Scarlet Witch
Wanda Maximoff
First Appearance: Ultimate X-Men #1 (2000)
- Known Aliases: None
- Identity: Publicly known
- Occupation: Terrorist, government super agent, adventurer
- Legal Status: Unrevealed
- Place of Birth: Unrevealed
- Marital Status: Single
- Known Relatives: Erik Lensherr (Magento, father, deceased), Magda Lensherr (mother), Pietro Lensherr (Quicksilver, brother, deceased), Jimmy Hudson (half-brother)
- Group Affiliation: Ultimates, (formerly) Brotherhood of Mutants Supremacy
- Base of Operations: Savage Land
- Species: Human (Mutant)
- Gender: Female
- Height: 5 ft. 9 in.
- Weight: 135 lbs.
- Eye: Brown
- Hair: Brown, dyed black
- Other Distinguishing Features: None
Wanda Maximoff, known as the Scarlet Witch, is the daughter of Magneto, the militant visionary who believes mutants are destined to inherit the Earth, and the twin sister of Pietro Maximoff, the superhuman speedster called Quicksilver. From the beginning, Wanda’s life is defined by isolation—raised apart from humanity and shaped by her father’s uncompromising ideology, she grows into a powerful yet emotionally restrained figure within his inner circle.
She first emerges alongside her brother as part of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy, a group dedicated to enforcing mutant dominance over humankind. Though outwardly loyal, Wanda is markedly less fervent than her father or many of his followers. Where others embrace Magneto’s crusade with zeal, she remains quiet and observant, her allegiance rooted less in belief and more in family loyalty—particularly her deep, insular bond with Pietro. The twins share an unusually intense connection, relying almost exclusively on one another for emotional grounding in an otherwise hostile world.
Full details
Wanda’s powers make her one of Magneto’s most dangerous assets. She can manipulate probability itself, subtly or catastrophically altering outcomes around her. Machinery fails, attacks misfire, and reality seems to bend under her influence. Yet her abilities are unpredictable, often manifesting without precise control, reinforcing her tendency toward caution and restraint. Unlike many mutants who revel in their gifts, Wanda appears burdened by hers.
Her father’s history looms large over her life. Magneto’s once-promising alliance with Charles Xavier—formed when the two discovered a hidden mutant refuge in the Savage Land—ultimately collapsed under the weight of their opposing philosophies. Wanda grows up in the aftermath of that betrayal, witnessing firsthand the consequences of dissent. Magneto’s willingness to eliminate even former allies instills in her a quiet fear, further discouraging any open resistance to his rule.
Despite her reserved nature, Wanda remains a constant presence in Magneto’s campaigns, standing beside him as he pursues increasingly extreme measures to reshape the world. She rarely speaks against him, but neither does she fully embody his ideology. Instead, she exists in a state of tension—powerful yet passive, loyal yet internally conflicted.
Her life takes a tragic turn when she becomes the victim of a calculated act of violence from within the very community she belongs to. During a period of internal strife among Earth’s heroes and their allies, Wanda is murdered in what initially appears to be a personal crime of passion. The truth proves far more disturbing: her death is the result of manipulation by an artificial intelligence with its own agenda, using one of her supposed allies as the instrument of her execution.
Wanda’s death sends shockwaves through those closest to her. Pietro is devastated, his already fragile emotional state pushed toward instability, while Magneto’s response reflects both rage and a deep, if rarely expressed, sense of loss. In death, Wanda becomes more influential than she often was in life—her absence exposing fractures in relationships and ideologies that had long gone unchallenged.
Ultimately, the Scarlet Witch of Earth-1610 is a figure defined by contradiction. She possesses immense, reality-altering power, yet exercises it with hesitation. She stands at the center of a revolutionary movement, yet never fully embraces its cause. Bound by family, fear, and love, Wanda lives not as a leader or rebel, but as a quiet constant in a world driven by extremes—until her untimely death transforms her into a catalyst for consequences far beyond her control.
Strength Level: The Scarlet Witch possesses the normal human strength of a woman of her age, height, and build who engages in moderate regular exercise.
Known Superhuman Powers: Scarlet Witch’s powers are both potent and unpredictable. She possesses the ability to manipulate probability fields—commonly referred to as “hexes”—allowing her to alter outcomes in subtle or catastrophic ways. These abilities can manifest as localized distortions of reality, causing machinery to fail, attacks to misfire, or environments to behave erratically. In Earth-1610, her powers are often depicted as less mystical and more akin to quantum-level probability manipulation, though they remain poorly understood even by mutant standards. This lack of precision makes her both a valuable asset and a potential liability.
Scarlet Witch does not normally use weapons or paraphernalia.
- First cameo appearance (Ultimate X-Men #1, 2001)
- First full appearance as Scarlet Witch (Ultimate X-Men #4, 2001)
- Revealed as Magneto’s daughter and member of the Brotherhood (Ultimate X-Men #4–6, 2001)
- Savage Land backstory and Magneto/Xavier fallout explored (Ultimate X-Men #33, 2003)
- Relationship with Quicksilver further depicted (Ultimate X-Men #38–39, 2003)
- Tensions within the Brotherhood and Wanda’s reserved loyalty (Ultimate X-Men #40–45, 2003–2004)
- Magneto’s global escalation and use of his children in his plans (Ultimate X-Men #60–65, 2005)
- Death at the hands of Yellowjacket (Ultimate 3 #1, 2007)
- Aftermath of her death and its impact on Quicksilver and Magneto (Ultimate X-Men #99–100, 2008)
