Disclaimer: This article is a revised version of an essay I wrote for my college psychology class and is strictly for entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed psychologist therefore do not take any of my diagnoses seriously. With that being said I hope you enjoy!
Superheroes often go through traumatizing experiences in their line of work. Whether it is before they dedicated their lives to heroism or sometimes during, it is almost inevitable that they experience some sort of life-altering scenario that will forever haunt them for most of their careers as heroes. Some even more than others. And they are all just expected to just continue to be the good guys and girls without any margin for error.
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Even the mightiest of heroes fall victim to the voices in their heads telling them they are no good enough or placing a plethora of “what ifs” in their thoughts altering their very personality throughout their tale resulting in some of the world’s greatest heroes to become one of the world’s greatest threats.
Heroes are people too, and all people are prone to mental health issues. Especially those with traumatic backgrounds. Even at their best, they can be victims of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, or even suffer from ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions. It’s a dangerous game to play with mental disorders, especially for someone with the ability to alter reality around them.
The Scarlett Witch! One of Marvel’s cinematic universe’s most powerful characters has quite an unforgiving story going for her. Going from a victim of a terrorist attack as a young girl, to being classified as a terrorist herself, Wanda Maximoff has gone through a great number of traumas and guilts throughout the years, resulting in an almost irreversible amount of damage to her psyche.
Eventually, Wanda fell victim to her traumas and mental illnesses resulting in a drastic change of heart of who she was really fighting for more than once actually. Although all she wanted in the end was peace and love, she sure quite literally tore through space and time to achieve it. Where did it all go wrong though? Here I will break down what I believe the former heroine experienced through her life that led to her unfortunate demise.
Background
First, let’s start with the beginning. Wanda Maximoff born in Sokovia, is a woman with the ability to harness chaos magic which she can use to alter reality around her. Wanda grew up in Sokovia with her two parents Olek and Iryna Maximoff as well as her fraternal twin brother Pietro when disaster struck their home in 1999. During this time the United States Air Force dropped bombs on their hometown, Novi Grad, killing thousands including Wanda’s parents leaving her and Pietro as orphans. Among all the mayhem and destruction, Wanda and her brother discovered that the mortar shells used to bomb their home were manufactured by Stark Industries, a company owned by world-renowned scientist and genius, Tony Stark. Wanda and her brother then sought revenge on Tony Stark as they grew older. (Marvel)
In 2015, Wanda and her brother joined forces with a rogue AI that just so happened to be created by Tony Stark in an attempt to protect the entire world without the help of superheroes but then realized that the AI had more disturbing plans to wipe out humanity using their home country of Sokovia as ground zero. Because of that, Wanda and Pietro join forces with Tony Stark instead to save humanity. As a result, of the battle against the AI, Wanda witnessed her twin brother Pietro die trying to save a little boy from harm as well as her entire home country decimated once again.
In 2016, Wanda joined the Avengers, a team of heroes who sought to protect the Earth. There she caught feelings for a synthezoid named Vision. While on a mission with the team, Wanda tried to prevent a terrorist’s suicide bomb vest from going off and harming innocent civilians but instead made things worse by causing the vest to go off near the Wakandan Embassy building, killing, and injuring many people. This then caused an international incident that spiraled into an international conflict which she somewhat started. At the end of the incident, Wanda ran off into hiding with her lover, Vision, where she thought they could live alone and happily.
In 2018, Wanda and Vision are ambushed by a group of aliens looking for a stone that Vision holds inside of him to bring back to their master. After escaping, they were soon taken to Wakanda for protection, but were inevitably once again attacked this time resulting in Vision’s death which Wanda watched helplessly as her lover’s life fade away.
In 2023, Wanda used her powers of realty warping to create an idyllic alternate town in replacement of the US town Westview, where Vision is alive, and they have twin boys together as a way of coping with all that she lost. Creating this town entrapped all the original citizens of Westview in her own little false world. In that world, she saw glimpses of her late brother as well. Once it got the attention of the US government, she soon shut down her powers and freed all the civilians, which as a result left Wanda with nothing again causing her to flee into isolation.
A few years later, Wanda goes insane and starts to wreak havoc looking for a child with the ability to use multiversal travel to find alternate versions of her sons, killing and destroying anything and anyone who opposes her. Once she was finally able to confront alternate versions of her two boys, they rejected her for all the destruction she’d caused leading to that moment. As a result, she realized her monstrous ways and ended up taking her own life.
Diagnosis
Wanda Maximoff has been through a very disturbing life overall, but I believe a lot of her stress starts back to her early childhood. Being a victim of the Novi Grad bombings as a little girl and witnessing her parents’ deaths is not something any child should ever experience. Trauma like this can lead to PTSD and even very severe General Anxiety Disorder.
