Real Reason Illuminati Universe Wanda is Weaker Than Earth-616 Wanda (2024)

As Marvel has entered its fourth phase, it has felt a few wobbles, and Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness is one of the leading proponents. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange and Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, it was directed by the veteran of horror, Sam Raimi. Other actors include Benedict Wong and Xochitl Gomez.

Fans were left speculating on so many left threads left loose in the film, such as what happened to Mordo of the current universe? Why wasn’t Ned training in the Sanctum, and Why did the Illuminati’s decisions feel so contrived. But the thread that left fans tangled up was the power imbalance of Wanda from Earth-616 versus Earth-838.

Wanda versus Illuminati:

In her brawl with the Illuminati *spoiler alert*, the Scarlet Witch executed the members with absolute ruthlessness. Mr. Fantastic was stripped up, Black Bolt’s brain was blown up, Captain Carter was dissected and Captain Marvel was crushed to death. But nothing comes close to Professor X’s bloody death.

While talking about the face-off in an interview with Marvel, Elizabeth Olsen cheekily said:

“Well, I thought that, you know, it would’ve been easier. They actually put up more of a struggle than I expected.”

Considering the ease with which she disposed of the Illuminati, it is axiomatic that she is stronger than ever witnessed in any other marvel film.

Why 616 whoops 838:

The Wanda Maximoff of Earth-616 that we have observed, was always close to showing her full strength but held back every time. Some examples include her almost killing Thanos, ripping Ultron to death, and hypnotizing most of the Avengers squad.

In the latest Doctor Strange movie, we finally saw her at full strength and being amped up by the Darkhold and her unyielding murderous will to live with her children.

Elizabeth Olsen explained in the interview with Marvel that Wanda from Earth-616 was leagues stronger than the Earth-838 version but was held back because she was still tethered to her physical body, so it took a great toll on her to fully control a character from another universe.

She used an unusual analogy to explain her reasoning as well, she said:

“…if you had a bad car and a really awesome car, you can’t really win a race in a bad car. And so she’s not really in a tuned-up version of herself.”

Considering the ambiguous nature of her death and propensity for big studios to revive dead characters for another cash-grab, we might end up seeing the Scarlet Witch become as strong as her comic book counterpart.