How Will Doctor Doom Use Wanda in Avengers: Doomsday? Is the Scarlet Witch His Greatest Weapon?
Warning: This article contains major spoilers for VisionQuest, including its post-credits scene. If you haven’t watched the series yet, we’d recommend coming back afterwards.
After watching the final episode of VisionQuest, I think it’s safe to say Marvel has given us quite a lot to think about heading into Avengers: Doomsday. We finally got some answers about Vision, his relationship with Ultron and where Billy and Tommy fit into this rather unusual family, but then Marvel decided to throw Doctor Doom into the mix. Seeing Doom bring Wanda Maximoff back after her apparent death in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was one of those moments that immediately had me wondering what he’s planning, because I can’t imagine Victor von Doom doing something like that simply out of the kindness of his heart.
We’ve spent years watching Wanda go from a young woman struggling to control her powers into one of the most dangerous characters in the MCU. She fought alongside the Avengers, lost her brother Pietro, fell in love with Vision and eventually lost him too. Then WandaVision showed us just how far her grief could push her, particularly when she created an entire world where she could have the family she’d always wanted. By the time we reached Multiverse of Madness, the Darkhold had corrupted her and she was willing to tear through different universes to find Billy and Tommy. So bringing somebody with that much power and emotional baggage back into the story is a pretty big gamble, even for Doctor Doom.
But here’s what interests me most. Doom has brought Wanda back at the exact point when Vision is finally beginning to understand his own family. Billy and Tommy have found each other, Vision is starting to accept that he’s their father, and even Ultron appears to be developing something resembling a conscience. After everything Wanda went through trying to find her children, could Marvel really be setting up a reunion? Or is Doom planning to use the one thing Wanda has always wanted against her?
Why Would Doctor Doom Need the Scarlet Witch?
Doctor Doom has never been somebody who relies on brute strength alone. In Marvel Comics, he’s one of the most intelligent people on the planet, but what makes him particularly dangerous is that he understands both science and magic. He’s capable of building technology that can challenge the Fantastic Four while also studying the sort of mystical powers we’d normally associate with Doctor Strange. It’s a combination that makes him difficult to predict, because you never quite know whether he’s going to attack somebody with an army of robots or something considerably more supernatural.
Wanda, on the other hand, has demonstrated abilities that even the most powerful sorcerers struggle to understand. We’ve seen her manipulate reality in WandaVision, overpower the Illuminati in Multiverse of Madness and nearly defeat Thanos single-handedly in Endgame. When Thanos ordered his forces to rain fire on the battlefield, it wasn’t because he fancied putting on a fireworks display. He was getting absolutely battered by Wanda and needed somebody to get her away from him.
So imagine what Doctor Doom could accomplish if he had access to that power. He might not need Wanda to fight the Avengers directly. Perhaps he needs her to manipulate reality, stabilise a collapsing universe or help him create an entirely new one. We’ve already seen how dangerous Wanda becomes when she believes she’s protecting her family, and Doom could use that motivation to persuade her to do things she would otherwise refuse.
There’s also the possibility that Doom doesn’t want Wanda as an ally at all. What if he brought her back because he needs to take her power? In the comics, Doom has repeatedly tried to obtain abilities far beyond his own, and the idea of him using somebody else’s magic to achieve his ambitions wouldn’t exactly be out of character. The frightening part is that Wanda might not realise what he’s doing until it’s too late.
Will Wanda Remember Vision, Billy and Tommy?
This is the question I really want Marvel to answer, because after everything that happened in WandaVision and VisionQuest, I think these characters deserve a proper reunion. Wanda believed she’d lost her children when the Westview Hex disappeared, and her desperation to find them became the driving force behind her actions in Multiverse of Madness. Now Billy and Tommy are back in the picture, and Vision is beginning to accept that his connection to them is more than a collection of memories.
But what version of Wanda has Doom brought back? We saw her bring Mount Wundagore down on herself at the end of Multiverse of Madness, apparently destroying the Darkhold and sacrificing herself in the process. If Doom has genuinely restored her to life, does she remember everything that happened before her death? Does she remember what the Darkhold made her do, or has something changed during whatever process Doom used to bring her back?
