For years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has painted Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch, as one of its most tragic and dangerous characters. But was she really a villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? Or was Doctor Strange completely wrong about her intentions?

What if Wanda was never the real threat—but rather the victim of a world that never gave her a chance?

Let’s break down the truth behind Wanda’s actions, why she wasn’t truly evil, and how Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness might have gotten her story all wrong.

💥 The Scarlet Witch’s “Villain Arc” – Or Was It Just a Misunderstood Mission?

When Doctor Strange 2 hit theaters, it shocked fans by turning Wanda Maximoff into a full-blown antagonist. Gone was the broken hero who fought to save the world in Avengers: Endgame. Instead, we were given a ruthless, seemingly unhinged Scarlet Witch willing to destroy anyone standing in her way.

Her goal?

🔴 Find her children across the multiverse
🔴 Use America Chavez’s powers to travel to a universe where Billy and Tommy exist
🔴 Live the happy life that was stolen from her

But here’s the thing: Wanda’s plan wasn’t about power or domination—it was about something deeply human: a mother’s love.

So why did Doctor Strange, Wong, and the Illuminati treat her like the greatest threat to the multiverse?

Because they feared what she could become, not who she actually was.

🧐 The Double Standard: Why Was Doctor Strange Allowed to Mess With the Multiverse, But Not Wanda?

Here’s where the hypocrisy gets hard to ignore.

Doctor Strange himself broke the multiverse MULTIPLE times, yet he was never labeled a villain:

🔹 In Spider-Man: No Way Home, he recklessly tampered with reality, leading to catastrophic consequences.
🔹 In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, he dream-walked into another version of himself, yet no one called him a monster.

But when Wanda did the same thing, she was instantly treated as an unstoppable villain.

Why?

Because the MCU feared her raw power. Unlike Strange, who plays by the rules of the mystical arts, Wanda surpasses those rules entirely. She doesn’t need approval from sorcerers or ancient texts—she simply is magic.

And that terrified everyone.