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Subscribe from just £3 Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£9.99Subscribe now Best Netflix Movies Best movies on Disney Plus Movie Release Dates Best Netflix Shows Don't miss these Marvel TV Shows Marvel Zombies ending explained: your biggest questions answered on Blade Knight, Scarlet Witch, and more Marvel TV Shows Marvel Zombies review: "A fun expansion of the What If episode with delightful MCU Easter eggs and truly gross R-rated kills" Marvel TV Shows Ironheart casually reveals the Marvel villain everyone has been waiting for – and it makes perfect sense Marvel TV Shows Marvel Zombies showrunners explain their decision to make Ms. Marvel the new show's viewpoint character: "That loss of innocence and seeing if she can rise to the occasion gave her the most dynamic arc" Marvel Movies Marvel fans are shocked that one of the most exciting new MCU characters has only had two appearances Anime Movies Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle continues an unfortunate trend for the anime series, and lets down one of its most important characters Marvel TV Shows Eyes of Wakanda review: "A creative premise shortchanged by the runtime and Marvel bloat" Superhero Movies A new behind-the-scenes Thunderbolts photo is making fans even more disappointed with one character death: "She showed her face for like two seconds for absolutely no reason" Superhero Movies Best Marvel movies: Every MCU film, ranked from worst to best Marvel TV Shows Ironheart ending explained: the mysterious man, Natalie, and that Doctor Strange tease Marvel TV Shows When does Marvel Zombies take place on the Marvel timeline? Marvel TV Shows Who dies in Marvel Zombies? Every hero death listed in order Marvel Movies MCU Phase 5: Every movie and show from Marvel's Phase 5, ranked Marvel TV Shows New Marvel Zombies poster is a witty callback to one of the most iconic memes from The Walking Dead Marvel TV Shows Marvel fans are digging into the implications of the Ironheart ending Entertainment Action Shows Marvel TV Shows Marvel Zombies Marvel Zombies does Wanda Maximoff dirty again, and repeats the biggest mistake from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness David Opie 27 September 2025 OPINION: Wanda deserves better in Marvel Studios' latest animated series When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Disney/Marvel Studios) Marvel has long had a villain problem onscreen. Aside from a few notable exceptions like Loki, Thanos, and Killmonger, MCU villains tend to be rather forgettable mirror image versions of the heroes they fight to vanquish. But I'd argue Marvel has an even bigger villain problem that's far less talked about, yet continues even now in possibly the franchise's darkest outing so far. Spinning out of What If…? season one, Marvel Zombies continues the story of a world ravaged by the undead where only a few heroes remain, including Spider-Man, Ms Marvel, and the Scarlet Witch… Except, Wanda's not acting like her usual self. Like most of the other Avengers, the Scarlet Witch has also succumbed to the zombie outbreak. But unlike the others, she's quickly positioned as the Big Bad of the story, who our faves need to fight and stop. On the one hand, it makes sense that Wanda's reality-warping gifts might offer enough resistance for her to keep some autonomy as the newly crowned "Queen of the Dead." But the same could also be argued for other heroes like Thor, who possess god-like power of their own. Still, it should come as no surprise that Wanda, in particular, was the one chosen to become a villain again. Why break the habit of a lifetime? You may like Marvel Zombies ending explained: your biggest questions answered on Blade Knight, Scarlet Witch, and more Marvel Zombies review: "A fun expansion of the What If episode with delightful MCU Easter eggs and truly gross R-rated kills" Ironheart casually reveals the Marvel villain everyone has been waiting for – and it makes perfect sense (Image credit: Marvel Comics) In the early days of Marvel, male heroes outnumbered their female counterparts, and the few women who did exist in this world were usually depicted as weaker too. The Invisible Girl, as she was patronisingly named back then, didn't possess the force field capabilities she does today, while Marvel Girl could barely lift a cardboard box without fainting. Ok, that's a slight exaggeration, but the fainting was not, as famously depicted (and later memed) in the 90s X-Men animated series. When these women were eventually given their dues and allowed to manifest the full extent of their power, they would inevitably lose control, unable to get a handle on this newfound strength and descend into villainy. Jean Grey's downfall as the Dark Phoenix led to the destruction of an entire planet before her boyfriend, Cyclops, was forced to kill his "hysterical" girlfriend in order to save everyone, including Jean, from her own darkness. Inspired by Chris Claremont's now iconic saga, Fantastic Four writer John Byrne followed suit and transformed Sue Storm into an evil, semi-naked dominatrix called Malice. Once again, it was the husband who had to save this 'Unstable Powered Woman' from herself. Still, no other female character in Marvel has suffered as much from these tropes as Wanda Maximoff, whose entire journey has been defined for the most part by a legacy of darkness and her inability to control it. From her breakdown in West Coast Avengers to Cthon's influence and, of course, her infamous "No More Mutants" storyline in House of M, the Scarlet Witch has regularly been driven insane by power in ways that rarely, if ever, apply to her male counterparts. Witching hour (Image credit: Marvel/Disney Plus) Just as evil entities sought to control Wanda, the writers at Marvel also treated her as a puppet, one to be confronted and subdued. But after Elizabeth Olsen's version of the character gained popularity in the MCU, Jac Schaeffer's WandaVision series defied traditional notions of "good" and "evil" to explore far more complex feelings in relation to Wanda. Did the Scarlet Witch lose control? To some degree, yes. Was her grief understandable and even relatable? Very much so. As such, fans who perceived Wanda's role in transforming Westview as just another villainous turn missed the point entirely. During an interview with io9 at the time, Schaeffer acknowledged Wanda's comic book history and why it was important for her to move away from that in WandaVision: "There are a lot of really terrific comics and stories about Wanda. But I do think she is often used as a tool, and diving into what’s really happening inside of her was a real