Wanda Maximoff

## Character

"*I’m afraid that I’m not that afraid."
"Everybody’s afraid of something.*"
—Ulysses Klaue and Wanda Maximoff[src]

**Wanda Maximoff** is a character on Marvel's *Captain America: The Winter Soldier* & *Avengers: Age of Ultron*. She first appears in *Captain America: The Winter Soldier*. She is portrayed by star Elizabeth Olsen.

## Biography

### Early Life

Wanda Maximoff was born in the Eastern European country of Sokovia along with her brother, Pietro. At the age of ten, while having dinner with her family, a mortar shell hit their apartment building, killing Maximoff's parents and trapping her and her brother. A second shell hit the apartment near them but did not go off; the Maximoff twins were left trapped for two days staring at the unexploding shell reading the name on it, Stark Industries.

This horrifically traumatic experience gave the twins a great hatred for America, especially Tony Stark and later the Avengers. They often took part and led protests against the Avengers. They dedicated much of their lives to this hatred and began searching for ways to bring down the Avengers; this constant political activity put them on S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA's radar.

#### Joining HYDRA

When the twins reached adulthood, Sokovia had become a warzone, with foreign forces invading their streets frequently. Wanda and her brother took part in various riots to drive the foreign forces out of their streets. What the twins did not realize was that the riots were orchestrated by HYDRA, who had taken up residence in the country and were using the riots to cover up their illegal experiments. One day, Wanda and Pietro were approached by List, a scientist at the HYDRA cell in Sokovia, who offered them the opportunity to achieve the power needed to drive war out of Sokovia. Initially skeptical, Wanda was convinced by Pietro to agree.

Along with other volunteers from the town, Wanda and Pietro underwent a series of tests conducted by Doctor List where they were exposed to energy from the Scepter, which had fatal effects on all the other volunteers. Wanda and Pietro, however, experienced exceedingly different effects. The power of the scepter unlocked latent supernatural powers within the pair; while Pietro achieved superhuman speed, Wanda attained a number of mental powers such as telekinesis, hypnosis, and energy projection.

#### Attack on the HYDRA Research Base

Soon after, the Avengers arrived in Sokovia and raided Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's facility, stealing the scepter and arresting Strucker. In the confusion, Wanda and Pietro escaped from their holding cells and, though inexperienced, were able to use their powers to evade the Avengers and escape.

While Pietro went outside and engaged Clint Barton, Wanda stayed inside and defended Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. When Strucker became cornered by Captain America he attempted to surrender, however Maximoff sneaked up behind the Captain and used her powers to throw him down the stairs. In the confusion Maximoff escaped through a doorway, Captain America reported to the rest of the Avengers of the second enhanced soldier on HYDRA's side before knocking out Baron von Strucker and taking him into custody.

Wanda herself used her powers to briefly distract Iron Man, tricking him into believing that a dead Leviathan specimen that Strucker had been studying was still alive, and showing him a dark vision where the Avengers were dead and the Chitauri invaded Earth from a Wormhole. Upon seeing Stark's true fear of leading humanity down the path to global destruction, Wanda allowed Stark and the Avengers to make off with the Scepter, despite Pietro's protests, with hopes that Stark's tampering with the alien weapon would lead to his own self-destruction.

### A Misguided Partnership

With the HYDRA Research Base and Baron Wolfgang von Strucker captured, the Maximoffs returned to Sokovia. Wanda found Pietro handing out items he had stolen, including an expensive dress to Zrinka; Wanda mocked Pietro's attempts to flirt with all the women in Sokovia and warned him he would get shot if he kept stealing. As Pietro began to question Wanda's decision to let Tony Stark go free, Costel approached the pair and told them that Iron Man was waiting in a church for them.

The twins went to the church and found a man waiting for them wearing a red cloak who spoke about how much he enjoyed the church. When Wanda questioned why she could not read his mind, the man revealed himself to be Ultron, an artificial intelligence robot designed by Tony Stark using the technology within the Scepter, which subsequently went rogue and began a murderous vendetta against the Avengers. Ultron then led them from the church and back to Baron Strucker's HYDRA Research Base.