Wanda didn’t show many signs of General Anxiety disorder before the events in Sokovia in 2015, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t suffering from the grief of her parents’ deaths. Wanda and her brother didn’t get along with any of their caregivers after that and were always out on the streets together for the remainder of their childhood. After witnessing her brother’s death, the fall of her home country, killing those innocent people in the embassy, and causing an international incident, she soon became antisocial with most of the team. She even found it hard to relate to any of her comrades or even find some sort of attachment to them (except for Vision). This could be a result of Reactive Attachment Disorder or RAD. According to Kristen Fuller of Discovery Mood & Anxiety Program, “Reactive Attachment Disorder is a grave issue where a child is unable to form strong attachments with their primary caregiver, which can persist into adulthood if not treated.” (K. Fuller) Wanda is too detached from everyone and doesn’t wish to connect with anyone besides Vision, which he was later taken away from her as well.
Wanda also at times has difficulty controlling her mood. She was known for losing her temper in battle and often found it difficult to trust people including her comrades. (For good reason too as one of them was somewhat responsible for the death of her parents.) Wanda also felt as though she was very different than everyone else causing her to avoid most friendships among her teammates. Wanda can also sometimes be easily triggered when someone brings up her brother or her home country. This is a strong indication that Wanda could also be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Not being able to control one’s temper, and being easily triggered means she is still suffering from the traumatic experiences she encountered in Sokovia for years.
During her incident in Westview, Wanda experienced a perfect world where everyone she loved was alive and with her. As the government agents tried to save her and the people of Westview from the alternate reality, Wanda would show an outburst of anger toward the agents, but then would soon come to her senses as she knew they were trying to help and do the right thing. This shows slight signs of borderline personality disorder or BPD. Her quick attachment to Vison is also another sign of BPD as the victim sometimes has a fear of abandonment after all the trauma and stress they have been through, which after the international incident in 2016, Wanda immediately went back to Vison despite being on opposite sides. Robert S. Biskin, MD, of the National Library of Medicine, says that “the mood symptoms of patients with borderline personality disorder are triggered by external events and are particularly sensitive to perceived rejection, failure, and abandonment.” (R. Biskin). This leads me to believe she was struggling with her own sense of who she is without Vision.
As for her incident with trying to see her twin boys after the Westview situation, those are clear signs of antisocial personality disorder otherwise known as Sociopathy. After being isolated for so long, Wanda has let go of any sense of empathy she has for anyone anymore and just wanted to be with her two boys no matter what. Leaving a path of destruction and death with no remorse or guilt whatsoever, Wanda only had one goal in her mind and didn’t care what it took to achieve it.
Above all else Wanda was suffering from prolonged grief. After witnessing all her closest relatives and her love interest die in front of her, and losing her two imaginary sons disappear and the alternate versions of them rejecting her, she never fully recovered. Thus, taking her own life to fix all the destruction she has caused.
Treatment
With most of this diagnosis, there are plenty of treatment options Wanda could have taken to better herself. The major treatment would be Psychotherapy or talk therapy. Seeing a counselor to fully discuss her traumas could have severely helped her and even prevented her from developing antisocial personality disorder as well as there is no known drug or other treatment to prevent that disorder specifically according to the Mayo Clinic. (Mayo Staff).
As for PTSD, Wanda could have undergone trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, as a child to prevent it from carrying over or even further developing into her adulthood. (NHS) Wanda also has the option to take any SSRIs for PTSD in adulthood if severe enough.
There are many options Wanda could have taken to get her mental health better, but unfortunately, she couldn’t. All the trauma and stress she has endured over the years has gotten the best of her as she developed worse and worse symptoms and disorders.
Resources
1. Biskin, R. (2012) Diagnosing borderline personality disorder. National Library of Medicine https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3494330/
2. Fuller, K. (April 2019) Reactive Attachment Disorder in Adults. Discovery Mood & Anxiety Program https://discoverymood.com/blog/reactive-attachment-disorder-in-adulthood/
3. Marvel (2015–2023) Scarlet Witch. Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Scarlet_Witch#:~:text=Wanda%20Maximoff%20was%20a%20native,Grad%20Bombings%20killed%20her%20parents.
4. Mayo Staff (Feb. 24, 2023) Antisocial personality disorder. Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/antisocial-personality-disorder/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353934
5. NHS (May 13, 2022) Complex PTSD — Post-traumatic stress disorder. NHS.uk https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/complex/#:~:text=Treating%20complex%20PTSD,as%20depression%20or%20alcohol%20addiction.
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