challenge because of the thinness of her characterization in so many storylines." You may like Marvel Zombies ending explained: your biggest questions answered on Blade Knight, Scarlet Witch, and more Marvel Zombies review: "A fun expansion of the What If episode with delightful MCU Easter eggs and truly gross R-rated kills" Ironheart casually reveals the Marvel villain everyone has been waiting for – and it makes perfect sense The result was a moving, poignant reconfiguration of Wanda's perception in the public eye, further cementing the Scarlet Witch as a character who's capable of far greater things than your average cookie-cutter hero. But then the Doctor Strange sequel Multiverse of Madness swooped in and undid all that hard work, taking away the control and agency she'd manifested for herself by the end of WandaVision. Strange days (Image credit: Marvel Studios) The idea was that Wanda had become corrupted by the dark magics she was entangled with in a bid to bring her sons back to life. Even within this, there might have been scope for more nuance without further propagating the sexist tropes this character has endured for decades by this point. But, no. The grief-stricken, morally complex Wanda we knew from WandaVision was instead transformed almost immediately into an unstoppable force of rage and evil who casually murdered heroes without a second thought. Screenwriter Michael Waldron argued at the time that this interpretation was "true to who the comics’ version of the character is and what she does in the comics.” He's technically right, but that doesn't make it ok, especially now in this modern era when it would have been easy to build on the redemption that started in WandaVision. What Multiverse of Madness did to Wanda is lazy, yes, and also a tired, reductive approach that fails to do one of Marvel's most popular characters justice. And now here we are again with Marvel Zombies where Wanda's first appearance since Multiverse of Madness continues to madden us. (Image credit: Disney) Marvel's animated output is showing how out of sync the MCU is right now, and could spell doom for Doomsday There is no humanity to this zombie version of Wanda, which is fine, because you know... She is a zombie. But why pick her of all characters to be the Big Bad again? There's no comic book precedent for the Scarlet Witch taking centre stage in this alternate reality of the undead, so why make her their queen? It's not like Marvel Zombies isn't afraid to switch things up or take some risks either. For example, this show's version of Blade has been amalgamated with Moon Knight for a fresh spin on the character, while Awkwafina's Shang-Chi sidekick Katy Chen is transformed into a hero who shares joint custody of the ten rings. If such liberties can be taken so easily with other characters, whether they're new to the MCU or not, Marvel Zombies could have done the same and switched things up with a different villain. Imagine how interesting it could have been to choose someone like Ms Marvel in that role, for example. Seeing her light warped in such a way would have been far more intriguing and even disturbing to watch, plus the show itself establishes that her powers are a force to be reckoned with by the end. Wouldn't it be nice to see Wanda fight as a hero again? Wanda is the obvious choice to villainise yet again, so that's the one Marvel Zombies went for, demonising her to such a monstrous degree that she's now become a full-blown monster in every sense of the word. And unfortunately, if the series does continue, it's more than likely that the Scarlet Witch will remain the Big Bad of this world, especially if the end of the final episode is anything to go by. That's unfortunate, because in a world where all the rules are broken and nothing's off limits, Marvel Zombies could have taken real steps to rectify the franchise's biggest villain problem by redeeming Wanda instead of condemning her further. Marvel Zombies is streaming now on Disney Plus. For more, check out our Marvel Zombies review, or if you've seen the streaming series and are still scratching your chin, our Marvel Zombies ending explained. See more TV Shows Features Disney Plus Streaming Services Contributor With ten years of online journalism experience, David has written about TV, film, and music for a wide range of publications including Indiewire, Paste, Empire, Digital Spy, Radio Times, Teen Vogue and more. He's spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created Digital Spy's Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates queer talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads. Passions include animation, horror, comics, and LGBTQ+ storytelling, which is why David longs to see a Buffy-themed Rusical on RuPaul's Drag Race. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Marvel Zombies ending explained: your biggest questions answered on Blade Knight, Scarlet Witch, and more Marvel Zombies review: "A fun expansion of the What If episode with delightful MCU Easter eggs and truly gross R-rated kills" Ironheart casually reveals the Marvel villain everyone has been waiting for – and it makes perfect sense Marvel Zombies showrunners explain their decision to make Ms. Marvel the new show's viewpoint character: "That loss of innocence and seeing if she can rise to the occasion gave her the most dynamic arc" Marvel fans are shocked that one of the most exciting new MCU characters has only had two appearances Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle continues an unfortunate trend for the anime series, and lets down one of its most important characters Latest in Marvel TV Shows Marvel Zombies director teases Bucky Barnes could return in a potential season 2 Marvel's animated output is showing how out of sync the MCU is right now, and could spell doom for Doomsday New Marvel Zombies poster is a witty callback to one of the most iconic memes from The Walking Dead Marvel Zombies review: "A fun expansion of the What If episode with delightful MCU Easter eggs and truly gross R-rated kills" Marvel Zombies ending explained: your biggest questions answered on Blade Knight, Scarlet Witch, and more When does Marvel Zombies take place on the Marvel timeline? 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Wednesday season 2 part 1 review: "Complex and exciting but weighed down by too many subplots" GamesRadar+ is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. Contact Future's experts Terms and conditions Privacy policy Cookies policy Advertise with us Review guidelines Write for us Accessibility Statement Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. Please login or signup to comment Please wait...
