed Defender Strange, it couldn't take Chavez's powers as she fell into a portal to Wanda's earth.
Wanda sent the octopus monster Gargontos after Chavez next, but it was killed thanks to Strange and Wong. Creating the illusion of her residence as it was, Wanda prepared for the arrival of Strange to ask her for helping defending Chavez at Kamar Taj, as Wanda has experience with Rune Magic and her runes were on Gargontos. Strange told Wanda that if she helped out with protecting the world from Chavez's pursuers, it would get her "back on the lunchbox" with the other Avengers after the Westview Incident. Wanda instead that Chavez could hide out with her in the countryside, as it was just as off the grid and had more modern amenities than the ancient magic school. However, this is where she slipped up; Strange never said Chavez's name, and Wanda just said it. Resigned, Wanda canceled the glamor she put around the area, revealing that the Darkhold had transformed the landscape into something hellish via its corrupting influence, and her new form as the Scarlet Witch. Wanda explained that she wanted to use Chavez's power to find a universe where her sons Billy and Tommy were and go be with them; she found it more efficient, albeit regrettable that draining Chavez's life energy for her powers would make it easier for Wanda and a mercy kill for the poor girl, whom had been hopping across the multiverse against her will for years. Wanda warned Strange to simply hand Chavez over, or it wouldn't be her that came; it would be the Scarlet Witch, a threat to the lives of the Masters of the Mystic Arts.
The next day, she went to Kamar Taj and asked Strange to hand Chavez over. Strange reminded her that BIlly and Tommy never existed, and that they were just made by her out of magic. Wanda simply stated that all mothers create their children in a magical way, showing that her sanity had taken a dive in her isolation with the Darkhold; clearly forgetting how reproduction is supposed to happen normally. The sorcerers held her off with a barrier, but Wanda astral projected and influenced a sorcerer to run in fear, disrupting the shield and allowing Wanda to begin assaulting the temple, killing and injuring numerous wizards. Sensing Chavez in the lowest chamber, Wanda walked into Kamar Taj, only to be sent into the Mirror Dimension by a trap set by Strange. However, unlike other victims who got imprisoned, Wanda had her chaos magic, which allowed her to bend the laws of reality to her will. Wanda used reflections to escape and begin pulling the survivors into that world from reflections. Wanda herself crawled out of a gong, again demanding Chave be turned over as she doesn't want to add more lives to Strange's conscience. However, Chavez opened a portal to Erath 838 and dragged Strange with her.
Undeterred, Wanda simply used the Darkhold to dreamwalk into her doppelganger. However, before she could seek out Strange, Wanda was deterred by her motherly love for Tommy and Billy, whom their Wanda was getting ice cream for. At that time, a sorcerer destroyed the Darkhold, breaking Wanda's control. A very angry Wanda demanded Wong tell her about the Darkhold, torturing his fellow wizards until he confessed. The Darkhold was just a copy, while the original dark spells were inscribed on Mount Wundagore. Wanda forced Wong to take her to the mountain, where Wong explained that the elder god Chthon created it and the tomb on top of the mountain. Once inside, they were confronted by four monsters with glowing eyes; however, they soon bowed to Wanda herself. Wanda noticed a mural of the Scarlet Witch just like in the book. Wanda realized that this was meant to be the castle of the Scarlet Witch, and not a tomb, tossing Wong off the mountain; unaware he survived and fell unconscious. Wanda used her link to the mountain to re-establish her possession of Earth 838 Wanda.
Wanda traveled to the Illuminati's headquarters, where she took out all their robot guards; Strange and Chavez were being contained to prevent an Incursion event. Confronted by Black Bolt, Mr. Fantastic, Captain Carter and Captain Marvel, Wanda wasted no time in dispatching this universe's counterpart to the Avengers; causing Black Bot to destroy his brain by removing his mouth when he spoke, unraveling Mr. Fantastic into strips of flesh, bisecting Carter with her own shield and crushing Marvel with a statue. When she attempted to take Chavez again, Wanda was confronted by Professor X, who went into her mind in an attempt to free the Wanda whom she was possessing. Wanda did not take kindly to this, snapping the neck of his avatar and killing his mind. When she woke up, Chavez was gone. However, Wanda soon found her and Strange, chasing after them. Strange attempted once more to reason with her but decided to drown her briefly to buy time. A very irate Wanda found them trying to get the book of Vishanti, destroying it and forcing Strange into a portal to a destroyed universe via Chavez's powers. She then opened a portal to her throne and sent Chavez through, ending her dream walk.
Scarlet Which destroying the Darkhold Castle.
Wanda prepared a ritual to drain Chavez properly, though did apologize for having to do so. As the ceremony began, Strange returned by dream walking into the corpse of Defender Strange and taking command of the damned souls of the Darkhold. Wong joined in as well, helping defeat Wanda's monsters and detain her. However, Wanda had finally reached her wits end, decomposing Strange's vessel half-way to bone. However, Strange had convinced Chavez she had truly been using her powers for what she needed since the first time. This resulted in Chavez opening a portal to 838 Billy and Tommy, who didn't recognized Wanda as their mother, instead seeing her as a scary witch. 838 Wanda attempted to repel Scarlet Witch but was knocked back. Seeing how horrified Billy and Tommy were of her, Scarlet Witch broke down crying; everything she did was for nothing. 838 Wanda told her to go be loved, as the portal closed. Seeing she had become the monster Agatha had feared, Wanda sent everyone away as she collapsed Mount Wundagore on itself to bring an end to the Darkhold not only on Earth-199999, but in every reality of the multiverse that had a copy of the Darkhold created like the book in her universe, leaving Darkholds not created by this method still in existence. The official book Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline seems to confirm that Wanda was indeed crushed to death by the debris from the collapsing Mt. Wundagore.