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Spoilers for WandaVision, now available to stream on Disney+.
Wanda transforms into The Scarlett Witch
Wanda is a bad guy (or woman). There, we said it.
Regardless of how you may perceive the character across other mediums and the MCU films in general, the Wanda we are provided with in the MCU television series, WandaVision, is the show’s true villain, and we intend to explore the ramifications of such a delineation.
To quickly recap the events that took place within the show, Wanda, in her grief over the death of Vision, enslaves an entire town and its population, turning the innocent men, women, and children into her puppets as she attempts to attain some form of solace in a make-believe world rather than face the truth of what has transpired in reality. After a typical MCU-style showdown in the finale against Agatha Harkness, Wanda releases her control over the town’s populace and receives what amounts to a ‘pat on the shoulder’ from Monica Rambeau regarding her struggle, without Rambeau ever addressing or reprimanding Wanda for the possible horrific trauma she has inflicted upon the poor townsfolk that she tyrannized.
The reason this portrayal wades into such dangerous waters is due to the complex implications that now arise from the characterization of Wanda in the show within the context of the MCU and without. How are we, as viewers, expected to sympathize with her character and henceforth continue to regard Wanda as a superhero while being conscious of the fact that she acted in a way befitting most supervillains? After all, we are given no sign that Wanda would eventually face any form of justice for what she has done. Furthermore, how will the rest of The Avengers perceive and behave around Wanda after learning of the atrocities she has committed? Clearly, this is a matter that needs to be addressed. Otherwise, all it does is set a bad precedent for how MCU heroes are depicted; Wanda must be held to account.
On the flip side, it can be argued (although, weakly) that the writing choices in the show do not necessarily make this characterization a bad thing, but it must also be clearly stated that the inverse is as equally improbable; what it does, however, is beg the question as to how Marvel intends to proceed with this particular portrayal of the character down the line, as she is set to appear next in 2022’s Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness.
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