In the realm of superheroes, death is seldom the end.
Doctor Strange has a lot to cover in the DSMOM. It was not just the first solo sequel for Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme, but it was also the fourth Marvel Cinematic Universe movie to investigate the notion of the multiverse, after Loki, What If…?, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. DSMOM, in addition to dabbling in the superhero and horror genres, develops into a tragedy when Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) comes involved. Wanda wishes to go to a reality where her children Billy (Julian Hilliard) and Tommy (Jett Klyne) remain alive throughout the film. She seeks the multiverse-hopping abilities of America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) to fulfill her aim, which leads to unspeakable carnage and devastation as she truly embraces her Scarlet Witch mantle.
In the closing part of the film, America regains control of her abilities and sends the cursed innards of Mount Wundagore, where America sends Wanda to Earth-838. She’d utilized the Darkhold’s dreamwalking abilities earlier in the film to inhabit her Earth-838 self in order to locate America; upon seeing Earth-838’s Billy and Tommy, she seeks to reconnect with them. That changes when she attacks their mother (her 838 self), leaving them terrified of her. After telling her Earth-838 self, “Know that they’ll be loved,” the Scarlet Witch declares that no one will ever utilize the Darkhold’s power again. Keeping her promise, she uses chaos magic to collapse Mt. Wundagore, destroying all copies of the Darkhold across the universe and burying herself under Wundagore’s bowels.
For all intents and purposes, Wanda’s time in the MCU seems to be coming to an end. However, in comics, the Scarlet Witch has escaped death’s clutches. The most noteworthy example came from Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel’s House of M storyline, in which Wanda used her abilities to reorganize reality into a planet dominated by mutants. She, like Multiverse of Madness, desired a world in which she could be with her children while also bringing some happiness to her father, Magneto. But when other heroes recalled the old world and revolted, Wanda restored things to their original state (and depowered the mutant race in the process.) No one could locate her, and she was considered dead until Bendis and Alex Maleev’s New Avengers #26. Hawkeye returned to the living world and sought to locate Wanda. The archer soon learned that she was living in Wundagore but had no recall of her abilities or activities. More recently, Leah Williams and Lucas Wernerck’s miniseries The Trial of Magneto dealt with Wanda’s apparent death and the idea that Magneto was the perpetrator – however, Wanda was revived soon thereafter.
Given the nature of Wanda’s abilities and her ties to the Avengers and X-Men, it’s realistic to anticipate Olsen to reprise her role as the Scarlet Witch. In Multiverse of Madness and the WandaVision series on Disney+, she has been given the opportunity to flesh out Wanda; portraying a version of Wanda who is impotent or has divested herself of her abilities as atonement might offer the character a new depth. There’s also the possibility that 838-Wanda may cross over into the main Earth of the MCU. Not only would it offer Olsen the opportunity to portray a new Wanda, but it might also bring Billy and Tommy back – particularly since the MCU’s television side seems to be gearing up for an adaptation of Young Avengers, and the twins are major members of that team. During an interview with Collider, Olsen even hinted at a possible comeback, but she said she didn’t know in what capacity. In any case, Multiverse of Madness is unlikely to be the last time spectators encounter the Scarlet Witch.