I wouldn’t be surprised if Doom has deliberately interfered with her memories. Think about how useful Wanda would be to him if she didn’t remember Vision or her children, particularly if he convinced her that the Avengers were responsible for everything she’d lost. We’ve already seen how easily grief can be manipulated when somebody believes the people they love have been taken away. And if Doom can make Wanda believe he’s the only person who understands her, he might not need to control her mind at all.
Then imagine Wanda coming face to face with Billy and Tommy without recognising them. After everything those boys have been through trying to understand who they are, that would be heartbreaking. Vision would be standing there with memories of a woman he once loved, trying to convince her that the family she desperately wanted is finally together again. And knowing Marvel, they’d probably make us sit through an entire battle before allowing anybody to have a proper conversation.
What if Wanda does remember them, though? That could be even more dangerous for Doom. If she realises he’s using her children as leverage, I don’t think he’d be particularly pleased with what happens next. We’ve already seen how powerful Wanda becomes when somebody threatens the people she loves, and Doom might discover that bringing the Scarlet Witch back was considerably easier than keeping her under control.
Could Doctor Strange Actually Stop Wanda This Time?
I’ve been wondering about this since Multiverse of Madness, because Doctor Strange didn’t exactly have an easy time dealing with Wanda. He tried reasoning with her, used everything he knew about magic and even explored the Darkhold himself, but ultimately he couldn’t simply overpower her. Wanda was operating on a completely different level, and the film made it clear that she was capable of defeating sorcerers who would normally be considered among the strongest characters in the MCU.
Now imagine Wanda returning with Doctor Doom supporting her. Strange would potentially be facing somebody who understands chaos magic alongside a man who’s spent his life studying technology and the mystical arts. That’s a rather unpleasant combination, particularly when we’ve already seen what Wanda can do on her own. I don’t think Strange would stand much chance in a straightforward fight against both of them, although I suspect he’d have a few tricks prepared.
But I also don’t think defeating Wanda through force is necessarily the answer. At the end of Multiverse of Madness, it wasn’t a powerful spell or some incredible weapon that finally stopped her. It was seeing how terrified Billy and Tommy were of her. That moment forced Wanda to confront what she’d become, and she made the decision to destroy the Darkhold rather than continue hurting people.
What if the same thing happens in Doomsday? Instead of Strange trying to defeat Wanda, perhaps he needs to help her remember who she is. Billy and Tommy could be far more important to stopping her than any magical weapon, particularly if Doom has manipulated her memories. And with Vision now accepting his role as their father, we might finally see the family working together to bring Wanda back from whatever Doom has done to her.
There’s also something quite interesting about Strange’s own experience with the multiverse. He’s seen what happens when people interfere with realities they don’t understand, and he knows how dangerous it can be when somebody believes they’re doing the right thing. Perhaps that gives him a better chance of understanding Wanda this time, rather than simply treating her as another enemy who needs to be defeated.
Could Wanda Help Doom Create Battleworld?
If Marvel takes inspiration from the Secret Wars comics, there’s another possibility that I think deserves some attention. Doctor Doom’s ambitions could extend far beyond defeating the Avengers, particularly if the multiverse is collapsing and different realities are beginning to collide. In the 2015 Secret Wars storyline, Doom becomes the ruler of Battleworld, a patchwork planet formed from the remains of destroyed universes, after acquiring extraordinary power.
Now I’m not suggesting Marvel will follow that storyline exactly, because the MCU has already changed plenty of things from the comics. But the idea of Doom trying to rebuild reality makes Wanda incredibly important. She’s already demonstrated the ability to create an entire town’s worth of altered reality, complete with people, memories and a family. Imagine what could happen if Doom found a way to amplify those abilities on a much larger scale.
Perhaps bringing Wanda back is the first step in creating his own version of Battleworld. He could promise her a universe where Vision never died, Billy and Tommy were never lost and her family could finally live together without anybody interfering. After everything Wanda has suffered, that would be an incredibly tempting offer, particularly if she believed there was no other way to get her family back.
