| “ | Sometimes it's hard. But sooner or later every man shows himself. | „ |
| ~ Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch |
Scarlet Witch is a minor character in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the secondary antagonist turned supporting protagonist (alongside Quicksilver) of Avengers: Age of Ultron and a major protagonist of Captain America: Civil War.
She is portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen the youngest Olsen sibling of the Olsen twins and their big brother, Trent.
Background
Early life
- "Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed on their apartment building. Sokovia has had a... rough history, it's nowhere special but it's on the way to everywhere special."
- ―Maria Hill and Steve Rogers
Wanda Maximoff was born in the Eastern European country of Sokovia along with her brother, Pietro. At the age of ten, while having dinner with her family, a mortar shell hit their apartment building, killing Maximoff's parents and trapping her and her brother. A second shell hit the apartment near them but did not go off; the Maximoff twins were left trapped for two days staring at the unexploding shell reading the name on it, Stark Industries. This traumatic experience gave the twins a great hatred for America, especially Tony Stark and later the Avengers. They often took part and led protests against the Avengers. They dedicated much of their lives to this hatred and began searching for ways to bring down the Avengers; this constant political activity put them on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar
Joining HYDRA
- "There's nothing more horrifying than a miracle!"
- ―Baron Von Strucker about Wanda and Pietro
When the twins reached adulthood, Sokovia had become a warzone, with foreign forces invading their streets frequently. Wanda and her brother took part in various riots to drive the foreign forces out of their streets. What the twins did not realize was that the riots were orchestrated by HYDRA, who had taken up residence in the country and were using the riots to cover up their illegal experiments. One day, Wanda and Pietro were approached by List, a scientist at the HYDRA cell in Sokovia, who offered them the opportunity to achieve the power needed to drive war out of Sokovia. Initially skeptical, Wanda was convinced by Pietro to agree.
Along with other volunteers from the town, Wanda and Pietro underwent a series of tests where they were exposed to energy from the Scepter, which had fatal effects on the others. Wanda and Pietro, however, experienced exceedingly different effects. The power of the scepter unlocked latent supernatural powers within the pair; while Pietro achieved superhuman speed, Wanda attained a number of mental powers such as telekinesis, hypnosis, and energy projection.
Soon after, the Avengers arrived in Sokovia and raided Strucker's facility, stealing the scepter and arresting Strucker. In the confusion, Wanda and Pietro escaped from their holding cells and, though inexperienced, were able to use their powers to evade the Avengers and escape. Wanda herself used her powers to distract Iron Man, tricking him into believing that a dead Leviathan specimen that Strucker had been studying was still alive, and showing him a dark vision where the Avengers are dead and Leviathans invade Earth from a wormhole.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
A Misguided Partnership
- "Ultron can't see the difference between saving the world and destroying it: Where do you think he gets that from?"
- ―Wanda, about Ultron, referencing to Stark
Wanda and Pietro were soon called by Ultron to join him in his plans to destroy the Avengers, knowing that with their powers, they can tear the opposition apart. Soon after, Wanda and Pietro accompany Ultron in acquiring Ulysses Klaue's supply of vibranium. Wanda manages to knock Captain America back with her powers and began "hexing" the minds of Thor, Black Widow, and the Cap. She attempted to "hex" Hawkeye, but was subdued by him. Pietro saved her in the nick of time and took her outside Klaue's base, where she caught sight of the Hulk and manages to "hex" him as well.
Betraying Ultron and Becoming Avenger
When the Twins arrived in Seoul, Wanda learned of Ultron's plans upon touching the Cradle and left the facility, much to Ultron's rage. The Twins then assisted Captain America in fighting off Ultron on a moving passenger train and Wanda managed to stop it when it went off the rails. Wanda and Pietro then accompanied Captain America back to Avengers Tower and tried to stop Stark and Banner from bringing Vision to life. Wanda was held back by Banner in the scuffle, but she managed to escape his hold, only to witness Thor bringing Vision to life. She reluctantly stood down as Vision introduced himself to them. She and Pietro then join the Avengers in stopping Ultron and saving Sokovia.
Battle of Sokovia
Wanda played a significant part in evacuating civilians from Sokovia, using her powers of mind control on dozens of innocents. When Ultron's army began their attack, Wanda tried to shield innocent civilians from enemy fire with her powers. Eventually, Ultron forced a large part of the city to levitate so that once it reached a certain height it would cause an extinction level event once it it made impact with the earth. This, along with the carnage that was falling upon her home, overwhelmed Wanda. Hawkeye told her that she needed to make a choice, to stay hidden and wait for her brother to take her somewhere safe or get out there and be an Avenger. When Clint was surrounded by Ultron's robots, Wanda made the save. Wanda was then taken by Pietro to help rally the civilians and assisted in escorting them to the transporters sent by Nick Fury. Then, she and the rest of the Avengers stood together in defending the drill that would activate Ultron's plans for extinction and managed to wipe out a majority of his forces.
