Scarlet Witch Could Be the Key to Battleworld in Avengers: Secret Wars

Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, looked set to play an incredibly important role in Avengers: Secret Wars, and I believed at the end of Avengers: Doomsday as well. A report at the time claimed that Doctor Doom keeps her prisoner in his castle on Battleworld because her power is what keeps that world running.

When I put this together, neither Avengers: Doomsday nor Avengers: Secret Wars had been released, so what follows is the reporting and theorizing as it stood then. It had been a while since we'd really heard anything about Wanda, but I thought Marvel had most likely had plans for her for the ending of the Multiverse Saga for a very long time.

Marvel set up Wanda as a nexus being in WandaVision

I thought Marvel had plans for Wanda to interact with Kang in what was originally supposed to be The Kang Dynasty, before the next Avengers movie became Avengers: Doomsday. Despite the switch, Marvel did set her up to be an incredibly important person for the MCU, teasing that she is a nexus being. They teased this in WandaVision, where Agatha called her the Scarlet Witch and said she's not supposed to exist.

Wanda has the power to change reality. She can alter probability and manipulate the timeline, serving as the focal point or anchor for a specific universe. Don't confuse nexus beings with anchor beings, though, because they're not the same thing. In fact, according to one insider, Marvel was ditching the whole anchor being concept.

Nexus beings in the comics are crucial to multiversal stability and often draw the attention of the Time Variance Authority. They're incredibly powerful and can cause multiverse stability or instability with their reality warping powers. Those specific powers are what I expected Doctor Doom to want in Avengers: Doomsday, and according to a new report at the time, what he would very specifically use in Avengers: Secret Wars.

Why I thought Wanda could take Molecule Man's place in Doom's plan

During the events of the Multiverse Saga, I was assuming the TVA has probably monitored Wanda. Since Doom is basically replacing Kang, Doom probably has monitored her as well, probably from the Library of Worlds. I thought she was a key part of Doom's plan, because if you secretly want to create a universe that is perfect to you, you kind of need a way to do that. You need the power to do that.

In the Secret Wars comics, Doom gets the powers of the Beyonder through Molecule Man. Molecule Man actually takes them away from him at the end and gives them to Reed Richards. My theory was that Wanda might take the place of Molecule Man in Doomsday, and I especially thought so if the new report was accurate.

The report claimed Wanda is held prisoner in Doctor Doom's castle

The report came from a scooper, who stated: "The film reportedly takes place 8 years after the events of Avengers Doomsday." According to the report, all timelines and universes converge in the void, creating Battleworld. I wasn't too sure it would take place in the void, because I thought the void might be used as a place to escape Battleworld, but I was going to wait and see on that.

The report said Doctor Doom rules this new merged world from a massive fortress that combines elements of his classic castle with the Citadel at the End of Time, a location connected to multiverse control in the comics. In this MCU version, the fortress serves as the center of power from which Doom maintains order on Battleworld.

One of the most important parts of the story, according to the report, is the Scarlet Witch. Concept art reportedly shows Wanda being held prisoner in Doom's castle. She isn't just a hostage. Doom keeps her there because she is a nexus being, someone with chaos magic that can connect different realities, and in this theory Doom uses her power to keep Battleworld together and control the new multiverse.

The report also said Doom isn't alone in his castle. Other very powerful characters are reportedly kept there as prisoners, including Sentry and Reed Richards, possibly because they could threaten Doom's control over reality. Doom would reportedly marry Sue Storm, similar to the comics where Doom rules alongside the Richards family. In this version, though, Sue would appear publicly beside Doom as the ruler of Battleworld, while Wanda would secretly remain in prison since her power is what keeps the world running.

Wanda as the key to making Battleworld remember

As always, take these leaks with a grain of salt, but I did think this made sense, and I liked it. It lined up with my theory that the Scarlet Witch is the key to making everyone remember their lives before Battleworld, because everyone on Battleworld probably won't remember anything from before it was created. At least that's how it is in the comics.

Based on the leaked concept art with Doom on the throne and Strange, Sue Storm and Franklin Richards by his side, that looked to be how it is in the MCU as well. That's why they worship God Emperor Doom: he literally created their world and their lives, and that's all they know. At least until the Scarlet Witch can be freed and make everyone remember.

The Young Avengers could free the Scarlet Witch, as in Children's Crusade

I believed the job of freeing the Scarlet Witch would come down to the Young Avengers, taking a page from another comic story, Children's Crusade. Alex Perez had this to say about the Young Avengers: "The Young Avengers, which features Kate Bishop as co-captain, role at the end of the multiverse is equivalent to the role of Ant-Man in Endgame." He also suggested people stop using the leaked concept art as an idea of what's going to happen, because "it's very different this time around."

The Young Avengers seemed to be in a pretty good place in that concept art, sitting at what seems to be a bar with Wong and Star-Lord. I thought the Young Avengers were getting together for a very specific purpose, which is basically freeing the Scarlet Witch. Going by Perez comparing their role to Ant-Man being in the Quantum Realm during the snap, it seemed like the Young Avengers aren't affected by Battleworld.

Maybe that's because they go to the Quantum Realm, which would make sense because Cassie knows all about the Quantum Realm and how to get there. It would make sense that in Avengers: Doomsday, as the multiverse is about to collapse, she takes the Young Avengers she's with into the Quantum Realm to survive the end of the multiverse, only to return in Secret Wars once Battleworld is already created. Then the Young Avengers, who would include Billy and Tommy, Wanda's kids, would go on a quest to save her.

In Children's Crusade, Tommy and Billy realize they are brothers and the sons of the Scarlet Witch. At the time, the Scarlet Witch suffers from memory loss and is about to marry Doctor Doom. Billy manages to get to her and explains everything, but she still says she would like to marry Doom. The Avengers and the X-Men even show up to try to save her, but she sends them back. It's actually Doom who chooses power over the Scarlet Witch, which is why they don't get married. Terrible decision on his part. I imagined the MCU story would be somewhat the same, except the Scarlet Witch won't be marrying Doom. She'll be a prisoner the Young Avengers free.

How I thought Wanda could help rebuild the multiverse

From there, it gets bad for Doom, because I thought Wanda would restore the so-called reality of Battleworld and reveal that there was a multiverse before. Everyone had lives before, but Doom took it upon himself to make a new universe and rule over it. That's where everyone starts to rebel, form a big Avengers team and go up against Doom. And if she is holding this universe together, that probably means she has the ability to tear it apart.

But then there's a problem: Battleworld is the only thing that exists. It's the only universe. That's where I believed we'd get an ending similar to the Secret Wars comic, where Reed Richards, Molecule Man and Franklin start to restore the multiverse. I thought the end would be somewhat similar, with the Scarlet Witch, Franklin, Reed Richards and maybe more people using their universe creating and reality warping powers to make a new universe for everyone to live in that's not ruled by one person, but is free. That would be the new MCU after the soft reboot.

A redemption arc for the Scarlet Witch

I personally liked this because it brings back the Scarlet Witch and helps her go through a redemption arc. That's not including what we might see in Avengers: Doomsday, because she might side with Doctor Doom there but ultimately realize he is the villain. She'd be a prisoner in Avengers: Secret Wars, then be freed, help everybody in a big way and fight Doom with the rest of the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and probably a ton of heroes and maybe even villains.

Then she'd get further redemption by helping create a new world that is free for everybody to live in. I thought this would be a pretty good redemption arc for the Scarlet Witch.

What role would you like to see the Scarlet Witch play on Battleworld?