"HERO of The HOPELESS!" The Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff Appreciation 2023!

[Havok83]

You’re not the only one. I’ve heard that criticism a lot and I agree with it in some ways, especially how Wanda rarely seemed challenged by what happened.

I appreciate Orlando doubling down on Wanda being a good person who is not defined by trauma, because she needed that a lot after what the MCU did to her. But she was portrayed almost as a benevolent goddess when Wanda has never been that type of character.

I feel for the guy because he’s in a position of trying to juggle a lot of impossible fan demands. (How many Marvel books have to appeal both to MCU fans and fans who consider the MCU version a whitewashed Nazi?) But it does feel like something was not quite there even though I thought a lot of it was fun.

Forget the MCU. More like after what Marvel did to her. She NEEDED this. Wanda was nearly destroyed as a character following Avengers Disassembled back in 2004. Marvel made a mess of her having her be a villian, a crazy tragic mess, unrepentant jerk. incompetent, etc...She's been very inconsistent and the past nearly 20 years has done so much damage for her in the books. The MCU was only a symptom of this. They've seen the error in their ways and have been course correcting her and this series was about putting that on full display. I feel she truly got remption here. She wasn't whining and expecting people to see her as a hero bc she says so. She took action and worked actively to do good and be that hero. I think it was important that there wasnt really a gray area and line they straddled here into anti-heroine territory

[gurkle]

Forget the MCU. More like after what Marvel did to her. She NEEDED this. Wanda was nearly destroyed as a character following Avengers Disassembled back in 2004. Marvel made a mess of her having her be a villian, a crazy tragic mess, unrepentant jerk. incompetent, etc...She's been very inconsistent and the past nearly 20 years has done so much damage for her in the books. The MCU was only a symptom of this. They've seen the error in their ways and have been course correcting her and this series was about putting that on full display. I feel she truly got remption here. She wasn't whining and expecting people to see her as a her bc she says so. She took action and worked actively to do good and be that hero. I think it was important that there wasnt really a gray area and line they straddled here into anti-heroine territory

This is one reason I don't mind that he didn't follow up much on his story of Wanda absorbing the Darkhold and Chthon (though since it looks like Avengers is setting up some kind of Chthon thing, that might be a change of plans). It would have been easy for him to use that to portray her as a ticking time bomb who might start killing everyone again, and I appreciate that he was trying to rebuild her as a straightforward hero.

[maximoffimpact]

Forget the MCU. More like after what Marvel did to her. She NEEDED this. Wanda was nearly destroyed as a character following Avengers Disassembled back in 2004. Marvel made a mess of her having her be a villian, a crazy tragic mess, unrepentant jerk. incompetent, etc...She's been very inconsistent and the past nearly 20 years has done so much damage for her in the books. The MCU was only a symptom of this. They've seen the error in their ways and have been course correcting her and this series was about putting that on full display. I feel she truly got remption here. She wasn't whining and expecting people to see her as a her bc she says so. She took action and worked actively to do good and be that hero. I think it was important that there wasnt really a gray area and line they straddled here into anti-heroine territory

I fully agree. To go a step further, Marvel not only needed to do this course correct (redemption) for Wanda, they OWED IT TO HER. After so many years of using her as a catalyst for so many stories (on a shaky narrative at that), and raking in the profits at Wanda's expense, it's the least they could do. I love the fact that there is no gray area when it comes to Wanda, because Marvel had many years to FULLY clear up that gray area after Disassembled and House of M, but CHOSE not to fully do so. The point I am making is that I cannot fully trust Marvel to always do the right thing by its heroes (Wanda). I applaud what Orlando has done for her.

[Albert1981]

Sad if true. But it wouldn't be surprising. But the ending two major threats being brought to an end is so vague. It could be her link to Chthon and the Darkhold. But it does feel like it's over. Because Liz has had interviews where it does seem like they are done with the character. She'd be happy to come back but no one has contacted her. I think it's a mistake for the studio, but they have made many lately.

I think Wanda will be back. But it might take a while. Disney/Marvel should have just made two or three two-hour movies a year. It's easier to course correct without having to deal with so much baggage (storewise). I myself finally gave up on trying to keep up with the MCU after watching Ant-Man 3 and Secret Invasion. They were AWFUL! I can't believe the MCU has made Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, Nick Fury, and Thor LESS popular in the past three years. My brother (who doesn't watch superhero films) blames Scorsese. Ever since Martin made his "cinema" comments about Marvel, I feel that the MCU has completely gone off track. LOL!

And on an unrelated note, I don't share your dismissal of the true crime genre at all. Streaming services LOVE documentaries these days and true crime is a HUGE part of that. Just listen to this episode of CASEFILE and tell me you think their storytelling prowess is any worse than that of DC's and Marvel latest superhero movies and shows:

https://casefilepodcast.com/case-256-jill-rosenthal/

[leokearon]

I fully agree. To go a step further, Marvel not only needed to do this course correct (redemption) for Wanda, they OWED IT TO HER. After so many years of using her as a catalyst for so many stories (on a shaky narrative at that), and raking in the profits at Wanda's expense, it's the least they could do. I love the fact that there is no gray area when it comes to Wanda, because Marvel had many years to FULLY clear up that gray area after Disassembled and House of M, but CHOSE not to fully do so. The point I am making is that I cannot fully trust Marvel to always do the right thing by its heroes (Wanda). I applaud what Orlando has done for her.

Too true. I've seen some give out that Orlando didn't give Wanda enough "feats" in his book but I'm glad he decided to focus on Wanda's character and allow her to move forward. As you said you can't trust Marvel with their own heroes. I'm still fearful, some writer or executive will go, "we need more MCU synergy" and make Wanda a nutcase like they did in MOM.