Pietro's Death
- "Wanda, if you stay here, you'll die."
"I just did. Do you know how it felt? It felt like that..."
- ―Ultron and Scarlet Witch
After she pulled out his heart and smashed it. Wanda opted to stay behind to guard the key while the others went their separate ways to accomplish their objectives, making Pietro promise to come back for her when their mission is over. Unfortunately, Pietro was killed saving Clint Barton and a young boy from Ultron and Wanda senses this, causing her to cry out in pure anguish. Wanda then left her post to avenge her brother by taking down Ultron's primary body with her powers, though she had inadvertently allowed an Ultron drone to activate the key that sent Sokovia plummeting towards Earth. Fortunately, Stark and Thor averted the cataclysm and Vision saved Wanda just in the nick of time.
The New Team
- "Avengers, A..."
- ―Captain America
Wanda was recruited into the Avengers' roster along with War Machine, Vision, and Sam Wilson as a permanent member of the team. They arrived at the New Avengers Facility and began their training under the leadership of Captain America and Black Widow.
Captain America: Civil War
Lagos Catastrophe
- "Wanda. Just like we practiced."
- "What about the gas?"
- "Get it out."
- ―Captain America and Scarlet Witch
Approximately a year after the Ultron Offensive, Scarlet Witch joined her fellow Avengers in tracking down Crossbones and his mercenaries to Lagos, Nigeria, who was planning to attack the Institute for Infectious Diseases and steal a biochemical weapon. They immediately rushed towards the IFID, with Captain America arrived first on scene, followed by Falcon and Scarlet Witch. Scarlet Witch lifted Captain America onto the third floor to subdue Crossbones and used her powers to vent the anesthetic gas out into the open air.
Falcon and Black Widow managed to neutralize the mercenaries and secure the the biochemical weapon that Crossbones and his mercenaries had obtained while they tried to escape through a busy marketplace. Captain America and Crossbones fought intensely before Captain America managed to disarm and subdue Crossbones. Rumlow taunted Captain America and claimed that the Winter Soldier had hired him to stead the biochemical weapon, once again under HYDRA mind control. Suddenly, Rumlow pulled the cord on his suicide vest in an effort to kill both him and Captain America. Scarlet Witch managed to shield the explosion around Rumlow and tried to move the blast away, but inadvertently destroyed a nearby building and killing many of its occupants, much to her horror.
Sokovia Accords
House Arrest
- "Wanda? What about Wanda?"
- "She's fine, she's confined to the compound currently. Vision's keeping her company."
- "Oh, God, Tony! Every time.. every time I think you see-"
- "What, it's a hundred acres with a lap pool. It's got a screening room. There's worse ways to protect people."
- "Protection? Is that how you see this? This is protection? It's internment!"
- "She's not a U.S citizen and they don't grant visas to weapons of mass destruction!"
- ―Steve Rogers and Tony Stark
The Avengers returned to the New Avengers Facility, where Wanda still was filled with guilt over the deaths caused from the explosion. When the Sokovia Accords were introduced to the Avengers, Wanda was unsure at the time whether she should sign or not. After the other Avengers left to deal with the Winter Soldier, Wanda was left under the watch of the Vision. He tried to cook her something to lift her spirits, though failed due to the fact he doesn't eat. The two Avengers have a heart-to-heart talk but when Wanda tries to leave the facility, Vision stops her, telling her the Tony Stark charged him with ensuring she didn't leave the compound until the debate with the Accords had cooled.
Later, Steve Rogers sent Clint Barton to retrieve Wanda. Barton created a distraction for Vision and tried to talk Wanda into leaving with him. Vision returned and he easily over powered Barton, but Wanda used her powers to free him and increased Vision's density, blasting him many meters beneath the facility and left with Barton.
Clash of the Avengers
- "Wanda, I think you hurt Vision's feelings."
- "You locked me in my room."
- ―Iron Man and Scarlet Witch
Maximoff and Clint Barton retrieved Scott Lang and then the three met up with Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in Germany, where they were ambushed by Iron Man and his allies. Maximoff used her powers to assist her teammates, stopping enemy blows and throwing vehicles. As she used her powers to stop a falling watch tower from cutting off Rogers and Barnes' escape, James Rhodes used a sonic weapon to knock her out. Vision went to check on her, but this act distracted him causing him to accidentally strike Rhodes out of the sky.
