Scarlet Witch has become one of the most popular superheroines in comics, but it’s been a rocky road getting there. She debuted in X-Men (Vol. 1) #4 as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, working with Magneto and her twin Quicksilver. She would join the Avengers with Avengers (Vol. 1) #16, and has had a lot of ups and downs with the group. She’s been a hero, she’s been a villain, she committed genocide against the mutant race in the 2005 event comic House of M. In the last 21 years, she’s gone from being one of the worst monsters in Marvel Comics history to a solo superstar, her success in the MCU driving her to her ow books, and Scarlet Witch has since become the Sorcerer Supreme and a beloved icon. However, she’s not the first hero to come back to genocide, but there is a huge difference between her and the other.

Videos by ComicBook.com

45 years ago, readers got the first story where a female superhero broke badder than they could possibly imagine in the undisputed classic “The Dark Phoenix Saga”. It saw Jean Grey, at the time empowered by the Phoenix Force, fall to darkness, destroying an entire solar system and killing billions. We all know what happened in that story – Jean Grey ended her own life in fear of what she’d do as the Dark Phoenix – but writer Chris Claremont’s plans were originally very different. He wanted to the heroine to live, but was stopped by Marvel editor in chief Jim Shooter. The whole situation mirrors the one with Scarlet Witch, with Wanda actually proving Shooter’s reasoning for killing Jean was wrong.

Shooter Believed Readers Would Never Forgive Jean and Scarlet Witch Proved Otherwise

Jim Shooter is one of the most controversial editors in chief in Marvel Comics history. Shooter started his career in comics as a teen, writing the Legion of Superheroes for DC Comics, and he would eventually move over to Marvel, where he rose up the ranks to become editor in chief of the House of Ideas in 1978, presiding over what is to many the greatest period in the publisher’s history. However, he got this success by being a tyrant to those who worked under him; he expected the best, and for creators to work for the fans, so he went hard in the paint. “The Dark Phoenix Saga” was proof of this.

Claremont wanted Jean to live after the story (as later published in Phoenix: The Untold Story #1), putting her on the road to redemption. Shooter said this would never work, that fans would never forgive her for killing billions, so we got the ending where she took her life. Shooter’s reasoning is somewhat sound; Jean suddenly had the biggest kill count in comics and that could have been a dealbreaker for a lot of fans.

Scarlet Witch’s actions mirror those of Jean’s. She de-powered the mutant race, committing genocide according to the definition set by the UN (and for those who say she didn’t kill anyone, numerous mutants’ lives depend on their powers, so there were almost certainly a lot of deaths). She disappeared for a while after House of M, and would gradually be brought back until Avengers vs. X-Men and since then has been a key part of Avengers lore. The turning point was, as with many Marvel character,s the MCU. Scarlet Witch became popular, and the publisher started to push her harder, leading to where she is now, having helmed solo books for several years now and playing a key role in several volumes of Avengers.

Now, looking at the history of the character, it was something of a rocky road getting Wanda back to prominence. X-Men fans didn’t really like the character, and Marvel tried to find ways to pass the buck, blaming Doom and the Life Force for her actions in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade. However, it wouldn’t be until Marvel stopped trying to blame everything other than Wanda for her actions that fans started to accept her again. Add in the MCU, and readers proved that Shooter wasn’t correct about Jean Grey 46 years ago.

Scarlet Witch’s Road Back Was Rocky but Showed Shooter Was Wrong

It’s impossible to say that Scarlet Witch always was going to get to this point. There was a time when it felt like Marvel was shoving her down our throats and trying to absolve her of her actions but failing. However, with the publisher obsessed with MCU synergy, she kept getting more chances in the years after 2015, until she sits where she is now. Her actions in House of M are an important part of her history, but everyone has moved past them because of her subsequent actions. She’s not only helped mutants, undoing her “no more mutants” spell with Hope Summers at the end of AvX and creating a heaven for mutant souls, but has helped save the world numerous times.

Shooter believed that fans would never forgive a hero that did something on the level of Jean Grey or Scarlet Witch, but comics and the readers have changed a lot since 1980. While there was definitely a time when a lot of fans didn’t want her around, Wanda was able to overcome the stigma of her actions. Creators put the work in and it worked out. Shooter was wrong and Claremont was right; readers would have been able to forgive Jean and Scarlet Witch in 2026 is proof of that.

What do you think about Scarlet Witch? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!