Is Scarlet Witch A Villain After WandaVision?

Warning: SPOILERS for WandaVision Episode 9 - "The Series Finale"

In WandaVision's finale, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) fully became the Scarlet Witch but is she on a path to becoming a villain? Although WandaVision ended with Wanda realizing she was wrong to hold thousands of people in Westview hostage, and her defeat of Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) who wanted to steal her power, Scarlet Witch is more powerful than ever and remains a threat to the MCU at large. When it comes to Wanda's potential, viewers should hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

Despite her mistakes throughout WandaVision, fans still regard Scarlet Witch as a hero and sympathize with her after she lost everyone she loved. So, it's natural to want to give Wanda the benefit of the doubt. Looking at what she did in WandaVision objectively, however, it's hard to not condemn her crimes. In her unimaginable grief, Wanda magically trapped and reshaped the town and people of Westview according to her whims. This involved creating an elaborate and bizarre TV sitcom about herself and Vision (Paul Bettany), who she magically resurrected, raising a family, with the townspeople forced to roleplay as supporting characters. Wanda seemed ignorant or in denial that the people of Westview were in agony, trapped in Wanda's grip and enduring her torment and her nightmares. Wanda was hostile to any attempt to help her realize she was hurting the innocent people of Westview until the villain Agatha Harkness shattered Wanda's delusions.

After Wanda assumed her identity as the Scarlet Witch, she didn't answer for her crimes against Westview's citizenry. Maximoff fled – S.W.O.R.D. Agent Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) empathized and didn't try to stop her – and Wanda now lives in isolation as she tries to more fully understand the power of the Scarlet Witch. Meanwhile, the people of Westview understandably hate her and didn't forgive her. But Maximoff is innocent of one particular crime, at least: S.W.O.R.D. Acting Director Tyler Hayward (Josh Stamberg) framed Wanda for stealing Vision's remains, but he actually possessed them all along and reprogrammed White Vision, whose MCU future is also uncertain, to destroy Maximoff. However, it's cold comfort that Wanda is innocent of that particular violation of the Sokovia Accords when she terrorized an American town for several days.

What's next for the Scarlet Witch will be revealed when Wanda returns in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness but WandaVision's post-credit scene - as well as the dire warnings of Agatha Harkness, who called Maximoff "cruel" - ominously point to Wanda further straying from a heroic path. Wanda may have unwittingly unleashed a greater evil on the world, and worse, that evil could even be the Scarlet Witch herself.

WandaVision Resolved Wanda's Identity But Not Her Grief

Paul Bettany as Vision and Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Scarlet Witch in Wandavision

WandaVision was about Wanda Maximoff becoming the Scarlet Witch, which was a dazzling reveal and the best example of an MCU superhero coming into their codename and alter ego. But while Wanda's identity was rebooted, her incalculable grief remains. WandaVision's TV fantasy, which was based on the sitcom episodes Wanda loved as a child, was a way for her to forget everything she lost, but now that it's over, Maximoff must face the difficult task of healing. To be fair to Wanda, she never had the time to grieve for Vision since it was only days between her resurrection in Avengers: Endgame and the start of WandaVision. Director Hayward also refused to help Wanda give Vision a burial and mourn him, which is what prompted the emotionally distraught Wanda to create the Hex.

Wanda's isolation somewhere in the mountains is a positive start to her healing process, and it seems like Maximoff is giving herself the time she needs away from people. But Wanda's state of mind is also questionable, and she's aware that the world at large still sees her as a criminal and fugitive, which she has been ever since she sided with Team Cap in Captain America: Civil War. The disturbing part of Wanda's current whereabouts is what she's doing besides grieving for Vision and her lost twin sons: the Scarlet Witch is studying the Darkhold and increasing her powers.

The Darkhold Could Be Wanda's Key To Evil

Agatha Harkness reading the Darkhold in WandaVision

The Darkhold is the ancient Book of the Damned and the Scarlet Witch possessing it doesn't bode well for the MCU. This is because the Scarlet Witch is prophesied to be the most powerful wielder of chaos magic and she's "destined to destroy the world", according to Agatha Harkness. Wanda is now using the Darkhold to teach herself sorcery, but the Darkhold is a repository of dark magic and evil spells that possess and corrupt souls - powers that may not be safe in the hands of an unstable Wanda Maximoff.

Agatha warned that there's an entire chapter in the Darkhold about the Scarlet Witch and she was terrified that Wanda had no idea what she unleashed into the world. Agatha didn't have many positive things to say about Wanda's capacity to understand and wield chaos magic as Scarlet Witch, though Maximoff has proved herself to be a remarkably quick study and a natural sorceress. Again, giving Wanda the benefit of the doubt, Scarlet Witch may have the inner light to be able to positively wield and channel the powers she's learning from the Darkhold. Yet Wanda's recent actions in Westview make it doubtful. Despite Wanda's best intentions, the Darkhold's forbidden magic could easily corrupt the Scarlet Witch.

Wanda Could Still Open The Multiverse For Her Twins

Wanda also lost her superpowered twin sons, Billy (Jullian Hilliard) and Tommy (Jett Klyne), who were conceived in the Hex. But Wanda heard the boys call out to her to save them when she was learning from the Darkhold in the WandaVision finale's post-credits scene. Since Billy and Tommy were never really "alive", in a sense, they are also not technically "dead", and they could actually be from elsewhere in the Multiverse. Wanda's parting words to the boys, "Thanks for choosing me to be your mom," is a clue as to what Billy and Tommy really are and where they hail from.

If Billy and Tommy are lost somewhere in the Multiverse, then Wanda might breach the parallel realities of the MCU in order to save her boys. This could be what prompts the titular Multiverse of Madness of Doctor Strange's sequel. It could also be what Agatha Harkness hinted at when she said the Scarlet Witch was destined to destroy the world. Could Wanda actually destroy the MCU she lives in if she tries to open up the Multiverse to find Tommy and Billy?

WandaVision Sets Up A New MCU Villain

WandaVision Scarlet Witch Nightmare MCU (1)

Since WandaVision leads into Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, it may have also set up new magical threats to the MCU. Numerous theories about Mephisto, the literal Devil of the Marvel Universe, spread during WandaVision's run, and just because Mephisto didn't appear on the show doesn't mean he isn't MCU-bound in Doctor Strange's movie. Further, the people of Westview had to endure Wanda's nightmares when they slept; this could lead to the emergence of the Doctor Strange villain Nightmare, the Fear God who rules the Dream Dimension. The presence of the Darkhold also might set up Chthon, the ancient god who created chaos magic and the Darkhold.

Mephisto, Nightmare, or Chthon could easily manipulate Wanda Maximoff in her weakest moments and they are all Multiverse-level magical threats. Then again, WandaVision's ending also established that the Scarlet Witch herself is a potential menace to the Multiverse. Sadly, Wanda Maximoff is always on the precipice of becoming a full-blown villain. While Wanda is beloved by fans, she's still heading down a dark path. Both Wanda's MCU and Marvel Comics history ominously point to the Scarlet Witch becoming someone to fear rather than admire in spite of Wanda's best intentions.

Next: What's Next For Scarlet Witch In The MCU After WandaVision