For those who stuck around for the credits following last week's tear-jerking finale (seriously, Grey’s Anatomy has nothing on WandaVision), there were two post-credits scenes that set the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in motion.
Alongside a possible Secret Invasion/Captain Marvel 2 tease for Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau, the second post-credit scene neatly set up Elizabeth Olsen’s role in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness.
As well as Multiverse Of Madness teasing that we’ll get to explore the potential of the Marvel multiverse, news that Spider-Man’s Sam Raimi is directing has fans rather excited.
One of the earliest casting tidbits was that Olsen would be reprising her role as Wanda Maximoff, which might’ve seemed like an odd choice if not for the events of WandaVision.
With the show finally confirming her comic book name of Scarlet Witch, the fact she’s got the powers of a mythical Nexus Being, and that she's brushing up on her Darkhold reading, not only sets her up as the potential big bad of Raimi’s movie, but also teases a number of other villains for the superhero sequel.
Many expected the heartbreaking Darker Than Scarlet comic arc of the ‘80s to play out in WandaVision. In the comics, Wanda found out her children were effectively created from the shattered pieces of the villainous Mephisto.
Agatha Harkness played a part in the boys' destruction, Vision lost his soul, and Scarlet Witch suffered a mental breakdown before turning to the dark side.
Although soulless Vision appeared as White Vis, things ended a little differently when Mephisto theories hit a dead end and Wanda was the one who decided to sacrifice her boys.
We’d already guessed that this wasn’t the end for Billy and Tommy, however, the post-credits scene confirmed this when we heard the boys screaming out for help. It sounds like someone has them trapped somewhere, and with Agatha locked in her own suburban hell, it’s time for someone else to emerge from the darkness.
It was episode eight, Previously On, that did the legwork in revealing the origin of Wanda’s powers, with a throwaway reference to Chaos Magic giving fans their first real hint of how she’ll fit into Multiverse Of Madness.
In the comics, her Chaos Magic led her into the path of the Elder God known as Chthon. As well as creating the Darkhold, Chthon has possessed Wanda on several occasions.
Ironically, Agatha Harkness has called on Doctor Strange to help free Wanda from Chthon, and although it will undoubtedly play out differently in the MCU, Multiverse Of Madness could put its own spin on the story.
Others have noted it looks like she's camping out in the Wundagore Mountains, which just so happens to be where Chthon first penned the Darkhold.
We’d already guessed Wanda could break bad to be the de facto villain of Doctor Strange 2, which was further amped up by Agatha’s stoic warning: “Your power exceeds that of the Sorcerer Supreme. It’s your destiny to destroy the world.”
We’ve seen that she’ll do anything to protect her family, and with the Darkhold offering a potential way to bring her boys back to reality, Wanda might stop at nothing to get some form of her happy ending back.
The boys calling out could easily be the doing of Chthon to spur Scarlet Witch into action, and for him to use her for his own nefarious means.
The Darkhold was previously introduced in Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a relic of the Dark Dimension - which conveniently held Dormammu in Doctor Strange. Given the show’s sometimes shaky links to official MCU canon, WandaVision can give the story a soft reboot and reveal Chthon as its author.
2016’s Doctor Strange held another potential Darkhold origin we all missed. In the first movie, eagle-eyed fans noted a book was missing from the library of Tilda Swinton’s Ancient One. It’s a logical leap that Agatha snuck in and stole the Darkhold for herself.
Considering Strange’s new-found knowledge, he’d likely want the Darkhold back to prevent it from slipping into the wrong hands. Picture the scene of Doc tracking down Agatha and demanding to know where the magical tome is. Maybe we’re just hankering for some way to bring back Kathryn Hahn as the fan-favourite?
It’s likely that Wanda was already brushing up on her dark magic to try and bring the boys back, but now they’ve called out for her in agony, she’ll undoubtedly be a woman on a mission.
If the Darkhold’s nickname of “the book of the damned” doesn’t have you suitably spooked, the fact someone with the potential of the Scarlet Witch now has hold of it should have Doctor Strange quaking in his cape.
If not Wanda or Chthon, there’s still a chance Mephisto is lurking out there somewhere. There are also continued rumours that the hellish Nightmare will be Multiverse Of Madness’ big bad.
For all we know, Nightmare could be working for Mephisto to set up a post-Doctor Strange 2 villain on a much bigger scale. Remember how Guardians Of The Galaxy featured Ronan the Accuser as its de facto villain but still teased Thanos’ future in the franchise?
Many were expecting Benedict Cumberbatch to be the big finale cameo Paul Bettany trolled us with, but in its place was an even better tease thanks to the Darkhold cliffhanger.
It’s important to remember Doctor Strange 2 was originally supposed to release in a matter of weeks, which would have placed it in the immediate aftermath of WandaVision. It’s unclear how closely the two will be connected, but with Wanda still poised to go full Scarlet Witch, she might not be the hero we once thought she was.
WandaVision’s post-credits scene could give Raimi the perfect way to continue Wanda’s path to the dark side - also that cabin she is staying in gives us Evil Dead vibes.
One thing’s for sure though, hell hath no fury like a Scarlet Witch scorned.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness will be released in cinemas 25th March 2022.Shop our range of Marvel merchandise here.
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