From Tragedy to Terror: Wanda Maximoff’s Path to the Queen of the Dead.

Spoiler Alert: This article contains detailed story spoilers for Marvel Animation's Marvel Zombies (2025), along with major plot references from WandaVision, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and several Scarlet Witch comic storylines, including "Avengers Disassembled" and "House of M."

Marvel's new animated series, Marvel Zombies, plunges viewers into a nightmarish version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where a zombie plague has decimated a world once defended by heroes. At the epicenter of this horror is Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, who has been terrifyingly transformed into the "Red Queen" or "Queen of the Dead."

Wanda's shocking metamorphosis in this animated continuity, which stems from a season one episode of the What If? series is not a random event. Instead, it represents the culmination of decades of storytelling—from her devastating breakdowns in the comics to her tragic arc in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Every instance of grief, every loss, and every surge of chaos magic has inexorably led her to this point.

As the showrunners of Zombies have teased, the series finale will feature the survivors confronting a "zombified" Wanda Maximoff, the Queen of the Dead, a chilling embodiment of her power and her pain. This article will explore how Wanda's darkest comic storylines and MCU moments laid the groundwork for her terrifying reign in Marvel Zombies, examining the recurring themes of horror, motherhood, and trauma that establish her as one of Marvel's most haunting creations.

Chaos Magic and Catastrophe: The Comic Roots of a Tragedy

Wanda Maximoff has been a complex and unpredictable figure in the Marvel Universe since her debut in the 1960s. Possessing chaos magic, which allows her to manipulate probability and reshape reality, her journey has consistently balanced heroic acts with periods of instability.

Throughout decades of comics, Wanda has endured unimaginable losses. She witnessed the death of her twin brother, Pietro (Quicksilver), while he saved the Avengers. Her husband, Vision, was destroyed, and her magically conceived twin sons, Billy and Tommy, were revealed to be illusions that vanished before her eyes.

These traumas culminated in Avengers Disassembled (2004), where, consumed by grief, Wanda attacked her teammates, killing several and fracturing the Avengers beyond repair. Her breakdown intensified in House of M (2005), where she used chaos magic to create a mutant utopia, only to destroy it in despair with the infamous words: "No more mutants."

This pivotal moment de-powered almost the entire mutant population and significantly reshaped the Marvel comic universe for years. Wanda's tragedy stemmed not from malice but from profound loss. Her chaos magic became an external manifestation of her trauma, a literal breakdown of the world mirroring her own internal struggles. As Marvel's database notes, Wanda "married the Vision and magically conceived twin sons, but their illusory family unraveled, leading to her mental breakdowns. After attacking the Avengers, she reshaped reality into the House of M." Her legacy ultimately became defined by love that turned catastrophic.

The MCU’s Scarlet Witch: Grief, Love, and the Weight of Power

The Marvel Cinematic Universe consistently portrays Wanda Maximoff's journey through tragedy. Elizabeth Olsen's portrayal effectively humanized the Scarlet Witch, depicting her as a woman repeatedly rebuilding her life after profound loss.

Her series of losses begins in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) with the death of her brother, Pietro. In Avengers: Infinity War (2018), she is forced to sacrifice her beloved Vision to prevent Thanos from destroying the universe, only to witness his death again. The profound impact of this accumulated pain is fully explored in WandaVision (2021), which follows Avengers: Endgame (2019). Showrunner Jac Schaeffer confirmed WandaVision was structured around "Wanda Maximoff’s grief surrounding the death of Vision in Infinity War, not to mention her loss following her twin brother Pietro’s fatal sacrifice in Age of Ultron." Olsen herself noted that the show coherently explained Wanda's entire MCU journey, stating that it "takes all the little moments she had through the MCU and blows them up."

In WandaVision, Wanda's chaos magic manifests a fabricated reality where Vision and their children are alive. However, when she is ultimately compelled to relinquish this illusion, she fully embraces her identity as the Scarlet Witch and the immense responsibilities that come with it. Her descent continues in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where, corrupted by the Darkhold, Wanda transforms into an antihero. Her desperate desire to reclaim motherhood drives her to monstrous acts, demonstrating how the very love that once defined her heroism now fuels her villainy.

By the time Marvel Zombies begins in an alternative timeline, Wanda's narrative arc reaches its grim conclusion. The woman who once strived to bring her family back from the dead now commands the dead themselves.

