Doctor Strange has some of the most powerful foes in Marvel comics lore. As The Sorcerer Supreme, this makes storytelling sense. Dormammu and Nightmare are far greater threats than most of the non-magic-oriented villains in Marvel’s arsenal. After all, he would quickly dispatch Spider-Man or Daredevil villains, just as Superman would do the same with Batman villains.
Doctor Strange 2 promises to be both an absurdly fun and potentially very dark sequel to its predecessor. Marvel Studios can amplify the hype for the film by both subverting expectations and utilizing a non-obvious villain. Wanda Maximoff, The Scarlet Witch, should be the main villain in Doctor Strange 2. Yes, the fellow Avenger would make for a powerful ally for the good doctor, but an even more compelling superhero-turned-supervillain.
Wanda is Already a Villain After the Events in WandaVision
Wanda Maximoff is one of the most tragic Marvel superheroes both in comic book panels and on the big screen. Being both the daughter of Magneto and one of the most powerful mutants will do that to a person.
Before Doctor Strange was even introduced, Wanda was introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) initially as a villain in Avengers: Age of Ultron. She joins Captain America’s team of fugitives in Captain America: Civil War and is imprisoned for her efforts, furthering her role as an antagonist. She faces the ultimate heartbreak in Avengers: Infinity War when Thanos kills her beloved Vision not once, but twice. The magic-wielder finds redemption in Avengers: Endgame when she helps take down Thanos and save the world.
In WandaVision, the magic-wielding protagonist holds an entire New Jersey town captive to live out her ultimate fantasy of having Vision and their two children by her side. Although her actions are the result of trauma and grief, that does not justify them. Hurt people hurt people, and Wanda causes a lot of psychological and physical anguish on the town residents in order to maintain her newfound lifestyle. There was much speculation that Mephisto (Marvel’s quasi-stand-in for the devil) would show up and prove to be the season’s puppet master supervillain, but the true villain was Wanda.
The Scarlet Witch becomes even more powerful at the end of WandaVision after obtaining the book of magic called the Darkhold. Her power could be becoming limitless, surpassing that of Doctor Strange. The doctor might have to reign her in before she causes real damage to the world, after showing what she was capable of doing to a town.
Too Powerful, and Out of Control
Wanda Maximoff is perhaps the strongest character in the MCU at the moment. She can wield an ungodly amount of magic and control mass amounts of people with nothing but her mind. Thus far, her more sinister actions have been reactionary. The death of her parents, brother, and Vision have given her a lifetime’s worth of grief and trauma at a young age, and she has reacted harshly to these emotions. What happens when she gives purpose to her rage? If she should become proactive with her abilities rather than reactive, she could be a true force to be reckoned with for Doctor Strange.
Possible House of M Storyline
Arguably the most famous (or infamous) Marvel comics event centering around The Scarlet Witch is 2005’s House of M. The event starts with Wanda Maximoff committing genocide against her fellow mutants by merely uttering three words: “No more mutants.”
Mutants do not yet exist (or at least the audience does not know about them) in the MCU. So, if instead of saying, “No more Mutants” what if Wanda were to whisper “No more heroes” or “No more Avengers”? This would lead to untold amounts of chaos. Wanda Maximoff has the world at her mercy, whether she knows it or not, whether she wants to or not.
House of M is one of Marvel’s darker comic book events. It gets so grim that even our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man announces that when he gets his hands on Wanda, he is going to kill her. This is extremely uncharacteristic for the wall-crawler, and goes to show how much damage Wanda has caused.
Introduction of Mutants
Alternatively, the fine folks at the House of Ideas could invert the House of M storyline. Instead of destroying the mutant race, Wanda Maximoff could introduce Homo Superior. As in the comics, this could cause widespread fear on Earth, as humans would no longer be atop the proverbial food chain. This could simultaneously bring the X-Men into existence and bring along evil mutants as well, a task for Dr. Strange and The Avengers to deal with.
No matter what direction Doctor Strange 2 takes, it should utilize Wanda Maximoff’s newfound power and make her turn full supervillain. She is already halfway there after WandaVision, it is just a matter of how far and how dark Marvel Studios wants to take the story.