Wanda Maximoff

Wanda Maximoff first appeared in Marvel Comics’ *The X-Men* #4 in 1964, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Introduced as the Scarlet Witch, she served in Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants alongside her speedster twin, Pietro Maximoff, known as Quicksilver. Both siblings subsequently left the Brotherhood and joined the Avengers in *The Avengers* #16. Wanda’s early comic-book powers involved altering probabilities, often through “hex” effects; later stories expanded her abilities to include powerful magic and reality alteration. She married the android Vision in *Giant-Size Avengers* #4 (1975). Their complicated relationship became central to decades of Avengers stories.

Wanda and Vision’s sons, Billy and Tommy, emerged through magical circumstances rather than an ordinary birth. The boys’ later reincarnations became the young superheroes Wiccan and Speed. In the 2005–2006 crossover *House of M*, Wanda reshaped reality into a world where mutants dominated society. When that reality collapsed, her declaration “No more mutants” stripped most mutants of their powers. Although earlier comics identified Magneto as Wanda’s father, later continuity overturned that biological connection. These changes distinguish her comic-book history from the separate Marvel Cinematic Universe version portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen, whose screen story follows a different account of her powers and family.

The screen Wanda debuted in a mid-credits scene of *Captain America: The Winter Soldier* (2014) before taking a major role in *Avengers: Age of Ultron* (2015). In this continuity, Wanda and Pietro grew up in Sokovia and blamed Tony Stark after a Stark Industries missile killed their parents. Experiments involving Loki’s scepter enhanced the twins; the Mind Stone inside it amplified Wanda’s abilities. She initially sided with Ultron but turned against him after discovering his plan to exterminate humanity. Pietro died protecting a child during the battle of Sokovia, and Wanda subsequently joined the Avengers under Captain America’s direct command.

In *Captain America: Civil War* (2016), Wanda’s attempt to contain an explosion in Lagos accidentally killed civilians, intensifying demands for oversight of the Avengers. Her relationship with Vision deepened before Thanos killed him in *Avengers: Infinity War* (2018). Disney+’s *WandaVision* (2021) depicted her grief transforming Westview, New Jersey, into a sitcom-inspired reality where she recreated Vision and their sons. Agatha Harkness identified her as the Scarlet Witch. In *Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness* (2022), the Darkhold’s corruption drove Wanda to pursue alternate-universe versions of her children; she ultimately destroyed Mount Wundagore and its Darkhold copies across the multiverse.