Scarlet Witch in the MC2

 

Now that WandaVision has begun streaming on Disney+ it feels like a good time to take a look at the MC2 incarnations of the show’s protagonists. For this entry, we’ll be taking a look at the Avengers resident chaos witch, Wanda Maximoff aka The Scarlet Witch.

 

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The Scarlet Witch made her first appearance in the MC2 in the A-Next #7 in a flashback to the last days of the original Avengers team. We learn that not only did Scarlet Witch join the team on their final mission, she was among the few to return alive. After mourning their fallen comrades, Iron Man and the Scarlet Witch worked tirelessly for months to seal the portal permanently against future attacks. Unfortunately, to achieve this the Scarlet Witch was sealed within a stasis pod, holding the aperture shut (A-Next #7-8). 

 

It’s worth pointing out Wanda’s appearance was foreshadowed as early as A-Next #4, when Crimson Curse began to sense her presence and became more pronounced in A-Next #6. This culminated in Wanda being discovered within her stasis pod by Crimson Curse, American Dream and Thunderstrike. Notably, the unconscious Wanda (dubbing herself ‘Guardian of the Great Beyond, Protector of the Dark Barrier’) utilized various physical manifestations of the Avenger known as Wonder Man to protect herself and the portal (A-Next #8).

 

By freeing Wanda from her stasis pod, the new Avengers team inadvertently sever her connection to the portal, leaving the world vulnerable to the threat on the other side (A-Next #9). Wanda remains in her comatose state, having been moved to a hospital where she is watched over by Edwin Jarvis and later Tony Stark (A-Next #10).

 

It seems Wanda remained in this coma until kidnapped and magically restored by the villainous Asgardian Loki as part of his plot to end the Age of Heroes. Wanda along with many other heroes is corrupted by Loki’s spell until later freed. What’s most fascinating to me about the Scarlet Witch’s awakening are the reactions of Wanda’s former team mates such as Tony Stark and especially Vision. Sadly, it appears Wanda didn’t get the chance to speak to Captain America before he died (Last Hero Standing #1-5).

With so many members off with injuries or otherwise absent, the Scarlet Witch is recruited by Stark to fill out the Avengers roster. The Scarlet Witch, Ant-Man and Hawkeye are joined by Stark's 'personal bodyguard’ James Rhodes on a mission to investigate and apprehend Normie Osborn. Things go awry when Rhodes (now more machine than man) is inadvertently hit by Wanda’s hex bolt, triggering a violent rampage. After Rhodes is subdued, Wanda and the others conclude they would be better use as teachers and mentors to the new Avengers team (Spider-Girl #93-#95). 

 

Despite this, Wanda continues serves as an active member of the depleted Avengers team during the events of Last Planet Standing. During a conflict with the villainous Revengers team, Wanda is offended when she encounters Magneta, who modelled herself after Magneto, the Scarlet Witch’s father (Last Planet Standing #1). Upon learning of the coming threat, Wanda opposes Vision and objects to playing second fiddle to the Fantastic Five (Last Planet Standing #3) and, alongside the Silver Surfer, later proves instrumental in breaking through Galactus’ force field. While it’s not confirmed, the combination of the Scarlet Witch’s reality manipulation powers and the Silver Surfer’s power cosmic may have played a part in birthing the entity that forms in the wake of Galactus’ failed attempt at universal destruction (Last Planet Standing #5).

 

Not an active member of the Avengers this time around, the Scarlet Witch only appears briefly this time, as a magical energy duplicate created when Sylene attempts to recreate Asgard on Earth in Avengers Next #4-#5.

 

I think there’s a lot left unexplored with Wanda Maximoff in the MC2, with her strained relationship with the Vision, her connections to Tony Stark and her re-adjustment to life after awakening from her coma. That said, the Scarlet Witch remains one of the most powerful, present and willing members of the original Avengers. Maybe someday we’ll see more from Wanda in the future.

 

Until I cast a little hex to alter the very fabric of reality, I remain

 

frogoat