Ain’t Easy Being Teacher: Reviewing ‘Scarlet Witch’ #6

Avenger. Hero. Shop owner. Teacher? It seems that Wanda Maximoff is about to add another title to her lengthy resume.

A mystery grows as a new young witch comes into Wanda’s care in Scarlet Witch #6 from Steve Orlando, Lorenzo Tammetta, Frank William, and Ariana Maher.

One of the things that seemed to work best with Wanda’s series as it stands was the way it juggled more standalone adventures with growing plotlines. When the series relaunched, it lost a bit of that as it got sort of bogged down by a somewhat meandering story arc. So now that the arc is over and the older format seems to be back, have my opinions on the series turned around as well?

Mostly yes.

There are some flashes of what I really liked about the first volume of the series, and some of the things that made me sour a bit about the in-between Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch mini and this book. Overall, the addition of Amaranth as an apprentice with mysterious powers and a mysterious past is an intriguing one. It gives Wanda, and Darcy, someone to play off of, and puts Agatha Harkness into a somewhat antagonistic and sneaky role again.

Another benefit of this direction is that it mostly adds new stuff to the series. Instead of there being a ton of room for Orlando to really get too much into the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at the TV Easter Egg territory he seems to favor at Marvel.

It’s a pretty straight-forward tale with the duo of Wanda and Amaranth learning about each other, pulled into a battle with a magically powered and protected machine. We see that Agatha has more secrets, and see that Amaranth’s powers might be even more deus ex than Wanda’s, which is quite the feat. There are some spaces where the dialogue gets overly wordy and kind of has the characters repeat some of the same emotional and character beats a few times. Not the worst, though, and it is mostly something to kind of roll past.

As usual, it all really looks great because of the really solid work that Tammetta puts into the series. Flowing artwork that lets the space and characters really breathe, with plenty of depth and details, really anchors it all. Sitting well in the middle space where whimsical and realistic meet to create something that is the best of both worlds.

Paneling choices really maximize the energy of the story, as the fight scenes feel confined and frantic even as they are in open nature spaces. Tammetta captures the expressions and body language, letting them flow from the characters in authentic ways.

Just like the art itself, the colors exist in a really sweet middle spot, as usual. William brings a color palette which is generally on the much lighter side of things, with plenty of the really bright flashy superhero colors to be found all around too. Much of the backdrops and setting spaces have a natural or toned-down appearance. This gives them accurate energy and a weight that stands apart from the fantastic parts of the story. Shadows and darker colors wiggle their way into things at the most opportune times to add to the depth that is already present.

Oh boy do I love a good logo name drop in dialogue. Maher just knows how to do lettering in the most magical ways possible, letting voices glide through the pages like music. Capturing all the right levels of volume, tone, and emotional energy at all times. Letting the words dance through the pages, even when there are a lot of them, without them becoming overbearing or overwhelming at any point.

Scarlet Witch #6 is now available from Marvel Comics.