Ultron revealed that he had taken over the base and was using it to create an army of Ultron Sentries; knowing that with their powers, they could tear the opposition apart. When they discussed the reasons for killing the Avengers, Pietro told Ultron the story of how they had lost their parents due to a Stark Industries' missile. Although they were initially unsure, Ultron assured them that they would use their powers to kill the Avengers, noting that while he and Pietro could hurt them, Wanda would be able to tear them apart from the inside.

#### Battle at the Salvage Yard

Agreeing to the alliance, Wanda and Pietro accompanied Ultron in acquiring Ulysses Klaue's supply of Vibranium. The Maximoffs entered the Salvage Yard first and shut off the lights before disarming Klaue and confronting him. Klaue remained unimpressed by the Maximoffs, having heard of them already, he noted that he was saddened to hear of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's death then mocked the pair for their reaction to learning of their mentor's murder.

Eventually Klaue told the pair that he would have no respect for them if Wanda used her powers to make him see what he feared, a cuttlefish, and he wished to speak to the man in charge. In response Ultron threw Klaue through a window and introduced himself. Ultron forced Klaue to sell him his stock-pile of Vibranium and paid him billions of dollars in exchange, however when Klaue offended Ultron, the robot responded by cutting of Klaue's arm and kicking him down some stairs, Maximoff used her powers to keep Klaue's men from defending themselves.

When the Avengers arrived in an attempt to stop the trio, Ultron and the Maximoffs mocked their efforts, ignoring Captain America's attempts to convince the Maximoffs that they still had a chance to walk away, Ultron responded by attacking the team and the Maximoffs joined the fight. During the chaos of the battle, Wanda managed to knock Captain America back with her powers and began "hexing" the minds of Thor, Black Widow, and the Captain. She attempted to "hex" Hawkeye, but was subdued by him when he pushed a taser arrow onto her forehead.

Pietro saved her in the nick of time, throwing Hawkeye through a window and taking her outside Klaue's base to recover. Although she suffered great pain from the taser arrow, Maximoff wished to complete their plan. She caught sight of Bruce Banner and managed to "hex" him as well, forcing him to transform into the Hulk and go on a rampage through Johannesburg, resulting in Iron Man being forced to battle his friend. In the confusion, the twins managed to escape with Ultron and the stolen Vibranium, and made their way to Seoul.

### Changing Sides

When the trio arrived in Seoul, Ultron used the Scepter to indoctrinate scientist Helen Cho, forcing her to use the vibranium in synchrony with the Cradle to build a new, more powerful body for Ultron. As Ultron's consciousness was being uploaded into the body, Wanda curiously took the opportunity to explore Ultron's mind and was horrified to learn of Ultron's true plans, which involved the genocide of humanity in its entirety. With Pietro, Wanda abandoned Ultron and left the facility, much to the automaton's rage.

#### Battle of Seoul

The twins attempted to escape Seoul, but as they made their way through the city, they spotted a news report showing that the Avengers were attempting to steal the Cradle and battling Ultron and his army in the middle of the city, endangering thousands of lives. Refusing to allow the people of Seoul to be put in danger, the Maximoffs decided to assist the Avengers in the fight.

They eventually caught up and assisted Captain America in fighting off Ultron on a moving passenger train. Wanda used her powers to put a defensive barrier between Ultron and the Captain by twisting the metal bars inside the train while Pietro knocked him down. Upon seeing that he was betrayed and outnumbered by his former team-mates, Ultron responded by destroying the controls of the train before flying out the side door and escaping, living the Maximoffs and Captain America on the train going full speed as it headed to the end of the tracks.

With the train now completely out of control and heading to the middle of the city, Captain America ordered Wanda to stop when it while Pietro moved any civilians out of it's path. Mustering up all of her power and strength, Maximoff lifted the train's wheels off the ground and applied the breaks as hard as she could. Although the train was slowing down, it still crashed through buildings, however Pietro was able to save the lives of the people in the way until the train was finally stopped in it's tracks.

