Doctor Strange’s Broken Promise To Scarlet Witch Never Made Sense

In hindsight, Doctor Strange’s offer to Scarlet Witch at the start of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness didn’t really make sense. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most powerful magic wielders finally crossed paths in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Despite both fighting Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, this marked the first time Strange and Wanda Maximoff had a proper interaction. Unfortunately, it was under extreme duress, as Scarlet Witch further leaned on his villainous side by going after America Chavez.

Wanda’s arc in the MCU has been scrutinized countless times thanks to some unexpected turn of events for the character. After WandaVision, she was believed to be on the path of redemption, but Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness walked back on it by making her a clear villain. Before they got into an actual fight, however, Doctor Strange attempted to smooth things out with Wanda by offering her some guidance and a promise that would supposedly make her future in the MCU better than how it turned out to be, which is Scarlet Witch’s seeming death at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Dr Strange’s Scarlet Witch Promise Explained

During Doctor Strange and Wanda’s first conversation in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the future Sorcerer Supreme tried to convince her to come out of her self-imposed isolation. He offered his help to “get you back on the lunchboxes,” which suggested she needed to redeem herself in the eyes of the world’s population and get back to the Avengers’ good graces. Wanda ultimately turned down the offer because she was already set on hunting down America Chavez to reunite with her sons, Billy and Tommy. Considering the events of WandaVision, Doctor Strange’s promise seemed to make sense, but that wasn’t actually the case.

Ms. Marvel Proved Scarlet Witch Was Never Hated

Even Wanda realized her mistake in WandaVision. She essentially held hostage the whole of Westview, so she could live her fantasy life with Vision and their kids, Tommy and Billy. While Scarlet Witch eventually let go of the town, she wasn’t reprimanded by any law enforcement agency for what she did. Instead, she went on a self-imposed exile in an attempt to punish herself for what she did. Discussions and debates have been going on if Wanda needed a harsher punishment for what she did, considering that her actions were motivated by grief and trauma. Marvel Studios subsequently revealed, however, that Wanda remains beloved despite the incident in Westview.

As seen in Ms. Marvel, Wanda had a standee in AvengerCon, which means that the character is still celebrated for her contributions to the defeat of Thanos despite what happened in WandaVision. Given this, Doctor Strange’s offer seemed out of place. Scarlet Witch didn’t have to repair her image; she was still generally regarded as a hero. Granted that his whole offer was moot, considering Wanda’s real plan, but, it is interesting why Doctor Strange thought that it was the best way to recruit Wanda in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.