Marvel Zombies repeated a frustrating mistake in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness by rehashing a major plot point from the sequel. Following WandaVision, Wanda Maximoff's trajectory in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) took a dark turn, and she became a full-fledged villain during the events of Doctor Strange 2. While fans initially wanted Wanda to be a hero working alongside Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, many fans claimed that portraying the Scarlet Witch as a villain was a mistake. Elizabeth Olsen even said that she was "shocked" by Wanda's villain turn, pointing out that "no one told [her] until right before we shot it, so that was shocking."
While Wanda redeemed herself in Doctor Strange 2's ending, her fate and MCU future are unknown. Amid her absence in the live-action realm, Marvel Zombies brought Wanda Maximoff back into the fold, but in a new and twisted way as the Queen of the Dead. As the chief villain of Marvel Zombies, Wanda controls an army of the undead to do her bidding, and one of her goals is to retrieve a young hero: Kamala Khan.
Scarlet Witch's journey in Marvel Zombies primarily focused on her obsessive pursuit of a young and powerful Kamala Khan to achieve her ultimate goal, which is tied to Infinity Hulk's powers. According to Marvel Zombies director Bryan Andrews, Wanda wanted Kamala's powers because she "can't wrangle all the power of the six Infinity Stones on her own," which is why she needed her to channel all that energy.
"So, there's an aspect of that that I think Wanda needs because all that infinity power is loosey-goosey. And even with Wanda's ability, she can't wrangle all the power of all six Infinity Stones on her own. Regardless of all of her power, she needs something. The same way that someone might need a gauntlet, she needs something to focus that. And we felt like the hard light was a way to do that, the same way you would have a gem or a jewel kind of like be a perfect drill bit or refract light in a certain way to create like an uber-intense laser to do the work that you need to do."
Wanda's pursuit of Kamala Khan was terrifying because she wanted to rewrite reality and impose a false utopia under her control to mask the apocalypse with illusions, similar to what she did with WandaVision, but on a much greater scale.
Wanda ultimately won because she overwhelmed Kamala and the remaining survivors, finally convincing Ms. Marvel to grant her wish of aligning with her to rewrite reality.
Marvel Zombies' portrayal of Wanda's pursuit of a young hero with powers is similar to her obsessive desire to obtain America Chavez for her own Multiversal abilities in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Doctor Strange 2 showcased a corrupted Wanda, consumed by the loss of her sons, Billy and Tommy, and saw that the only solution was through the Multiverse. This explains why she wanted America Chavez; she saw her as her one-way ticket to a universe where her children exist.
Part of Wanda's goal in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is to steal America Chavez's powers of creating Multiverse portrals as a way for her to travel through different realities and find her two sons.
Unlike Marvel Zombies, where Wanda won in the end, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw the Scarlet Witch defeated due to Chavez's strong resistance and Doctor Strange's guidance.
While Kamala was "defeated," many would argue that she would've won if a powerful mentor had taken her under her wing. Unlike Chavez, Kamala lost most of her allies throughout the four-episode crossover event (read more about the deaths of Marvel Zombies here), so it played a part in her defeat, with her essentially losing the will to fight.
Directed by Bryan Andrews, Marvel Zombies saw a ragtag group of surviving MCU characters as they unleashed a last-ditch effort to protect Infinity Hulk from Scarlet Witch and her zombie horde. The series stars Iman Vellani, Elizabeth Olsen, Simu Liu, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and Awkwafina. Marvel Zombies premiered on Disney+ on September 24, 2025.
Why MCU Fans Don't Want Wanda as a Villain
The Scarlet Witch's obsessive pursuit of young heroes isn't the only similar thing between Marvel Zombies and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The two MCU projects positioned Wanda Maximoff as a villain, a direction many diehard fans don't want her to be presented because of their desire to see her in a more heroic light after WandaVision.
There are several reasons why fans wanted Wanda to become a hero rather than a villain. Aside from her track record in the Infinity Saga and role in helping defeat Thanos during Avengers: Endgame, many have pointed out that Wanda is defined by her profound loss, starting with the death of Pietro Maximoff and ending with Vision's sacrifice.
Fans wanted to see her as a misunderstood and vulnerable character who only wanted to address her grief in her own way. Still, she was pushed to the limit after she was corrupted by the Darkhold at the end of WandaVision.
Some fans also pointed out that her redemption in Doctor Strange 2 was short-lived because she ended up missing (or dead) based on the sequel's ending. Rumors of the Scarlet Witch's return in Avengers: Doomsday are already making headlines, and everyone wants her to be a hero and correct her mistakes.
Given her sheer magical powers, having the Scarlet Witch on the side of Earth's Mightiest Heroes would be a huge advantage ahead of their eventual clash with Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.