With the train now stopped, Wanda ran to her brother's aid, as he could barely stand after running so fast for so long. When Captain America revealed that the Cradle and Ultron's would-be body had been sent to Tony Stark for analysis, Wanda was disturbed, aware that Stark would attempt to utilize the body rather than destroy it in order to correct his own folly. Although the Captain was reluctant to accept this as a possibility, noting that Stark was not crazy, Wanda compared Stark and Ultron and made key comparisons with their mind-sets.

#### The Birth of Vision

Wanda and Pietro then accompanied Captain America back to the Avengers Tower and found Wanda's fear to be accurate; Tony Stark and Bruce Banner were trying to upload the conciousness of Stark's more benevolent AI, J.A.R.V.I.S., into the body. After a brief scuffle, Wanda was held back by Banner but she managed to escape his hold, only to witness Thor bringing the body to life.

Wanda watched in fear as the being initally attacked Thor before looking over the city of New York and calming down. The being introduced himself to them, calling itself Vision. The Maximoff and the Avengers continued to be wary of the Vision, with Wanda noting that she had seen the destruction of the world in it's head. Eventually the Vision convinced the team that he was on their side and proved his worthiness by picking up Mjølnir and handing it to Thor.

She and Pietro then agreed to join the Avengers in stopping Ultron and saving Sokovia, where the AI would be enacting his final plan. The Maximoffs took new uniforms and joined the Avengers on the Quinjet as Captain America gave a speech where he informed the team that their priority was getting the innocent people of Sokovia out of harms way before Ultron could destroy their homes and lives. Wishing to save the lives of her friends from her home city, Maximoff sided with her former enemies, although she was unsure of trusting the Avengers in the long term.

### Battle of Sokovia

#### Evacuating the City

Upon arriving in Sokovia, Scarlet Witch played a significant part in evacuating civilians from the city, using her powers of mind control on dozens of innocents and leading them safely from the war zone. When the army of Ultron Sentries began their attack, Maximoff took up a defensive position on a bridge, shielding innocent civilians from enemy fire with her powers as they ran to safety, however the firepower of the Sentries proved too strong and knocked her back.

Eventually, Ultron, using a device forged from the remaining Vibranium samples, forced a large part of the city of Novi Grad to levitate so that once it reached a certain height, it would cause an extinction level event once it made impact with the Earth. As Ultron gave a speech to the people of Sokovia while flying outside the city, Scarlet Witch and the rest of the Avengers could only look on in fear as Ultron unleashed his seemingly unstoppable plan.

#### Breakdown

This, along with the carnage that was falling upon her home, overwhelmed Maximof. Hawkeye managed to lead her to a vacant building for safety, where Maximoff, overwhelmed with fear and guilt for causing a disaster that she perceived as being her fault, began to lose morale. Hawkeye told her that she needed to make a choice, to stay hidden and wait for her brother to take her somewhere safe or continue the fight and become a true Avenger.

Her confidence restored by Barton's words, Scarlet Witch stepped outside and saved the overwhelmed Hawkeye from a small squad of Ultron Sentries, using her powers to pull them apart and throw them across the city. Once the Sentries were destroy the pair reported into Captain America and prepared for their next mission, as they began to walk through the city, Quicksilver ran in and picked up his sister, running across the city with her while leaving Hawkeye to jog behind.

Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver ran into the middle of the city and teamed up to assist in the battle by protecting civilians still trapped in the city, running ahead of a squad of Sokovia police officers who were pinned down by the Ultron Sentries. While Scarlet Witch fired energy blasts at the robots, Quicksilver ran into the battle but was accidentally grazed in the arm by a police officer despite the chief calling for the police to stop firing.

Soon after, a Helicarrier commandeered by Nick Fury and Maria Hill came to the Avengers' aide, sending out transports to evacuate the civilians still trapped on Novi Grad. Once the transporters landed, Maximoff assisted in escorting civilians to the transporters that ferried them aboard the flying aircraft carrier, keeping the women and children back until it was safe and assuring them onboard alongside Hawkeye while Fury sent War Machine to protect the transporters from any Ultron Sentries that attacked them mid-air.