[Devaishwarya]

I loved this 10-issues run.
I really appreciated Orlando's Wanda being very competent and confident and compassionate. I also very much liked the one/two-issues story arcs (a favourite of mine back in the 80's) where a lot was accomplished story-wise rather than the single overarching plot taking 10-plus issues to resolve...that was a very refreshing change.

I don't feel any way about the book relaunching as SC & QS...relaunches and 10-issues runs have been the new preferred publication norm for a few years now, it is what it is...Once Orlando and Pichelli keep up the good work, I'm here for it.

[GenericUsername]

I think Wanda will be back. But it might take a while. Disney/Marvel should have just made two or three two-hour movies a year. It's easier to course correct without having to deal with so much baggage (storewise). I myself finally gave up on trying to keep up with the MCU after watching Ant-Man 3 and Secret Invasion. They were AWFUL! I can't believe the MCU has made Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, Nick Fury, and Thor LESS popular in the past three years. My brother (who doesn't watch superhero films) blames Scorsese. Ever since Martin made his "cinema" comments about Marvel, I feel that the MCU has completely gone off track. LOL!

And on an unrelated note, I don't share your dismissal of the true crime genre at all. Streaming services LOVE documentaries these days and true crime is a HUGE part of that. Just listen to this episode of CASEFILE and tell me you think their storytelling prowess is any worse than that of DC's and Marvel latest superhero movies and shows:

https://casefilepodcast.com/case-256-jill-rosenthal/

I think they are done. I've accepted it. I'm focused on comics now.

Scorsese had nothing to do with it. I think after Iger left, things got messy. Projects got approved left and right. With writers and directors that didn't have much experience. They were at that point looking just to cash in. Now Iger is back, so we'll see if all of that gets cleaned up.

Sorry, but no thanks on the podcast. It's over an hour long on a subject I don't really care for. But thanks for sharing it.

[Albert1981]

I think they are done. I've accepted it. I'm focused on comics now.

Scorsese had nothing to do with it. I think after Iger left, things got messy. Projects got approved left and right. With writers and directors that didn't have much experience. They were at that point looking just to cash in. Now Iger is back, so we'll see if all of that gets cleaned up.

Sorry, but no thanks on the podcast. It's over an hour long on a subject I don't really care for. But thanks for sharing it.

The podcast is long, but I appreciate the amount of research and writing that went into it. It was pretty well-edited and lots of mystery and tension in that episode. I'd rather listen to that than watch Quantumania or WF again for even ten minutes of those films.

I don't actually believe that Feige and his team want to change up their strategy. As I've posted elsewhere, Marvel executives are STILL talking about Scorsese's comments. I was livid when directors like them trashed Marvel movies a few years back, but I've since "calmed down." I still think Marvel movies these days are "cinema", but I don't think they're all that good anymore. I guarantee you that more people are saying that Scorsese "is right" than ever before these days. Marvel execs have to swallow their pride and acknowledge their strategy isn't working. That means cancelling a LOT of movies and shows that they're still trying to make. It's too late for them to work in my opinion. There are people putting out interesting podcasts (like Casefile) and doing news specials (like 60 Minutes) almost EVERY week, and I don't detect any quality "issues" there. Hell, NCIS and Grey's Anatomy are STILL going strong even after they lost their main stars. There is no reason why the MCU should keep going back to these aging actors/actresses (whose characters have since been retired) to prop up their films. I think the Marvels, Aquaman 2, Kraven and the Thunderbolts are in SERIOUS trouble.

I used to be the biggest MCU stan out there, but for the first time ever I'm skipping the new stuff they're putting out. I was a huge Loki fan, but I imagine his new show is just a lot of talking about temporal paradoxes and shit I don't care about. Here's my question, are you still watching MCU stuff these days? I gave up after Secret Invasion myself. It's probably better to focus on the comics to tell you the truth.

[gurkle]

Variety did a ranking of the 40 best Marvel movie characters across all the movies and picked Wanda Maximoff (or Wendy Mayomoff the whitewashed Nazi, if you're on some corners of social media) as their best female character.

Given the current state of the MCU it makes sense that their best female hero was last seen turning evil and is currently (if not permanently) dead.

I sometimes joke that what happened to Wanda last year set off a witch's curse on the franchise. They can break it by bringing her back.

[GenericUsername]

I don't actually believe that Feige and his team want to change up their strategy. As I've posted elsewhere, Marvel executives are STILL talking about Scorsese's comments.

Are you talking about the Loki show producer? Because he didn't seem to indicate any need to change according to Scorsese.

[MaximoffTrash]

It's more like WV being a decent project is more or less just an accident created by competent folks. And then MCU simply cracked afterwards without the same talent and quality control.

[GenericUsername]

I think they let the success go to their heads, got greedy and started just flooding the landscape with stuff. It's to maximize profits while hiring people who weren't very experienced, likely because they don't have to pay them as much as veterans in the industry. They also just hired anyone to fill spots to spread everything out, and way too thin.

Iger is cutting back, which is good. They need to only do projects that they have good stories for and good crews to work on the projects. Not just put things out only for profit and marketing off of early success.

[leokearon]

Mangad to read Scarlet Witch #10 and it was disappointing. Mostly due to Hexfinder, for a villain that had been hyped some much, she was a terrible character. Terrible motivation, weak design and wasn't even a challenge for Wanda. Hopefully the new Darkseid threat palnned for Wanda will be way better.

[Cruelrain]

Hopefully we get a proper writer for vol 4 if she gets one next year.

One like Al Ewing

[leokearon]

Hopefully we get a proper writer for vol 4 if she gets one next year.

One like Al Ewing

I think Orlando is doing a good job. I like he is having Wanda move forward and personally I like the use of the obscure characters.