To say that Wanda Maximoff has gone through it…is an understatement. She grew up in a warzone. Her parents were murdered by Stark technology. Both her twin brother Pietro were weaponized by Hydra. She tragically lost her brother in the fight against Ultron. In Civil War, she accidentally blew up a building in Lagos killing innocent people, only for her to be treated as a weapon of mass destruction by the government. Then, after a year or so on the run, was forced to kill the love of her life in order to save the world only to have it amount to…
Nothing.
Then, Wanda was snapped away into oblivion. Returns to help save humanity once again and is rewarded with…
Nothing.
It’s only then during an extreme moment of grief that Wanda is able to tap into her hidden power for spontaneous creation to construct a reality of her own. A shining fantasy where she and Vision are able to finally have the children and life that they always wanted to have.
Only for even this fantasy to be ripped from her. WandaVision ends with Wanda losing her family, once again becoming the outsider, and hearing her children cry for help through a creepy spellbook.
So...understandably...it’s a lot.
The loss of her children coupled with the use of the creepy spellbook called The Darkhold seems to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for Wanda. Instead of getting the rescue mission for Wanda’s children, I thought we were going to get, in The Multiverse of Madness, we find out that Wanda has now once again given into her darker impulses and become the villain.
The constant question that Steven Strange is asked in M.O.M is “are you happy?” A question that no one think’s to ask Wanda. For Wanda, and others who have a traumatic background, happiness can seem like the horizon. A destination that you may want to get to but, never seem to reach.
Trauma occurs when you think your world is safe and then, that belief is ripped from you. For those with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), one of its most significant symptoms is that no matter how much time has passed the events that caused it will always feel fresh. Like it is happening in the present. C-PTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is when the trauma is repeated, layered, and ongoing.
In Wandavison, we learned that Wanda grew up in a warzone and yet felt safest, happiest, and whole when her parents were still alive. It grounded her despite her surroundings and it is a feeling that she has been chasing ever since. First, with her brother Pietro and then after his death with Vision. Now, with the use of her superpowers and the influence of the Darkhold, Wanda romanticizes that finding her children will make her whole and complete again. That all the wrongdoings she did in order to find them will be forgiven or be swept away in the face of her power. But all of this is an illusion and Wanda is unable to see how it is this endless cycle of trying to control loss leaves her feeling incomplete and yet frozen in place at the same time, unable to move forward.
It’s easy to slip into our old selves even when we think we’ve moved on. And, despite her almost godlike level of power, Wanda seems to be the most human of the Avengers in that just like Wanda, in our deepest moments of pain we have all wished we could rewrite the past. But, she also serves as a cautionary tale of how we should move on from a painful past in a healthy way. First, by addressing and processing our true emotions surrounding our past, then accepting ourselves for who we truly are. We see a brief glimmer of this honesty when after Wanda is finally given the children that she so desperately wants, realizes that the boys, see her as nothing more than a monster. It’s then that Wanda earns a slight redemption, removing all the Darkholds from every universe and then sacrificing herself.
But, the most powerful moment actually comes before her sacrifice, when the Wanda of that the 838 universe forgives our 616 Wanda and lets her know that the boys will be loved. Forgiveness and self-forgiveness in particular are one of the most healing things for a person caught in a cycle suffering from trauma. It is said that forgiveness is when you stop hoping for a better past. None of this is easy but, it’s the only way to move toward the horizon.
Abuse and Mental Health Resources:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:1 800-273-TALK (8255)
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1 800-799-7233
SAMHSA Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration:
1 800-662-HELP (4357)
Veterans Crisis Line: Call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1 Or Text 838255