Scarlet Witch's Multiversal Madness was a series of attacks orchestrated by Wanda Maximoff after becoming the Scarlet Witch, in an attempt to live her ideal life in an alternate universe where she could be with her children.

Background[]

Following the Westview Anomaly, Wanda Maximoff began studying the Darkhold in isolation. She learned about the Multiverse and America Chavez; a teenager who had the ability to travel between universes at will. Maximoff formulated a plan to kidnap Chavez, take her power and travel to a universe where her children, Tommy and Billy, actually existed. Maximoff initially sent inter-dimensional creatures to capture Chavez, but after this failed and Maximoff had gained the attention of Doctor Strange, she decided to personally capture Chavez.^[1]

Multiversal Madness[]

Chase of America Chavez[]

Initially, Maximoff sent, at least, two demons to apprehend Chavez. Allying with Defender Strange, Chavez and the sorcerer tried to obtain the Book of Vishanti, to end the fight. They were pursued by a Ribboned Creature, capable of extracting magic. When obtaining the book seemed hopeless, the variant tried extracting Chavez's powers to prevent the creature from obtaining them but he was fatally injured by the creature. Caught by the monster, Chavez used her powers to open a portal to another universe, and Strange used the last of his power to free her, and escape through the portal.

In the new universe, Maximoff sent another creature, Gargantos, to capture Chavez. In this new universe, she was rescued by Doctor Strange, and the Sorcerer Supreme, Wong. The sorcerers fought the creature around New York before finally killing it. Chavez told them of her problem, and as proof of her powers, she showed them the dead variant, whom Strange buried. Seeing runes on the creature, they concluded the culprit must be using witchcraft. They took Chavez to Kamar-Taj to keep her safe, and Strange decided to go to Maximoff to ask for her help, not knowing she was the one behind the attacks.^[1]

Visit by Doctor Strange[]

Doctor Strange went to Wanda Maximoff's Hideout, finding a beautiful orchid, where Maximoff appeared to be gardening. He told her about Chavez, and that they were protecting her at Kamar-Taj, and asked for her help. Maximoff pretended not to know much about Chavez or the multiverse, to gain information from Strange, but then she mentioned Chavez by name, realizing her mistake seconds later that he never said it.

Seeing no more reason to lie, Maximoff removed the illusion over her hideout, to reveal a barren, twisted landscape, caused by her magic and reading the Darkhold. Upon revealing the Darkhold to Strange, her warned her about its corrupting nature, but Maximoff claimed it showed her the truth of her children existing in the multiverse, and her desire to use Chavez to find them, which was why she was sending the demons. She gave him an ultimatum, give her Chavez, or next time they meet, it will not be Wanda Maximoff, but the Scarlet Witch coming for the girl.^[1]

Siege of Kamar-Taj[]

Scarlet Witch arrived at the Kamar-Taj, where Doctor Strange refused to give up America Chavez, leading to him, Wong and the other Masters of the Mystic Arts to prepare for battle, turning the Kamar-Taj into a fortress.

Scarlet Witch began attacking, only to find the complex surrounded by a shield. However, she used her mind manipulation powers to scare off a single sorcerer, triggering the downfall of the shield. This allowed Scarlet Witch to enter the grounds of the Kamar-Taj and begin laying waste to its defenders. Despite their best efforts, the Masters of the Mystic Arts were no match for the Scarlet Witch and were either killed, wounded, or forced to retreat.

Strange, Chavez, and Wong attempted to make a final stand within the Kamar-Taj after Strange trapped Scarlet Witch in the Mirror Dimension. This too would prove to be useless, as she broke out using the reflections present in the room. Scarlet Witch quickly incapacitated Strange and Wong and began taking Chavez' power. This triggered Chavez' powers and opened up a portal to the Multiverse behind her, which Strange tackled her through in order to escape, saving them both but leaving Wong behind.^[1]

Destruction of the Darkhold[]

Once Doctor Strange and America Chavez escaped to another universe, Scarlet Witch restrained Wong and began using the Darkhold to Dreamwalk; a spell that allowed Scarlet Witch to posses the body of her multiversal counterparts. Scarlet Witch was successful in possessing the Wanda Maximoff who resided in the universe where Strange and Chavez had travelled to. As she was casting the spell, Maximoff's original body was left in deep meditation.

