Scarlet Witch Fills Out The Original MCU Hulk Arc
by Sam Raimi Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is full of surprises, from A-list cameos to surprising deaths, but perhaps one of the biggest shockers of the entire film is how fully committed it is to Scarlet Witch becoming a proper villain. As delightfully surprising as this twist is, it turns out that it actually comes from Marvel dusting off an old blueprint from the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Scarlet Witch’s Ugly Trick Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness brings to fruition initial plans for the Hulk’s role in the first phase of the MCU.
The Troubled MCU History of the Hulk
Of all the characters in the MCU, Hulk’s road has probably been the hardest. Originally planned as one of the founding pillars of the MCU, The Incredible Hulk was in production alongside and released just a month after Iron Man in 2008. But as audiences and critics flocked Iron Manthey were decidedly lukewarm on The Incredible Hulk. This, along with some ‘creative differences’ with initial star Edward Norton and some rights issues, which meant that legally Universal Studios had to be involved in all standalone Hulk films, led to the role of the Hulk being radically reorganized in the future. The role was recast with the now-iconic Mark Ruffalo and became much less of a focal point for the MCU as a whole.
But as director Louis Leterrier said in 2008, it could have been very different. In an interview with MTV, he suggested that Hulk could be the main antagonist of The Avengers. In the last moments of The Incredible Hulk, after causing widespread destruction in Harlem, Bruce Banner is seen in a remote cabin in the woods learning to hone his powers, the final shot being of Banner smiling menacingly at the camera as he begins to transform into the Hulk. So, this could have led directly to a downright mean turn for the Hulk in The Avengers.
The Scarlet Witch delivers on the Hulk’s villainous turn
Now, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sees the Scarlet Witch essentially following this same arc. At the end of Wanda Vision, after causing widespread destruction in Westview, Wanda is seen in a secluded cabin in the woods learning to hone her powers, with the final shot being of her menacingly reading the Darkhold. While marketing for Multiverse of Madness certainly didn’t shy away from revealing Scarlet Witch’s involvement in the film and teasing that she might be committing morally questionable acts, it’s quite shocking to find her immediately established as the main villain of it all.
Still, it works quite well, thanks in large part to Elizabeth Olsen’s all-in performance and due to the dissonance of Wanda Visionthe original end. While it seemed like the narrative largely let her off the hook by the end of this series, Multiverse of Madness quite drastically recontextualizes that and makes it work for the new movie. This is, again, exactly what the original plan for the Hulk might have done. In the context of The Incredible Hulk, as Banner cuts ties with everyone he knows and is in hiding, and Tony Stark shows up to talk to General Ross about the possibility of forging an alliance, it works pretty well as a conclusion but certainly feels a bit odd as resolution. But had The Avengers given the Hulk his antagonistic turn, it would have recontextualized those events into the building blocks of Banner’s descent into villainy.
As far as the MCU has come since 2008, with dozens upon dozens of film and television projects now constantly in the works that overlap in narrative and story beats that are often literally deemed appropriate by the committee, it’s rather refreshing to see how things are still in flux. Even though some people like to point out that the MCU is a completely planned and planned story, huge chunks of it are just made up as we go along. And often, the most shocking and impactful stories come from moments of reinvigorated creative instinct. In the late 2000s, Marvel became reluctant to turn any of its star heroes into villains. In 2022, with the help of Sam Raimi, he finally followed through on the idea in a surprising way.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters.
Read more
About the Author