Wanda Maximoff: Scarlet Witch Appreciation 2020

[Relugus]

I don't get why they keep making Wanda seem so incompetent. When she had practiced magic enough to take on her own apprentice. It's like they have her trapped in this perception they have of her from her earlier career where her powers could backfire.

This all stems from the popular notion of Wanda's power being "unearned" and an accident of birth, a notion very tied to her being a mutant, and thus one which X-books have tended to push hard. You'll quite often here people influenced by that depiction call Wanda a mediocre sorceress, because apparently she's not a "proper" magic user.

Wanda being an accomplished sorceress is something you would think would be firmly established now, but the "Wanda can't control her powers because she's an amateur" is something that those who want her power portrayed as an aunearned ccident of birth would relish.

The absurd thing is that the Wanda portrayed by Hickman would not have lasted 5 seconds against Chthon and Set.

The nature of Wanda's power being connected to her emotions is a rich seam for writers to explore the power and risk that comes with using your emotions to harness ancient power. That has so many nuances and personal stories that can flow from it, yet sintead

Incidentally, I think in the MCU they will portray Strange and Wanda's relationship as much more one of peers and equals.

[Cruelrain]

Also yeah the zombie stuff seems like a serious topic but the fight with the zombies was fun and kinda comedic if u ask me

But also how Wanda and Strange are portrayed here also seems like a comedic scene to me like...



They just needed a plot device

[MaximoffTrash]

What Wanda did in Empyre: X-Men is inexcusable and downright incompetent. I cant believe she just left and said nothing. They really had her just go about her life

That is her side job now, occasionally creating some fuss for mutants.

[Denkota]

That's a bit rich coming from strange considering his own actions in Damnation.

[MaximoffTrash]

Well, at this point I should probably only acknowledge stuff actually about her.
Fucking up just so others got a goofy story is more like a side job for her now, I will just imagine they(mutants or others) pay Wanda behind the scene for playing the clown.

[Denkota]

Also it's funny she didn't drag her useless good for nothing son's ass out there to help but then he seems more effeminate and useless than even her most times and probably would have messed up even worse than her..

[MaximoffTrash]

Also it's funny she didn't drag her useless good for nothing son's ass out there to help but then he seems more effeminate and useless than even her most times and probably would have messed up even worse than her..

Well, this is not their book, and it's not their right/job to solve the problem.
The golden definition of plot devices.

[Cruelrain]

I wish they say her spell backfired because those Mutants were already cursed or something (necrosha) just my fan theory

At least we know her mutant zombies have all their mutants powers unlike the ones Selene resurrected, but the writers probably forgot they were depowered or won't be knowledged.

[GenericUsername]

Also it's funny she didn't drag her useless good for nothing son's ass out there to help but then he seems more effeminate and useless than even her most times and probably would have messed up even worse than her..

Effeminate being equated with something negative is not cool. Also he's not technically her son. He has the spiritual essence of her son that died, but was born to other people.

[GenericUsername]

This all stems from the popular notion of Wanda's power being "unearned" and an accident of birth, a notion very tied to her being a mutant, and thus one which X-books have tended to push hard. You'll quite often here people influenced by that depiction call Wanda a mediocre sorceress, because apparently she's not a "proper" magic user.

Wanda being an accomplished sorceress is something you would think would be firmly established now, but the "Wanda can't control her powers because she's an amateur" is something that those who want her power portrayed as an aunearned ccident of birth would relish.

The absurd thing is that the Wanda portrayed by Hickman would not have lasted 5 seconds against Chthon and Set.

The nature of Wanda's power being connected to her emotions is a rich seam for writers to explore the power and risk that comes with using your emotions to harness ancient power. That has so many nuances and personal stories that can flow from it, yet sintead

Incidentally, I think in the MCU they will portray Strange and Wanda's relationship as much more one of peers and equals.

It has to be a result of most of Wanda's characterization being depicted within that huge lump of comics in Avengers Volume 1. Because it doesn't seem like many know of her time learning magic and becoming adept. Even within the comics industry.

[MaximoffTrash]

Just summing up the problem.
She is denied her rightful home and then dragged to other offices/books to be the cheap plot device.
And this is me who gave up empathy with X-fans long ago, they probably should just accept Wanda is there to help in another way, AKA giving them a fuss,
and in turn re-initiate their favorite "burn the witch" festival.
As for the "main" Wanda we could potentially have in Darkhold and other books, just make her forget, the entire mutant kind perhaps.
She certainly don't need mutants for a story, but mutants(or say X-office, or Hickman) like have her as the jester or say clown.

I also kidna gave up on people's "comic impression" of her, they don't read anyway, the essential factor would still be MCU, so as long as they don't pull an HOM of their own, she should be fine.

[Frontier]

That's a bit rich coming from strange considering his own actions in Damnation.

Seriously, if that doesn't come up Strange is going to look like a total hypocrite.

[leokearon]

Man is Hickman trying to piss me off more with Empyre: X-men. The only outcome that I can see that can salvage this is Wanda, Strange and Magik al work together and all the zombies are revived.

[Starfish]

What Wanda did in Empyre: X-Men is inexcusable and downright incompetent. I cant believe she just left and said nothing. They really had her just go about her life

Blame Hickman. I can't recall when he's ever written a powerful female character well.

[Probability010]

to be fair its a preview, 4 pages out of 40

Yes Ferro Indeed I Agree, I will NOT come to any full conclusion of any story, means of the characters or the overall results UNTIL I have read the full 40 pages of this book or really the full story of any story in any medium.

Especially for Hickman style of writing.

Could things go good or bad either Yes, but I tend to always believe on the good side for nearly any character, especially always for Wanda. It’s unfair from a purely story perspective to conclude this is bad for Wanda or anyone else in the story Until we get the full story.

Really IMO this gets the ball maybe finally rolling to come to a better conclusion, but we have to see.

As I said let’s air on the side of the positive and pick up the pieces of what it means whatever it comes out to when we are done.

Honestly, I just want this to stop. Screw the remaining 36 pages. So far, every page Hickman has written with Wanda has only increased the damage done to her. At first it “only” made her look incompetent. Now it makes her look like a complete moron, with Strange lessoning her like a little child. And I also get the vibe. Of course no talk about the Giga- screw-up Strange made with his resurrection in Las Vegas. Nono, he’s the man, he’s competent, the woman better stay at home cooking (And I say that 100% against the writer, not Strange, that’s not how his character was portrait in the recent years).

I am not even interested in a “redemption arc” for Wanda, if it starts out belittling her that much. If I had the power to decide, I would order all copies of “Empyre: X-Men #4” to be burned, before I or anyone else can read them. I would take that gamble. If it continuous like this, Hickman for Wanda might become a Bendis 2.0.