"CHAOS Magic Woman!" Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff Appreciation 2022

[Gnostic]

There is one more big factor. Wanda doesn't really care what happens to alt-Wanda's body. In fact, it would make replacing her easier if alt Wanda is weaker or lethally wounded while in the process of sending America back to main Wanda. So main Wanda has no reason to hold back and could do riskier or damaging things she might not have done with her own body.

Olsen says that it would have been "easier" for Wanda without the limitations. So I don't think it was that big of a factor.

[MaximoffTrash]

I think that’s exactly what happened. The Darkhold allowed her to given into her darkest desires much like the alternate Strange. I wouldn’t say it changed her into a completely different person though. Wanda chose to study the Darkhold and mess with dark magic. That’s on her and she bears responsibility for everything she did with it

The dark magic part is handled poorly in this movie.
In previous stories, Agatha and Ancient One are not crazed killers despite using the "forbidden arts"(Ancient One used Dark Dimension energy to prolong her own life span), they are shunned for their choices yes, but in DS2, every Darkhold becomes some kind of unreasonale psycho murderer.(Wanda and Stephen variants, well, not the main Stephen of course.)
Again, it's the utter lack of nuance and the obsession of making some kind of good magic/bad magic that makes this whole situation reductive and wrong.

[MaximoffTrash]

I dont think the Darkhold makes one crazy. Wanda in WV was crazy. The one here wasnt crazy and was fully aware of everything she was doing and the potentia reprecussions. She just didnt care which is different from her state of mind in WV.

WV Wanda was in denial and grief, not exactly "crazy", also it lasted for a week.

[MaximoffTrash]

I feel your kinda skipping over the entire part of Agatha being a power-sucking arrogant old hag who thought herself fully in control until the very end where she was shown up by this "novice" and was immediately hexed as punishment.
Like what would have happened if she would have been successful? Im pretty sure she would have tried to become the Scarlet Witch who rules over all herself or at least would have attempted to. Either way it certainly wouldn't have been a positive at all and totally in line with someone under Darkhold corruption.

Agatha despite being power hungry is very surgical and straight to the point.
Under the same assumptions, Wanda under corruption will just go straight to the kids and grab them.
Also not Darkhokd related but Dark Dimension magic also doesn't change people's personality significantly other than giving some "visual corruption".
DS2 writing in terms of magic system is just lame and lazy.

[MaximoffTrash]

Darkhold could showcase Wanda's inner strength and special status if they give Wanda the position of "hard to corrupt" but they gave it to Strange which is lowkey sexist.(I know, I know, Stephen Variants got corrupted, all but the important main one.)

Comic Wanda didn't become some kind of darklord even after she literally ate both Chthon and Darkhold, the power is just power. There are no shortage of heroic dark power users in comics but nahhh, Wanda has to be the one with no resistence and nuance what so ever.

[Lukmendes]

Darkhold could showcase Wanda's inner strength and special status if they give Wanda the position of "hard to corrupt" but they gave it to Strange which is lowkey sexist.(I know, I know, Stephen Variants got corrupted, all but the important main one.)

Comic Wanda didn't become some kind of darklord even after she literally ate both Chthon and Darkhold, the power is just power. There are no shortage of heroic dark power users in comics but nahhh, Wanda has to be the one with no resistence and nuance what so ever.

I remember an Avengers comic where she got possessed by Chthon, and was doing the usual evil stuff, but it was quite clearly Chthon, not her, and once she had a chance, she quickly got rid of him.

I can understand if the movie doesn't want to make it be this easy, which could boring, but what I'm hearing here, if it's accurate with the movie, then it just sounds like they did the opposite, her being easily possessed, which's still boring, though it sounds like the actress did a great job despite that.

I might watch the movie with my father next week so I might see what's up, hope it's at least dumb fun lol.

And since nobody talked about this detail, does it have a lot of the usual MCU humor? 'Cause those jokes make me want to die and I want to know if I should be ready for 'em or not.

[MaximoffTrash]

I remember an Avengers comic where she got possessed by Chthon, and was doing the usual evil stuff, but it was quite clearly Chthon, not her, and once she had a chance, she quickly got rid of him.

I can understand if the movie doesn't want to make it be this easy, which could boring, but what I'm hearing here, if it's accurate with the movie, then it just sounds like they did the opposite, her being easily possessed, which's still boring, though it sounds like the actress did a great job despite that.

I might watch the movie with my father next week so I might see what's up, hope it's at least dumb fun lol.

