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Avengers: Age Of Ultron Primer – Scarlet Witch

By Steve Lam

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Scarlet Witch’s Changing Abilities

Being the daughter of Magneto, the famous mutant with power over magnetism, Scarlet Witch’s power manifested itself as the magical ability to alter reality in unspecific ways.  This manipulation is performed via hexes and they’re usually seen as hex bolts or hex spheres.

The hexes are short-range and they’re limited to her line of sight.  Although a gesture (a hand wave, the action of throwing, etc.) is not necessary, their actions help with Scarlet Witch’s concentration.  The hexes are also closely tied with her state-of-mind.  If she’s tired or exhausted, her hexes may not work and will actually backfire (undoing her previous hexes).

In the comics, her hexes have been used in various ways.  She’s been able to ignite flammable objects, remove air, deflect projectiles, open doors, cause objects to explode, create force fields (akin to Susan Storm of the Fantastic Four), and defend against magical attacks.

Later, she’s trained by both Captain America and Hawkeye which makes her a formidable opponent even without her powers.

Writer Kurt Busiek retonned Scarlet Witch’s powers in Avengers #10 (November 1998).  As she delves into her past, Scarlet Witch learns that her power functions by manipulating chaos magic, which was made possible by the demon Chthon intervening in her mutation during birth.

In Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Marvel imprint, Scarlet Witch’s is required to actually perform mathematical calculations before she can use her powers.  The less likely the probability, the more complex the mathematical formula will be when she executes her power.

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