MCU Created A Loophole That Can Make The Scarlet Witch A Mutant

This article contains spoilers for Ms. Marvel episode 6.

The MCU has created a loophole that means Scarlet Witch could be a mutant after all thanks to Ms. Marvel. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch have always been unusual characters; traditionally treated as mutants, they were predominantly associated with the Avengers rather than the X-Men. As a result, their film rights were shared between Marvel and Fox - and, in 2014, that led both studios to begin developing their own versions of Quicksilver. In the MCU, he was accompanied by his twin sister, Scarlet Witch.

Avengers: Age of Ultron reinvented Scarlet Witch as a "miracle," revealing her powers had been granted (or, perhaps, triggered) by exposure to the Mind Stone. Meanwhile, the comics themselves retconned Scarlet Witch as no mutant, revealing that had been a lie planted by the villainous High Evolutionary; instead, in the comics she became a "mere" sorceress, albeit one of the most powerful on Earth. Still, most comic book readers remain irritated by this retcon, and there's a deep desire for Wanda Maximoff to be declared a mutant once again. It wouldn't be a surprise to see this influence the MCU once again.

Ms. Marvel episode 6 introduced mutants into the MCU, and in doing so it established a loophole that could mean Scarlet Witch is indeed a mutant in the films after all. The episode saw Bruno reveal she possesses a genetic anomaly unique among the members of her family, one that was activated by the bangle. Ms. Marvel is therefore the MCU's first official mutant - but it's entirely possible there have been other hidden mutants, their X-genes triggered by exposure to exotic energy. As such, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver could have been mutants all along.

Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch's Powers Have Never Made Sense

Poster for Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron

The origin story of the MCU's Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch has always seemed rather odd. According to Avengers: Age of Ultron, the twins were granted their abilities as a result of Hydra experiments with the Mind Stone. Scarlet Witch's powers - described at that point as telepathy and telekinesis - worked well with this origin. But it was frankly impossible to see why an object that dealt with the province of the mind should give Quicksilver the power of super-speed.

Marvel rewrote Scarlet Witch's history in WandaVision, revealing the Mind Stone had boosted innate magical abilities that, according to Agatha Harkness, would otherwise have "died on the vine." This clearly positioned Wanda Maximoff as a sorceress, and indeed by the end of the Disney+ TV show she had officially begun being called the "Scarlet Witch" - a being prophesied to either rule the multiverse or destroy it, whose magical potential outstripped even that of the Sorcerer Supreme. Unfortunately, while this introduced exciting new narrative dimensions into Wanda's story, it made Quicksilver's powers seem even more strange. Some went so far as to theorize Scarlet Witch had subconsciously given her brother his super-speed, but there was no evidence to support such a theory.

Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch Could Both Be Mutants In The MCU

Elizabeth Olsen Wanda Maximoff Scarlet Witch Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Ms. Marvel episode 6 gave Marvel the opportunity to retcon other MCU heroes and villains as mutants all along. Kamala Khan appears to be what the comics have always referred to as a "latent" mutant, someone with a dormant X-gene that needs an external source of power to activate it; the most famous latent mutant in the comics is actually Magneto's own daughter, Polaris. It's entirely possible other characters in the MCU who gained their powers after they were exposed to exotic energies were mutants all along, a smart way of introducing mutants without tearing apart the narrative fabric of the shared universe. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch - both of whom were subjected to the power of an Infinity Stone - could easily fall into this category.

This would be a simple retcon for Quicksilver, fixing the apparent plot hole that his backstory doesn't make any sense. But it would, of course, add another layer of complexity to Scarlet Witch's origin; it would mean she was both a mutant and a sorceress. But it's worth noting there's no reason to assume those two categories are mutually exclusive, and indeed the comics provide strong evidence to indicate that's the case. Several mutant bloodlines are also magical in nature; Storm's ancestor Ashake was blessed by Oshtur of the Vishanti, while Colossus and his sister Magik are descended from the Russian sorcerer Rasputin. Indeed, Magik is both a sorceress and a mutant - a Sorcerer Supreme at that.

Marvel may have already hinted at this. An in-universe book called The Wakanda Files, which purports to be a collection of notes from Shuri, reveals the real reason Hydra conducted experiments in Sokovia; they had observed a high concentration of genetic anomalies among the local population, and believed these would make them uniquely susceptible to the Infinity Stone's power. Hydra could therefore easily be retconned into conducting experiments with the X-gene all along. Meanwhile, it's interesting to note The Wakanda Files further suggested Wanda's biology has indeed been mutated, allowing her to wield phenomenal power without putting too much of a strain on her body. These mutations, potentially deriving from an activated X-gene, could explain why Wanda Maximoff is so powerful as a sorceress. Her body could be uniquely adapted to allow her to tap into the limitless power of Chaos energy.

The only question, of course, is whether Marvel would have any interest in this particular retcon. Scarlet Witch seemed to die at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, sacrificing herself to destroy the Darkhold in every alternate universe. Marvel would only benefit from such a major retcon if they found a way to bring Scarlet Witch back - and even then, it would need to be the Earth-616 variant of Scarlet Witch, rather than the one from Earth-838 or any other alternate timeline. A retcon is only effective when it has an impact on characters rather than simply on the established lore, and it is only by resurrecting Scarlet Witch that the MCU would make this matter at all. Regardless, however, thanks to Ms. Marvel's clever introduction, the possibility is there.

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