Wanda Maximoff: Scarlet Witch Appreciation 2020

[Albert1981]

Oh geez lol. I don't think I've seen regular tv in quite some time.

I think missing out on PBS and TCM is a shame! There's plenty of great stuff on there. In any case, did you get a chance to read this VERY detailed review of Volume 2 of the Vision and the Scarlet Witch?:

https://insidepulse.com/2020/12/08/r...r-wandavision/

I had forgotten what a romantic series it was, when you truly think about it. There was so much positive energy and "healthy" family drama in it (even the stuff with Quicksilver and Crystal). And unlike many modern mini-series, it actually had a happy ending. I also prefer the idea of Vision as a human stuck in synthetic body as opposed to the Data example of being a "robot" learning how to be human (with varying degrees of success). I think the reviewer was right to state that this was one of the last books Marvel published before the "grim and gritty" era of comics of the 90s and early 2000s. One thing I didn't get is why the hell Vision phased into almost everybody's homes in the neighborhood to spy on them to make sure the arsonists of their previous home were not there. Isn't that kind of behavior sort of justifying their neighbors' suspicion? Weird.

I must say that I was greatly amused by West Coast Avengers #51 without the creators of that issue intending it. This occurred when Agatha Harkness "came back to life", and stated that "They are (William and Thomas) far from normal. And had I not been busy with the matter of my resurrection, I might have sensed as much sooner." I laughed so fucking hard. Be honest, that line was hilarious.

The author of the review agrees with the majority of the posters on this thread by stating that Wanda was ruined as a character by Byrne and Bendis. And Byrne and King made Vision go through hell (but at least he didn't do anything so evil that he needed to be redeemed). It's nice to know Marvel once used to publish stories full of optimism and joy. Kind of like what the MCU is doing now.

[GenericUsername]

I think missing out on PBS and TCM is a shame! There's plenty of great stuff on there. In any case, did you get a chance to read this VERY detailed review of Volume 2 of the Vision and the Scarlet Witch?:

https://insidepulse.com/2020/12/08/r...r-wandavision/

I had forgotten what a romantic series it was, when you truly think about it. There was so much positive energy and "healthy" family drama in it (even the stuff with Quicksilver and Crystal). And unlike many modern mini-series, it actually had a happy ending. I also prefer the idea of Vision as a human stuck in synthetic body as opposed to the Data example of being a "robot" learning how to be human (with varying degrees of success). I think the reviewer was right to state that this was one of the last books Marvel published before the "grim and gritty" era of comics of the 90s and early 2000s. One thing I didn't get is why the hell Vision phased into almost everybody's homes in the neighborhood to spy on them to make sure the arsonists of their previous home were not there. Isn't that kind of behavior sort of justifying their neighbors' suspicion? Weird.

I must say that I was greatly amused by West Coast Avengers #51 without the creators of that issue intending it. This occurred when Agatha Harkness "came back to life", and stated that "They are (William and Thomas) far from normal. And had I not been busy with the matter of my resurrection, I might have sensed as much sooner." I laughed so fucking hard. Be honest, that line was hilarious.

The author of the review agrees with the majority of the posters on this thread by stating that Wanda was ruined as a character by Byrne and Bendis. And Byrne and King made Vision go through hell (but at least he didn't do anything so evil that he needed to be redeemed). It's nice to know Marvel once used to publish stories full of optimism and joy. Kind of like what the MCU is doing now.

It's interesting that the writer of the article didn't like the art. I never thought of the romance novel style. Maybe that was intended.

And it does share with Long Halloween with the holiday theme stuff. They are right.

I did not like how Englehart seemed to love to vilify Pietro. Sure Pietro could be a jerk sometimes, but he over-exaggerated that in my eyes. Probably for drama. But I feel like PAD cleaned a lot of that up later on.

"Holly, as Wanda’s witching apprentice, didn’t add much to the series, and I’m left wondering if there was a larger plan in place for her."