Imprisonment
Maximoff and the other heroes aligned with Steve Rogers were arrested and taken to the Raft, where she was outfitted with a shock collar and put in a straitjacket to prevent her from using her powers. Tony Stark visited the prison and saw her in captivity. However, Rogers broke into the Raft and freed Maximoff and the others.
Personality
Having dealt with tragedy and turmoil at such a young age, Wanda desired to free her country from the terrors of war. This desire grew to such a point that she volunteered to be experimented on by HYDRA, eventually gaining the formidable powers she now possesses. Compared to her brother, Pietro, Wanda is quieter and less aggressive. Despite that, she appears to have full control of her power and would not hesitate to use it on her enemies to achieve her goals. She was not the type to face a foe in direct combat, opting to disable her foes with her powers when their guard is down.
Despite her desire to destroy the Avengers, she ultimately chose to betray Ultron after learning his true intentions and sided with the very people she tried to take down. This shows that Wanda is willing to set aside personal grudges for the common good, as she ultimately joined the Avengers in evacuating Sokovia and opposing Ultron.
Her hatred for Tony Stark's role in the destruction her country endured and the death of her parents motivated her to implant visions of a bleak future into his mind, thus setting up the events that led to the eventual destruction of Sokovia. Wanda acknowledges this to Hawkeye, sordidly blaming herself for the carnage and questioning why she let such chaos happen.
However, after being encouraged by Hawkeye, Wanda displayed great courage and selflessness, aiding him in fighting off the Sentries and protecting and escorting civilians to safety before standing alongside the Avengers in wiping out most of Ultron's forces. This is paramounted by how she chose to stay behind and guard the key, reiterating that it was her job, and making Pietro promise to come back for her only when everyone else is safe.
Wanda and Pietro share a deep, emotional bond, though they would occasionally bicker like normal siblings. Wanda was looked after by Pietro and she would always rely on him for support. Pietro's death by Ultron's hands unleashed a fury within Wanda that pushed her to leave her post and rip out Ultron's central processor to make him feel the pain he inflicted, avenging her beloved brother.
Despite the pain of losing her brother and the loss of her home, Wanda still chose to join the second team of Avengers, led by Captain America.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- "Her thing is neuro-electric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation."
- ―Maria Hill
- Psionics: As a result of exposure to the cosmic energies from the Scepter, Maximoff acquired an array of psionic powers, which manifest in the form of reddish glowing energy currents and mist-like shapes, much like fire or gas. Maria Hill describes her powers as "neuro-electric interface and telekinesis" and called Maximoff "weird" because of them. When using her power, her irises sometimes glow a dark reddish color, especially when she concentrates. The currents she creates can control and distort molecules and forms of physical forces, such as friction, kinetic energy, pressure, state of matter and even gravity. This energy is capable of controlling many forms of matter on a molecular level and can be used to control molecules and physical forces in various ways.
- Telekinesis: Maximoff has the ability to mentally move and manipulate objects through force of the mind. She can also affect and control particles and molecules, as well as physical forces such as kinetic energy, friction, pressure, state of matter and even gravity. She demonstrated this when she moved wooden blocks around while imprisoned in Wolfgang von Strucker's secret facility. She pulled them apart with her power, and suspended them in the air, removing all motion and gravity from the pieces. Maximoff used this power to create a shield to protect innocents from enemy fire, stop an off-rail train in Seoul, knock back Captain America, tear apart Ultron Sentries and rip out the central processor of Ultron's primary body. It also appears that her emotions are linked to her powers as she unleashed a wave of reddish energy that disintegrated attacking Ultron Sentries when she sensed Pietro's death and cried out. Her telekinesis is enough to break through Vibranium as she did managed to rip Ultron's primary body apart to get his central processor.
- Levitation: Maximoff was able to use this power to move herself through the air and simulate flight.
- Energy Shield: Maximoff was able to create a shield of telekinetic energy to protect innocents from enemy fire and deflect attack from Ultron Sentries.
- Psionic Energy: Maximoff can project energy blasts, orbs, waves and bolts by projecting her own psionic and kinetic energy, or gathering particles, molecules and physical forces into a contained space, allowing her to either blow or direct her hits at her enemies. These contained spaces could be in any shape and form and outlined her telekinetic spheres of influence, making her telekinesis visible and in reddish color. When a target of hers is hit with her energy, she can use her telekinesis to inflict further damage. Maximoff unleashed a wave of reddish energy that tore apart and disintegrated surrounding Ultron Sentries when she sensed Pietro's death and cried out in grief and anger. She can also generate a bolt of hex energy to project light.
- "You and I, we can hurt them but you, you can tear them apart from the inside.."
