How The Scarlet Witch’s Journey Leads To The ‘Sorcerer Supreme’
by Tony Thornley
The Scarlet Witch is one of Marvel’s greatest characters. In December, she reaches the natural next stage in her growth in the new ongoing series Sorcerer Supreme.
Coming from Steve Orlando and Bernard Chang, Sorcerer Supreme will see Wanda Maximoff ascend to the ultimate role as protector of the realm. However, that new role will see her facing challenges unlike any she’s seen before, including her mentor Agatha Harkness and the Queen of Limbo Madelyn Prior.
Alongside this new role, Wanda has a new design from superstar Russell Dauterman, who will be providing variant covers for the series. The look combines the best of Wanda’s designs with the classic elements of the sorcerer supreme, like the Eye of Agamotto and Cloak of Levitation.
On Wanda’s new direction, Orlando said, “When it comes to the Scarlet Witch…anything’s possible! Those are the works Wanda lives by, and they’re the words we as creators live by too. So, with the Sorcerer Supreme title in the wind after One World Under Doom, the question became—who’s the next to wield the cloak and the eye? Or more precisely—who could hear such powerful artifacts crying out from the edge of destruction? And in the Marvel Universe, there’s one person above all who hears you when no one else will—Wanda Maximoff!”
“I can’t wait for folks to see Wanda take up the cloak and the eye—for the primal disruptor to shake things up in the face of magic’s proprietors…with nothing less than the betterment of all in mind,” he continued. “And to be working with the incredible Bernard Chang and Ruth Redmond? That’s a dream come true, folks—each page they touch brings style and power to Wanda like never before!”
“I am overly excited about joining Steve and Ruth and the rest of Sorcerer Supreme team,” Chang said. “We are putting our hearts and souls into crafting a new journey for one of Marvel Comics’ most powerful heroes. While this is my first time tackling the wonderful Wanda Maximoff, I look forward to the challenges ahead and aim to garner the trust and enthusiasm from both her longtime readers and new, and I hope you will come along for the ride.”
This is the natural next step in Wanda’s journey over the last twenty years. The character has frankly been through hell and back, starting with a mental breakdown in Avengers Disassembled, and depowering mutantkind in House of M. Since then, we’ve seen her regain her family, lose and regain her parentage, become a boogeyman to mutantkind, regain their trust and then become a magic powerhouse of her own. Not bad for a character that started as a mutant who basically caused bad luck.
I think the best thing about this change is the possibility of what it means for her in the wider Marvel Universe. Wanda Maximoff is completely unlike any other Marvel magician, and this new role will set a unique tone for that side of the Marvel Universe for a long while.
Check out the covers to the first three issues- including the main cover by Leirix, several by Dauterman, and more by comics superstars Rose Besch, Mark Brooks, Geoff Shaw, Inhyuk Lee, Devalya Pramanik, Marco Ferrari, and Jenny Frisson and watch for Sorcerer Supreme from Marvel Comics in December.