I wish that had gotten fleshed out. Maybe, eventually Wanda could take on another apprentice.

"As an aside, that I thought about a lot while reading this run, I hate the way Wanda always has a curl caught under her headdress on each side of her head. It’s made me crazy since I first noticed it, some time before I started reading this run."

This made me laugh. But I think those tendrils of hair were meant to be shorter hair from break-off that normally frames the face.

"Knowing what comes after this book, with Wanda headed for madness first under John Byrne, and then under Brian Michael Bendis, and then being perhaps forever ruined as a character, and Vision heading towards being made unfeeling again by Byrne, before Tom King really does a number on him, it’s nice to see the happiness that they share, and the unbridled optimism that comes with the birth of children."

Somewhat true. But she did have some good years under Busiek so it wasn't a straight line from Byrne to Bendis. There were 15 years between. Even though John's run wasn't regarded as great, I did enjoy the focus on Wanda in Red Zone.

Overall it's a very good article, with detailed descriptions for Vision and the Scarlet Witch.

[gurkle]

I mostly agree about Howell's art, which always seemed a bit too "soft" for superheroes. His style is pretty well suited to Wanda, who is basically a romance-comics character anyway, but less so to Vision, who is a pure superhero action character. But the whole maxiseries is a romance comic or situation comedy disguised as a superhero comic anyway. That's OK for Wanda, but pretty bad for Vision, who lost everything that made him cool and mysterious and just acts like a boring suburban dad. I don't like what Byrne did to him but I get why Marvel thought Vision couldn't go on like that.

Even with twelve issues, Englehart left a bunch of things hanging like the fate of Pietro and Crystal and even Norm Webster (to the extent we care), and Glamor and Illusion's career as thieves, which Vision and Wanda never found out about. I assume he would have developed all these things, and Holly's role, if Wanda and Vision had gotten an ongoing after their maxiseries ended. I don't really blame Marvel for not giving them one, though.

[Albert1981]

It's interesting that the writer of the article didn't like the art. I never thought of the romance novel style. Maybe that was intended.

And it does share with Long Halloween with the holiday theme stuff. They are right.

I did not like how Englehart seemed to love to vilify Pietro. Sure Pietro could be a jerk sometimes, but he over-exaggerated that in my eyes. Probably for drama. But I feel like PAD cleaned a lot of that up later on.

"Holly, as Wanda’s witching apprentice, didn’t add much to the series, and I’m left wondering if there was a larger plan in place for her."

I wish that had gotten fleshed out. Maybe, eventually Wanda could take on another apprentice.

"As an aside, that I thought about a lot while reading this run, I hate the way Wanda always has a curl caught under her headdress on each side of her head. It’s made me crazy since I first noticed it, some time before I started reading this run."

This made me laugh. But I think those tendrils of hair were meant to be shorter hair from break-off that normally frames the face.

"Knowing what comes after this book, with Wanda headed for madness first under John Byrne, and then under Brian Michael Bendis, and then being perhaps forever ruined as a character, and Vision heading towards being made unfeeling again by Byrne, before Tom King really does a number on him, it’s nice to see the happiness that they share, and the unbridled optimism that comes with the birth of children."

Somewhat true. But she did have some good years under Busiek so it wasn't a straight line from Byrne to Bendis. There were 15 years between. Even though John's run wasn't regarded as great, I did enjoy the focus on Wanda in Red Zone.

Overall it's a very good article, with detailed descriptions for Vision and the Scarlet Witch.

Glad you enjoyed the review. The author LITERALLY described the entire series practically page for page. So I appreciate the amount of work he put into it. I posted this reviewer's analysis of the FIRST Vision and Scarlet Witch Volume on this thread, but I guess you must have missed it. I thought it was JUST as detailed, however, I don't think Mr. Fulton enjoyed it as much as Volume 2. And he complained about Wanda's hair then too:

https://insidepulse.com/2020/11/03/r...marvel-comics/

I agree with Fulton's analysis about Magneto in this series though. His transformation from a "one-note villain to a much more complex and interesting character" began in this volume. So I get why so many Magneto fans LOVE his association with Wanda and Pietro.

