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Scarlet Witch

A powerful mutant sorceress,
Wanda Maximoff has been a master of the mystical arts for both the X-Men and the Avengers.

History

Although much of the Scarlet Witch’s true origins remain elusive to her thanks to manipulations by others, she can still recall her early days as a child with her twin brother Pietro. The two lived on Wundagore Mountain in Eastern Europe, believing themselves born as mutants to a Romani couple named the Maximoffs. Given the name Wanda, she lived for a short time in childish innocence until local troubles involving her parents separated her and her brother from them and forced her to hide her growing powers.

Nearing adulthood, Wanda and Pietro fell under the wing of the criminal Magneto and as the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver they joined his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Following violent clashes between the group and the heroic X-Men, the siblings struck out on their own, unhappy with their alliance with Magneto and unsure of their future. When the founding members of the Avengers disbanded, leaving Captain America to continue the team, Wanda and Pietro accepted an invitation of membership, hoping the Avengers might help them reverse their reputations as villains.

Abilities

The source of Wanda’s unnatural abilities stem from a two-fold base; unparalleled mastery of actual magic and an innate power to warp reality.

Due to exposure to mystic energies and forces at an early age, Wanda may reshape reality to various extremes. Known as a “hex” in her formative years as an Avenger, the Scarlet Witch believed she used the ability to affect probabilities for a positive benefit to herself, though at times to imprecise outcomes. Later, she mastered the ability and began to understand it as a literal altering of reality.

In addition, Wanda trained under other magicians and spellcasters to become proficient in magic-use, which manifests from incantations and spells. To this end, she has become one of the most proficient sorceresses on Earth.

List of Powers

Illumination
Magic (Chaos Magic)
Matter Transmutation
Nexus Being
Powers of Life and Death
Probability Alteration
Psychometry

Precognition
Magic
Mind Control
Healing Factor
Reality Warping
Control of Elements
Psionics
Communing with Deceased Spirits

Cultural Impact

Elizabeth Olsen plays Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The comic book costume and Scarlet Witch code name were not used in her initial films due to the rights issues with Fox (both were later used in WandaVision, which filmed after Disney's acquisition of Fox). Both Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who plays Pietro Maxioff in the MCU, signed multi-picture deals. According to the MCU, Wanda and Pietro were born in 1989 in the Eastern European country of Sokovia to Oleg and Iryna Maximoff. They are orphaned at a young age when their neighborhood is bombed.

Along with Pietro, Wanda first appeared in a mid-credits stinger scene of the 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier as a prisoner of Baron Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann). Scarlet Witch became a supporting character in the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron, where the siblings initially conspire with Hydra and then Ultron (James Spader) against the Avengers, but later join forces with the heroes instead. Quicksilver dies in the film's climactic conflict while Wanda officially joins the Avengers under Captain America's leadership. She then appears in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War. Olsen reprises the role in the 2018 film Avengers: Infinity War, which reveals Wanda is in a relationship with Vision. She appears in the 2019 sequel Avengers: Endgame and will appear in the upcoming film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Olsen portrays Wanda in the streaming show WandaVision, which takes place weeks after the events of Avengers: Endgame and borrows story elements from Steve Engelhart and Kurt Busiek's Avengers stories, as well as storylines from Avengers West Coast.

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