Scarlet Witch Staying Dead Is Way Better Than Another Empty MCU Return

:0:1

Rather than Scarlet Witch return for another adventure alongside the Avengers, it would be better if the character remained dead in the MCU. Played by Elizabeth Olsen, Wanda Maximoff seemingly died at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, the ambiguity surrounding her death scene makes a return possible.
Olsen has already said that there are currently no plans for Scarlet Witch to make another appearance. But with Avengers: Secret Wars expected to be another large-scale crossover and one that involves the multiverse, it’s not hard to imagine Scarlet Witch coming back anyway. And if Wanda’s comic book history is any indication, death is hardly an obstacle for the Scarlet Witch, who has been supposedly killed off on multiple occasions. All things considered, Wanda definitely can return. She could even be the reason the Avengers ultimately beat Kang the Conqueror in Phase 6. But though this scenario is plausible, Scarlet Witch staying dead would be a better outcome.
Like It Or Not, Scarlet Witch Deserved To Die In Doctor Strange 2

The number of personal tragedies in Scarlet Witch’s life made her someone who was easy to root for in the MCU. In Captain America: Civil War, for instance, innocent lives were lost because of Wanda’s botched attempt to stop Crossbones, but her efforts to do good and the guilt that came with it made her a sympathetic figure in the movie. Something similar can be said for the moment where Scarlet Witch had no choice but to end her husband’s life in order to stop Thanos. What’s worse, it didn’t work. She continued to be someone audiences could empathize with in WandaVision, even though she admittedly went too far to get what she wanted.
For those reasons and more, Scarlet Witch is a beloved character, but that doesn’t change the fact that her fate was deserved in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Though what Wanda did to the people of Westview was horrible, she never reached a point of no return in WandaVision. She crossed that line in Doctor Strange 2 when she began killing people who got in her way. Various Masters of the Mystic Arts died at her hand, as did the entire Illuminati team of Earth-838. To get her children back, Scarlet Witch evolved beyond the anti-hero role to become a full-fledged villain. Her tragic backstory isn’t enough to excuse her murderous deeds in the movie.
Were the MCU to walk back her “death” in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or Avengers: The Secret Wars, there’s a good chance Marvel would try to justify her heroic turn by blaming her crimes (at least to some extent) on the Darkhold’s influence. It’s understandable to suggest that Scarlet Witch’s emotions were being manipulated by Chthon, with the evil spellbook gradually corrupting her to serve Cthon's goals. But, much like the situation with her past, this doesn’t let her off the hook for what she’s done. It shouldn’t be forgotten that Scarlet Witch had some awareness of what the Darkhold was before she began reading it in WandaVision’s final scene. Even if Chthon was pulling her strings, Scarlet Witch has to be held accountable for the deaths that occurred in Doctor Strange 2.
Not Every MCU Hero Needs A Perfect Redemption

Redemption arcs in MCU movies are excellent chances for characters who have taken the wrong path to do some course-correcting and receive memorable, heroic storylines. Stories like these have been good for characters like Winter Soldier and Nebula, but not every character with a tarnished reputation needs one. After all, it’s important to note that Doctor Strange 2, in a sense, was Scarlet Witch’s shot at redemption. She realized the errors of her ways in WandaVision’s ending and apologized for her actions. Getting to walk away from Westview gave her an opportunity to make up for them, but she squandered it by becoming a villain in Doctor Strange 2.
Of course, that’s not to say that Scarlet Witch’s ending is a problem. It was certainly interesting to see a hero’s descent into villainy. And based on everything she went through, the decisions she arrived at in WandaVision and Doctor Strange 2 made sense for her character. Plus, her death is a poignant reminder that redemption isn’t necessarily in the cards for every fallen hero’s story; ultimately redemption is a choice, and not everyone makes the right one when the time comes. Scarlet Witch is a perfect example of that idea.
Scarlet Witch’s long-building, downward spiral provided her with an arc unique to all other character stories in the MCU. That’s part of what makes it so special. Resurrecting Scarlet Witch and turning her into a hero again would effectively wipe that out, and destroy the point of all the years Marvel spent developing her into a multiversal-level villain. Marvel already gave her story the ending it needed, so if it were to resurrect her now, it would likely only be for the sake of having an Avengers mainstay back for Secret Wars or some other MCU team-up. To do so would be a disservice to Doctor Strange 2’s ending and Wanda’s arc as a whole.
Scarlet Witch's Redemption Gets The MCU Off The Hook

Not only would Scarlet Witch’s resurrection and subsequent redemption dishonor her story, but it would undo some of the worst consequences attached to the legacy of Iron Man and the Avengers. Her entire story is essentially a product of Iron Man’s mistakes. A weapon manufactured by Stark Industries started it all by killing Wanda and Pietro’s parents. This moment proved to be the catalyst for Scarlet Witch’s MCU arc, as it was the first in a chain of tragic events that eventually led to Wanda trying to take over the life of her multiversal counterpart in Doctor Strange 2.
There’s no denying the Avengers have done a great deal of good in the world, but there’s an ugly side of it as well, with Iron Man’s history of making weapons being a big part of it. There’s also the messy situation surrounding the Sokovia Accords in Civil War which resulted in Scarlet Witch being locked up for what went wrong during the mission in Nigeria. This was most likely one of the many factors that contributed to Scarlet Witch’s villain twist in Phase 4.
Given her roles in these stories, Scarlet Witch was able to perfectly represent the consequences of the Avengers’ activities in the MCU. Due to how complex it is, the issue of accountability is a difficult conversation to have, but also one that shouldn’t be ignored. Scarlet Witch’s downfall should serve as a lasting monument to victims like her and those responsible.
Key Release Dates