Why Wanda Is Not Called Scarlet Witch In The MCU

Wandavision episode 5 just confirmed that Wanda is not called Scarlet Witch in the MCU and the whole show offers an idea on why that might be the case. The show openly addresses the idea of the MCU's heroes having fake names, with SWORD Director Tyler Hayward asking Jimmy Woo if Wanda has an alias or a "funny nickname" and Woo confirming she does not when offering her backstory as a sort of case file. While she's been widely referred to as such by the fan community, Wanda remains simply Wanda in MCU canon, and there's a good reason.

This is the second time MCU heroes have addressed the idea of superheroes having nicknames, as Peter Parker responded to Doctor Strange revealing his name in Infinity War by saying "Oh, we're using our made-up names? Then I am Spider-Man." But the WandaVision moment offers the first insight into how some of the universe's "real" people react to the idea of those nicknames. Hayward is presented as something of a stuffy character, who seems cynical at the idea of superheroes having aliases, which makes little sense given he worked for years with Maria Rambeau who continued to use her call-sign in official SWORD literature. But the point there is that Hayward is unmoved by the pageantry of superheroism: it's a subtle hint to where he probably stands on the issue of the Sokovia Accords.

Whether Hayward would use an alias for Wanda or not, lots of the other superheroes associated with the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy have officially recognized aliases. And, of course, Peter Quill calls himself Star-Lord as something of a gag (which is actually for a heartbreaking reason). Sometimes, the names are chosen in demeaning or comical ways: the Abomination is an insult, Iron Man is an over-simplification, James Rhodes' War Machine is chosen by Justin Hammer to goad James Rhodes. In the MCU's logic, it would fit that such characters were named by someone else - including the media - to reflect perception of them, which is precisely why Wanda is not Scarlet Witch. Yet. She remains humanized because she's not yet transcended into a villain, even when she was branded as a terrorist in the wake of Civil War's events. To call her Scarlet Witch would be a reflection of fear, by the logic of the use of "witch" already in the MCU and the point of no return for Wanda.

Wanda acts normally after kicking Monica out of the hex

The framework of the MCU actually does refer to Wanda as Scarlet Witch in the credits, but there's never been any mention of her in dialog. The closest anyone has come to calling her it was when Tony Stark referred to her as a witch in Age of Ultron: which is telling because it calls back to Wanda's past as an antagonist. In a world where magic is a tool of the heroes, like Doctor Strange, and superpowers are an everyday occurrence (even if only in certain people), there's no need to refer to Wanda in a way that makes her otherness knowingly scary. The connotations around Tony's use of "witch" are inherently negative and suit the idea of witches being branded as villains by others in traditional literature and in the earliest etymology of the term (obviously Wiccan practitioners use the same terminology, but that is very much a more modern development) and Wanda may have made mistakes, but she reclaimed her past by turning on Ultron.

Unfortunately for Wanda, WandaVision is setting her up for a villainous turn before its end. She's already turned weapons on Director Hayward, has ejected Monica by force from Westview and her latest change to the newly-named "Hex" makes her magical bubble seem dramatically more ominous. The loaded attention placed on the idea of her not having a nickname almost feels like goading to expect it to happen before WandaVision's climax, which would fit with the rumors that Wanda is the cause of the Multiverse of Madness. Either that or Wanda's arc will end with her claiming the name for herself and removing all negatives, finally reveling in who she is as a statement of power.

Next: Elizabeth Olsen Teased How Scarlet Witch Is The MCU Multiverse Key In 2013