Sibling Rivalry To The Max: Reviewing ‘Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver’ #1

Magneto, the master of magnetism, may be dead, but his effect upon his often dysfunctional family is still being felt. Words from beyond the grave very well could be the undoing of the twins who once called him father.

It’s a sibling squabble of epic proportions in Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver #1 from Steve Orlando, Lorenzo Tammetta, Frank William, and Ariana Maher.

This issue is effectively Scarlet Witch #11 — had the series continued rather than being relaunched. Everything about this issue carries the same energy from that series, with Wanda still very much the driving force. We saw Pietro early on in the previous series, but we get a bit more with him here.

Orlando has a good bead on them both, really playing well with their dynamic. This issue hits 33 pages, and it kind of feels like that many pages. There were numerous times that I was reading and thought “How is this not over yet?” I wasn’t bored, but it just felt like a lot was being put on the page, some that could have been condensed or removed. Part of that was in the middle where Wanda was explaining everything to the reader through Darcy who was essentially our proxy.

A lot of that was just reiterating things from the previous series, to catch up potential new readers. Probably was a way to do it in a far less wordy way though.

One of the critiques of Orlando’s Marvel work so far is a propensity to do a lot of “Remember them?” deep dive-style cameos. Often, they lead to nothing more than just an Easter egg, some issues being chock full of more Easter eggs than other stuff. Scarlet Witch was a series where this was less true, and it holds up here too. Wizard is one of those villains who shows up enough off-and-on to not really be a deep dive. Just a solid D-level villain who can fit into most plots because of his smarts and gimmicks.

Tammetta and William return from the previous series, still nailing it visually.

There is a ton of depth and actual movement to what Tammetta brings to the page. It feels real and grounded with just a dash of that comic book fantastical whimsy. I love the effects that are added with Quicksilver that make his power/movement feel authentic and frenzied. Just the little blurs even when he is seemingly standing still are a solid move. This shows how even when we can see him, he’s still got one foot in the faster speed zone because the rest of the world moves too slowly for him.

Panels shift from bigger epic splashes to more standard affairs to a lot of varying shapes. Allowing them to shift and twist adds to that overall feeling of movement. Also, it keeps us in the action because all of them are done from a very ‘ground-level’ perspective. We’re never passive observers but instead very active frontline observers.

Bright vivid colors are sprinkled in, chiefly with the costumes and powers among other things, next to more natural color tones. The world around them feels light and firm, even when the events on the page are beyond normal. We’re meant to believe that these stories are happening in a world just like the one we inhabit and that is felt here.

The Maximoff siblings get loud and emotional here, and Maher makes sure we know that for sure. We might see it on their faces and body language, but their words are dripping with emotion too. From bigger-sized fonts to striking colors around the balloons, it all makes the dialogue pop more. Maher is masterful at making lettering a visual treat that still provides a big-time punch. Every accusation, every explanation, every quip, they all feel effective and authentic.

Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver #1 is now available from Marvel Comics.