Scarlet Witch’s Shocking Redemption: From Villain to Hero Again

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I explore the journeys of superheroes who became villains and then returned to being heroes. Today, I’ll be focusing on Scarlet Witch and how she was redeemed after the events of ‘Avengers Disassembled’.

It’s remarkable that the Scarlet Witch is the first character we’ve featured twice! Still devastated by the realization her children weren’t real and her relationship with Vision ending, she lost control during “The Acts of Vengeance.” She cut her hair, got a fantastic new costume designed by John Byrne, and did some terrible things to Wonder Man. Eventually, Roy Thomas took over the comic from Byrne and revealed that Immortus had been secretly manipulating the Scarlet Witch all along.

More than ten years after Byrne’s work, Brian Michael Bendis tried a similar tactic, but took it even further. He spent a significant amount of time trying to show the Scarlet Witch in a more positive light, after she was responsible for terrible events in the ‘Avengers Disassembled’ storyline.

How did Scarlet Witch snap for the second time?

After seemingly recovering from Immortus’s control and accepting the loss of her children, Scarlet Witch’s healing was revealed to be incomplete. Instead of truly moving on, she had suppressed her emotions with a mental block. This block crumbled when the Wasp unintentionally mentioned Wanda’s lost children, triggering a relapse.

Things took a turn for the worse. She sought help from Agatha Harkness (these pages were illustrated by David Finch and Danny Miki), but Brian Michael Bendis later established that Agatha was actually dead at the time. Wanda, however, used her powers to temporarily bring Agatha back to life for their meetings.

This ultimately causes Scarlet Witch to lose control and use her powers to change reality, attacking the Avengers. Doctor Strange eventually intervenes and defeats her with his magic. However, Magneto, her father, arrives and brings her back to his home in Genosha, determined to look after her.

Okay, so things got intense between the Avengers and the X-Men. They were arguing about what to do with Scarlet Witch, and someone actually suggested, like, killing her if she kept losing control. Her brother, Quicksilver, was there, and he totally lost it when he heard that. He rushed to Wanda, begged her to use her powers, and basically twisted her arm into rewriting reality. The next thing you know, everything changed – mutants were suddenly in charge, and it became this whole new world called “House of M,” with Magneto as the ruler! It was crazy.

Over time, the heroes who had been changed slowly remembered who they were and turned against the House of M, hoping to convince Scarlet Witch to restore everything. She eventually did, but first, a heartbroken Wanda decided that mutants were the source of the problem. In a devastating act, she used her powers to strip the X-gene from the entire world, effectively removing mutant abilities.

Doctor Strange’s intervention saved the powers of only a small number of mutants – a few thousand out of millions. Wanda Maximoff was one of those who lost her abilities. Without remembering the events that caused this loss, she began a peaceful, secluded life in the country.

Okay, so how was she REDEEMED then?

How was Scarlet Witch redeemed?

Following the events of “Avengers Disassembled,” a new team of heroes called Young Avengers was created by Allan Heinberg, Jimmy Cheung, John Dell, and Justin Ponsor. This team emerged in response to the original Avengers falling apart. Interestingly, two of its members, Wiccan and Speed, were revealed to be the reborn children of the Scarlet Witch, which naturally led to conflicts and unresolved issues with her.

As a huge fan, I was so excited when the connection between Scarlet Witch and Wiccan finally got explored! It took a while though – Heinberg was working on other comic projects, so it wasn’t until July 2010 – over five years after Young Avengers #1 came out – that he could really dive into it. He did that with Avengers: Children’s Crusade, a nine-issue series, and it was great to see him working with Cheung, Ponsor, and Mark Morales instead of his usual artist, John Dell.

Okay, so the big moment was Wiccan just going all-out on some villains right in front of the Avengers! It was pretty intense, but honestly, it made them nervous. They’re worried he might end up being a problem down the line, like his mom, the Scarlet Witch, was. When Wiccan asked what they meant, they basically spilled the beans about Avengers Disassembled and House of M – all that crazy stuff the Avengers usually keep under wraps. It was a lot to take in!

Wiccan simply states that Scarlet Witch couldn’t have acted on her own. He’s surprised the Avengers aren’t considering that something might have been controlling her, especially since she’s been possessed before.

He and the Young Avengers then set out to find Wanda, encountering her in the third issue of the comic, but she has no recollection of who she is.

PLUS, she is getting married to Doctor Doom!

Eventually, after a few issues, her memories returned, and she realized who she was…

We then found out that after visiting Agatha Harkness, she actually went to Doctor Doom, hoping he could help her find her children.

He agreed to help, but his actions ultimately led to her being possessed and strangely transformed into something otherworldly.

She was essentially under a powerful, external influence, meaning she wasn’t responsible for what she did. Now that this influence is gone, she’s returned to being her normal self, the Scarlet Witch, and is happily reunited with her two sons, making things better than ever for her.

We’d love to hear more examples like these! Whether they’re well-known or hidden gems, please send your suggestions to brianc@cbr.com.

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2025-10-24 19:25