#### Protecting the Key

Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and the rest of the Avengers regrouped at the church in the centre of Novi Grad where Ultron had set up the key to the device that would cause the city to drop. Captain America explained that Ultron must not be allowed to activate the key as it would destroy the city and the planet. As they stood around the key, Ultron hovered outside the church, when Thor challenged him, Ultron showed off his army of hundreds of Ultron Sentries.

When Ultron unleashed his army upon them, Scarlet Witch and the Avengers put all their might into battling the seemingly endless horde of Ultron Sentries, with Maximoff using her gifts to pull them out of the air and rip them apart from the inside. Eventually the team managed to wipe out a majority of Ultron's drones and Ultron himself was almost destroyed by the combined might of Vision, Thor, Iron Man and the Hulk, who destroyed his armour and hit him across the city.

With the battle almost won, Captain America ordered the team to evacuate the city before Iron Man and Thor destroyed the key and Novi Grad itself. As the key needed to be guarded from Ultron in the meantime, Scarlet Witch volunteered to stay behind, telling Hawkeye that it was her job to protect it. The team agreed but Quicksilver insisted that he would not leave her behind, but she ordered him to continue getting the people to the boats and only come back for her at the last minute, insisting she could handle the responsibility.

#### A Death in the Family

While keeping the Ultron Sentries away from the key, Scarlet Witch sensed a terrible thing, as her brother attempted to save Hawkeye and a young boy from Ultron, who had obtained a Quinjet, he was shot and killed by the robot. Sensing this, Maximoff dropped to her knees and cried out in pure anguish, obliterating the sentries she had been fighting with a single massive blast of energy.

Overcome with rage and emotion, Maximoff left her post to avenge her brother, tracking down Ultron, who had been ripped out of the Quinjet by the Hulk and had crash landed inside a bus. Maximoff knelt beside her former ally, who pleaded with her to escape before she was killed in the incoming explosion, Maximoff told the robot that she had already died due to heartbreak and to demonstrate this, she telekinetically ripped his core processor from his body.

Her action inadvertently allowed a lone Ultron drone to activate the device, sending Novi Grad plummeting towards Earth with her still trapped inside. Maximoff accepted her fate as she plummeted towards the ground, being the only person left in the city, however she rescued at last minute by Vision. Seconds after their escape, Iron Man and Thor averted the cataclysm by combining their abilities to vaporize the city, saving billions of lives.

### The New Team

The ordeal with Ultron having finally passed, Wanda was recruited into the Avengers' roster along with War Machine, Vision and Sam Wilson as a permanent member of the team. They arrived at the New Avengers Facility and began their training under the leadership of Captain America and Black Widow.

## Personality

Having dealt with tragedy and turmoil at such a young age, Wanda Maximoff desired to free her country from the terrors of war. This desire grew to such a point that she volunteered to be experimented on by HYDRA, eventually gaining the formidable powers she now possesses. Compared to her brother, Pietro, Wanda is quieter and less aggressive. Despite that, she appears to have full control of her power and would not hesitate to use it on her enemies to achieve her goals. She was not the type to face a foe in direct combat, opting to disable her foes with her powers when their guard is down.

Despite her desire to destroy the Avengers, she ultimately chose to betray Ultron after learning his true intentions and sided with the very people she tried to take down. This shows that Wanda is willing to set aside her personal grudges for the common good, as she ultimately joined the Avengers in evacuating Sokovia and opposing Ultron.

Her hatred for Tony Stark's role in the destruction her country endured and the death of her parents motivated her to implant visions of a bleak future into his mind, thus setting up the events that led to the eventual destruction of Sokovia. Wanda acknowledges this to Hawkeye, sordidly blaming herself for the carnage and questioning why she let such chaos happen.

However, after being encouraged by Hawkeye, Wanda displayed great courage and selflessness, aiding him in fighting off the Sentries and protecting and escorting civilians to safety before standing alongside the Avengers in wiping out most of Ultron's forces. This is paramounted by how she chose to stay behind and guard the key, reiterating that it was her job, and making Pietro promise to come back for her only when everyone else is safe.

