Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, is alive, and she’s set to make a triumphant return in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. And if you’ve been paying attention, Deadpool & Wolverine hints at it. Her return is tied to Loki Season 2, The Multiverse of Madness, the X-Men, Young Avengers, and even Robert Downey Jr.’s comeback as Doctor Doom.
Wanda’s Dark Turn in Multiverse of Madness
In Multiverse of Madness, we saw Wanda abandon the character growth she achieved in WandaVision and take a dark turn. By the end of the movie, she realizes her mistake and sacrifices everything to save the world from herself.
“I opened the Darkhold. I have to close it,” she says, as she decides to destroy the Darkhold, the book of the damned that corrupts everything it touches. This corruption was a perfect explanation for why Wanda went bad again after WandaVision and had to relearn the same lesson.
Chthon’s Tower and Wanda’s Sacrifice
Let’s recap what happened in Chthon’s tower on Mount Wundagore. Chthon is the ancient demon who authored the Darkhold, carving it into the walls of this tower. He even prophesized about the Scarlet Witch. In her pursuit to find her children across the multiverse, Wanda becomes obsessed, dreamwalking through other universes, thanks to the Darkhold’s influence.
Dreamwalking allows Wanda to transfer her consciousness into another version of herself in a different universe. But she wanted more—she wanted to physically transport herself to a universe where her children existed. That’s why she sought the power of America Chavez, who can create star-shaped portals and travel between universes.
When Wanda realizes she’s been corrupted by the Darkhold, she collapses the tower of Chthon, making it so that the text of the Darkhold can never be copied again. As the tower collapses, a burst of red energy was seen, hinting that Wanda might have survived. Perhaps she used her powers to create a force field around herself, just like Darth Vader did in Star Wars Rebels when the Sith temple collapsed.
Did Wanda Escape to the Void?
What if Wanda didn’t just survive the collapse, she escaped the 616 Universe entirely? Instead of going the Vader route, what if she went the Ahsoka route from Star Wars Rebels? In that series, Ahsoka was pulled through a portal into a different realm, avoiding the collapse entirely.
Our theory? Wanda is so ashamed of herself and afraid of her own power that she banished herself from the multiverse entirely. We think she’s in the void at the end of time, the same place we saw in Loki and Deadpool & Wolverine. There’s even evidence of her presence in the void in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Evidence of Wanda in Deadpool & Wolverine
One key addition to the MCU in Deadpool & Wolverine that’s being overlooked is how easy multiversal travel has become. In Multiverse of Madness, travel was limited to dreamwalking, which made America Chavez’s power such a big deal. But in Deadpool & Wolverine, Cassandra Nova used a modified sling ring to travel from the void to another universe. The modification? Sling ring with Infinity Stones—specifically the Reality Stone and the Time Stone.
This could explain how Wanda might have transported herself into the void. While her powers were unlocked by the Mind Stone, they align more with the Reality Stone, sharing the same red color. We also see a stone relief of the Scarlet Witch from Chthon’s tower in the void in Deadpool & Wolverine. Sure, it could be from another universe, but what if it’s the same relief from Universe 616?
Wanda’s Role in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars
Where’s Wanda now? Why isn’t she helping in the fight against Cassandra? Wanda likely sees herself as too dangerous, choosing to stay far away from others. She might have refused to join the fight, thinking that everyone is better off without her. But she’ll be back when the stakes are higher.
In Avengers: Doomsday, we believe the 616 universe—and possibly the entire multiverse—will collapse. The title Doomsday alone suggests something catastrophic. And where do you go when your universe dies? The void. That’s where we think Doctor Doom and the Avengers will find themselves.
The void could take the place of Battleworld in Avengers: Secret Wars. In the comics, Battleworld is a planet where different worlds are combined into one. What is the void if not a combination of various worlds? In this scenario, Wanda will guide the Avengers through the void, initially as a recluse, but when she sees her universe’s Avengers, she’ll feel obligated to help. And when she realizes the multiverse—and her children’s lives—are at stake, she’ll join the fight against Doctor Doom.
The Scarlet Witch as the MCU’s Savior
Kevin Feige has said that Wanda is the most powerful character in the MCU. She nearly defeated Thanos on her own in Endgame. So, she’ll be a crucial asset in the Avengers’ fight against Doctor Doom. We also think Wanda could take Franklin Richards’ place as the reformer of the multiverse. In the comics, Franklin Richards rebuilds the multiverse after Secret Wars. But in the MCU, Wanda could be the one to reconstruct reality, redeeming herself and cementing her place as the savior of the MCU.
And just like Loki reconstructed the multiverse in Season 2 of his series, we might see Wanda do something similar—perhaps with the help of Loki and even Doctor Doom. Together, they could create a stronger, more stable multiverse.
Wanda’s Future in the MCU
Wanda’s return could also set up future storylines. There’s potential for her to join a newly formed MCU X-Men team, given that she’s a mutant. This could open the door to more stories with Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlet Witch.
There’s also Young Avengers, which could lead to a storyline inspired by the Children’s Crusade comic. In that comic, Wanda’s son Wiccan, a Young Avenger, seeks her help when his reality-bending powers get out of control. The Young Avengers band together to find Wanda, encountering Doctor Doom along the way. In the movies, Doctor Doom could seek out Wanda to harness her reality manipulation powers, promising to create a universe where she can be with her sons.
