Scarlet Witch, also known as Wanda Maximoff, is a fictional character from the Marvel Comics universe. She was first introduced in the 1964 comic book X-Men #4. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, Scarlet Witch is one of the most powerful and complex characters in the Marvel Universe. Scarlet Witch is a mutant with the ability to manipulate chaos magic. She is capable of altering reality, creating force fields, and telekinesis. Her powers are often portrayed as uncontrollable and unpredictable, adding to her mystique and making her a formidable opponent.

Scarlet Witch

Born at the Wundagore base of the High Evolutionary, Wanda and her twin brother Pietro were eventually placed in the care of a Gypsy couple named Django and Marya Maximoff, from whom they were separated as teens when their encampment was attacked. They were later recruited into Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and, as the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, they fought the X-Men. At the time, none. read more

Power Stats

Top Battles

Super Powers

Origin

Appearance

Connections

Trend

Tags

Collections

The Superhero Database Classification number, or SHDB Class, is a number that represents the overall 'power' of a character. All traits of a character are used for calculating the Classification.

What it DOESN'T mean

This doesn't mean that a higher class would always beat a lower class character. But the bigger the difference in Class is, the more obvious it is who'll win in a fight.

How is this calculated

( INT^1.3 + (STR*0.5 )^2 + (SPE*0.5)^2 + DUR^1.6 + (POW + (SPS*SPL))^2 + COM^1.8 ) ^ TIER

Super Power Score and Level

Every Super Power has a score (SPS) that is used to calculate the Class. Each Super Power also has 3 levels (SPL). The level is set when connecting that Super Power to a character. The level determines the final score, of the Super Power, being used in the calculation.

WandaVision finally said the ‘Scarlet Witch’ part out loud

Susana Polo is an entertainment editor at Polygon, specializing in pop culture and genre fare, with a primary expertise in comic books. Previously, she founded The Mary Sue.

Since Wanda Maximoff’s introduction in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel Comics fans have been waiting for the character to reach the universe-shaking power of her incarnation in the comics, Scarlet Witch. And WandaVision has been making good on that, what with Wanda taking control of an entire New Jersey town from the molecules up.

But this week, the Disney Plus series gave Scarlet Witch fans one more reason to celebrate, and opened up the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a host of possibilities.

[Ed. Note: This piece contains spoilers for WandaVision through episode 8.]

Image: Marvel Studios

You could say that episode 8, “Previously On,” was also a tribute to classic television, if you could reimagine This Is Your Life as This Is Your Trauma. Under duress from Agatha Harkness, Wanda relived the moments of tragedy that lead to her current inner turmoil, starting with the day her parents died, continuing with how she got her powers from the Mind Stone in a Hydra laboratory, and concluding with her growing close to and then losing the Vision.

It was all because Agatha had a hunch that Wanda was a real witch, not just a Hydra experiment, and a burning need to find out how she had become so powerful. Agatha has been practicing dark magic for over 400 years, but had never come close to the power or skill necessary to mind control and transform an entire town for weeks.

The episode concludes with Agatha announcing her realization. “You’re supposed to be a myth. A being capable of spontaneous creation [. ] This is Chaos Magic, Wanda. And that makes you the Scarlet Witch.”

Her powers are often portrayed as uncontrollable and unpredictable, adding to her mystique and making her a formidable opponent. Wanda Maximoff's backstory is tied to the history of the X-Men and the Avengers. She is the daughter of Magneto, the mutant leader and master of magnetism.

She said Scarlet Witch!

Until WandaVision, the Marvel Cinematic has refrained — some might say shied away from — presenting Wanda’s powers as having their origin in magic. Her psychic and telekinetic abilities were just gifts from the Mind Stone during Hydra’s experiments, and nobody ever said the words “Scarlet Witch,” her superhero name from the comics. But episode 8 of WandaVision finally closes the loop, and funnily enough it’s almost a mirror of how the Scarlet Witch’s powers evolved over time in the comics.

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby as an X-Men villain, the first explanation for Wanda’s powers was that she was a mutant with control over “probability.” With her “hex” power, she could cause incredibly unlikely outcomes to occur, which is to say that she could do just about anything the writers wanted, from causing bullets to fall out of the air to rupturing gas mains and collapsing whole buildings.

Image: Marvel Studios

It wasn’t until a decade or so after her first appearance that Avengers writer Steve Englehart decided to make good on the “witch” part of the Scarlet Witch’s name, by having her study magic (including under the comics version of Agatha Harkness). Wanda isn’t the only example of Marvel mixing mutant powers and magic in a single character, but she certainly helped to make that combination a core pillar of X-Men continuity, so much so that Marvel’s current line of X-Men books contains a series all about mutant magic, Excalibur.

Eventually, other writers gave Wanda’s brand of magic a specific source: The God-of-Chaos-turned-ancient-demon-turned-Lovecraft-style -creepy-force-of-darkness-locked-away-in-an-alternate-dimension Chthon. Chthon’s place of power was Mount Wundagore, a fictional place in Eastern Europe where Wanda just happened to have been born. That’s probably not going to make it into WandaVision, but it does put Wanda among the Marvel Universe’s foremost wielders of Chaos Magic.