But there’s a problem with that plan. Wanda has already experienced what happens when you build a perfect world by controlling everybody inside it. Westview might have given her the family she wanted, but it came at the expense of the people trapped there. I’d like to think she’s learned something from that experience, especially after the events of Multiverse of Madness. Whether Doom can convince her otherwise is another question.
And what happens if Wanda eventually discovers that her family already exists without Doom having to create anything? Vision, Billy and Tommy could be the very people who convince her to turn against him. It would be rather fitting if Doom went to all that trouble bringing back one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse, only for her to become one of the reasons he loses.
Could Ultron Be the Unexpected Hero?
Now I know this sounds ridiculous considering what Ultron did in Age of Ultron, but after watching VisionQuest, I genuinely wouldn’t mind seeing him involved in the fight against Doom. The series gave us a very different side to Ultron, particularly through his relationship with Jocasta and his decision not to destroy thousands of innocent people when he had every reason to lose control.
He’s still sarcastic, arrogant and probably one bad day away from deciding humanity is a terrible idea, but there was something enjoyable about seeing Vision try to teach him that people are worth protecting. And now that Vision has accepted Billy and Tommy as his family, we’ve somehow ended up with Ultron as a sort of grandfather. I never thought I’d be writing that sentence when I first watched Age of Ultron, but here we are.
Imagine Doom attempting to manipulate Wanda while Vision and Ultron are trying to protect the boys. Ultron knows what it’s like to be created for somebody else’s purpose, and he understands how dangerous it can be when a powerful intelligence decides it knows what’s best for everyone. Perhaps he’d recognise what Doom was doing before the Avengers did, particularly if Doom was using technology or artificial intelligence to control Wanda.
I’d absolutely love to see Vision and Ultron working together against a common enemy. Not because Ultron has suddenly become a good guy, but because he’s finally found something he doesn’t want to lose. And if James Spader gets to deliver a few sarcastic comments while fighting Doctor Doom, that’s an added bonus.
What Happens When Wanda Finally Sees Her Family Again?
For me, the most interesting part of this theory isn’t whether Wanda can defeat Doctor Strange or whether Doom can steal her powers. It’s what happens when she finally sees Vision, Billy and Tommy standing together. We’ve watched this family fall apart across several films and television series, and VisionQuest has finally started putting some of those pieces back together.
But it won’t be straightforward. Vision doesn’t believe he’s exactly the same person who fell in love with Wanda, and the boys have experienced their own complicated journeys since Westview. Wanda has also done some terrible things, even if the Darkhold played a major part in pushing her towards them. Bringing them together doesn’t automatically erase everything that’s happened, and I hope Marvel gives those characters time to deal with that rather than simply pretending they’re one happy family again.
I also wonder how Wanda would react to Ultron being part of Vision’s life. Let’s not forget that Ultron was responsible for the events that led to Pietro’s death in Age of Ultron, so I can’t imagine Wanda being particularly thrilled to discover that Vision has been keeping him around. Add Jocasta into the mix and you’ve got one of the strangest family reunions Marvel could possibly put together. I suspect somebody would be getting thrown through a wall before everyone had finished introducing themselves.
And that’s why I think Doom could be making a mistake by bringing Wanda back. He might see her as a weapon capable of helping him control the multiverse, but underneath all that power is somebody who has spent years trying to find the people she loves. If he threatens that family, or tries to use them to control her, he could end up facing a version of the Scarlet Witch even more dangerous than the one we saw in Multiverse of Madness.
Of course, we’re still firmly in fan theory territory here. We don’t know exactly what Doom wants from Wanda, whether her memories have been affected or how much of VisionQuest will feed directly into Doomsday. But after that post-credits scene, I think Marvel has deliberately given us a reason to start asking these questions.
I loved VisionQuest, and that ending has made me even more excited to see where the story goes next. We’ve now got Vision accepting his family, Billy and Tommy together, Ultron potentially changing his ways and Wanda returning through Doctor Doom. If Marvel manages to bring all of that together in Avengers: Doomsday, we could be in for something special.
What do you think, Fandom? Has Doom brought Wanda back to help him save the multiverse, or is he planning to use her powers for something far more dangerous? And when Wanda finally sees Vision and the boys again, will she remember the family she lost, or will Doom have made sure she doesn’t?
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