The Queen of the Dead: Wanda’s Reign in Marvel Zombies

In the 2025 animated series Marvel Zombies, Wanda Maximoff, also known as the "Queen of the Dead", unleashes her darkest powers, fueled by grief, five years after a zombie apocalypse. The series centers on human survivors battling hordes of undead heroes, with Wanda at the forefront.

Disney's official synopsis describes Wanda as a "former Avenger-turned zombie who can harness chaos magic and alter reality." Her ultimate confrontation with the surviving heroes in the series finale is depicted as an apocalyptic battle. Series director Bryan Andrews and Marvel executive Brad Winderbaum vividly describe this clash, stating, "The last episode finds a dwindling of human survivors battling the Queen of the Dead herself–a zombified Wanda Maximoff (voiced by Elizabeth Olsen)."

Even as an undead being, Wanda keeps her intelligence, power, and eerie calm, her chaos magic intensified by the zombie infection. Her chilling goal remains familiar: to "save" the world, but this time by reshaping it through death and decay. Her actions mirror her past delusions of control, as seen when she tempts Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) with visions of a peaceful life, offering the illusion of safety. This is a twisted echo of WandaVision, where Wanda created an idyllic sitcom world to mask her grief. In Marvel Zombies, however, this illusion conceals a kingdom of corpses.

From Victim to Villain: How the Animated Series Rewrites the Comic Zombies

Wanda Maximoff's portrayal in the 2025 animated series, Marvel Zombies, dramatically departs from her minor role in the original 2005 comics by Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips.

In the 2005 comics, Wanda is quickly killed and decapitated during a chaotic battle, serving as a casualty rather than a central figure, despite the zombies keeping some intelligence and personality.

However, the new series completely inverts this. Wanda is no longer a victim but an apex predator, leading an undead army and manipulating both magic and emotion. While the other zombies are depicted as "undead monsters who simply want to eat brains," Wanda transcends them, becoming their queen and curse. This evolution aligns with her character, transforming her grief into a mythic force of nature, much like classic horror archetypes such as Dracula or the Banshee, who also became sovereigns of the dead through sorrow.

Themes of Horror, Motherhood, and Trauma

Wanda Maximoff's tragic evolution into the Queen of the Dead in Marvel Zombies is particularly devastating because it keeps her core humanity. The same pain that defined her in House of M and WandaVision fuels her undead reign.

The theme of motherhood is central to her transformation. While WandaVision saw her create a world to nurture her sons, Marvel Zombies twists this into a horrifying mimicry, with illusions of family used to lure victims. Nurturing becomes devouring, viewed through a horrific lens.

Her delusion persists, as evidenced by her dialogue about "saving" people. This suggests that she still believes she is helping, convinced that by controlling death, she can end suffering–a familiar fallacy throughout her story.

Ultimately, her portrayal blurs the lines between victim and villain. Wanda remains a woman who loved and lost profoundly, but now, her grief has become a destructive force, consuming everyone in her path.

The reported ending of the last episode, with "a lingering sense of dread" and Wanda’s shriek echoing, perfectly encapsulates a character who perpetually exists between creation and destruction.

Conclusion: The Scarlet Legacy of the Dead

Wanda Maximoff's journey in Marvel Zombies is a complete character arc, one that culminates in her becoming the Queen of the Dead. Throughout her history in comics, film, and animation, Wanda's narrative has consistently revolved around grief and chaos, stemming from an intense, often destructive, love.

As the Queen of the Dead, Wanda embodies a duality of monstrosity and tragedy, being both terrifying and tender. This role represents the logical conclusion of her personal history: a goddess of chaos whose love has ultimately transcended the boundaries of life itself.

From her iconic declaration of “no more mutants” to her current command over the deceased, Wanda Maximoff remains one of Marvel's most interesting and heartbreaking figures. In Marvel Zombies, she doesn't merely alter reality; she actively haunts it.

Sources

• Marvel Studios / Disney+ — Marvel Zombies official press materials and synopsis
• Bryan Andrews & Brad Winderbaum interview on Marvel Zombies production details
• Avengers Disassembled (2004), House of M (2005) — Marvel Comics
• Marvel Database: Wanda Maximoff (Earth-616) Character Biography
• WandaVision interviews — Jac Schaeffer & Elizabeth Olsen, Marvel.com
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Marvel Studios

Robert Kirkman & Sean Phillips, Marvel Zombies (2005)