One of the most fantastic pieces of the Marvel realm and how it translates to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is how both the heroes and the villains in each story are layered individuals. Not any one hero is all good, while not any one villain is all bad; they’re far more complex than that — with heartache, joy, and turmoil intricately woven into their stories.
One hero who surprised fans with the depths of her despair is that of Scarlet Witch‘s Wanda Maximoff. Both the hero and the woman who wears the mantle have experienced more happiness than they could have hoped for while also feeling pain so all-encompassing that it changed who she was in the most profound way. Her heartache seemed to alter her, and what happened next is the topic of a heated discussion on Reddit this afternoon.
Wanda’s heartache is as convoluted as the known and tangible pain she felt in losing her great love. With the loss of Vision came the loss of hope, a future, a family, and a life that she so desperately wished to hold tightly in her arms. She desired to be a wife, a mother, and a homemaker… she wanted that dream and not with just anyone, but with Vision. Therein lies the creation of WandaVision, a picturesque life where she got to live out that happily ever after, but viewers soon learned that it would come at a cost.
As the cracks in Maximoff’s “dream life” began showing, there’s a look at her desperation in keeping things pieced together flawlessly. When that becomes impossible, the character we’ve known all along transforms into something vastly different: the Scarlet Witch. As her alter-ego, or heroic/villainous counterpart, Scarlet Witch is more powerful a force than we’ve known before, and she isn’t in the frame of mind to use that power for good. In fact, all she can see is that she misses her family — she’s completely blinded by it.
A fan of the character posed an interesting topic of conversation regarding the future of Scarlet Witch, and it’s been a polarizing Reddit thread – pointing out immediately that they love Wanda, but they don’t believe that she deserves happiness after the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Recognizing that Wanda eventually did the right thing, the original comment says that her actions before the sacrifice she made were unforgivable. The post says that she acted so selfishly and evilly that she deserves to be damned to hell or at least vehemently punished for her actions. A slew of replies was immediately posted, some of which agreed with the original sentiments while others see a path to redemption for Scarlet Witch.
Many comments said that what she did was a show of power corrupting anyone who holds it.
Others said while they agree with some of the statements, she’s always had corruption in her mind and couldn’t think without it.
Some fans are pulling for redemption, saying everyone deserves another shot.
While many fans are rooting for her redemption, they’re not really sure how it’s even possible at this point.
All in all, this comment secures a direct line to Maximoff’s direct line of thinking — she just wants her family, and anyone who has experienced a tragic loss can relate to that feeling.
Now, we’re not saying that we’d all do what Wanda did to ensure we got our happily ever after, but after something precious is taken away from you, it’s hard to move forward with the life you had planned. It’s almost impossible to continue going forward when all you want to do is live within the comfort of your memories.
What does Olsen say about Wanda’s future with the MCU? Is there still a story she wants to tell with her character? In a recent chat, she said she couldn’t speak much on that because Kevin Feige often asks them what they want regarding their character, and he has a way of making it happen. If we learned the true desires of Olsen’s heart, we might be spoiling something massive for ourselves in the future.
No matter what, the truth is, there are two sides to Wanda and the choices she’s made, and as a comment earlier says, she’ll undeniably be her own harshest critic.