Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is upon us. We all know that this movie is about more than just the good doctor—there’s also a witch. But can the Scarlet Witch defeat Doctor Strange?
Magic in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been around for some time now. You could say it was ushered in with Thor, but to paraphrase Jane Foster’s Arthur C. Clarke quote, it was more so painted as science we don’t understand yet.
Even when Wanda Maximoff was first introduced in to the MCU, it didn’t feel like she was doing real magic. There was, a rather loose, scientific explanation for it. As her story continued, her powers grew stronger and the magic seemed more like, well, magic. It wasn’t until just a few short years ago that full-blown magic was introduced into the MCU with 2016’s Doctor Strange. Since then, both Strange and Maximoff have been the cornerstones of magic in MCU. And it’s with each of their appearances since 2016 that we can determine who would win between Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange.
Doctor Strange v Scarlet Witch: Dawn of Magic
Doctor Strange wasn’t born with magic — it’s not an innate ability of his. He used his genius-level intellect to learn magic. No doubt aided by his photographic memory, Strange was able to master magic and become one of the best members of the Master of the Mystic Arts—the Ancient One knew he was to be the best one.
His Eldritch magic allows him to cast spells, project energy blasts, and portal creation (using the sling ring, which also allows for dimensional travel). Strange has been able to master mirror dimension magic, conjuration, transmutation, teleportation, telekinesis, fire manipulation, and levitation (with the use of Cloak of Levitation). Doctor Strange is so powerful, that he once mastered the Eye of Agamotto—the Time Stone—and could manipulate time.
Wanda Maximoff’s powers partially come from what was done to her with the mind stone. Her exposure to that stone granted her an array of psionic powers: psychic energy manipulation, telekinesis, force field generation, disintegration, mental and emotional manipulation, telepathy, and levitation. However, Wanda also has magic powers; powers that weren’t granted to her by the mind stone, rather they were latent magical abilities she was born with. As Agatha Harkness revealed, Wanda didn’t have just any magic, she had Chaos Magic. And, according to the Darkhold, that made her the Scarlet Witch.
Wanda’s chaos magic granted her some of the same abilities as Strange—conjuration, transmutation, astral projection, teleportation, and time manipulation—but she can also warp reality, create life, absorb energy, bestows power onto others, and illusion/weather/elemental manipulation. She can do… a lot…
Who Would Win?: Scarlet Witch or Doctor Strange
At the time of this writing, WandaVision gives us the best answer as to who would win between these two magical beings. When Harkness explained Wanda’s true power to her, she explains that she uses Chaos Magic, making her the Scarlet Witch. The Darkhold prophesized that the Scarlet Witch would destroy the world; that she was more powerful than the Sorcerer Supreme. Which sounds pretty cut and dry to me—the Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, can beat the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor… wait a second… what happened in Spider-Man: No Way Home?
Doctor Strange technically isn’t the Sorcerer Supreme. Wong is. Perhaps the prophecy is correct… Wanda will defeat the current Sorcerer Supreme. Maybe, just maybe, that means Doctor Strange can pull out a victory over the Scarlet Witch.
I have a feeling we’ll find out this weekend…
Who do you think would win between the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange? Let us know in the comments below!