As Wong watched helplessly, he was approached by Sara Wolfe, who had survived the attack after all. She decided to destroy the Darkhold, which would sever Scarlet Witch's connection to her alternate self, ending the possession. Sara stabbed the Darkhold, destroying it and herself in the process. Scarlet Witch broke from her trance and realized what had happened. After desperately scrambling to salvage the destroyed Darkhold to no avail, Scarlet Witch turned to Wong for information. She first tried torturing him for information, but when this did not work, she instead began torturing several survivors of her attack with her Chaos Magic. The sight of his fellow sorcerers in agony caused Wong to break and admit the Darkhold was merely a copy and he could take Scarlet Witch to the original source. This appeased her and the two departed to the Darkhold Castle.^[1]

Battle at the Illuminati Headquarters[]

Now that Maximoff had regained the power of the Darkhold, she once again began Dreamwalking and possessed her alternate self. In this body, she immediately travelled to the Illuminati Headquarters.

Upon arriving, Maximoff began attacking the facility, destroying all of the Ultron Sentries guarding it with ease. At one point, Maximoff almost caught Chavez, who was trapped in a holding cell, before the Illuminati came to confront her. Reed Richards stepped forward and attempted to reason with her, even using his own children to empathize with Maximoff. Maximoff asked if the mother of Richards' children was still alive and after he confirmed she was, Maximoff coldly told him that at least his children will still have someone to raise them.

Seeing that Maximoff was willing to kill them all, Richards warned that Black Bolt could destroy the body she was possessing with a slight whisper. However, Maximoff used her magic to remove Black Bolt's mouth. The horror of his missing mouth caused Black Bolt to scream. Without a mouth to release his Sonic Scream, though, this ended up destroying Black Bolt's brain, killing him instantly. Richards then tried to stop Maximoff with his stretching abilities, but he too was killed when Maximoff tore his body apart and destroyed his head. Captain Carter and Captain Marvel moved to engage Maximoff, resulting in Captain Carter quickly being bisected by her own shield. Captain Marvel was successful in holding her own against Maximoff, but even her vast power wasn't enough and Maximoff ended her life after dropping a large statue on her.

With most of the Illuminati now beat, Maximoff was able to finally claim Chavez. Before she could, however, Professor Charles Xavier used his powers to enter her mind, temporarily incapacitating the two of them, allowing Chavez and that universe's version of Christine Palmer to escape. Once he was inside Maximoff's mind, Xavier attempted to break the Dreamwalking spell. He was almost successful, but then the Scarlet Witch emerged from a red mist and decapitated his Astral Form, killing Xavier in the real world. With no-one else left to stop her, Maximoff resumed her relentless pursuit of Chavez, who had now re-united with Doctor Strange.^[1]

Duel at the New York Sanctum[]

After being sent to an incursion-destroyed universe, by Chavez, under the control of Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange and Christine Palmer saw that the universe was collapsing in on itself. Strange went to New York Sanctum from its universe and found his variant, but he realized that this variant was the keeper of the Darkhold and was corrupted by the book.

His variant said that the only way that he could have the Darkhold would be if he gave him his version of Palmer, much to Strange's fury. Seeing no other options, Strange engaged him in a battle with his variant, with Strange using musical notes around the Sanctum, and turning them into spells to attack his Darkhold empowered variant.

