While the Super Bowl was the main attraction of the weekend, fans were excited to get their first glimpse of Disney+ TV series Wandavision, which hits small screens later this year. After the emotionally-charged Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, audiences will now get to see how Scarlet Witch has coped since the death of Vision, who was brutally murdered by Thanos.
Ahead of Wandavision’s release, we’re now going to take a look at Wanda Maximoff’s best bits from her time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far.
Tricking The Avengers
The Avengers had already got their first glimpse of what Wanda Maximoff is capable of before encountering her again in South Africa during 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. On this occasion, however, she does far more than give Tony Stark a horrific vision of the future.
Instead, she uses her remarkable powers to trick pretty much the whole team. Thor is forced to look at Asgard in ruins, Black Widow sees her past and Captain America glimpses Peggy Carter again, telling him to come home. Given how early into the movie this is this immediately establishes Wanda as somebody far more powerful than your average superhero Joe.
Sparking The Hulk
We’ve already mentioned Scarlet Witch putting Tony Stark, Captain America, Black Widow, and Thor through the wringer. But what she does to Bruce Banner is arguably worse.
She uses her mind control to spark Banner into transforming into the Hulk, where he then races towards civilization hellbent on causing as much death and carnage as possible. Hulk is perhaps the angriest we’ve ever seen him at this point and it takes Stark, with some help from the Hulkbuster suit, to minimize the damage he leaves in his wake.
Working Out Ultron
The Avengers’ work seems cut out for them amid their ongoing fight against Ultron, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Nearly three quarters into the movie and their chances of victory appear slim given the powers and resources their opponents possess.
But Scarlet Witch does more than just play with people’s minds - she’s also able to read them. Because of this, she convinces her brother into siding with the good guys and isolates Ultron in the process. This ultimately paves the way for the cyborg’s death at the end of the blockbuster.
Joining The Team
While Wanda and Pietro Maximoff have no qualms with helping villagers on Sokovia escape from Ultron and the forthcoming conflict towards the end of Age of Ultron, Elizabeth Olsen’s character initially struggles to establish herself on the battlefield.
She shows resoluteness, however, after a talk with Clint Barton. Barton speaks nicely to her, urging her to let go of her past hatred of Tony Stark and help the Avengers stop Ultron from reducing earth to rubble. This sparks a fire within her and Wanda decides to enter the fray after all, swinging the pendulum the hero’s way in the process.
Ripping Out Ultron’s Heart
To this day, the death of Pietro Maximoff still hurts us. It’s genuinely devastating seeing the character take a bullet for Hawkeye, who he had spent most of the movie trying to kill. But, while it pains us, it’s nothing compared to what Wanda experiences.
She screams in agony as she senses her brother’s death and then proceeds to go for Ultron head-on. She succeeds in destroying the villain’s primary body, wrenching his iron heart out with her bare hands. Don’t mess with her…
Tragedy In Lagos
While we wouldn’t exactly describe the prospect of killing innocent people as a great moment, it falls under the category because of how her actions lead to Captain America: Civil War being a thrilling ride to remember.
Scarlet Witch attempts to stop Brock Rumlow from blowing everybody up but, in her efforts to move the villain away from people, she inadvertently sends him flying into a building full of civilians. This then leads to the Sokovia Accords being introduced - which consequently paves the way for Captain America and Iron Man’s big fall-out.
Attacking Vision
Scarlet Witch and Vision are romantically linked but, despite the fact romantic tension is seen rising during Civil War, that doesn’t stop Wanda from showing her future lover just how powerful she is.
Vision attempts to talk her out of going to Berlin, where Cap, Iron Man and many other members of the Avengers team are all involved in a massive fight at the city’s airport. But when she doesn’t listen, things turn hostile. Their confrontation ends with Wanda dramatically sending him plunging deep into the underground and she’s able to join the rest of her friends in their showdown in Germany.
Girl Power
Marvel has done a fine job of giving the world female superheroes who are just as powerful - if not more powerful - than their male counterparts. And Scarlet Witch is involved in a fine display of girl power during the fight on Wakanda during 2018’s Infinity War.
Having spent most of the battle by Vision’s side, as Suri attempts to remove the Infinity Stone from his forehead, Wanda decides to take to the field. She, Okoye and Black Widow unite as a team to send Proxima Midnight to her death in one of the blockbuster’s most memorable moments.
Killing Vision
If you thought Pietro Maximoff’s death scene was sad, then it’s nothing in comparison to how Vision perishes towards the end of Infinity War. Paul Bettany’s character urges Wanda to destroy him so that Thanos, who is hellbent on collecting all the Infinity Stones, can’t get the gem embedded in his forehead.
This leads Wanda into heartbreakingly destroying the man she loves. However, in a tragic twist, Thanos uses the time stone to simply bring him back. He then simply destroys Vision by wrenching the gem from his head and, moments later, Wanda joins her husband in death after Thanos performs the snap.
Revenge On Thanos
Scarlet Witch is among those who return from the dead in Avengers: Endgame after Hulk successfully brings everybody to life with an Infinity Gauntlet of his own. And, when she spots Thanos on the battlefield, she jumps at the chance to take the Mad Titan on.
In a remarkable show of strength, she nearly gets the revenge she wants. She succeeds in breaking Thanos’ ultra-powerful sword and nearly suffocates him to death - before he’s able to break free. It’s virtually the only time we see somebody go toe-to-toe with the villain and avoid death.
