When it comes to what character has had the best creative run at Marvel of the last few years there are many that have a strong argument. The character with the strongest case for this is Scarlet Witch. In the last few years, we’ve seen writer Steve Orlando along with artists Sara Pichelli, Lorenzo Tammetta, and Jacopo Camagni deliver some of the best stories centered around Wanda Maximoff’s journey as a solo hero. There are many reasons why Scarlet Witch’s comic has been so great, including featuring phenomenal monthly covers by Russell Dauterman. But there are five major points as to why if you haven’t been reading Wanda Maximoff’s solo adventures for the last two years you should fix that immediately.
WANDA MAXIMOFF IS MORE THAN AN AVENGER
Even when she has had a solo mini-series and 15-issue ongoing before neither of them really established Wanda Maximoff as a solo hero. They either dealt with a one-and-done adventure or dealing with her past. While both solid attempts neither got to firmly establish Scarlet Witch as a hero outside of the Avengers or her Maximoff family.
That’s what made this recent run by Steve Orlando so unique. Wanda wasn’t looking to deal with her past or Avengers crisis. She was establishing herself as a person and hero on her own. Most importantly, moving forward as Wanda is now at a place in her life where her past or family don’t define her.
This new outlook was seen with how Wanda battled various threats that were uniquely her own. Each one proved to be a challenge that tested her growth as a character. Each time she found a way to overcome whatever was thrown her way while growing a world around her.
SCARLET WITCH OPENED MARVEL’S MAGIC REALM
Scarlet Witch is one of the major magic users in the Marvel Universe. Combined with her Hex powers making her arguably the strongest magician in the Marvel Universe. The only ones that could possibly match her are Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom, both Sorcerer Supremes.
Given that status Scarlet Witch’s recent series have been a chance to look at Marvel’s magic realm from a non-Sorcerer Supreme angle. The unlimited potential of Marvel’s magic realm was in full display thanks to the wonderful artwork by Sara Pichelli, Lorenzo Tammetta, and Jacopo Camagni. The way Wanda utilizes magic is distinctly different from Doctor Strange and filled with just as much imagination.
WANDA MAXIMOFF LEARNS TO BE A MENTOR
An element that didn’t get emphasized until the end of the most recent volume of Scarlet Witch was Wanda becoming a mentor. This was brought to the forefront with Agatha Harkness bringing the young witch Amaranth to her to mentor. To say the mentor-protégé dynamic was rocky would be an understatement. Both Wanda and Amaranth weren’t ready for this relationship. And it showed with how quickly it was undone.
While the obvious attempt to be a mentor with Amaranth failed it did bring to light the more understated narrative Orlando was building throughout his run. And that was how Wanda ended up being a mentor and friend to Darcy Lewis. Wanda accepted Darcy into her life as an assistant even when Darcy kept things from her. Their relationship grew enough for Darcy to be vocal about how she wants Wanda to mentor her in magic.
The success with Darcy and failure with Amaranth further highlights the different ways Wanda is continuing to grow. She can’t be defined by failures.
SCARLET WITCH FAMILY DYNAMIC
While her recent comic book runs have been about establishing Scarlet Witch as a solo hero it does not mean her family or history has been ignored. Wanda’s family was very much a key part of her character growth over the course of establishing her own journey. This was a big key to the success of the series as to say Wanda’s family tree is complicated would be an understatement. Marvel has messed with her and Pietro’s history so much that it became one of the more convoluted histories Marvel has.
But very early on Orlando made sure to tackle this by having her dynamic with her extended family be an example of Wanda’s growth. That started with Scarlet Witch #2 with Wanda helping Viv Vision through a crisis in her programming. Wanda didn’t try to be a motherly figure for Viv, rather she provided Viv the help she needed when she is reaching out as that was the level of relationship Viv was comfortable with. Wanda, reading the room, was further shown with how naturally she and Polaris acted as sisters on an adventure without making a big deal out of that.
Establishing Wanda is this way made the eventual point where she interacted with Pietro and Magneto again even more meaningful. Her relationship with both is complex and there is no going around that. It is even more complicated because of the broken ground Pietro and Magneto stand with one another. Which leads to a greater spotlight on Wanda’s own growth as a person accepting her brother and father-figure for who they are.
SCARLET WITCH SHOWS HOW PAST BUILDS PRESENT & FUTURE
In the twenty-five-issue run Steve Orlando has had thus far what’s been the key to the success is Wanda’s ability to move forward. The entire series has shown us a Wanda who is no longer defined or running away from her past. She isn’t looking for answers for why things happened either. Instead, she is now moving forward with the present.
This ability to move forward provided Wanda with positive period of growth as every adventure builds her future as Scarlet Witch. These adventures and interactions with other characters showed we are seeing Wanda’s potential as a solo character is being tapped into. The variety of storytelling from classic superhero adventures to magic realm crisis are all there to explore with Scarlet Witch. It is such a breath of fresh air to see this potential tapped into.
Now with how Wanda’s development has been handled thus far its created a fresh environment for the upcoming Vision & The Scarlet Witch series to explore. Both Vision and Scarlet Witch aren’t who they were when the iconic pair were together. How their relationship is explored will be very intriguing to see play out.
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