Scarlet Witch Finally Proves She's Redeemed

She may be one of the Avengers, but Wanda Maximoff has a shady history. Still, Scarlet Witch #1 proves she finally has redemption...

This article contains spoilers for Scarlet Witch #1.

Scarlet Witch's ongoing new series proves she finally has redemption. Better known as Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff has the power to reshape reality itself. Unfortunately, this power comes at a price. "Can you understand the subtleties of a woman, someone who controls reality?" Doctor Strange asks in Avengers #503. "It meant that reality took hold of her. Imagination became the enemy. Structure disappeared." Scarlet Witch has a history of mental instability, a weakness that evil forces—even demons—often exploit against her.

The best example comes after the classic House of M incident. There, Wanda - whose powers were magnified by a demon - rewrote reality, effectively erasing the X-gene. She nearly brought the entire mutant genocide to extinction; though she played her part in restoring the X-gene, combining her powers with those of Hope Summers to reactivate mutants around the world, mutants never forget. For years, she was effectively a mutant of the Devil, a status she only recently lost after sacrificing her own life to enforce the X-Men's resurrection protocol (of course, these are comics, so the death didn't last long). But now, Steve Orlando and Sara Picelli's Scarlet Witch #1 confirms that Wanda is finally redeemed from all of her past - in a pretty remarkable way.

Scarlet Witch #1 sees Wanda Maximoff confront a villain called the Corruptor, who takes control of an entire town. The Corruptor uses his powers to launch an attack on Wanda's mind, forcing her to remember her most painful mistakes. Scarlet Witch remembers her childhood when she and her brother Quicksilver fled persecution. She remembers the events of the House of M, and the curse she unleashed—"No more mutants." She recalls her twin sons, and she learns they were just an illusion in her own head. Scarlet Witch faces her past - and gets over it. The Corruptor's spell lasted less than a minute on Wanda.

Scarlet Witch Has Finally Faced Her Past - And Won

This scene is all the more remarkable considering that Scarlet Witch #1 was apparently WandaVision's improvisation. The core concept in the game -- the idea of ​​one man's mind-control magic controlling an entire town -- comes straight from the MCU. But of course, the difference is that the Scarlet Witch here is the one who liberated the town, not the one who enslaved it. it is A wise narrative choice, a way to remind readers that MCU characters and comic book characters are not interchangeable. This new ongoing series will tell the story of Scarlet Witch as hero.

Scarlet Witch #1 is best seen as the launching pad for Wanda's next story. It confronts the elephant in the room—Scarlet Witch's tormented past, her struggle to control her powers, and her need for redemption—and handles it as effortlessly as Wanda handles the corrupt. . It will be exciting to see what the future holds for Scarlet Witch.