1) Wanda and Pietro Maximoff in the MCU were whitewashed. Theyâve been Romani in the comics for the last 42 years. If you donât understand the nuances of Romani culture vs. Romani ethnicity vs. Romani genetics, you can read my original post on it right here. Or, if you donât trust me as a source, the Roma Culture Centre discusses it right here.
2) MCU Wanda and Pietro willingly work with HYDRA (the ACTUAL NAZIS), and allow HYDRA to run experiments on them both. The most famous Romani superheroes in comic book history join the ACTUAL NAZIS in the MCU.
(ETA: Yes, they joined HYDRA willingly. They volunteered. Thatâs according to Marvelâs own website, found right here. âYears later, they both volunteered to undergo genetic experimentation overseen by HYDRAâs Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, using Lokiâs scepter, to potentially give them powers.â)
Why would they do this? Wandaâs brief tenure in HYDRA in the comics (Secret Empire run) only happened because she was possessed by the Elder God Chthon; she never joined them willingly. If youâre unfamiliar with the Romani Holocaust, you can read about it right here.
3) The MCU draws most of its inspiration from The Ultimates. Writer Jeph Loeb made Wanda and Pietroâs relationship incestuous in The Ultimates, and the MCU decided, for some bizarre reason, to make this part of the films. Elizabeth Olsen admitted in interviews that they intentionally hinted at incest between the twins in Avengers: Age of Ultron. If youâre unfamiliar with incest as a Romani stereotype, thatâs awfully lucky for you, but you can read about it right here.
4) Elizabeth Olsen is also an unrepentant racist. On The Graham Norton Show, all the way back in 2015, she used the word âGypsyâ to describe Wanda and was corrected by the host. The actress has never apologized. (Mark Ruffalo was also on the show, and apologized on Twitter for repeating the slur after Olsen said it.) Olsen didnât apologize because she wasnât sorry; it wasnât the first or last time sheâd done it. Elizabeth Olsen keeps using slurs and stereotypes in interviews, as recently as last month. If you donât know the history of the word âGypsyâ in English, you can read about that right here.
If you went into the MCU with no prior knowledge of the comics, or with limited knowledge of the Romani people, I understand that. I even wrote a post about it that you can read right here.
Fortune-teller costumes are only the tip of the iceberg.
