Scarlet Witch #1 Review: The Stellar Showcase Wanda Maximoff Deserves

Scarlet Witch #1 is a classy and clever new chapter in the history of one of Marvel's most distinct superheroines. The first issue, which arrives today, follows Wanda's efforts to cement a new status quo for herself, as she opens up a witchcraft shop aiming to aid anyone with supernatural problems. While helping a woman with ties to a magical town, Wanda is taken down a rabbit hole that forces her to examine her past, present, and future. The end result is something magical and incredibly personal, which just might be one of Marvel's best debut issues in recent memory.

While Wanda has remained a mainstay of the Avengers and an occasional antagonist for the entire Marvel universe, her rise to notoriety has been a unique one, largely fueled by her blockbuster live-action appearances in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. A new Scarlet Witch series could have approached that household name status in a manifold number of ways, either leaning so far into it that it loses Wanda's previous comic book foundation, or ignoring it entirely. Steve Orlando's script for Scarlet Witch #1 decides to operate somewhere in the middle, but it does so in a beautiful and almost-effortless way. The issue is not only accessible to fans who only know Wanda from the MCU, but it adapts elements that haven't even begun to be touched in live-action (namely Wanda's largely-unexplored dynamic with fellow franchise veteran and WandaVision cast member Darcy Lewis, who cleverly makes her comic debut as Wanda's friend and sidekick). Even the central conflict of the issue—Wanda helping a town possessed by magical forces—feels like a play on how WandaVision handled the town of Westview (and the discourse that surrounded it for months afterwards).

Despite these echoes of Wanda's live-action success, Scarlet Witch #1 could not be more fully entrenched in the Marvel universe if it tried – it opens with a fight with a Namor villain who hasn't appeared in the comics for decades, it continues to deal with the ramifications of House of M, and it finally establishes a long-awaited connection between Wanda and the Vision family. Thankfully, that eclectic combination of elements is helped by the fact that Scarlet Witch #1 is simply a well-constructed comic, spinning a narrative that will keep fans enthralled, but not overwhelmed by what's happening. The very premise of this series, a superhero opening a brick-and-mortar business to help people in need, is decades-old at this point and has provided fodder for countless issues worth of standalone stories. But there's a fun novelty to seeing that formula utilized with this particular character at this particular point in the Marvel universe – outside of a few choice lines of dialogue, the entire issue reads as a self-contained story, which feels refreshing in the age of so many Marvel books spinning their wheels and overstaying their welcome.

Sara Pichelli's style could not be better suited to the art of Scarlet Witch, as her aesthetic approach and panel construction are mesmerizing to watch. It's especially delightful seeing Pichelli's rendering of Wanda's new Russell Dauterman-designed costume, which proves to be both practical and ethereal. While Matthew Wilson's colors are usually excellent, there's an extra sense of thoughtfulness to his work on Scarlet Witch – from the gorgeous gradient of Wanda's powers in action, to Wanda and Pietro's skin tone (something that has been rendered very inconsistently over the years). Cory Petit's lettering ties it all together effortlessly, giving every line of dialogue an extra sense of panache. 

From the second this Scarlet Witch series was first announced, it was clear that it would be something distinct – not only Wanda's first (well-deserved) solo book in nearly a decade, but the first title to reckon with how she has been interpreted on the big screen. The team of Steve Orlando, Sara Pichelli, and company take that task and have fun with it, crafting a timeless and spellbinding look at Wanda's new status quo. It's an understatement to say that Wanda has a legacy—on the page, screen, and otherwise—like no other, and Scarlet Witch #1 is an excellent addition to that.

Published by Marvel Comics

On January 4, 2023

Written by Steve Orlando

Art by Sara Pichelli

Colors by Matthew Wilson

Lettering by Cory Petit

Cover by Russell Dauterman