The following contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, uses one of her most powerful spells from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in a new, stunning figure from Hot Toys.
The highly detailed figure, which is currently available to pre-order from Sideshow for $320, showcases Wanda dreamwalking by using the Darkhold. This power allows her to possess a variant of herself in another universe as part of her plan to reunite with her sons from WandaVision, Billy and Tommy. The toy showcases Wanda in her Scarlet Witch attire from the Marvel Cinematic Universe film, with interchangeable hands and hairstyles, a display stand, Darkhold, the dreamwalking spell effect and candle diorama accessories that bring the forbidden magic to life.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness premiered in theaters on May 6, earning over $500 million during its first week before suffering a massive weekend drop at the domestic box office. Directed by Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Spider-Man) and written by Michael Waldron (Loki, Rick and Morty), the movie stars Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlet Witch alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong and Xochitl Gomez.
The Doctor Strange sequel sees Wanda transition into a villain whose plan involves killing a teenage girl, America Chavez, in order to steal her Multiverse-traveling abilities. Many have argued that this transition invalidates her character growth from WandaVision, claiming that her overall story arc is an example of the MCU's problematic handling of female characters. Waldron responded to the criticism by saying, "I guess I would say to the WandaVision fans, like, I get it. Watching a character you love do bad things sucks...we never would have done it if it didn’t feel like the next step in her character journey."
Over the course of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's narrative, Wanda displays just how powerful she is, devastating the magical forces of Kamar-Taj by herself and brutally murdering the members of Earth-838's Illuminati. However, her dreamwalking is framed as her most egregious offense and yet, by the end of the film, Doctor Strange performs the same spell and suffers little consequence, which highlights a double standard Wanda points out to Strange in the film. As Wanda herself explains to Strange in promos for the movie, "You break the rules and become the hero. I do it and I become the enemy. That doesn't seem fair."
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is currently playing in theaters.
Source: Sideshow