The great and powerful Wanda Maximoff is known for many things: her complex familial legacy with Magneto, becoming the Krakoan Redeemer, and acting as an important member of the Avengers over the years are just a few. However, she is often not given the time or space to explore her relationship with her children, the former Young Avengers Tommy and Billy, an opportunity she is partially shown in Steve Orlando and Lorenzo Tammetta’s excellent Scarlet Witch #6.
Scarlet Witch #6 – with additional art from Sara Pichelli, coloring from Frank William, and lettering from Cory Petit – is an important lesson on the power of accountability, truth, and connection, with Wanda’s lifetime of experiences helping heal a painful wound left by the violent legacy of the Skrull Empire. While some readers may feel like this issue feels a bit like “filler” before the Scarlet Witch moves onto bigger things in her series’ next arc, it’s grounded messaging, emotional vulnerability, and exciting action make it an incredibly meaningful and enjoyable read.
As always, this ongoing Scarlet Witch solo series features a “Monster of the Week”-style story, with someone who is in desperate need of help stumbling through Wanda’s “Last Door” into her apothecary, so they can be helped by her. In Scarlet Witch #6, the person in need is distrustful and furious – for good reason – “space Paladin,” the last surviving monk from the Archsisterhood, a galactic group of women dedicated to ending tyranny and oppression throughout the galaxy. Ganymede reveals to Wanda that her sisterhood was slaughtered while they were in cryostasis, apparently by agents of the Skrull Empire, so she is set on taking out the Alliance and getting vengeance on her people.
Of course, this leaves the Scarlet Witch in a precarious position since her son Billy – the powerful magical hero Wiccan – is married to Teddy Kaplan, the first and current ruler of the unified Kree/Skrull Alliance.
After a dramatic entrance where Ganymede attacks both Wiccan and Hulkling, stopped by Wanda until they can calmly talk, Emperor Hulkling discovers that yes… Ganymede was right. Skrulls did wipe out her sisters. A crew of radical bioessentialist Blood Skrulls who defected from the general Skrull population were lead by a violent leader named A’Kro, and one of his followers wiped out the Archsisterhood just to get a promotion among the Blood Skrulls.
Teddy feels terrible and conflicted about what to do as now-ruler of the Skrulls, but Wanda tells him that he should not “Close your eyes and salt old wounds…” instead, asking him to accept the horrific past of his people and move towards real healing. The Scarlet Witch is speaking from real experience at this moment, and her words inspire Teddy to loan his famous Space Sword to Ganymede and Wanda to get revenge on A’Kro on the planet Klarr. Wanda magically shames the gathered Blood Skrulls in a 6-page battle sequence, with absolutely gorgeous art from Tammetta, Pichelli, and William. At the same time, Ganymede gets her final vengeance, murdering A’kro where he stands.
The Scarlet Witch wraps up Ganymede’s story by having her connect with the vengeful and violent Scythia – who recently waged war against Wanda – after Teddy granted her clemency, after which she has an incredibly sweet heart-to-heart with her son Billy. While the two of them are not seen together often, whenever they are together, it always makes for emotional moments, with Wanda beautifully referring to Billy and Teddy as her “sons,” acknowledging the deep care she feels towards Teddy and the support she gives to their union.
All of Scarlet Witch #6 is beautifully written, which is no surprise as Steve Orlando has been capturing Wanda’s voice perfectly since the debut issue, and as with previous issues, this one perfectly balances an action-oriented story of redemption and growth with some good old-fashioned family drama. Lorenzo Tammetta and Sara Pichelli’s art could not be better suited for the Scarlet Witch’s story, with all of the emotion, drama, and action illustrated beautifully, along with William’s vibrant and eye-popping color. Some major highlights of the issue are Ganymede’s character design, who does look like she is an iconic space-aged Dungeons & Dragons character, Wanda’s use of a spell taught to her by Ororo Munro of the X-Men, and of course, the reappearance of the Magneto clone Joseph after his shock reveal at the end of last issue.
As I said at the beginning of this review, I would understand if some readers felt like this issue seemed too much like a “filler” – especially after the bombastic Scarlet Witch Annual featuring Agatha Harkness – but most readers should be prepared for it after the first several family-focused “one-off” issues. Plus, Scarlet Witch #6 is a great issue just to enjoy Wanda with her family before s**t really hits the fan in Scarlet Witch #7 with the debut of her next big villain, Hexfinder.
One complaint I did have about this issue is that Wanda’s other son Tommy, the hero Speed, is not mentioned once… fans of the Scarlet Witch are often frustrated by Tommy’s lack of presence in Wanda’s life. It would have been great if Tommy had joined Wanda and Wiccan’s meal at the end of the adventure or at least been talked about.
Scarlet Witch #6 is a real treat for fans of Wanda Maximoff, particularly her complex but loving relationship with her son Billy and his husband, Teddy. The issue is chock-full of gorgeous art by the talented Lorenzo Tammetta and unparalleled Sara Pichelli with continuously stunning color from Frank William, which all perfectly compliments the meaningful, exciting, and well-crafted dialogue by Steve Orlando. While not connected to a larger arc, Scarlet Witch #6 is well worth the read and delivers on its promise, serving up a delicious tray of family drama with a crisp sip of brutal action on the side.
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