Elizabeth Olsen Is The Most Important Marvel Character In Phase 4
It appears as though after the events of WandaVision, Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff might be the most important character in Marvel's Phase 4.
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After the first seven episodes of the Disney+ hit WandaVision, it’s clear that Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff is well on her way to becoming the most important character in Marvel’s Phase 4. In fact, according to gossip writer Daniel Richtman on his Patreon page, “The character of Wanda will be a main focus of phase 4.” Unfortunately, Richtman doesn’t offer any explanation other than that, but it’s not hard to follow the logic from his statement.
After her introduction in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Elizabeth Olsen has played Wanda Maximoff in three other MCU films: Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, in addition to a post-credit scene in Captain America: Winter Soldier, which came out before Age of Ultron. But in none of those movies has Wanda Maximoff been addressed as her alias, Scarlet Witch.
When he was announcing WandaVision at the 2019 CCXP, Kevin Feige made this comment, “[We have] the opportunity to tell their story, and show more of what Wanda can do, more of what makes Vision, Vision, and most importantly, reveal a name that I’m not even sure we’ve said in the MCU yet, but we make a big deal of in the show, is the fact that Wanda is the Scarlet Witch. And what does that mean, that she is the Scarlet Witch?”
We saw a hint of what she could do in Age of Ultron, when she halted the Avengers by forcing them to have strange visions, but the full weight of her abilities has yet to be seen. Even with WandaVision, it’s not entirely how much of this crafted city she lives in is her own creation or formed by someone else.
Audiences are beginning to see that Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda – and eventually Scarlet Witch – is going to be the thread that ties everything Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe together. Wanda already has WandaVision and we know that she will be returning in Sam Raimi’s upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Wanda has also inadvertently given superpowers to Monica Rambeau that will reportedly follow her to Captain Marvel 2. Reality manipulation is also going to play a big part in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home, so it’s possible Scarlet Witch could be integral to the story of that film. There are even hints within WandaVision that Kang the Conquerer could possibly be making an appearance in WandaVision ahead of his appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. As Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe begins with WandaVision, it certainly looks as though Wanda’s actions here will have a ripple effect for the next few years of films.
While Feige once said that Captain Marvel was the most powerful character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Feige recently admitted this is no longer true. Feige told ScreenRant, “If you look at Endgame, Wanda Maximoff was going to kill Thanos. If he hadn’t desperately — that’s as scared as I’ve ever seen Thanos. And if he hadn’t said, ‘Decimate my entire team to get her off of me,’ I think she would’ve done it.”
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4 looks like it’s shaping up to be very much influenced by the actions of Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff.
