The Scarlet Witch’s infamous "No more mutants" moment actually has an embarrassing secret that foreshadowed her eventual redemption years later. While Wanda Maximoff has saved the world countless times alongside the Avengers, her ability to warp reality has made her a possible threat considering her frequent mental instability over the years. Her most notorious moment was when she used her powers to de-power most of Marvel’s mutant population, an event that not only took years to repair but also made her a villain within her own people. However, the Original Sins mini-series suggests that it was all a mistake, that Wanda meant to bring forth more mutants instead of reducing them, and that she’s been keeping it a secret the entire time.
Wanda Maximoff’s superhero career started with controversy when she and her brother Pietro, two former member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, were asked to join the Avengers. Although Wanda attempted to make a good life that included friends and family, the end of the Scarlet Witch's marriage to Vision and the loss of her children caused a mental breakdown that even disbanded the Avengers for a time. During 2004’s House of M, Wanda sought to punish her father for valuing mutant superiority over the wellbeing of his children. Uttering the words, "No more mutants," she used her powers to all but erase the mutant gene. Although the mutant population would eventually rebound, the grudge that mutants held against Scarlet Witch caused her to feel more alone than ever, ostracized by both the Avengers and mutants for her actions. Although Wanda would regain trust and acceptance from both communities over time, the memory of her actions was not easily forgotten as the Scarlet Witch was later called “the Great Pretender” when it was revealed her and Quicksilver weren’t biologically mutants.
In 2012’s Original Sin event, the death of Watcher causes a multitude of secrets he's witnessed and withheld to be revealed, causing great upheaval and change throughout the Marvel universe. In Original Sins #5, a story written and drawn by Chip Zdarsky, Nick Fury interrogates a who’s-who of Marvel’s heroes and villains who reveal a variety of surprising, and often hilarious, secrets. Wanda Maximoff is one of them and she admits “I meant to say, 'No, MORE mutants.' I’ve been too embarrassed to tell anyone.”
Although the story admits that it itself is non-canonical, it’s hilarious to consider that Wanda’s intention may have been to help instead of hindering the often-persecuted mutant population. It’s even better within modern context, specifically the “Trial of Magneto” storyline. Although it appeared Wanda had been murdered at the X-Men’s Hellfire Gala and Magneto framed for her death, it was all a clever ruse for Wanda to redeem herself for past sins. She collaborated with Magneto to be resurrected but with access to Krakoa’s resurrection protocols, which allowed her not only to create a new artificial afterlife for mutants but also retrieve mutants that were previously out of Cerebro’s reach. With twenty million mutants now slated to be resurrected, Wanda went from “The Great Pretender” to “The Redeemer” meaning that she did accomplish what her spell failed to do that fateful day.
Although the House of M event was more than 16 years ago, it left a dark cloud hanging over Wanda Maximoff’s head that has finally begun to clear up. As she now finds acceptance among the prospering mutant community, it's amusing to consider that the secret Scarlet Witch once considered shameful would eventually end up becoming perhaps her greatest accomplishment.