There’s plenty of unexplained mysteries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In any other world you’d call them miracles, but because of the MCU’s fear of loose ends it’s rare that a stray plot point goes unaddressed. And thanks to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, many of the questions we have about the multiverse are now answered. We know how it works, how to control it, and the true nature of the Darkhold, the book Wanda used to increase her power.
But could there be more answers to questions we simply haven’t decoded yet? This fan theory suggests just that, and explains one of the most exciting parts of WandaVision in the process.
A theory posted by Redditor OscKarthenerd suggests that Agatha Harkness used the Darkhold as part of her plan to introduce Pietro, Wanda’s twin brother, into her sitcom life. The theory posits that if there were a random Westview resident who bore a passing resemblance to Earth-616’s Pietro Maximoff (so, someone who looks like Aaron Taylor-Johnson), she would have enchanted him.
But because no one was available, Agatha used the Darkhold to peer into other Multiverses and locate Ralph Bohner, a struggling actor who happened to look exactly like the Pietro Maximoff of another universe (presumedly the one where the X-Men movies took place).
If all this is true, then how did Wanda recognize him? If multiverses are really the worlds where your dreams take place, then maybe Wanda recognized him from a dream that took place in another reality where she grew up with this version of Pietro.
We could see more effects of the Darkhold in Agatha Harkness’ upcoming Disney+ spinoff, even though the book is now destroyed. Who knows what powers Agatha gained from it that could make her a threat to Earth-616 again.
Like many fan theories, there are other possible explanations for this mystery. Maybe Agatha’s enchantment not only worked to make Ralph believe he was Pietro, but Wanda too, eliminating the need for a multiversal look-a-like.
The multiverse may be opening up an entirely new frontier of the MCU, but it’s also making past projects all the more interesting now that “multiverse nonsense” is a possible explanation for everything we’ve ever wondered about. Will any of these questions be retroactively solved? They very well may be, as there’s no edge to the multiverse.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters.