- ―Ultron to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch
- Mental Manipulation: Maximoff was able to deploy a form of mental inertness upon others through a form of hypnosis. This power is possible through a neuro-electric interface, just as her telepathy is. She was able to use this ability to cripple the Avengers, forcing them each to recall the darker events of their pasts and were put inside daydream-like visions of them that subdued them. When this ability is in use, Maximoff's reddish energy takes a more mist-like form, floating into the head of the victim in the form of neurons. The effects also distort the victim's iris coloration, causing them to shine a dark reddish color. This also allows her to control other people's actions, as she did with a considerable number of civilians in Sokovia to aid in their evacuation, causing them to experience a form of sleep walking and making them all get up and leave the city. Maximoff's mental power is strong to reverse the effects of the Mind Stone, one of the most powerful objects in existence, as shown when she freed Dr. Helen Cho from the stone's control. She can also manipulate the memory and senses of others at will, induce sleep or pain and create illusions without any difficulty.
- Phobikinesis: With her ability to manipulate the mind, she could use her abilities to elicit fear or emotional pain in a person in the form of, usually nightmarish, hallucinations that could stun and weaken an individual as powerful as Thor. These visions can show something that a person fears, regrets, or is generally disturbed at, though the nature of it is not up to Wanda. She does seem to be able to know what her victim is seeing and be inside the vision with them, seemingly invisible to them.
Abilities
- Multilingualism: Like her brother, Wanda is fluent in Sokovian and speaks English (though with a heavy Sokovian accent).
Relationships
Family
- Father †
- Mother †
- Pietro Maximoff † - Twin Brother
Allies
- Avengers - Enemies turned Teammates
- Steve Rogers/Captain America - Former Thrall turned Ally and Leader
- Tony Stark/Iron Man - Former Enemy and Thrall turned Ally
- Bruce Banner/Hulk - Former Thrall turned Ally
- Thor - Former Thrall turned Ally
- Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow - Former Thrall turned Ally
- Clint Barton/Hawkeye - Former Enemy and Attempted Thrall turned Ally
- Vision - Savior
- James Rhodes/War Machine
- Sam Wilson/Falcon
- Helen Cho
- Nick Fury
- Maria Hill
Enemies
- Ultron † - Ally turned Enemy and Victim
- Ultron Sentries †
- HYDRA
- Wolfgang von Strucker †
- Doctor List †
Appearances
In chronological order:
- Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Scepter'd Isle
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Season Two
- The Dirty Half Dozen (mentioned)
- Season Two
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Captain America: Civil War
- Avengers: Infinity War (unreleased)
Gallery
Trivia
- In the comics, Quicksilver is a mutant and a founding member of the Brotherhood of Mutants, being initially identified as the son of Magneto (Erik Lehnsherr) and his then-wife Magda Lehnsherr (née Eisenhardt) in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4 (1983), 19 years after Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver's first appearance. Magda leaves Erik while pregnant and takes sanctuary at Mount Wundagore in Transia, the home of the High Evolutionary, where she gives birth and later dies. The High Evolutionary then places them instead in the care of the Romani couple, Django and Marya Maximoff, who raise them as their own children. Prior to that, in Giant-Size Avengers #1 (1974), they were revealed to be the biological children of Golden Age superheroes The Whizzer and Miss America, a fact that was later retconned. In Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #7 (2014), it was revealed that Pietro and his sister have no blood ties to Magneto and are not related after all. In Uncanny Avengers #4 (2015), it is confirmed not only are they not related to Magneto but they are also not mutants, as the High Evolutionary was the one that genetically altered them as infants, giving them their powers, before returning them to their true parents, the Maximoffs.
- Athough Wanda's comic book moniker was never spoken by anyone during the course of the film, Iron Man did disparagingly refer to her as a "witch", alluding to her Scarlet Witch moniker.
- The credits did in fact credit her as "Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch".
- In the comics, Wanda married Vision, and had two sons with him.
- Wanda ultimately destroying Ultron's primary body in the film is probably an allusion to the fact that her powers in the comics are considered one of Ultron's most significant weaknesses.
See also
 Heroes
| ||
|
Stark Industries United States Armed Forces S.H.I.E.L.D. Culver University Asgardians Frost Giants Howling Commandos The Avengers Guardians of the Galaxy Ravagers Nova Corps The Defenders PYM Tech/X-Con Security Consultants Wakandans Midtown School of Science and Technology Masters of the Mystic Arts The Revengers/Sakaaran Rebellion House of Agon Runaways Skrulls S.W.O.R.D. S.A.B.E.R. Time Variance Authority Red Room Ta Lo Armed Forces The Eternals Avatars Freedom Fighters The Marvels Assorted Variants Others (Films/Disney+) Others (Pre-Disney+ TV) | ||