The ending of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness left one batch of Marvel Cinematic Universe fans disappointed. These were fans of Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. The character had made a huge jump after her start in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and fans wanted to see more. However, her apparent death seemed to mark the end of Wanda's story.
With that said, in comic book movies, if there isn't a body, the character likely didn't die. This made fans want to see Wanda return, and when D23 came and went with no Wanda news, fans showed disappointment online. Fans want to see a Scarlet Witch movie, but should she be a hero or a villain? Based on her actions in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, that is a tough question to answer.
Fans Would Love for Scarlet Witch to Become a Hero Again
A lot of fans want to see the Scarlet Witch return as a hero, gaining the redemption that she might deserve. The MCU hasn't tortured any character as much as Wanda in the movies and Disney+ streaming shows. She lost her parents as a child, and Hydra tortured Wanda by experimenting on her. Her only surviving relative, twin brother Pietro, died fighting Ultron. She fell in love with Vision and ended up on the run thanks to Iron Man and Captain America's Civil War. Thanos killed Vision, leaving her alone, and she broke, creating her own children and an idyllic life, only to lose that as well.
At the end of WandaVision, Wanda freed the townspeople before she felt it was her duty to punish Agatha Harkness. She went off on her own and, thanks to the Darkhold, ended up becoming an even greater villain. However, she saw what she did had hurt the children she lost, and she sacrificed herself to save the world. While she did horrible things, the world did so many bad things to Wanda that many fans feel she deserves a break. After saving the world, Wanda deserves true redemption, a hero's tale, and hopefully, a happy ending.
Scarlet Witch Makes for a Compelling MCU Villain
While Wanda deserves to be a hero and finally find happiness, there is an argument that she has done too much for that to become a reality. Wanda went to the dark side, and what she did was so much worse than anything Agatha Harkness did in Westview. Wanda punished Agatha for her sins, but she then left and grew darker and darker until she became a horrific monster. When she slaughtered the Illuminati on a different Earth, she stepped over the line. The moment where she asked if Reed Richards was a father and then killed him anyway showed that her own feelings about being a parent were selfish. There was little chance anything she did, in the end, deserved a heroic ending for her character. Wanda returning as the villainous Scarlet Witch could make her one of the MCU's greatest threats.
Becoming an Antihero Might Be the Best of Both Worlds
This actually leads to the best option for the Scarlet Witch. If she returns, Wanda should never return as a fully formed hero. At best, she needs to walk that gray line as an antihero. She has murdered without care and enslaved innocent people for her own selfish desires. While she went through pain and torture in her life, a lot of other characters did as well. Yelena Belova killed many people, as did Winter Soldier, and they did so due to manipulation by others.
While no one manipulated Wanda, the life the world handed her and the Darkhold's corrupting influence pushed her to do unspeakable things. A team like The Thunderbolts seems perfect to give antiheroes a chance at redemption, and while Wanda wouldn't really fit on that team, she at least deserves the same opportunity. Bringing her back as a hero would be a mistake. From the storyline point of view, Wanda has a lot to atone for, and she needs to do a lot more before she can put the sins of her past behind her.