Chaos Magic holds the power to change the very fabric of reality. Don’t ask how this is different from magic that makes fire or flowers or bunnies where there weren’t any before: it’s comics, and it’s magic. The rules are not very specific. All you need to know is that Chaos Magic is very powerful, very rare, and very dangerous.

The episode also gave viewers a glimpse of what could be an updated version of Wanda’s Scarlet Witch costume, featuring a long skirt and a headpiece with two tall crown-like spikes. In the glimpse of Agatha’s backstory that we got in episode 8, when you use magic really hard, it seems to give you a bit of a crown:

Image: Marvel Studios

Between that and a vision Wanda saw in the Mind Stone of a crowned figure in a long skirt, it looks like WandaVision is making its own explanation for the Scarlet Witch’s characteristic two-pronged headpiece. The odds that we’ll get a new costume revamp for Wanda before the season is over seem solid.

The Scarlet Witch was given another comics origin story tweak when she stopped being a mutant entirely. Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox cut a deal to share custody of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, owing to how the two occupied an overlap area of X-Men and Avengers continuity. But the deal rested on Marvel Studios keeping all mention of mutants away from Wanda and Pietro, and so Marvel Comics followed suit. The same year that Avengers: Age of Ultron introduced Wanda and Pietro to movie audiences, an issue of Uncanny Avengers revealed that the twins weren’t mutants at all, but normal humans who had been experimented on and then disguised as mutants.

But it does mean that in modern Marvel Comics continuity, Wanda’s powers are entirely magic derived. And it looks like the same applies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was a long road to a character finally saying “the Scarlet Witch” out loud, but we hope that some Wanda Maximoff fans out there today are celebrating.

First Look: Marvel Concept Art Reveals How Scarlett Witch & Quicksilver Will Appear in ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’

The Marvel Universe of comics has thousands of beloved characters and many of the A-list heroes have clocked time as members of “The Avengers.” The sequel to Marvel’s 2012 billion-dollar grosser, “The Avengers: Age Of Ultron” will boast at least two new major members from the comics: Quicksilver (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and The Scarlett Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen).

The children of Magneto from the “X-Men” comics and mutants, 20th Century Fox owns that entire universe and the Marvel concept of mutants for the big screen, but because both superheroes logged countless hours as key members of the Avengers, Marvel Studios is also allowed to use them as well (they just can’t call them “mutants”). And while they’ll appear in ‘Ultron,’ the characters will also show up played by entirely different actors in “X-Men: Days Of Future Past.” Got that?

Anyway, concept art can be pretty lame generally, but this really gives you a strong and clear indication of what Joss Whedon‘s incarnation of these folks will look like. As promised by Elizabeth Olsen, the Scarlett Witch’s once extravagant costume with the blood red cape and mask has been significantly dialed back. “I don’t think Joss ever would have hired me, honestly, if he wanted me to wear those outfits; I am not a professional athlete and nor am I a model,” she told IGN last month. “Wearing those costumes wouldn’t be fun for anyone who wasn’t those things. He already had a different idea. It respects and involves the comic-book character but it’s different, more rooted. It’s for someone today.”

Along with her twin brother Quicksilver, she initially joined Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants. However, she eventually became disillusioned with Magneto's methods and switched sides, joining the Avengers. Scarlet Witch's character has undergone several transformations and developments throughout the years. She has been a hero, a villain, and an anti-hero at different times. Her complex personality and moral ambiguity make her a compelling and multi-dimensional character. In addition to her powers, Scarlet Witch is known for her iconic red costume and headpiece. She has become a popular character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portrayed by actress Elizabeth Olsen. Her on-screen portrayal has brought a new level of popularity and recognition to the character. Overall, Scarlet Witch is a powerful and complex character in the Marvel Comics universe. Her abilities, backstory, and moral ambiguity make her an intriguing and beloved character among fans. Whether she is a hero or a villain, Scarlet Witch leaves a lasting impact on the world of Marvel comics..

Reviews for "Vision and Scarlett Witch: Marvel's Most Complicated Couple"

1. David - 2/5 stars:

I found "Scarlet Witch" to be quite underwhelming. The story was confusing and lacked a clear direction. The character development was weak, and I couldn't seem to connect with any of the characters. The CGI was poorly done, and the action sequences felt repetitive and uninspiring. Overall, the film failed to capture my interest and left me feeling disappointed.

2. Sarah - 1/5 stars:

I was really looking forward to seeing "Scarlet Witch," but it turned out to be a complete letdown. The plot was convoluted and hard to follow, and I couldn't help but feel bored throughout the entire film. The performances were lackluster, with no standout moments or memorable lines. The visual effects were also underwhelming, making the film feel cheap and unimpressive. I would not recommend wasting your time on this film.

3. Mark - 2/5 stars:

"Scarlet Witch" had potential, but it fell flat for me. The pacing was all over the place, and I couldn't keep up with the story developments. The character motivations were unclear, and I found it difficult to root for the protagonist. While there were a few visually stunning moments, they were overshadowed by the film's overall lack of substance. I left the theater feeling unsatisfied and wishing I had chosen a different movie to watch.

Scarlett Witch: Leading the Young Avengers