Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #4 (March 1964), in the Silver Age of Comic Books. Initially depicted as a mutant with the ability to manipulate probability, the character was later expanded as a powerful sorceress capable of wielding chaos magic and altering the fabric of reality. She is frequently cited as one of the most powerful and influential figures within the Marvel Universe.
Scarlet Witch was originally introduced as an antagonist alongside her twin brother, Quicksilver, as members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Although initially portrayed as an adversary to the X-Men, the character later became a superhero and long-time member of the Avengers, the West Coast Avengers and Force Works. Wanda eventually married the android Vision, and storylines involving their relationship and the magical birth and later loss of their twin sons became major elements of later crossovers such as Avengers: Disassembled and House of M. Her sons, Wiccan and Speed, would later return as teenage heroes.
Throughout Marvel continuity she has also been portrayed as the twin sister of Quicksilver and was long described as the mutant daughter of Magneto and a Romani woman, Magda. Later stories introduced a retcon clarifying that she and her brother were subjects of genetic experimentation by the High Evolutionary, meaning she was never truly a mutant despite earlier "X-gene" tests indicating otherwise. Wanda’s parentage has shifted in different accounts: she was at times said to be the child of the Golden Age heroes Whizzer and Miss America, before later stories established her as the daughter of the Roma sorceress Natalya Maximoff, a previous Scarlet Witch, and the niece of Django Maximoff and Marya Maximoff.
Elizabeth Olsen portrays Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making the character's live-action debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). She went on to play key roles in Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), with her most prominent appearances in WandaVision (Disney+ series; 2021) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). The character has also been noted by commentators as one of the most prominent Romani characters in mainstream superhero comics.
Publication history
1960s The Scarlet Witch and her twin brother Quicksilver debuted as a part of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in X-Men #4 (March 1964). They were depicted as reluctant villains, only wanting safety from persecution and uninterested in team leader Magneto's plans for global domination. The Scarlet Witch is depicted as calm and submissive, like many female comic book characters of the time.
As revealed on the back of a splash page of The X-Men issue 4, Kirby considered several names for the character, including "Jinx", "Witch Woman", "The Sorceress", "Evil Eye", and "Miss Witch". Her costume was composed of a bathing suit with straps, opera gloves, short boots, a leotard covering her body, a superhero cape, and a wimple, all of which were colored in shades of red. She was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Lee and Kirby also produced the Avengers comic book, composed of Marvel's most prominent solo heroes at the time. Save for Captain America, Lee and Kirby eventually had all the Avengers leave to focus on their individual careers, replacing them with former villains from other comics who did not have a series of their own: the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver from X-Men, and Hawkeye from Iron Man's adventures in Tales of Suspense. The team was known as "Cap's Kooky Quartet".DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 108: "[Stan Lee] replaced Thor, Iron Man, Giant-Man, and Wasp with Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch." Although common in later years, such a wide-scale change in the roster of a superhero group was completely unprecedented (usually, superhero teams only exchanged one or two members at a time rather than almost the entire roster at once). Lee and the following Avengers writer, Roy Thomas, hinted that other Avengers were romantically interested in the Scarlet Witch. The twins later leave the team after a crossover with the X-Men.
1970s Some years later, Thomas brought Wanda and Pietro back into the team and started a long-running romantic relationship between the Scarlet Witch and the android hero Vision, thinking it would help with the series's character development. He elected those characters because they were only published in the Avengers comic book and did not star in solo adventures, so relationship drama in the series would not interfere with stories in other publications. Their first kiss took place during the Kree–Skrull War arc. Thomas also added Hawkeye into a love triangle with both characters, eventually having the archer realize that Vision and Wanda were truly in love. A fan of Golden Age heroes, Roy Thomas often found ways to integrate the older characters into modern-day stories. In Giant-Size Avengers #1 (August 1974), Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch are revealed to be the children of Golden Age superheroes Whizzer (Robert Frank) and Miss America (Madeline Joyce).
Steve Englehart succeeded Thomas as the writer of Avengers. He gave Wanda a more assertive personality and removed the highly-protective Quicksilver from the team. In 1974, Englehart expanded Wanda's powers by having her learn witchcraft from Agatha Harkness.The Avengers #128 (published by Marvel Comics, 1974). The Vision and the Scarlet Witch married in Giant-Size Avengers #4 (June 1975), the end of the Celestial Madonna story arc. In 1979, Wanda learns Bob Frank and Madeline Joyce are not her and Pietro's parents.Avengers #186 (published by Marvel Comics, 1979).
