After years of characters openly asking why Wanda Maximoff doesn't have a superhero codename, she finally officially does. WandaVision's latest episode revealed that Wanda is indeed the 'Scarlet Witch' and the iconic comic book character is now as realized on-screen as her Avengers counterparts along the lines of Captain America or Thor.
The Scarlet Witch's complicated history in the comics is a major influence on the series, and so it's a good time to take a look at the comic book origins and story of Wanda. Some of it is likely to provide a glimpse into what lies ahead in her MCU future.
She Wasn't Scarlet At First
The Scarlet Witch first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #4 in 1964, co-created by comic book legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Despite her distinctive name, she wasn't scarlet at all in her first appearance. Wanda actually wore a green version of what would become her eventual costume.
Most of the design elements were there, including her unique crest, though it initially closed under her chin. Jack Kirby often refined designs on the go; it wasn't until the third issue of Fantastic Four that their iconic team costumes first appeared.
Wasn't An Actual Witch At First
Wanda first appeared as a member of the Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants, led by Magneto. Her mutant power was a 'hex power' but not defined as magical in any way. It would be many years - almost two decades - before she began experimenting with the mystic arts.
Her initial ability was limited to creating unusual and random events to occur, such as causing her enemies' weapons to misfire. She created bad luck, more or less, the opposite of X-Force member Domino, who creates nothing but good luck for herself.
Daughter Of The Whizzer
Wanda's parentage in the MCU is fairly straightforward. In the comics, it's very complicated. She and her brother, Pietro Maximoff, better known as Quicksilver, were originally presented as the children of the Golden Age superhero The Whizzer.
The Whizzer first appeared in USA Comics #1 back in August 1941, published by Timely Comics, the forerunner of Marvel. Like his Silver Age son, The Whizzer could run at superhuman speed. This was in part due to genetic manipulation, but also the strange injection of mongoose blood.
Magneto Retconned To Be Her Father
In the first The Vision And Scarlet Witch mini-series in 1982, written by Bill Mantlo and drawn by Rick Leonardi, the parents of Wanda and Pietro are retconned. Now, Magneto, the mutant leader of the Brotherhood, is revealed to be their father. This occurred at a time when Magneto was becoming more of an anti-hero.
There are many theories still outstanding about WandaVision and a potential Big Bad beyond Agatha Harkness. Magneto is a candidate, though the door seems to be closing on that. His appearance in the MCU is assured, though it remains to be seen if he'll be related to the Maximoff twins.
Her Parents Retconned Again
Decades later, the parentage of the twins was revised again. This was due mostly to corporate politics between Disney, which owns Marvel Studios, and Fox, which owned the X-Men movie rights at the time. In an attempt to separate Wanda from the X-Men, Magneto was retconned out of being her father.
Now, she and Pietro got their powers from the genetic manipulation of the cosmic being The High Evolutionary. Another result of the Fox/Disney friction was the attempt to replace the X-Men in the comics and the movies with the Inhumans, which failed. It remains to be seen if the comics will change Wanda's parentage again.
Vision Isn't Her Only Marvel Romance
The Vision is the great love of Wanda's life in the comics and the MCU. But he isn't the only Avenger that Wanda has had an interest in. She had a brief flirtation with Hawkeye when she first joined the team, which ultimately went nowhere as she became interested in Vision.
She also had a short romance with Captain America. The two rekindled things right before Wanda descended into grief and villainy following the revelation that Agatha Harkness, her friend and mentor (in the comics), made her forget that her children ever existed.
Becoming The Villain
Wanda suffered immensely in the comics from the late '80s onwards. Her children were revealed to be magical constructs, born of the fragments of the soul of the Marvel supervillain Mephisto. The Vision was dismantled and he lost his memories, leading to their separation (and his becoming the White Vision).
She lashed out against her teammates in Avengers Disassembled, killing Hawkeye, and then mutants everywhere in House Of M, one of the comic books that influenced WandaVision.
Nexus Being
Part of Wanda's evil actions in the early '90s was the result of being manipulated by Immortus, one of the incarnations of Kang The Conqueror. He sought to prevent Wanda from ever having children because she was a 'nexus being,' a living gateway between all realities and dimensions. This concept seems to have been alluded to in the Nexus ad for episode seven.
The ad sells an antidepressant called Nexus that "works to anchor you back to your reality - or the reality of your choice." Wanda is able to manipulate reality at will as a Nexus Being, which she proved to devastating effect in House Of M whenWanda erased the majority of mutants from existence.
Atonement
Wanda's actions had devastating consequences for the entire world. She suffered greatly herself and has spent the majority of the last ten years in the comics trying to atone for her actions. Part of her grief was alleviated with the revelation that Wiccan and Speed from Young Avengers were in fact her sons, reincarnated.
She also tried to resurrect the dead mutants of Genosha, to less than desired effects, turning them essentially into zombies that had to be dealt with by Doctor Strange.
The Great Pretender
The mutant population is thriving now and in power on the living island of Krakoa. That doesn't mean things are square with Wanda, though. In the current Dawn Of X era of Marvel, Wanda is 'The Great Pretender' and persona non grata among mutants.
Her children are permitted on the island, which raises some questions about why she isn't, but the scars still show from House Of M. Wanda currently still works with the Avengers, but she's never really recovered from her actions in the early 2000s.