And since nobody talked about this detail, does it have a lot of the usual MCU humor? 'Cause those jokes make me want to die and I want to know if I should be ready for 'em or not.

Yeah, it's Chthon specifically, I don't mind it because well, it's an Elder God, no shame to be overcome by some higher beings. It's good old power scaling.
I actually would like if it's round 1 it's getting possessed, round 2 it's strong resistance, round 3 it's payback time.
But Darkhold?(They didn't even show it as Darkhold dwarf or something) It also doesn't show her some kind of existential revelations(just truth about her kids, lol).

I don't mind seeing heroes getting defeated/overcome with extreme powers, but Darkhold in this case often feels like a none-entity and convenient excuse.

[Confuzzled]

But the movie built up the Darkhold as 'The Book of the Damned' (lol Sam Raimi) so technically the MCU version of it is a juiced up version of the book from the comics.

Apparently, it has also appeared in other MCU shows like Agents of SHIELD and Runaways where it was made up to be one of the most powerful objects of all time.

[Confuzzled]

spoilers:

One of my favorite little moments from the movie was in the climax when Wanda is in the home of the AU Maximoffs, the television behind her is playing Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the particular scene where Snow White has been forced to flee into the woods and is lost and terrified. My gut reaction on noticing it was to wonder whether the scene of the Evil Queen transforming into the hag witch would've been a better option considering the superficial witch theme, but correlating a lost and scared little girl to Wanda took a more sympathetic and layered approach to her. It's a small moment but it shows that they don't want to codify Wanda as a villain permanently, so that should provide some respite to her fans.

end of spoilers

[GenericUsername]

But the movie built up the Darkhold as 'The Book of the Damned' (lol Sam Raimi) so technically the MCU version of it is a juiced up version of the book from the comics.

Apparently, it has also appeared in other MCU shows like Agents of SHIELD and Runaways where it was made up to be one of the most powerful objects of all time.

The AoS version was a bit different and they were able to create an entire alt universe with it. This in this universe it seems to act like a battery of sorts and make people mad with power. It wasn't clear if it fully possesses, but Wanda in the one part was definitely deformed. So I'd say that they are just making it that she was possessed. I wonder if they'll go with the aspect later that it has unleashed Chthon. And I don't believe the Darkhold has been destroyed. At all. Wanda will think that and then learn that it was just the copy for Chthon's spells. It doesn't stop him.

[MaximoffTrash]

But the movie built up the Darkhold as 'The Book of the Damned' (lol Sam Raimi) so technically the MCU version of it is a juiced up version of the book from the comics.

Apparently, it has also appeared in other MCU shows like Agents of SHIELD and Runaways where it was made up to be one of the most powerful objects of all time.

Juiced and more convenient so to speak, and in the end less interesting. Sure, you can even juice it more up to the point it's "touch it and you get corrupted into doing stupid shit" and it will get even more boring.

Even AoS's handling of Darkhold is better since most of the villain affected by Darkhold does have a process of descending into madness(and Aida is a robot who has a sound plan that kinda actually worked lol.)

[MaximoffTrash]

As much as I hate how they destroyed all copies of Darkhold and make a joke out of the whole Elder Gods lore.
This can serve as a premise for Victoria's story, just say she is Chthon's backup plan who also has a whole prophecy dedicated to her, and then Wanda tries to help the girl with a similar fate and stuff.

BTW, making the "Darkhold castle" literally having Wanda's statue is also stupid, dude doesn't know when to use some sutblety lol.

[GenericUsername]

Yeah I was hoping they'd go more into the Darkhold and Chthonic lore, the Vishanti and all of that. What we were given was very basic to nothing. It could have had more depth. But it's a MCU movie and they seem to lack that for the most part.

[MaximoffTrash]

spoilers:

One of my favorite little moments from the movie was in the climax when Wanda is in the home of the AU Maximoffs, the television behind her is playing Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the particular scene where Snow White has been forced to flee into the woods and is lost and terrified. My gut reaction on noticing it was to wonder whether the scene of the Evil Queen transforming into the hag witch would've been a better option considering the superficial witch theme, but correlating a lost and scared little girl to Wanda took a more sympathetic and layered approach to her. It's a small moment but it shows that they don't want to codify Wanda as a villain permanently, so that should provide some respite to her fans.

end of spoilers

It is kinda nice on its own but given the entirety of the movie, it felt just like those cheap lips service given to her lol.
The only hope I have is for the next creators to be more caring.

[juan678]