If your need is great, and your hope is gone… It is then you will meet The Scarlet Witch! Your Major Spoilers review of Scarlet Witch #1 from Marvel Comics awaits!

SCARLET WITCH #1

Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Sara Pichelli/Elisabetta D’Amico
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Editor: Alanna Scott
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: January 4, 2023

Previously in Scarlet Witch: Wanda Maximoff is familiar with hitting rock bottom. And now that she’s finally found peace, she’s pledged all her power to help others who are languishing at their lowest. But when a woman falls through Wanda’s door with a terrifying story of a town gone mad, the Scarlet Witch will have to muster her wits and chaos magic to deal with an insidious threat!

A BRUSH WITH THE PRIMORDIAL

After a rocky few years (and more than one death), Wanda Maximoff has a whole new outlook and a new business venture. In the small town of Lotkill, New York, she has found a mystically acceptable plot of land and built a shop, which she has dubbed The Emporium. With the help of her assistant, a girl named Darcy, she sells tinctures, potions, mystical books, and tchotchkes, all the while monitoring The Last Door. After making short work of Doctor Hydro, The Scarlet Witch arrives just in time for a stranger to enter her shop, bearing bad tidings from Italy. The Corruptor, once a foe of Nova, has taken over her hometown, with only the young woman, Jarnette, able to resist him. With a little help from her brother, Quicksilver, Wanda discovers the reasons behind Jarnette’s immunity, and steps through the door to her destiny.

A SEQUEL TO WANDAVISION?

As a fan of The Scarlet Witch since the early ’80s, I am thrilled to see that Steve Orlando has jettisoned the hysterical nonsense that has been the centerpiece of Wanda’s stories since Avengers Disassembled. Instead, this issue gives us a Scarlet Witch at peace, self-assured, mystically aware, and at the peak of her abilities. She is able to verbally joust with her brother, easily deal with the Corruptor, and even overcome what the villain (and, by extension, the readers) perceive as her greatest weakness. Pichelli and D’Amico provide silky-smooth art throughout the story, focusing on the emotions of our hero, Jarnette, and Jarnette’s wife, whose affections prove key to unraveling the mystery. It’s a rare moment where the beautiful cover by a different artist doesn’t end up feeling like a bait-and-switch, instead balancing Dauterman’s rich details on the cover with strong and equally attractive storytelling on the interior pages.

BOTTOM LINE: A FINE FIRST ISSUE

The real joy of Scarlet Witch #1 is expertly leveraging the insanity of Wanda’s sixty-year publishing history into real human emotion (including the wonderfully vivid line, “Apologies for my Italian… I did learn it from a demon”) and believable situations among the unbelievable, earning 4.5 out of 5 stars overall. If that’s not enough, there’s the mystery of Darcy’s back story, the promise of more of the rare and elusive non-insane Quicksilver, and the last page appearance of a character with a lot of significance to the history of Scarlet Witch.

---

Dear Spoilerite,

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.

SCARLET WITCH #1

90%

90%

*NEVER* Speak Ill Of A Tiara

A refreshing new start for Wanda, with a lot of elements familiar from her recent TV outing, with evocative art and well-done dialogue throughout.

• Writing

  9
• Art

  9
• Coloring

  9
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
  0