One quote from Marvel Television’s Agatha All Along series perfectly underlines the tragic backstory of Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch in the MCU. Elizabeth Olsen debuted as Wanda Maximoff in the post-credits scene of 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, making her first full appearance in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, and has had an incredibly tumultuous journey in the MCU since then. One could argue that Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch has the most tragic backstory out of any character in the MCU, and 2024 made this even worse.

Even though Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch is no longer in the MCU following her sacrifice in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, her legacy is still being felt. Marvel Television’s recent Agatha All Along series dealt directly with the impact of the Scarlet Witch’s death, particularly through the resurrection of her son, Billy Maximoff, in the body of Joe Locke’s recently-deceased William Kaplan. While this could have redeemed the Scarlet Witch, however, Billy’s return completed Marvel Studios’ disrespect of Elizabeth Olsen’s beloved MCU character.

Scarlet Witch’s MCU Arc Was A Tragedy

Elizabeth Olsen Played The Scarlet Witch Between 2014 & 2022

Throughout her eight years in the live-action MCU, it was incredibly rare that audiences saw Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch in a happy moment. Her journey throughout life in the MCU was marked by tragedy at every turn, beginning from when she was very young in war-torn Sokovia, with this war culminating in the deaths of her parents. After volunteering for HYDRA’s experiments and having their powers enhanced, Wanda and her twin brother, Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Pietro Maximoff, a.k.a. Quicksilver, joined the Avengers, ultimately leading to the latter’s demise at the hands of Ultron.

Scarlet Witch’s Live-Action Project

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2014

Avengers: Age of Ultron
2015

Captain America: Civil War
2016

Avengers: Infinity War
2018

Avengers: Endgame
2019

WandaVision
2021

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
2022

Wanda Maximoff then became a fugitive after 2016’s Civil War, and was forced to kill her love, Paul Bettany’s Vision, to stop Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, only for the Mad Titan to reverse time and succeed anyway. Wanda’s transformation into the Scarlet Witch in WandaVision made her a bona fide villain to many, specifically the imprisoned residents of Westview, while she, again, lost Vision and also her magically-created children. This all culminated in her rampaging across the multiverse and eventually sacrificing herself on Mount Wundagore: a sorry end to the tragic life of the Scarlet Witch.

Billy’s Rejection Of Wanda In 2024 Completed Marvel’s Disrespect Of Her

Billy Maximoff Underlined The Scarlet Witch’s Tragic MCU Storyline

After he finally revealed his true identity in Agatha All Along episode 5, “Darkest Hour/Wake Thy Power,” Billy Maximoff and Agatha Harkness were able to speak freely to each other as they continued down the Witches’ Road. Episode 7, “Death’s Hand in Mine,” saw Billy question Agatha about the real status of the Scarlet Witch, while noting that she is not his mother, suggesting he already has one, referring to Rebecca Kaplan, who had raised him for the last three years. This marked Marvel’s latest, and perhaps biggest, insult against Wanda Maximoff.

Wanda Maximoff quite literally broke down the walls of the multiverse to try and reunite with her sons, who she thought had ceased to exist in the MCU’s main continuity at the end of WandaVision. Despite this, Billy Maximoff showed her no respect whatsoever in Agatha All Along, choosing instead to renounce their obvious connection. Even so, his Chaos Magic abilities and Scarlet Witch and Vision-inspired superhero costume as Wiccan tell a different story, so the possible reunion between Wanda and Billy Maximoff may still be an emotional moment in the MCU’s future.