[Albert1981]

I mostly agree about Howell's art, which always seemed a bit too "soft" for superheroes. His style is pretty well suited to Wanda, who is basically a romance-comics character anyway, but less so to Vision, who is a pure superhero action character. But the whole maxiseries is a romance comic or situation comedy disguised as a superhero comic anyway. That's OK for Wanda, but pretty bad for Vision, who lost everything that made him cool and mysterious and just acts like a boring suburban dad. I don't like what Byrne did to him but I get why Marvel thought Vision couldn't go on like that.

Even with twelve issues, Englehart left a bunch of things hanging like the fate of Pietro and Crystal and even Norm Webster (to the extent we care), and Glamor and Illusion's career as thieves, which Vision and Wanda never found out about. I assume he would have developed all these things, and Holly's role, if Wanda and Vision had gotten an ongoing after their maxiseries ended. I don't really blame Marvel for not giving them one, though.

Isn't the same thing happening in the MCU movies and shows, though? Vision starts off as an almost omnipotent god-like being in Age of Ultron, but now he's basically Wanda's pet. You could even say he's changed from a badass superhero into more of housewife than the Scarlet Witch! And I do think they gave the wrong title for Age of Ultron. It was more like a Week of Ultron. All kidding aside, I do think if this series is Vision's last hurrah in the MCU, it would be fine for him to become a boring (yet really funny) suburban dad. It would be a nice way to conclude his arc (something comic books could never permit).

[GenericUsername]

Glad you enjoyed the review. The author LITERALLY described the entire series practically page for page. So I appreciate the amount of work he put into it. I posted this reviewer's analysis of the FIRST Vision and Scarlet Witch Volume on this thread, but I guess you must have missed it. I thought it was JUST as detailed, however, I don't think Mr. Fulton enjoyed it as much as Volume 2. And he complained about Wanda's hair then too:

https://insidepulse.com/2020/11/03/r...marvel-comics/

I agree with Fulton's analysis about Magneto in this series though. His transformation from a "one-note villain to a much more complex and interesting character" began in this volume. So I get why so many Magneto fans LOVE his association with Wanda and Pietro.

Yeah, my problem with that is it benefits him more than Wanda or Pietro.

[Frontier]

Isn't the same thing happening in the MCU movies and shows, though? Vision starts off as an almost omnipotent god-like being in Age of Ultron, but now he's basically Wanda's pet. You could even say he's changed from a badass superhero into more of housewife than the Scarlet Witch! And I do think they gave the wrong title for Age of Ultron. It was more like a week of Ultron.

To be honest, Vision kind of peaked in AoU (at least as far as actually getting to do anything)...

[GenericUsername]

I don't agree that he was omnipotent. He was badly nerfed. He doesn't really have any big feats, other than lifting the hammer.

[Albert1981]

I don't agree that he was omnipotent. He was badly nerfed. He doesn't really have any big feats, other than lifting the hammer.

That's how Bettany described him way back when. I think as he's learned more about Vision, he's come around to how you view him: Severely nerfed. That being said, you did mention before that it was perfectly okay for Vision to pursue other interests besides superheroing. You could make the argument that's what he's been doing his whole time in the MCU. Wanda is much more active as a superhero in the MCU in my opinion. And his popularity hasn't suffered TOO much because of his lack of exploits (which actually has sort of surprised me). I personally would have made him quippy like good old JARVIS. Hell, I wouldn't even mind if they made him into a loveable douchebag like Stephen Strange or Tony Stark. Even Ultron. A totally immature and inconsiderate man-child synthezoid would be so awesome. But Marvel Studios chose a different direction and I respect that.

