Is Scarlet Witch Hiding Among Doctor Doom's Latverian Witches in Avengers: Doomsday?

When Marvel Studios put Avengers: Doomsday costumes on display at San Diego Comic-Con, the exhibition included some of Doctor Doom's Latverian witches, and fans quickly started asking whether Scarlet Witch could be one of them. My honest answer at the time was that I did not think Wanda Maximoff was in the movie, though I did believe Elizabeth Olsen was headed back to the MCU at some point.

We already had a good idea who at least two of these witches were. The third is what had fans wondering whether another famous sorcerer, one I still did not think was part of the film, might end up joining Doom's circle.

Daniel RPK reported Doctor Doom's coven of witches months before Comic-Con

About six or eight months before the convention, industry insider Daniel RPK broke the news that Doctor Doom would have a group of followers, or rather a coven of witches. He even went as far as saying their cloaks would be different colors, with one purple and another gold.

Then, as fans arrived in San Diego for the Comic-Con weekend, Marvel Studios had a huge exhibition of costumes from Avengers: Doomsday, and some of the Latverian witches were part of it. The first one unveiled was cloaked in green and the second was cloaked in gold. As soon as these Latverian witches showed up, people started theorizing that Wanda Maximoff must be back as one of Doom's followers.

Doctor Doom and Wanda Maximoff share a complicated comic book history

The theory mostly comes from the fact that Doom and Wanda have a complex relationship in the comics, to say the least. At one point, she has amnesia and is found in Latveria engaged to Doctor Doom. That happens during the Children's Crusade storyline, which I said at the time could very well be in play for parts of Vision Quest and/or Secret Wars.

There is also the storyline in which Doctor Doom manipulated Wanda to harness the cosmic life force to reshape reality and boost his own magical and scientific dominance. Given what we already knew about where Doom is in this story, chasing power on the way to creating Battleworld and taking the mantle of God Emperor Doom, any manipulation of witches to boost his own power would make sense. That is one of the direct storylines shared between him and Wanda.

Elizabeth Olsen said she was not returning, but rumors pointed to a small role

That being said, Elizabeth Olsen has been pretty emphatic that she is not returning. Marvel Studios seems to have definitively said that Wanda died on Wundagore Mountain at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But this is the multiverse, and there are infinite variants across all of the realities, so a return for Wanda could be possible.

There were also plenty of plot leaks and rumors from industry insiders indicating she may have a small role in the film. I was not ruling anything out, mostly because it seemed like Marvel had brought the entire cast back, and I am not really sure why anyone would choose to sit out if they got the invitation.

Clea is among Doom's witches, with Doctor Strange apparently and Captain Carter rumored to join her

We pretty much knew who some of these witches were. One of them, in my view, is definitely going to be Charlize Theron's Clea. Another goes by a code name and is apparently Doctor Strange, and we will know who he is immediately because his Doctor Doom style mask will have a third eye.

Another is rumored to be Captain Carter. My assumption is that this is just a witch taking Captain Carter's form in order to taunt and bait Steve Rogers at the end of the film. That comes from plot leaks saying there is a very tragic ending coming from Doctor Doom towards Steve. Consider that a spoiler warning, but it is presumable that some of these witches can also shapeshift, and that this is not really Peggy Carter at all.

Doom may want Darkhold users like Doctor Strange around him

I think the reason Doom would want to surround himself with the likes of Doctor Strange, and possibly Wanda if that turns out to be true, is that they are Darkhold users. They have already harnessed the power of the Darkhold, and as Doctor Strange says, it corrupts absolutely.

That is why I have always thought Doctor Strange's days were numbered. It is not just because of the 2015 Jonathan Hickman storyline in which he starts out as Doom's sheriff, and you can guess what happens after that. It is because he has been corrupted by the Darkhold, and in most cases it not only corrupts those who use it but also directly or indirectly leads to their ending.

I don't think Scarlet Witch is in Doomsday, but I believe Elizabeth Olsen is coming back

Ultimately, I do not think Elizabeth Olsen or Scarlet Witch are in this movie, and I do not think one of Doom's witches will be Scarlet Witch. However, I do believe Elizabeth Olsen is headed back to the MCU as the Scarlet Witch. As I have argued before, the way Marvel makes sure the X-Men saga, or this multiple stage mutant saga, actually succeeds is by not alienating the X-Men in a universe where a lot of heroes have already died or left the MCU. As I put it, "we need a Scarlet Witch in the MCU."

I think Elizabeth Olsen has admitted she would like to come back as long as the stories were right, and there were plenty of stories left to tell for her character. She has an extensive history not only with Doctor Doom but with plenty of members of the X-Men and their storylines, so there would be room for her. That is why so many rumors have circulated about her getting her own solo film. To be honest, it is a surprise that Marvel Studios has not gone that direction. Instead it made her story a Disney Plus title, and that turned into a rather long trilogy, with Agatha All Along in the middle and Vision Quest still carrying the storyline with Wanda's kids, Billy and Tommy, and with Vision on a journey of discovering himself.

Rumors pointed to a cameo in Doomsday and more in Secret Wars

"I can't fault anybody for thinking that Scarlet Witch may be right around the corner," especially in a movie like Avengers: Doomsday that seems pretty intent on fan service of all kinds. Again, I was not ruling anybody out. But if you were anticipating a major role for Scarlet Witch, I would not expect it to be more than her slipping off a mask to be revealed as one of Doom's many witch followers. The rumors said as much: every time she came up, it was basically that she would have a small cameo in Doomsday and maybe more to do in Secret Wars.

So maybe there is a place for her, and her re entry to the MCU comes during Secret Wars.

Doom's runes also seemed to be a huge part of this. The trailer showed his glove with his own rune on it, and we know from WandaVision that surrounding another witch in runes will dampen her power. My theory is that this is his ultimate plan with Battleworld: to make sure he is the most powerful sorcerer there.

For what it is worth, I really only have Franklin Richards ahead of Wanda in terms of raw power, and maybe Doctor Doom right now, who knows. So I will put the question to you: if she were still around, would Scarlet Witch be the most powerful hero in the MCU, even against Sentry?