- NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Scarlet Witch from the Marvel Cinematic film series. The mainstream version can be found here: Scarlet Witch.
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| “ | Sometimes it takes a while, but sooner or later every man shows himself. | „ |
| ~ Scarlet Witch speaking with Ultron. |
| “ | I have what I want and no one will ever take it from me again. | „ |
| ~ Scarlet Witch in WandaVision. |
Wanda Maximoff, better known as Scarlet Witch, is a major character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
She first appears as a cameo in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, returning as a secondary antagonist (alongside Quicksilver) in Avengers: Age of Ultron, a major character in both Captain America: Civil War and Avengers Infinity War, a minor character in Avengers Endgame and as one of the titular protagonists (alongside Vision) in the WandaVision series. She is also set to appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in an unknown role.
A Sokovian native, she became driven by revenge against Tony Stark after his weapons were used in a bombing which killed her parents. She abandons her grudge to stop Ultron's destruction of humanity. Upon these events, she becomes a kind-hearted (yet sometimes ruthless) Avenger. However, after Vision's death, and after Thanos' defeat, Wanda takes control of the town of Westview to create her own perfect reality, as a way of coping with her past traumas and depression, but in doing so, also inadvertently traps the town's inhabitants, not letting them escape her idea of a perfect world.
She is portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen, while Michaela Russell played a younger version of the character.
Biography
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
She 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 fastly 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 life together until the Sokovia Accords which pits the couple against one another.
Avengers Infinity War
Avengers Endgame
WandaVision
Following her resurrection in Avengers: Endgame, Wanda is left alone in the world, as her lover Vision was killed by Thanos. She attempted to retrieve Vision's body from S.W.O.R.D. Headquarters, 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. 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. 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 creating another Vision out of thin air. 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.
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 in the real world, 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 centre 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.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Probability Field Manipulation
- Telekinesis: Wanda has the ability to throw objects and enemies, as well as tear apart non-organic enemies such as the Ultron Sentinels. When she loses control of her emotions, her powers become greatly amplified and even more dangerous. This is demonstrated when she destroys dozens of Sentinels in one blast of rage and grief after her brother's death. In Civil War, she overpowers Vision and sends him through the ground, drops several cars on Iron Man, and holds up a massive falling Airport Control Tower to let Steve and Bucky escape. In the final battle of Endgame, she proved strong enough to almost kill Thanos. That said, this Thanos didn't have any of the stones. Eventfully, Thanos ended up stopping her by ordering his men to fire a laser; knocking Wanda off him.
- Mind Manipulation: She is able to probe the minds of opponents and force them to experience hallucinations or turn them against each other, seen when she manipulated the Hulk into attacking a city. She has, however, stopped using this power out of remorse for what she did to Bruce. Regardless, this power makes her one of the most dangerous Avengers as it's unknown if even beings like Thanos, are immune to them.
- Energy Generation: She can conjure shields of energy. How power they are when compared to Strange is unknown. However, it's highly possible that given how powerful Wanda is, they can protect her from most types of harm.
Abilities
- Expert Combatant: Scarlet Witch is a capable fighter, being able to defend herself against Proxima Midnight and Thanos.
- Multilingualism: Scarlet Witch is bilingual, capable of speaking both Sokovian and English.
Appearances
- Phase Two
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (post-credits scene)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Phase Three
- Captain America: Civil War
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Avengers: Endgame
- Phase Four
- WandaVision
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (unreleased)
Quotes
| “ | I just did. Do you know how it felt? It felt like that... | „ |
| ~ Scarlet Witch getting her revenge on Ultron. |
| “ | Scarlet Witch: You took *everything* from me! Thanos: I don't even know who you are. Scarlet Witch: You will. |
„ |
| ~ Scarlet Witch confronting Thanos. |
| “ | We are an unusual couple, you know? | „ |
| ~ Scarlet Witch to Vision |
| “ | Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Where do you think he gets that from? | „ |
| ~ Scarlet Witch to Captain America |
| “ | This will be your only warning. Stay out of my home. You don't bother me. I won't bother you. | „ |
| ~ Scarlet Witch threatening Tyler Hayward |
Gallery
Trivia
- She is played by Elizabeth Olsen who already starred in Godzilla (2014) alongside with Aaron Taylor-Johnson as wife and husband, while in the MCU they are twin siblings.
- She is based on Scarlet Witch of the Ultimate Marvel Universe rather than the mainstream one.
- Wanda is younger than Pietro by 12 minutes and is, in fact, the youngest Avenger by a significant margin (she is implied to be around college student age and is most likely only in her early twenties). That is unless we count the likes of Vision, and Peter (who is the second youngest, but least mature since Vision has the wisdom of a smarter than average adult).
- Wanda's feelings for Vision were implied since Avengers: Age of Ultron, as she normally is seen staring at him every time he's around, and she looks at him in amazement when he rescues her. At the time, it was confirmed by the writers that this was a nod to her relationship with him in the original comics, hinting at their romance in future films. This is further expanded in Civil War, where they have developed a strong interest in each other. In Infinity War, they did become a couple once Vision decided his feelings for her overshadowed his loyalty towards Tony. Furthermore, his death at Thanos's hands is the reason she became angry enough to almost kill him. Inside Wanda's reality in the WandaVision series, they are married and have two twin children.
- It is implied that Ultron truly cared for her, as he was completely aware that she was going to destroy him, yet was still concerned that she would die if she stayed here. This is because he considered her the ideal "evolved human", which is what Ultron had been striving to create in the first place. Therefore, it's possible that he had some fondness towards her.
- Just like Pietro, her alias "Scarlet Witch" was never mentioned in the film, however she is called a "witch" by Tony Stark.
- Elizabeth Olsen and Joe Russo have stated that Scarlet Witch is the most powerful of the Avengers, bar none, and has only barely scratched the surface of her potential. Even Paul Bettany (Vision's actor) admits that she is probably the only one who can defeat Vision. This is further demonstrated in the Infinity War trailer, which shows her taking on a Black Order member (revealed to be Proxima Midnight and presumably protecting Vision as a reversal of their roles from previous films. That said, she usually doesn't fare as well as her teammates due to her lack of combat experience compared to most.
- It was then implied that Doctor Strange will take an interest in her and begin to mentor her in mastering the magic arts, although in the final movie it never happened. However, it's possible that he will do so in the second movie. As shown above, she does have some of his powers or at least, similar ones.
- Wanda becoming a villain again due to her past traumas is a major fan theory for fans of the MCU, in which her losses would cause her to go insane.
- At the end of WandaVision she is shown simultaneously peacefully drinking a cup of hot liquid as Wanda, while in the astral plane Wanda reads the Darkhold while in her Scarlet Witch garb. This hints at her developing a split personality.
External Links
- Scarlet Witch on the Heroes Wiki
