Despite having helped save the world countless times, the heroism of Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch, has been the subject of viral debate for some time. After all, there's a fair conversation to be had after she aligned herself with HYDRA and Ultron, caused death and injury to many in Civil War, imprisoned a town to live out her fantasy life in WandaVision, and attempted to kill a child in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in the hopes of reuniting with her own.
Looking through the list of both heroic and villainous actions that Wanda has taken in the MCU over the years, one can only imagine her public image to be far from the best. Multiverse of Madness offered some hints to suggest, at least publicly, that Wanda was no longer an Avenger, but the membership of many heroes has been up in the air since Avengers: Endgame.
Now, new footage from Ms. Marvel appears to have contradicted those claims as Scarlet Witch has been displayed alongside other heroes.
Ms. Marvel Contradicts Scarlet Witch's Avenger Status
Marvel appears to have contradicted claims made in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness regarding the Avenger status of Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, in the MCU.
The Doctor Strange sequel suggested Wanda had been removed from the team's public image after her actions in Captain America: Civil War and WandaVision. The titular sorcerer even offered to get her "back on the lunchbox" in exchange for her help protecting America Chavez from a Multiversal threat - which turned out to be the Scarlet Witch herself.
Ms. Marvel appears to have contradicted that claim when a cut-out of the Scarlet Witch was shown to be present at AvengerCon next to one of Doctor Strange.
Are Wanda's Heroic Days in the MCU Over?
With AvengerCon taking place in New Jersey, one would imagine Wanda to be particularly unpopular in the state which also houses the town of Westview. Multiverse of Madness didn't spend enough time amongst the normal people of the MCU to get a sense of Wanda's public image after possessing an entire town in WandaVision, but one can only imagine it wouldn't be popular.
There's no telling who is actually behind in-universe superhero events and merchandise like AvengerCon, but they're probably turning a handsome profit. Perhaps whoever is behind this event disagrees with the overall public perception of Wanda, or maybe she's simply too popular a hero not to capitalize on, just as she is in the real world.
Following the dramatic conclusion of the Doctor Strange sequel, it remains unclear whether Wanda is even alive after she made the ultimate sacrifice to destroy the Darkhold. If she does prove to have survived, as most expected due to the character's popularity, she will have a long road ahead before she is redeemed in the eyes of her fellow heroes and the public.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is playing now in theaters; Ms. Marvel premieres on June 8, exclusively on Disney+.
