Witches, Bookworms, And Clones, Oh My!: Reviewing ‘Scarlet Witch’ #7

Stories are often a way for us to create worlds unlike our own, sometimes the worlds that we wish existed. Whether fictional or based on memory, the stories that we tell ourselves shape us as people. Sometimes those stories can change reality itself, at least our personal realities.

Then there are the times when someone has the magical power to actually change all of reality. With the seventh issue of Wanda Maximoff’s solo series, we get to see the power of stories in multiple ways.

What Steve Orlando is doing with this series is truly perfect for the character. Overall, it’s our chance to see Wanda getting over her trauma and becoming a hero again, but there is more. It’s also a very interesting way to explore not only her family tree but those that are important to her. All wrapped up in a way that allows Orlando to really do some inspired stories that explore the vast depth of the Marvel Universe.

The concept of the Last Door helps with that final part. Allowing everything from the Microverse to other countries to even a recreation of the land of Oz in this issue. Previously we’ve seen Wanda interact with her sort of stepdaughter but not really Viv Vision and her sister (adoptive) Polaris, as well as her twin brother Quicksilver. Unfortunately, her father Magneto passed away during the Judgment Day event keeping him from appearing. Except…that’s not quite accurate.

I’m so glad that Orlando didn’t drag out the mystery of the appearance of Magneto, which turned out to be his clone, Joseph. Orlando is one of those that loves to mine Marvel for obscure or forgotten characters, especially from the 90s. As a big fan of the X-Line in the 90s, I’m a fan of Joseph. They did him a bit dirty in the 2000s but now he’s back and ready for a fresh start, right alongside the daughter of the man he was cloned from.

Family trees in the Marvel Universe are wildly overgrown messes, and it’s the best.

Don’t want to leave out talking about the Oz stuff. It’s great that The Last Door brings in characters of all kinds, not all deserving of Wanda’s help. Yet, she still helps because others are at risk. Orlando juggles the various characters easily and makes sure that we see two sides of controlling entities. Both Gruber and the ‘wicked’ witch have their reasons but are very wrong. Good thing Wanda is there to make sure both get what is coming to them, in a very satisfying but still heroic way.

Carrying over from the previous issue, we get the artistic tag team of Lorenzo Tammetta and regular series artist Sara Pichelli. One of the best things about these artists’ jams as of late is the work being done to find artists with complementary styles. We can tell the difference between the artist’s work, but they are very similar and close enough that it’s a smooth connected read.

A very specific energy is shared between each of their works, playing perfectly into the fantastical magical tone of this series. Depth and detail are staples of each style as well making these various worlds feel real, ready to leap off the page. Both artists also capture emotion so well, not just in the faces but throughout the panel so that we completely feel it all.

It’s all slick and smooth and energetic but with just the right amount of rough sprinkled into the mix. This allows the various threats that come onto the page to have more weight and play into the aforementioned emotional aspect on display.

Frank William also remains on board from the previous issue, bringing the same vibrant but also somewhat dark color palette into play. There are tons of things on the page that need to be bright, shiny, and popping since we take a visit to the land of Oz with the golden road and emerald city. All the vibrancy takes up residence in those pages as the pages in Wanda’s shop get a different setup.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still bright colors to be found there. At the same time, they are paired with plenty of shadows and darker tones, setting a more personal and heavily emotional tone. There is even a sort of harried or frenzied appearance to things here, as the meeting of Wanda and Joseph is tough. By the end though, William pulls back on that all. Because Wanda is more warmly receiving Joseph at the end and their future together is brighter, and the colors reflect that.

Also returning is series regular letterer Cory Petit. Stories have come to life within this story and Petit gets to have even more fun with the lettering. Already this is a series that lends itself to far more creative strokes in lettering because of the colors, the magical elements, and other bits. Petit does that all while making sure every single word on the page is heavy with whatever emotion is needed.

Making things fun but also functional to a point are very compatible goals. We see that any time Petit is handling the lettering. Colorful caption boxes, SFX that are colorful and right at the moment, bolds, and so much more make sure we hear voices as we’re meant to.

Scarlet Witch #7 is now available from Marvel Comics.