The Holiday Season has arrived in the Marvel Universe, and Scarlet Witch #7 finds Wanda Maximoff bringing together family and new friends to celebrate their own witchy holiday. Steve Orlando, Lorenzo Tammetta, Frank William, VC’s Ariana Maher, and Alanna Smith are the architects behind this issue. Wiccan and Speed are cheerful guest stars, but the dark undertow of Amaranth’s mysterious past continues to pull focus.
Wanda is in the midst of a period of great change. She’s learned more about the nature of nexus beings as well as the cosmic patronage that the Never Queen has bestowed upon the Scarlet Witch. On a more disappointing note, Chthon has escaped from the cage within Wanda’s soul, not to mention the Scarlet Witch was killed and had to bring herself back to life in the middle of all this. Topping it all off, Agatha Harkness has charged Wanda with a new apprentice, Amaranth, whose past is shrouded in darkness and future wrapped up in ill portents. All this is to say, it’s perfectly understandable why the Scarlet Witch is taking a holiday off to relax with her sons.
Just so, Wanda, Billy, Tommy, and Amaranth arrive in New Salem, Colorado, to celebrate Praxidice, an arcane spirit of justice. Wiccan is feeling bright and cheery as he takes in the mystic merriment, but his twin’s enjoyment is hampered with the lingering heartbreak over his ex-boyfriend, Prodigy. However, the true Debbie Downer is Amaranth, who is critical of Praxidice’s holiday traditions and maintains an attitude that she’s Not Like Other Witches. Wanda shares Billy’s enjoyment of the day, but before she can dive too deeply into Speed and Amaranth’s troubles, the group notices that something’s gone awry.
After a nonviolent Praxidice tradition leaves Amaranth wounded, Speed discovers that the magical town’s points of entry have all been sealed off. Wanda’s sons as well as her new student each find themselves caught either unconscious or actively being tortured while the Scarlet Witch can only watch. With her previous experiences in New Salem in mind, it takes Wanda only a moment to uncover the truth: Nicholas Scratch has enchanted the entire town to trap the Scarlet Witch and her companions. The estranged son of Agatha Harkness rapidly boils over into a full tantrum, eternally jealous of Wanda for being his mother’s favored pupil.
Loathing, unadulterated loathing, so pure so strong
Credit: Marvel Comics
While this Praxidice holiday issue arrives in the gap between autumn holidays like Thanksgiving and winter celebrations of Christmas and Hanukkah, Scarlet Witch #7 could’ve easily been a Mother’s Day Special issue instead. Wiccan and Speed’s presence is a reminder of Wanda’s past hardships with motherhood as well as showing us readers that the Scarlet Witch is actively nurturing relationships with her sons. Amaranth may not be Wanda’s daughter, but she is her ward and student, and the Scarlet Witch desperately hopes to not fail her in the ways Agatha did. And of course, Nicholas Scratch’s entire motive is just feeling neglected by his mother. Despite this issue being steeped in motherhood, I wouldn’t say all those pieces have coalesced into a cogent challenge to Wanda or a solidified argument on her part, but that development is perhaps being saved for further installments.
Tammetta and William continue to do commendable work on the art in Scarlet Witch #7. Our cast of heroes and villains look great, but the setting leaves a little to be desired. The glimpses of New Salem from earlier issues feature the Jenga-eque towers of plant and stone hovering on the horizon, and this issue does not add much more despite spending 20 pages there. Nicholas Scratch’s attempt to bisect Wanda also could have been detailed or rendered differently to heighten the horror of the attack. That being said, there were still standout visual moments to cherish too, such as Wanda summoning her Hex Pike and later manifesting spectral duplicates to attend to her companions. Also, Lore’s brief appearance is stunning as well.
Scarlet Witch #7 is a fun read, but I can’t help but feel that there’s something missing. Ultimately, Wanda rejects the challenge posed by Scratch, but not because she has a novel approach to any dilemma he poses. Rightly, she attacks the shallow base of his animosity towards her, dumps him in witch Hell, and is free to spend the rest of the day celebrating with her sons and her new student. As the series’ lead, is Wanda changed or refined in any way? As a teacher, has she inspired any growth within Amaranth, be that towards good or evil? Is there anything more to Wiccan and Speed’s guest roles other than to reiterate their current statuses and for what they symbolize to Wanda? This is a criticism I loathe making because I struggle to describe it as anything more than a lack.
It may not have been Agatha all along, but Harkness’ shadow looms large over Scarlet Witch #7. As Wanda seeks to avoid her mentor’s faults with her own apprentice, this holiday trip with Wiccan and Speed throws the Scarlet Witch’s own trials in motherhood up in contrast to Agatha’s as well. Underneath it all remains the dark secrets surrounding Amaranth, but no threat attached to them seems imminent.
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