With the Scarlet Witch set to return in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 6th, 2022, many MCU fans have been left wondering how many other characters have been able to correct the sorts of mistakes Wanda committed in Westview. Has anyone ever fully redeemed themselves from villainy and secured their place as friends of heroes like the Avengers, and can Wanda really do it?

Related: The 10 Greatest Redemptions in Marvel Comics, Ranked

In Marvel Comics, there's no such thing as an unredeemable villain. Over the past 80 years of Marvel's caped crusaders taking down the worst that the 616 universe has to offer, many of those villains have actually become some of the universe's most beloved heroes.

Hawkeye

Hawkeye pointing his bow and arrow in USAvengers Marvel Comics

Clint "Hawkeye" Barton wasn't always an esteemed Avenger fighting gods with a stick and a string. By the time he was introduced, Hawkeye was a master marksman fighting on the wrong end of the law. But despite having become a friend to the Avengers all these years, his past is coming back to haunt him.

After his descent back into crime in his recent run Hawkeye: Freefall, the master marksman is taking the opportunity to lead the new Thunderbolts. This sudden desire to reform that team is very likely a result of his "freefall" from grace. A team once populated by villains trying to do good, it's the perfect chance for a former villain to take charge and redeem a team — and himself. If the team can be fixed, then maybe this fallen hero can too.

The Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch using her powers in the comics

Like her MCU counterpart, it seemed like Wanda could never make up for her past crimes. While Wanda's character has been shrouded in the events of M-Day for years, she recently redeemed herself in the eyes of mutantkind by offering unlimited resurrection to every mutant.

Because she never wanted to be a villain, she did her best to make up for the worst things the Scarlet Witch did and ultimately did succeed. It's one of the few full redemptions a Marvel character has ever achieved, and it shows the breadth of the character's desire to be a hero. With the incredible magnitude of her correction, one can confidently say that has Wanda completely managed to secure the friendship of the X-Men. Hopefully, she'll finally be able to move on from her mistakes in upcoming stories.

Quicksilver

Quicksilver Running in the comics

Introduced alongside his sister, Quicksilver also struggled with villainy, but eventually found a home with the Avengers. To him, the Avengers was a chance to serve as a man instead of just a mutant. Consequently, though he occasionally moonlights on mutant teams, he often sticks close to the Avengers.

Related: 10 Best Marvel Legacy Villains Who Lived Up To Their Predecessor

While now little more than backstory, his moments of villainy still lead to Quicksilver's isolation from his fellow mutants, which is largely why he is rarely seen on Krakoa. His history is also what gave Quicksilver access to some of his closest friends. His time with the Avenger's Academy and the Kooky Quartet was predicated on his history as a villain, and yet they've all offered him the chance for redemption. It's this history that has allowed him to grow into the fully realized character he is.

Kang the Conqueror

Kang the Conqeuror using his powers in Marvel Comics

As one of the most powerful Fantastic Four villains, Kang was a conqueror greater than Alexander and knew no bounds — not even the bounds of villainy. That's how Kang the Conquerer, besieger of worlds, managed to gain the loyalty and friendship of the Young Avengers.

For a moment, one of the Avengers' greatest villains had become one of their greatest allies, and the memory of Kang still drives the Young Avengers. It's part of why they accepted Kid Loki, and likely a part of why Hulkling was so forgiving to the Super Skrull. Though Kang never fully reformed, this added backstory gives such Kang an added depth of tragedy to a once one-note villain. With an added heap of pathos to the character, it's no wonder he earned a solo of his own recently.

Rogue

Rogue in her Hellfire Gala costume from Marvel Comics.

After permanently absorbing all of Captain Marvel's powers and memories, Rogue elected to seek refuge with the X-Men. After years of hard work and heroism, Rogue became one of the fiercest and most loyal X-Men — a role she still holds today.