Throughout the fight, Strange struggled to win against his variant, due to the variant being empowered by the Darkhold, however he eventually managed to turn the battle into his favour. He trapped all of his spells along with his variant's in a powerful energy ball, and then attacking his variant with it, allowing Strange to kill his counterpart and retrieve the Darkhold.^[1]

Battle on Mount Wundagore[]

Strange utilized dreamwalking to possess a deceased alternate Strange with the intent to rescue America Chavez before the Scarlet Witch could steal her supernatural powers to be reunited with her children. In the confrontation that occurred, Chavez was freed from Scarlet Witch's imprisonment, and helped Strange and Wong to defeat the Elder Beasts. She then witnessed her alternate self run down the stairs to comfort her boys. Scarlet Witch used her powers to move the couch aside and to blast her variant into the dining room causing her to fall onto the ground.

Tommy and Billy then began throwing their toys at Scarlet Witch, until she snapped at them to stop. They fled behind the staircase and she approached them, stating she wasn't a monster. As she saw their fear, she became emotional. Scarlet Witch then knelt down on the ground and began crying, having realized what the power of the Darkhold had done to her and having broken free from its possession. Scarlet Witch was approached by her counterpart who comforted her, reassuring her that her children would be loved.^[1]

Aftermath[]

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Freed from the Darkhold's influence, Scarlet Witch used her powers and destroyed the temple letting it collapse in on itself. Before her sacrifice, she cast a spell and destroyed all copies of the Darkhold in the entire Multiverse, to ensure that no one would ever be corrupted by the book again.^[1]

References[]

Wars and Conflicts in Earth History
Ego's Expansion (Pre-1 A.D.–2014) • Demon-Human War (Pre-1450-present) • 500 Year War (1084–1520) • Asgard-Jotunheim War (965 A.D.–2010) • Kree-Skrull War (995 A.D.–present) • Crusade Against Monsters (Pre-1861–2025) • World War II (1939–1945) • Johann Fennhoff's Revenge Plot (1946) • Cold War (1947–1991) • Bruce Banner Manhunt (2005–2010) • Chitauri Invasion (2012) • Second Dark Elf Conflict (2013) • Centipede Investigation (2013–2014) • Aldrich Killian's False Flag Attacks (2013) • HYDRA Uprising (2014) • Operation Cerberus (2013–2014) • War on HYDRA (2014–2015) • S.H.I.E.L.D. Civil War (2014–2015) • Ultron Offensive (2015) • Jiaying's Vendetta (2015) • Frank Castle's War (2015–2016) • Incrimination of Luke Cage (2015) • Revival of HYDRA (2015–2016) • Inhuman Outbreak (2015–2016) • Excavation of Midland Circle (2016) • Hive's Ascension (2016) • Avengers Civil War (2016) • Termination of the Red Room (2016) • Erik Killmonger's Revolution (2016) • Uprising in Attilan (2016) • Adrian Toomes' Weapons Trafficking Operation (2012–2016) • Anti-Inhuman Movement (2016–2017) • Cerberus Concealment Conspiracy (2015–2016) • Pursuit of Quake (2016–2017) • Summoning of Dormammu (2017) • Terror in New Orleans (2017) • Aida's Emancipation (2017) • War for Harlem (2017) • Triad War (2017) • Kingpin's Federal Corruption (2017) • Gibborim Prophecy (2017–2018) • Morgan le Fay's Conquest (2018) • Schultz Conspiracy (2018) • Jigsaw's Crime Spree (2018) • Hellcat's Retributive Justice (2018) • Infinity War (2018) • Search for Leo Fitz (2018–2019) • Ronin's Retribution (2018–2023) • Shrike Infestation (2019) • Chronicom Colonization of Earth (2019) • Rebirth of Kthara (2020) • Time Heist (2023) • Westview Anomaly (2023) • Expedition to Ta Lo (2024) • Flag Smashers' Political Ultimatum (2024) • Mafia Cold War (2024) • Mysterio's Masquerade (2024) • Tiamut's Emergence (2024) • Spider-Man Multiversal Crisis (2024) • Scarlet Witch's Multiversal Madness (2024) • Hunt for Ronin (2024) • Conspiracy to Release Ammit (2025) • Talokanil-Wakandan War (2025) • Gorr's Vow Against Gods (2025) • Secret Invasion (2026) • Restoration of Hala (2026) • Walking of the Witches' Road (2026)