Avengers heroesScarlet WitchandQuicksilverhave bold new looks, as they go from superhero to supervillain. While Wanda and Pietro Maximoff originally debuted in 1964 as enemies of the X-Men, working for Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, they soon repented and joined the second ever Avengers roster, following a similar path in the MCU’sAvengers:Age of Ultron. Now, however, they’re going back to the dark side.
In solicit information just released byMarvel Comics, fans meetthe Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver of the Ultimate Universe. In this world, the twins were never redeemed, instead lending their immense power to the Hellfire Club and the world-conquering regime of the villainous Maker.
ULTIMATES #14
Cover Artist:
DIKE RUAN
THE ULTIMATE SCARLET WITCH AND QUICKSILVER! The Ultimates' next mission? Destroy one of the Hellfire Club’s strongholds! But a dangerous pair of twins complicates matters…
Quicksilver is shown in Dike Ruan’s art looking smugger than ever before - a true feat for one of Marvel’s most infamous jerks. He and Wanda both have modernized costumes,with Scarlet Witch’s crackling red power creating a new version of her iconic tiara. In the foreground, Ultimates heroes Captain America andthe new Hawkeye are preparingto take down the twins.
Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver Hit the Ultimate Universe
Will They Join the Heroes or Reach Their Villainous Potential?
Marvelrecently launched the Ultimate Universe- a new continuity taking place in a reality where the Marvel timeline has been permanently warped by the villainous Maker. An evil version of Reed Richards, the Maker killed off various heroes and set up a worldwide network of control run by key villains and corrupted superheroes, including Hulk, X-Men’s Colossus and a new version of Moon Knight. Currently, the Maker is locked out of the timeline, but he’ll be back soon,giving the Ultimates just two real-time years to destroy his power baseand depose his lieutenants.
Ultimate Wolverinerecently confirmed the Maker’s regime executed Magneto, explaining why he isn’t involved with the twins in this timeline (especially because he’s no longer considered their father in official continuity.)
Having fought Hulk and injured the evil Captain Britain, the Ultimates have split up on different missions, with Thor and Sif leading an uprising in Asgard while Captain America and Hawkeye battle on Earth, now taking on the Hellfire Club. One member of the Maker’s inner circle is the villainous Emmanuel da Costa, aka the Black King of the Hellfire Club.In the Ultimate Universe, mutants are imprisoned and weaponized by the Maker’s regime, but since Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch aren’t actually mutants, it makes sense that they were spared this fate, signing up as the Black King’s powerful enforcers.
The Original Ultimate Universe Wasn’t Kind to Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver
The Twins Have an Unbelievably Dark Past with Ultimate Continuity
The current Ultimate Universe is Marvel’s second continuity of that name, with the first debuting in 2000. In that continuity, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch followed their classic arc - former servants of Magneto who turned against him. They were alsofamously involved in an incestuous romanceimplied to be a result of Magneto’s psychological abuse. Following the Master of Magnetism’s death,Quicksilver tried to replace his father as the world’s greatest villain, even killing off the X-Men’s leader Cyclops (and in the original Ultimate Universe, death was permanent.)
Hopefully, the new Ultimate Universe has better things in store forScarlet WitchandQuicksilver- if this new timeline follows classic canon, the two may end up recruited onto the Ultimates roster, but in a world where many iconic heroes are corrupted, dead or simply gave up, absolutely nothing is guaranteed, especially a happy ending.
Source:Marvel Comics
Scarlet Witch
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Scarlet Witch debuted, along with her twin brother, Quicksilver in X-Men #4 (March 1964). Also known as Wanda Maximoff, she first appears as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, before she eventually became a member of the Avengers. In the comics, she is a mutant who uses chaos magic to alter reality.Scarlet Witch is played by Elizabeth Olsen in the MCU, having debuted in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
