Marvel Studios’ original plan for Scarlet Witch meant a bigger role for the villain in the MCU as a potential villain in Avengers 5. Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlet Witch, first appeared as a conscientious villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, corrupted by Darkhold and set against Doctor Strange. Now the head writer of Multiverse of Madness, Michael Waldron, said that it was originally planned that the Scarlet Witch would appear in a crossover film like Avengers 5.
Wanda was introduced to KVM in “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” as a HYDRA volunteer who is taken under the wing of Ultron in the fight against the Avengers. Realizing his intentions, Wanda opposed AI and helped save the world, as a result of which she became a member of the New Avengers. After the events of Captain America: Standoff, Wanda became a fugitive, and during Vandavision, her emotional story reached a climax when she imprisoned a city full of people so that she could live her dream life with Vision and their children: Billy. and Tommy. Having sacrificed everything she wanted, it’s no surprise that Wanda, now using the nickname Scarlet Witch, turned to Darkhold, the Book of the Damned, to find a way to reunite with her family.
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” Sees the Scarlet Witch chasing Doctor Strange and America Chavez across the multiverse, trying to steal America’s ability to jump into reality. Wanda’s newfound strength made her an incredibly powerful villain, and the “Multiverse of Madness” made her a minor character. In an interview during the episode “Assembled” on Disney+, the screenwriter of the Multiverse of Madness, Michael Waldron, stated that “makes her a villain from the very beginning… it’s going to happen in the Avengers movie or something like that… why are we letting some other movie get a better villain?” Although the Scarlet Witch was an excellent villain in the Multiverse of Madness, these comments made many wonder if she would have been a more effective threat in Avengers 5.
Scarlet Witch as the villainess of “Avengers 5” gives Her arch more time to work
Many viewers were shocked when the Scarlet Witch appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as a villain, especially since she was last seen saving the residents of Westview, New Jersey, in Vandavision. While her storyline about trying to steal America’s power made sense, the transition from a beloved (albeit morally dubious) hero to a conscientious villain was irritating. Wanda’s participation as a villainess in a later movie like Avengers 5 would have given her character more time to plunge into the darkness of the Darkhold and fully understand her new Scarlet Witch abilities.
Wanda’s story arc in KVM can be one of the most developed, because she appeared in the role of an unsuspecting villain, a hated hero and a kindred mother. However, although her appearance in Doctor Strange: The Multiverse of Madness could show viewers the path she was always destined to take as the Scarlet Witch, it seemed that it was all too soon. It would be more effective for Marvel to develop the darkness within her for a longer period of time before pitting her immense power against an entire team of future Avengers in the next collaborative film.
Scarlet Witch vs Avengers would be a great superhero battle
Currently, there is no clear composition of the Avengers team in the MCU, but past iterations have faced characters such as Loki, Ultron and Thanos. Marvel’s most powerful villains seem to be saved for the climactic crossover films, so why wasn’t the Scarlet Witch spared for Avengers 5? Wanda’s telekinetic abilities grew throughout the MCU, becoming stronger and stronger each time she appeared in an MCU movie, as she learned to control her abilities, which led to her creating her own reality in Hex Westview and learning from Darkhold about her fate as the Scarlet Witch.
There is no doubt that the power of the Scarlet Witch is great enough to justify the intervention of the Avengers, and with their collective power, a battle between the Avengers and the Scarlet Witch would make Avengers 5 something special. In Avengers: Finale, Wanda is strong enough to almost destroy Thanos alone, so viewers would be interested to see how the Avengers team can outwit the Scarlet Witch. Wanda has been pitted against the Avengers several times in the comics, perhaps the most notable being the 2005 “House of M” storyline, in which the Avengers and the X—Men determine that the only way to stop the Scarlet Witch’s power is to kill her. This means there’s plenty of scope for Wanda’s storyline fighting the Avengers to be adapted from the comics without feeling too stretched in the MCU.
