Ok, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but to anyone who is unhappy about Wanda’s arc in MoM:
*Spoilers ahead*
ETA: I don’t think 616 Wanda is dead, but I still have to cover all of my bases
As a longtime fan of the comics, I am more than familiar with the song and dance of Wanda oscillating between being a hero, an antihero, and a villain. Changing sides has been the story of her character since her origins as a member of the Brotherhood alongside Pietro and Magneto and continued on through the decades with her going crazy, turning evil, and/or dying probably once a decade ever since.
From the beginning, Lizzie has said that she wanted to see some of Wanda’s most iconic moments, ie. the “no more mutants” line from House of M. She WANTS to see House of M. She wants to touch on those infamous moments of villainy that are so well-known and loved. She wants to portray Wanda in a comic-accurate way (sans the sexualization) because she sees how unique Wanda is and how fun she is to play. From the very beginning Lizzie has done her best to champion Wanda being treated correctly as a complex, troubled young woman who has lost everything and been wronged by the world over and over. She has helped tremendously in crafting MCU Wanda as a well-rounded character who went from forgettable in the minds of many to absolutely adored thanks to Wandavision. I remember seeing Infinity War and Endgame in theaters and being one of the only ones cheering when she beat Thanos’s ass, meanwhile at my MoM screening 80% (or more) of people were wearing Wanda/Wandavision shirts and cheering when she came on screen.
Wandavision gave us Wanda processing her grief in all of the expected stages and with special attention to denial. When we last saw her, she had flown off with the Darkhold and was hearing Billy & Tommy calling for her during what we now know was likely dreamwalking/at least her peeking in on the other universes. Anyone familiar with the Darkhold will know its immense power and how it corrupts those who use it and Wanda is no different. Especially as, when we saw her, she was heavily grieving the loss of her brother, husband, and children all over again after the collapse of Westview. She was vulnerable and desperate, and seeing what Agatha could do with the Darkhold paired with her lack of knowledge and its promise to help drew her in. She was, once again, taken advantage of in a vulnerable moment. The only difference here was that it was the Darkhold and Cthon’s writings rather than another human being.
At least as of right now, I do not see her characterization and arc in MoM as a step back. I believe she is what she said she is: a mother who is beyond desperate to have her children back because she has NO ONE ELSE. None of the other Avengers have shown their faces to try and help her. Even Stephen only showed up when he needed help. Wanda was alone with a book filled with dark magic and abilities she was only just beginning to understand; how could anyone expect that to end well?
Wanda is my favorite MCU character and my favorite comic character. She always has been and always will be. I am so thrilled to have gotten to see so much more of her in the MCU between Wandavision and MoM, and yes it did hurt to see her in so much agony and I didn’t want her to succeed in getting America or her powers, but I also understand and appreciate why (I think) they continued her story the way they did. I am going to tell myself over and over that she isn’t actually dead because I can’t imagine her being gone from the MCU, but I also think that Feige knows full-well how loved she is and how integral she can/will be to continuing to thread the multiverse storyline together. Especially with the introduction of mutants.
So, uh, if you’ve read this far… thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. I’ll probably have more to say later once I’m no longer sleep deprived, but I hope this all makes sense for now.
