What does the Scarlet Witch’s crown mean in the MCU?
Since iron man Marvel Studio launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008, carefully altering the design of classic comics to make the cinema versions of beloved heroes look less cheesy. Of course, there are some moments when Marvel Studios nods to the original looks of both heroes and villains, like with this brilliant one Richard E Grant cameo one Loki. Still, on rare occasions, Marvel Studios chooses to reclaim classic comic book looks, often giving them a deeper meaning. Such is the case of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), whose Crown of Scarlet Witch became essential to her character development.
Scarlet Witch’s appearance has been changed in the MCU
Created by stan lee And Jack Kirby for 1964s The X-Men #4, the original Scarlet Witch design followed the unfortunate trend for most female comic book characters at the time. That means putting the heroine in a bikini-like costume and showing as much skin as possible. In adapting the character for the MCU, Marvel Studios made sure to give the Scarlet Witch a more realistic look and move as far away from the unwanted sexualization of female heroes as possible. As Olsen told us in an interview ahead of the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron“The first thing [director] joss [Whedon] Before I even got the job, when we first met, did he ever say to me, ‘If you look at the pictures, look at the comics, you know we don’t make you look like that. You don’t have to wear bathing suits or look like a porn star.'”
While Marvel Studio’s awareness of the comics’ shortcomings is more than inviting, the Scarlet Witch hasn’t been given an authentic uniform age of ultron. And even after that, Wanda’s costume bore few resemblances to her comic book counterpart. The most significant loss was the Crown of the Scarlet Witch, the unique accessory the comics used to distinguish Wanda from other characters. In 2021, however, Marvel Studios found the perfect excuse to meaningfully bring back the Scarlet Witch’s crown while unleashing Wanda’s reality-shattering powers.
“WandaVision” gave the Scarlet Witch her comic look
Marvel Comics originally presented Wanda Maximoff as a powerful mutant and daughter of Magneto, leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants. However, in 2015, when age of ultron was released, Disney still hadn’t bought Fox, and Marvel Studios couldn’t use Mutants. So in the MCU, Wanda’s powers came from a Hydra experiment through which the evil organization altered her physiology with the power of Loki’s Specter, secretly the Mind Stone. That was a pretty decent way of handling the licensing drama while still bringing a beloved character into the MCU. Despite this, the heroine did not have her full power until the events of WandaVisionthe first Marvel Studios series from Disney+.
WandaVision Set in Westview, a town held hostage by Wanda who recreates the sitcom-inspired perfect life to cope with the trauma of Vision’s untimely death. The main villain of the series, Agatha Harkness (Catherine Hahn), goes to Westview to steal Wanda’s powers as the young woman is the only witch capable of altering reality at will alone. As Agatha reveals, the Mind Stone awakened Wanda’s latent power only because she was always the Scarlet Witch even before Hydra’s experiments. For example, Wanda’s powers saved her and her brother from the war in Sokovia when they were children.
Before WandaVision, the MCU had not used the Scarlet Witch moniker and constantly referred to the character by her real name, Wanda. However, after learning the truth about her powers from Agatha, Wanda must accept that she is an agent of chaos capable of manipulating reality. By the end of the series, Wanda has adopted a whole new identity, embracing her role as the Scarlet Witch. So it was more than fitting that she would get a costume change. Additionally, Marvel Studios felt this was the perfect opportunity to bring back the Scarlet Witch Crown. So in the series finale, Wanda proudly dons a comic book-perfect uniform, minus the unnecessary sexism.
The Scarlet Witch’s crown and powers take on new meaning in Doctor Strange 2
The importance of the powers and the Scarlet Witch’s crown has been further expanded Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the film, Wanda becomes a threat to the entire multiverse once her mind is corrupted by Darkhold, a book written by Chthon, the Elder God from which Chaos Magic originated. WandaVision already teases the tale of the Scarlet Witch, but Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness expands on it by confirming that Wanda is just the latest magic wielder to hold the title. She comes from a long line of witches as Chthon is always trying to conquer the multiverse and the Scarlet Witch is the Elder God’s ultimate weapon. In short, the Scarlet Witch is Chthon’s champion, and as such she deserves the crown of a world conqueror.
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Wanda does not wear a crown when trying to hide her intentions or when the film presents variants of the character that have not been corrupted by Chthon’s influence. However, when Wanda wants to intimidate her enemies, she likes to show off her full magical uniform, including her crown. This is evident when she attacks Kamar-Taj and uses the Sorcerer Supreme (Benedict Wong), proving that she is the strongest mage in the MCU. This shouldn’t be a surprise since WandaVision director Matt Shakman has previously said, “Scarlet Witch is the master of chaos magic, she makes things real. That’s what chaos magic is all about, it’s not an illusion, it’s the ability to create things. That makes her more powerful than the Sorcerer Supreme.”
First, the MCU ditched the Scarlet Witch’s crown because it was associated with a sexist uniform that they didn’t want to replicate. However, as the character evolved through movies and series, Marvel Studios found a clever way to bring back the classic uniform and give it meaning. We still don’t know when Wanda will next appear in the MCU. However, whenever she does, her crown will be a symbol of her mastery of chaos magic.
WandaVision And Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are available on Disney+.
