***Major spoilers ahead for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness***
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, who we have long known as an Avenger and (mostly) on the side of good, plays the role of the main villain. Consumed by the Darkhold, grief, and the idea of finding multiverse versions of her lost children Billy and Tommy, Wanda will go to any end in order to achieve her goals.
However, by the movie’s conclusion, Wanda has come to realize that she cannot simply substitute herself for the Wanda of another multiverse—that that Wanda is that Billy and Tommy’s mother, who the boys need and love. Our “original” Earth 616 Wanda also comes to understand the immense, “soul-corroding” danger of the Darkhold and decides as one of her last acts to destroy Wundagore Mountain, where the original spells are inscribed on the walls, so that no one else can be tempted by the Darkhold’s dark powers again.
Is Wanda Maximoff now dead in the MCU?
This is a tricky question! The implication at the end of the movie is that Wanda destroys herself along with Wundagore Mountain. Lest we forget, though, she is now the Scarlet Witch, one of the most powerful beings around, anywhere. It might take a lot more than a mountain collapse to really finish her off. I imagine future Marvel Studios movies could see Wanda either emerge from the rubble, or some intrepid explorer who is excavating Wundagore’s ruins finding more than they bargained for.
While I don’t believe our Wanda Maximoff is really dead—she has too much unfinished business, and another version of Vision is still out there—even if this Wanda is dead, we likely haven’t seen the last of a Wanda. Wanda’s standalone show WandaVision proved to be wildly successful and critically praised for Disney+, and Wanda’s children are primed to play important roles as Young Avengers in the future. There are rumors that Elizabeth Olsen has also extended her contract with Marvel, though of course we have to take those rumors with a grain of salt.
About that other Wanda …
Elizabeth Olsen plays a duel role in Doctor Strange 2—she plays our Wanda, as well as a Wanda in the multiverse that our Wanda dreamwalks her way into and possesses. That Wanda in the multiverse has somehow maintained a domestic life with her kids, and she is fiercely protective of them. She also shares Wanda’s powers. It could be that the MCU has plans to bring in this multiverse Wanda in the future as a main role. They could still do so even if they also plan to “resurrect” our Earth 616 Wanda.
So is Wanda Maximoff alive or dead? The answer to that is complicated. Thanks to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we now know that at least there are many, many Wandas alive in other realities.
(image: Marvel Studios)
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