Related: 10 Best Marvel Comics Heroes Of All Time, According To Ranker

Her turn from villain to friend is one of the reasons the X-Men have been so welcoming to reformed villains. It's likely that it also played a role in Krakoa's acceptance of the many once-evil characters that have come to call it home, like Apocalypse and Gorgon. Without Rogue's defection, it's likely the mutant nation wouldn't exist in its current state. Indeed, without the villains, Krakoa might not have survived at all.

Gambit

Gambit throwing a card in Marvel Comics

A member of the Thieves Guild and participant in the Morlock Massacre, circumstances didn't bode well for the eventual X-Man. But today, Gambit has been doing his best to defend mutantkind. Though Gambit was granted amnesty by the Krakoan treaties, he still elected to join the maligned Excalibur team.

Ever-working to prove himself (to both his mother-in-law and the world at large), he has never stopped using the tricks he learned as a member of the Thieves Guild to help his people. Without that history, Gambit might have been another forgotten relic from the '90s, instead of the man who helped defeat Saturnyne with a deck of tarot throwing cards. It gave him an engaging backstory, a dynamic moral compass, and a perspective on issues that's rarely seen in the mutant brigade. Not bad for a somewhat-reformed thief.

Venom

Venom swiging from a bridge in Marvel comics

The Venom symbiote has evolved a great deal over the years. After a long stint as a Spider-Man villain, Venom managed to secure a truce with the webslinger. While Venom did eventually backtrack into villainy, it has recently taken to protecting Dylan Brock, Eddie's son.

It's hard to imagine the version of Venom from the black suit era abandoning a host to save an unrelated human, but that's what Venom did. It's that change and Venom's genuine — and often stunted — desire for heroics that has earned it so much attention through the years. From a black suit to a parasite to the hero of San Francisco, there aren't many characters that have deserved redemption quite so much.

Daken

Daken preparing to fight.in the comics

While today, a proud Marauder and a former member of Krakoa's X-Factor team, Daken committed many atrocities as a villain, including killing an entire camp full of people, attempting to murder his father, and several other heinous crimes.

Related: 10 Marvel Heroes Darker Than Their Villains

Daken would likely be more well-regarded as a reformed villain, if not for the fact that his status among the X-Men is still somewhat in doubt. After all, it hasn't been too long since his days of villainy. His history is what made Daken such an interesting figure in X-Factor, with his teammates relentlessly suspicious of his every decision. It's also made him one of the more brutal mutant heroes, giving him the opportunity to do some of the dirty work the rest of Krakoa won't.

Magneto

Blended image of Magneto with his helmet off and a facility from the comics

Originally, Magneto was just another evil X-Men villain threatening to gain control of the world's nuclear arsenal. Yet, after a long redemption process, a stint as Headmaster of Xavier's school, and a literal trial, Magneto managed to become an on-and-off friend of the X-Men.

That shift has brought a considerable dramatic weight to the Krakoan era. After years of fighting, the two original mutant leaders have finally managed to set aside their differences to lead mutantkind into a new and promising future. It's also the path that caused Magneto's recent fall from political grace. His arrogance and want for power never fully faded, and it's part of what led him to keep Moira MacTaggert a secret. Had he succeeded, there's a significant chance mutantkind would have been eradicated, all thanks to traits Magneto developed as a villain.

Emma Frost

Emma Frost surrounded by white light in the comics

It was only after the deaths of her original students that Emma Frost of the Hellfire Club finally began to look for the opportunity to change her ways. Her desire to protect the children led her to redemption and fully drove her from villain to hero.

Her rise to heroism is essential to her character and granted her the level of influence she's had on Krakoa. It's also what made her relationship with Cyclops so engaging. It even justifies Emma's recent betrayal of Xavier and Magneto. If not for the fact that her shift was born out of a love for her students, it's possible Emma would never have let the Council know about Moira MacTaggert's existence, which could have damned the nation in its infancy.

Next: The 10 Best Multiversal Variants Of Classic Heroes in Marvel Comics