Wanda Maximoff: Scarlet Witch Appreciation 2020

[Albert1981]

You can be feminist and not a bra burner. You can be not conservative or on the cusp too. She was a part of the Lady Liberators. And much of her earlier time was in the 60s, when women's lib was a big issue. Of course she's had moments with that in mind.

Most women are dressed more modest in modern comics to make up for a time where women weren't treated very well in comics. Mostly during the 90s.

If Marvel had X-Men from the start, Wanda nor Pietro would really be anywhere. Wanda especially. I think the only reason Fox wanted to use Quicksilver was because things got heated between them and Marvel at the time. It was sort of a middle finger situation. There are so many mutants that those two would be among the last to get focus.

I actually don't mind Wanda being conservative. It makes sense to me if she has maintained the values of the "old country" after moving to America. Like you said, variety is good. You can have heroes who are a bit more progressive and others who hold more traditional values fighting together for the benefit of humanity as you told me earlier. In a really divided and polarized world, I would like that. I don't think that's gonna happen, however.

Yeah, I remember in the 90s when females in the Marvel Universe all looked and dressed like Victoria Secrets' models. As a kid that made me feel really uncomfortable. I guess I was really prudish back then. You're probably right about Quicksilver and Wanda though. They definitely had more mutants to work with. You brought up something about mutants and activism that got me thinking...

I think mutant fans DO have a legitimate beef with Wanda NOT being involved in mutant issues. It's been said she is the most powerful mutant that there is. I feel that if you're such an important mutant based on power levels alone, you would have an obligation to help your fellow mutants who are less fortunate. Wanda was in a really enviable position of being a lifetime member of the Avengers and that definitely shielded her from discrimination against mutants. And I remember reading Wanda being really passionate against people who discriminated against Vision and she knew what it was like to be the victim of bigotry due to anti-Roma sentiments in Europe. So yes, I do think it wasn't a good look for Wanda to neglect the biggest civil rights struggle in the Marvel Universe despite being such influential mutant (being a daughter of Magneto). I'm sure you can understand why people think that there was an element of selfishness and self-loathing going on there, you know? That's why I'm REALLY happy that Wanda is no longer a mutant. It takes away the argument that she's not doing what she can to help mutants despite her power levels and her family lineage. Because I do think her being a mutant caused her a lot of pain and sorrow. That's why I'm sort of dreading her returning to the mutant fold again. I think if she does, I do feel she should do more to help mutants due to the reasons I listed above. And I also agree with Wiccan that Wanda might "die" in the future because as you said, there is no way for her to "redeem" herself because of previous transgressions. She's literally been accused of genocide, and how many war criminals do you know of have gotten "redemption" in the modern age? I think a lot of readers consider her to be Marvel's version of Pol Pot and Idi Amin. I personally hate the idea of bring back "dead" characters through multiverses, but I think maybe it's the best route Marvel should take at this point.

Now I hope you don't bite my head off for making these statements. I'm still a big fan of Wanda and I think you know that.