This Blink-And-You-Miss-It Age of Ultron Detail Makes Me Even Angrier About Scarlet Witch's Fate

Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch's death in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness remains one of the most controversial moments to date in the MCU. In fact, even four years later, fans continue to hope for confirmation that she isn't really dead and will be returning, be it in Avengers: Doomsday or another upcoming show or movie. Currently, the MCU hasn't given any indication that she is actually coming back, as much as that would delight many fans, but whether she does or not, it's true that her MCU story is brutal, and her death made it even more so.

Wanda was introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron as a young woman who was experimented on by Hydra, alongside her twin brother Pietro, and was vehemently against the Avengers—Tony Stark in particular—because of a tragedy in her childhood that left her parents dead and her and Pietro in danger of dying, all carried out with Stark Industries weaponry. However, in the end, Wanda joined the team, especially with encouragement from Hawkeye. Sadly, her story only gets sadder from there. Ultimately, Wanda lost the love of her life, Vision, and her twin sons, Tommy and Billy, before dying alone.

Those deaths also weren't simple, either, considering that in Avengers: Infinity War, she actually had to kill Vision herself, only for Thanos to come along, rewind time, and brutally kill him again in front of her. Then, in WandaVision, she unwittingly brought Vision back (in a way) and created her sons, only to have to destroy them in the end. With so much grief, heartbreak, and pain in her story, Wanda really should have had more support, and one blink-and-you-miss-it detail of Age of Ultron makes the fact that she wasn't supported all the more frustrating.

Hawkeye Named His Son After Pietro After Barely Knowing Him

Although Pietro only had one appearance in the MCU—not counting fake Pietro in WandaVision—he certainly made an impact, and not just on Wanda. Rather, early in the movie, Pietro and Hawkeye have a sort of connection, which led to them both repeatedly taunting one another with the line, "You didn't see that coming?" In the end, this connection was made all the more significant, as Pietro is actually the reason that Hawkeye is alive. During the attack on Sokovia, Hawkeye rushes to save a little boy before one of Ultron's many underlings sprays the area with gunfire.

As Hawkeye is holding the boy and turns around to shield him from the spray, Pietro runs over using his super speed, thereby taking all of the bullets himself and saving Hawkeye and the little boy's lives. Sadly, he quickly dies, but not before getting out one final, "You didn't see that coming?" Earlier in Age of Ultron, it had already been confirmed that Hawkeye's wife, Laura, was pregnant, and they were going to name the new baby Nathaniel, after Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow.

However, at the end of the movie, the baby is shown, featuring a onesie with his name on it. The full name reads: Nathaniel Pietro Barton. It is, of course, very sweet that Hawkeye was so affected by his interactions with Pietro, as well as the fact that Pietro saved his life, that he decided to name his son after him. Yet, if he was willing to name his son after Pietro after barely knowing him (while still honoring his incredible sacrifice), then it's only all the more frustrating that he, along with everyone else, abandoned Wanda after Avengers: Endgame.

Everyone Abandoned Wanda/Scarlet Witch After Endgame, Including Hawkeye

Although Wanda's history in the MCU is complicated, as she obviously fought against the Avengers and on Ultron's side originally in Age of Ultron, she had absolutely been redeemed by the end of Endgame. As arguably the most powerful Avenger, Wanda was instrumental in the fight against Thanos in both Infinity War and Endgame, and she was willing to kill the love of her life just to give the Avengers the chance to win. That only makes it all the more shocking that, when the dust settled after Endgame, everyone left her alone.

The Avengers were very aware that Wanda had watched Vision die (twice) and had lost her brother in Age of Ultron and therefore had nothing. Yes, Tony and Nat were dead, and Steve had gone back in time and was now considerably older. There were also myriad issues that each of the Avengers had to address, particularly considering half of all life had just returned. However, it's still bizarre and frankly a bit offensive that no one checked in on Wanda after Endgame—especially Hawkeye.

As had been the case with Pietro, Hawkeye grew a unique bond with Wanda during Age of Ultron, as he was actually the one who encouraged her to fight with them. Even in Captain America: Civil War, Wanda fought on Hawkeye's team, picking him even over Vision. It's difficult to imagine that Hawkeye would go so far as to name his son after Pietro but wouldn't even make sure Wanda was okay after Endgame. And while it's nobody's fault that Wanda went on to create the Hex in Westview or become consumed by the Darkhold, surely some friendship could've helped.

Wanda's Fate Remains Incredibly Frustrating (For Many Reasons)

It goes without saying that Wanda was wrong for what she did in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Yes, she was grieving, and she had been corrupted by the Darkhold, but that doesn't mean we can entirely overlook the fact that she tortured and killed people and was willing to kill a child just to get to another universe where she could be with her sons. Even so, someone doesn't get to that point in a vacuum. Part of Wanda's downfall was absolutely that she was effectively abandoned by her friends after all that she had lost.

In fact, even in Multiverse of Madness, Doctor Strange admits that he knew what happened in Westview, but he didn't come to see her about that. He hadn't come to check in on her at all, in fact; rather, Doctor Strange only went to Wanda when he needed her help with something. What makes this especially frustrating is that Wanda was seen by the Avengers in both Avengers: Age of Ultron and Civil War as "a kid"—Steve even calls her that in the latter.

The idea that they would see her this way and then still fail to keep any contact with her despite all that she had lost is both difficult to fathom and also frustrating. Unfortunately, it's the second word that can also aptly be used to describe Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch's fate in the MCU overall, as she went from being one of the strongest heroes who had one of the best story arcs as of WandaVision to a flattened villainous character in Multiverse of Madness who may now never return.