Wanda's got a feisty and emotional personality in the movies, which is very appealing to me. Vision is just so calm and chill, that I think people get bored of that. But I suppose that IS comic book accurate for him personality-wise. But let's be honest, I think Quicksilver was even more nerfed than the Hulk and Vision ever were in the MCU!

[MaximoffTrash]

It's interesting that the writer of the article didn't like the art. I never thought of the romance novel style. Maybe that was intended.

And it does share with Long Halloween with the holiday theme stuff. They are right.

I did not like how Englehart seemed to love to vilify Pietro. Sure Pietro could be a jerk sometimes, but he over-exaggerated that in my eyes. Probably for drama. But I feel like PAD cleaned a lot of that up later on.

"Holly, as Wanda’s witching apprentice, didn’t add much to the series, and I’m left wondering if there was a larger plan in place for her."

I wish that had gotten fleshed out. Maybe, eventually Wanda could take on another apprentice.

"As an aside, that I thought about a lot while reading this run, I hate the way Wanda always has a curl caught under her headdress on each side of her head. It’s made me crazy since I first noticed it, some time before I started reading this run."

This made me laugh. But I think those tendrils of hair were meant to be shorter hair from break-off that normally frames the face.

"Knowing what comes after this book, with Wanda headed for madness first under John Byrne, and then under Brian Michael Bendis, and then being perhaps forever ruined as a character, and Vision heading towards being made unfeeling again by Byrne, before Tom King really does a number on him, it’s nice to see the happiness that they share, and the unbridled optimism that comes with the birth of children."

Somewhat true. But she did have some good years under Busiek so it wasn't a straight line from Byrne to Bendis. There were 15 years between. Even though John's run wasn't regarded as great, I did enjoy the focus on Wanda in Red Zone.

Overall it's a very good article, with detailed descriptions for Vision and the Scarlet Witch.

It's rather rare to find reviewer who somewhat has a complete historical perspective on the matter.

[GenericUsername]

That's how Bettany described him way back when. I think as he's learned more about Vision, he's come around to how you view him: Severely nerfed. That being said, you did mention before that it was perfectly okay for Vision to pursue other interests besides superheroing. You could make the argument that's what he's been doing his whole time in the MCU. Wanda is much more active as a superhero in the MCU in my opinion. And his popularity hasn't suffered TOO much because of his lack of exploits (which actually has sort of surprised me). I personally would have made him quippy like good old JARVIS. Hell, I wouldn't even mind if they made him into a loveable douchebag like Stephen Strange or Tony Stark. Even Ultron. A totally immature and inconsiderate man-child synthezoid would be so awesome. But Marvel Studios chose a different direction and I respect that.

Wanda's got a feisty and emotional personality in the movies, which is very appealing to me. Vision is just so calm and chill, that I think people get bored of that. But I suppose that IS comic book accurate for him personality-wise. But let's be honest, I think Quicksilver was even more nerfed than the Hulk and Vision ever were in the MCU!

All Marvel heroes had a nice balance between super hero life and normal lives. It was pretty much a marvel hallmark at one point. I don't think it's bad that he's more domestic. Vision in the books always desired that. But that doesn't mean his powers had to be so nerfed in the little bit of action he had.

Vision had his jerk moments in comics. I'm glad they removed that in the movies. I don't really want him being like Strange or Stark. He's fine as himself.

Vision and Wanda always worked as control and chaos to make balance.

I think they all are equally nerfed. Vision was like Martian Manhunter and Superman in comics. Quicksilver was faster than bullets. Hulk was way too weak in the movies too. I think they were afraid of making everyone their power level for some reason. Maybe it was pacing.

[rhaenylis]

I haven't read the issue yet, so I can't confirm, but Wanda is apparently mentioned in SWORD #1

[juan678]

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/scar...rd-1-spoilers/

[GenericUsername]

Zzzzzzzzzz

So boring.

[Wiccan]

I'm happy that Billy and Teddy are taking her side. I mean, not that they wouldn't, but Marvel could have just not gone there.