Wanda Maximoff has become one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in recent years. With the show WandaVision, the character went from a supporting role in Marvel films to a deeply empathetic protagonist of her own. Of course, that's all thanks to Elizabeth Olsen's magnificent portrayal.
Wanda, now the Scarlet Witch, makes her return to the big screen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The film finds Wanda at her most powerful yet, but even this film doesn't include some of her most prominent abilities from the comics. These powers have yet to appear in MCU Wanda's arsenal.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
10 Location Tracking
One of Wanda's most useful powers in the comics is the ability to track the location of anybody at any moment. She also has an ability known as "scrying," which allows her to project other people's current surroundings from far away. This ability is noticeably absent in the Marvel movies, though it would've been a real help.
If MCU Wanda was able to track the locations of characters, it would certainly serve her in the plot of Multiverse of Madness. Throughout the film, she attempts to chase down America Chavez as she is protected by Strange. Perhaps this ability would also help her find White Vision, who disappears at the end of WandaVision.
9 Clairvoyance
As a witch, clairvoyance is a pretty standard ability that Wanda possesses in the comics. Notably, she uses it to predict future events, such as the Black Knight's fate in another dimension, or for more location tracking purposes. While this ability doesn't directly appear in the films, there are allusions to powers that resemble it.
Famously, in Wanda's first appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Wanda hypnotizes Tony Stark into viewing a future where the Avengers have all been killed. Though this is just a vision, it certainly spooks Tony to be afraid of his actions causing the deaths of everyone he loves. That fear comes true in Infinity War.
8 Invisibility
Wanda in the MCU is an expert at illusion casting, allowing characters to see things that aren't really there. It's used in WandaVision to make the town of Westview appear normal to outsiders. Multiverse of Madness also features Wanda using this ability to make Strange believe that she's living a simple life on a farm.
However, a type of illusion that Wanda makes use of in the comics is an invisibility spell. This is a standard ability of many Marvel heroes, particularly Sue Storm of the Fantastic Four. Wanda's use of invisibility is also special because she can cast it on other people, which in the comics she does to Wonder Man.
7 Teleportation
Wanda Maximoff's ability to fly is shown extensively in the MCU, especially in Multiverse of Madness. However, the comics find other ways for her to travel. Certain Scarlet Witch comic runs find her teleporting across large distances frequently, even sometimes across entire dimensions similarly to America Chavez.
Comic-book Wanda is also capable of opening portals, which in the movies Wanda is only able to take advantage of through Strange's portals. It probably would've made the conflict a lot shorter if Wanda was capable of some of these abilities. Thankfully, her skill level at casting illusions can make her appear in many places at once.
6 Controlling Gravity
Gravity manipulation is one of the Scarlet Witch's rarely-seen powers, but it has made several appearances in the comics. At one point, she uses it during the third volume of Avengers, where she's teamed up with her close heroes like Quicksilver and Vision. However, this power is never utilized by Wanda in the MCU.
Despite that, her powers of telekinesis and levitation basically embody the same effects as gravity manipulation. Whereas comic book Wanda is able to control the rate of gravity as she wills it, movie Wanda can only keep things suspended in mid-air. This is notably used during her fight with Thanos in Avengers: Endgame.
5 Energy Weapons
Wanda would certainly not be the first comic book character able to use weapons made of pure energy. Also known as energy constructs, this ability is used by many Marvel characters, such as Adam Warlock and even Wanda's son Wiccan. Wanda can do the same in the comics, creating swords and shields out of mystic energy.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, Wanda fights using more long-ranged magic. She tends to cast spells on her victims, and when those don't work, she resorts to throwing magical orbs. However, the energy construct ability is the main form of combat for Angelina Jolie's Thena in Eternals.
4 Probability Manipulation
Wanda's hexes are capable of many powerful feats, including defensive shields and even warping reality itself. One lesser-known but incredibly powerful ability Wanda is capable of with her hexes is probability manipulation. This power allows her to disrupt time and control a variety of phenomena based on controlling chance factors.
In the comics, Wanda has used her ability to control probability to create explosions, cancel other heroes' powers, and alter matter, among other things. Even without this power, however, MCU Wanda remains among the strongest heroes alive. It's scary to imagine what she'd be capable of with this additional superpower.
3 Summoning Spirits
Comic-book Wanda is proficient in necromancy, a form of witchcraft that allows her to resurrect or communicate with the dead. However, that's not Wanda's only ability involving the manipulation of the deceased. Wanda in the comics is also capable of soul manipulation, allowing her to summon spirits from the afterlife or even exorcise.
Sadly, MCU Wanda is incapable of performing this spell. It would certainly solve a lot of problems in Wanda's life, including the loss of her family, particularly her twin Pietro. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that this necromancy would work on characters like Vision or her children since they are artificial creations and not real people.
2 Healing
Despite what her appearance in Multiverse of Madness would lead you to believe, Wanda is capable of more than just violence. In fact, one of her powers in the comics is known as biological manipulation. This allows her to control life on a cellular level, which gives her some pretty decent abilities as a teammate of the Avengers.
Notably, controlling cells gives Wanda the ability to heal others. Unfortunately, MCU Wanda is not as in control of her powers, leading her to cause harm to many people whether it be intentional or unintentional. Perhaps there's an alternate universe where Wanda's powers of healing lead her down a more righteous path.
1 The Nexus Being
In the comics, Wanda is known as a Nexus Being, which is a term for entities who have the ability to alter the flow of time. They are crucial factors for the Time Variance Authority, which notably appear as a major part of the Loki series. It's believed that Wanda and her offspring have the ability to disrupt the stability of the multiverse.
While this has yet to be established about Wanda in the MCU, there's certainly enough groundwork to take her next story there. The TVA has already been introduced, so perhaps a Variant of Wanda will eventually catch their attention. Though, it's unclear how likely that is given the events of Loki's Season 1 finale.