People Can’t Get Over How Weird Tony Stark and Wanda’s Relationship Is in the MCU
Trying to recall the relationship between Iron Man and Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is no easy task. That’s not because their relationship is so strange – it’s that they barely have one.
The two characters share the screen for probably less than five minutes across all the movies and haven’t spoken more than two or three lines to each other. That very fact has some Marvel fans puzzled, even to the point they look for any kind of interaction between Robert Downey Jr. and Elizabeth Olsen.
What is the relationship between Iron Man and Scarlet Witch?
As in the comics, Wanda Maximoff started out as a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kind of. She and her brother Quicksilver were being held captive by what was left of Hydra, and they were forced to work against the Avengers.
Wanda’s first encounter with Tony is a big one in that she plants a nightmare in his head that feeds off his PTSD about the New York attack in The Avengers, and that sets the whole plot in motion.
Then they find themselves on opposite sides in Captain America: Civil War, Wanda tells Tony, “You locked me in my room,” referring to the fact that Iron Man quarantined her after she accidentally killed people during a mission. And that’s pretty much it.
They have no scenes together in Infinity War or Endgame. Granted, she was one of the people who got snapped, so she was out of Endgame until the portals scene, and then she appeared at Tony’s funeral with his other comrades.
There simply isn’t much meat on that bone, although it is interesting to note that in effect, Tony created Vision, with whom Wanda would fall in love, so Tony had a big impact on Wanda despite having such little contact with her in the movies. So leave it to fans’ imaginations to fill in the gaps.
How do fans remember the relationship between Wanda and Tony?
The person who started the Reddit thread went so far as to ask, “Do the actors hate each other and have a stipulation to never share a scene? I just find this whole thing odd, because he’s the very reason she got powers and ended up an Avenger in the first place, and he almost ruined her life again in Civil War.”
Another fan responded, “I honestly don’t think there is any bad blood between the actors. I just think the writers didn’t prioritize their relationship. And honestly I have no problem with that cause there isn’t time to for Wanda to discuss her past with Tony.” That fan even posted this link to a photo of Downey and Olson looking quite chummy with each other.
A Google search for Elizabeth Olsen and Robert Downey Jr. reveals some comments Olsen made where she talked about Tony’s ultimate fate: “It wasn’t even planned, but I believe [Jeremy] Renner took a knee first and then half the cast took a knee,” Olsen recalls. “It was a very powerful moment because you felt the weight of this franchise that [Downey Jr.] built and starred in. Now, we all get to be a part of something where he was the first.”
What is Wanda’s future in the MCU?
Fans have often asked if there was some way Robert Downey Jr. could come back to Marvel despite Tony Stark’s death. It just so happens that Wanda’s reality-warping powers would be one of the few ways Downey could credibly make a return. There’s no indication that would happen, but Wanda stands to play an even more important part in the MCU’s Phase 4.
This would happen not only through WandaVision, but also in the fact that she will reportedly play a pivotal role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. How and when this will play out is a bigger mystery than usual because of the pandemic release date delays.
WandaVision was originally slated for early 2021 then was moved up to late 2020. Production was paused due to COVID-19 filming restrictions, with the sitcom-inspired series premiering in 2021.
Wanda returned for Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness, which premiered in 2022, although it’s unclear when, or if, this character will return to the MCU. Marvel fans probably wish they had Scarlet Witch’s powers now.
