Civil War Blog Castro-party: Day Three - Supporting Character

Day Three - One Supporting Character

Wanda Maximoff//Scarlet Witch

      If anybody can understand loss than it is most definitely Wanda Maximoff. While still a newcomer to the Avengers, Wanda has definitely made her mark as a strong female character that knows how to fight, but may not necessarily have control over her own abilities. Up until Age of Ultron Black Widow reigned supreme as the sole female superhero in the Avenger's and Marvel franchise (a fact that Scarlet Johansson frequently points out) and so to find another female character to be an equal to Natasha's skill and popularity would not be easy. However, they nailed it when they brought in the young Sokvian orphan Wanda Maximoff or Scarlet Witch who started out as the Avenger's adversary and eventually became their ally; even at the cost of losing her brother.

     What I loved about Wanda is her true drive and passion to do her job. She is not going to sit around and let other people take care of the world. Losing her parents to the Stark bomb planted a rebellious and passionate nature inside of her. She sided with HYDRA because she truly believed that she was working on the side of good. There is no actual malicious or evil intent behind Wanda's actions. She was a child, an orphan who had nothing but these strange abilities that she could have used for her own advantage, but instead she chose to use them to bring justice to her family and her country. 

 

     In Civil War Wanda has matured, but she is still grieving her brother and is trying to find her place among the Avengers who are all seasoned fighters. Wanda wants to be accepted and loved like the other Avengers, but her abilities become too powerful and she ends up leaving devastation in her wake. For Wanda, failure is the absolute low. There is no going back and little to do to redeem yourself, but being locked up in your room is hardly the answer. Wanda needs to fight, she needs to know that she is doing good in the world. These ideals run through her heart just as her powers run through her body. 

     Loss, pain, anger, fear, loneliness and grief are enough to bring down anyone, but for Wanda Maximoff, these are what push her forward. There is absolute strength, dignity, honor, loyalty, courage, compassion and drive that completely cancel out the negative elements that oftentimes seem to haunt her. While Wanda may be pushed around by the the big people from time to time, in the end, it she who decides where her loyalties lie, she who commands what her powers will be used for, and she alone that can cast away the fear and doubt that plague her mind, but will never steal her soul.