1980s Wanda then stars in the 4-issue limited series The Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1982–83), by writer Bill Mantlo and penciler Rick Leonardi. In this limited series, Magneto was retconned to be Wanda and Pietro's father.The Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4 (published by Marvel Comics in December 1982 but with a cover date of February 1983). Englehart returned to the characters with penciler Richard Howell for a second limited series, in which the Scarlet Witch gets pregnant by magical means and delivers twin sons, William and Thomas. Englehart took over as writer for the spin-off series West Coast Avengers, later adding Vision and Wanda to the team.
John Byrne later replaced Englehart on the series (which was renamed Avengers West Coast). He wrote and illustrated the controversial "Vision Quest" storyline, where the Vision is dismantled and turned into an emotionless being who later even refuses the chance to regain his emotions (leading to the annulment of his marriage to the Scarlet Witch). After this, Byrne retconned William and Thomas to be magical constructs created by Wanda experiencing a "hysterical" pregnancy and then subconsciously using her magic to create the children. At most, Wanda's magic should have only created illusions, but the twins were seemingly given life because Wanda unknowingly empowered them with pieces of the essence of the demon lord Mephisto. Mephisto later absorbs the children into himself, creating a bond to Wanda's magic and soul. To sever the connection, Agatha Harkness removes Wanda's memory of the children.Avengers West Coast #51-52 (Marvel Comics, 1989). Around this same time, Wanda is brainwashed twice by different villains, first to become a servant for the parasitic life form That Which EnduresAvengers West Coast #49 (Marvel Comics, 1989). and then to be a "Bride of Set" during the crossover Atlantis Attacks. Although her mind is restored both times, the repeated trauma renders her catatonic. At this time, the Vision decides he cannot help Wanda or the Avengers West Coast and returns to the NYC team.
1990s Byrne's next storyline involved Wanda becoming a villain yet again, now displaying greater and more focused power than before, and rejoining Magneto.Avengers West Coast #56-57 (Marvel Comics, 1990). Writers Roy and Dann Thomas took over Avengers West Coast. They revealed that Wanda's new personality, attacks on the Avengers and increase in power were all due to manipulations by the time villain Immortus, who had been seen watching the Avengers during some of Byrne's issues. The storyline disclosed Wanda is a "nexus being", a person who greatly affects timelines. By influencing Wanda to tap into her nexus energies, Immortus caused her increase in power and the creation of the children. Immortus wishes to use her to warp reality, but Wanda comes to her senses and gives up her nexus energies. Roy and Dann Thomas then revealed that a side effect of this caused Wanda to remember her children and temporarily lose her powers. The website Women in Refrigerators interviewed Englehart about these changes, who said he did not like them.
Multiple stories after the Immortus storyline featured Wanda remembering and mourning her children, and even judging teammate Spider-Woman for bringing her child along on an Avengers assignment.Avengers West Coast #60-62 (Marvel Comics, 1990).Wanda confirms she remembers and mourns her children in Avengers West Coast #72 (1991), Avengers West Coast #84 (1992), Avengers West Coast Annual #7 (1992), and Avengers (vol. 3) #2 (1998). In Avengers West Coast Annual #7, she explains Agatha's spell only blocked her memories of the children for a short time and that since then she has learned to cope with the loss. Roy Thomas later wrote the short story "A Study in Scarlet", with art by Al Bigley and Mike DeCarlo, published in Avengers West Coast Annual #7 (1992). The short story featured Wanda reflecting on how she was glad Agatha Harkness's memory-blocking spell only lasted a short time, as she appreciates having had the chance to mourn her children properly. She then accidentally creates a window into another timeline where she sees a version of events where she, Vision, and the children remained together. This brings her comfort and helps her feel she can cope with the loss better."A Study in Scarlet" - Avengers West Coast Annual #7 (Marvel Comics, 1992).
Following the Immortus storyline, Wanda is a more serious-minded character, wishing to atone for turning against the Avengers twice in a short amount of time and endangering reality. When she regains her powers, her hexes are initially more difficult to control and only on the power level she had when she first joined the Avengers. To compensate, she practices the magic Harkness taught her.Avengers West Coast #67 (Marvel Comics, 1991). In 1994, Avengers West Coast ended, and several of its team members reformed as an independent group led by Wanda in the series Force Works. The new title ran for only a couple of years. In 1994, a Scarlet Witch four-issue limited series was written by Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett, and pencilled by John Higgins.