Wanda and Pietro share a deep, emotional bond, though they would occasionally bicker like normal siblings. Wanda was looked after by Pietro and she would always rely on him for support. Pietro's death by Ultron's hands unleashed a fury within Wanda that pushed her to leave her post and rip out Ultron's central processor to make him feel the pain he inflicted, avenging her beloved brother.

Despite the pain of losing her brother and the loss of her home, Wanda still chose to join the second team of Avengers, led by Captain America and Black Widow.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Psionics**: As a result of exposure to the cosmic energies from the Scepter, Maximoff acquired an array of psionic powers, which manifest in the form of reddish glowing energy currents and mist-like shapes, much like fire or gas. Maria Hill describes her powers as "neuro-electric interface and telekinesis" and called Maximoff "weird" because of them. When using her power, her irises sometimes glow a dark reddish color, especially when she concentrates. The currents she creates can control and distort molecules and forms of physical forces, such as friction, kinetic energy, pressure, state of matter and even gravity. This energy is capable of controlling many forms of matter on a molecular level and can be used to control molecules and physical forces in various ways.
	+ **Telekinesis**: Maximoff has the ability to mentally move, levitate and manipulate objects through force of the mind. She can also affect and control particles and molecules, as well as physical forces such as kinetic energy, friction, pressure, state of matter and even gravity. She demonstrated this when she moved wooden blocks around while imprisoned in Wolfgang von Strucker's secret facility. She pulled them apart with her power, and suspended them in the air, removing all motion and gravity from the pieces. Maximoff used this power to create a shield to protect innocents from enemy fire, stop an off-rail train in Seoul, knock back Captain America, tear apart Ultron Sentries and rip out the central processor of Ultron's primary body. It also appears that her emotions are linked to her powers as she unleashed a wave of reddish energy that disintegrated attacking Ultron Sentries when she sensed Pietro's death and cried out. Her telekinesis is enough to break through Vibranium as she did managed to rip Ultron's primary body apart to get his central processor.
		- **Levitation**: Maximoff was able to use this power to move herself through the air and simulate flight.
		- **Energy Shield**: Maximoff was able to create a shield and a barrier of telekinetic energy to protect innocents from enemy fire and deflect attacks from Ultron Sentries and cover from projectiles.
	+ **Telepathy**: Maximoff can read minds or mentally communicate and experience memories and thoughts of others or project her own thoughts through a neuro-electric interface that gives her telepathy. While she was using her hypnotic powers in conjunction with this power against the Avengers in South Africa, she herself viewed the Avengers' memories. When using her power, her irises sometimes glow a dark reddish color, especially when she concentrate it on certain targets. She also used this ability to temporarily merge her consciousness with Ultron's, and it was thanks to this that she was able to discover his genocidal intentions and rebel against him. Maximoff can also sense the minds and emotions of those around her as she could see Stark's fear in an earlier encounter with her and sensed Pietro's death, knowing exactly what happened to him, as if she had seen it directly.
	+ **Mental Manipulation**: Maximoff was able to deploy a form of mental inertness upon others through a form of hypnosis. This power is possible through a neuro-electric interface, just as her telepathy is. She was able to use this ability to cripple the Avengers, forcing them each to recall the darker events of their pasts and were put inside daydream-like visions of them that subdued them. When this ability is in use, Maximoff's reddish energy takes a more mist-like form, floating into the head of the victim in the form of neurons. The effects also distort the victim's iris coloration, causing them to shine a dark reddish color. This also allows her to control other people's actions, as she did with a considerable number of civilians in Sokovia to aid in their evacuation, causing them to experience a form of sleep walking and making them all get up and leave the city. Maximoff's mental power is strong to reverse the effects of the Mind Stone, one of the most powerful objects in existence, as shown when she freed Dr. Helen Cho from the stone's control. She can also manipulate the memory, thoughts, actions, emotions, and senses of others at will, induce sleep or pain and create illusions without any difficulty.
		- **Fear Manipulation**: With her power to manipulate the mind, she could use her power to elicit fear or emotional pain in a person in the form of nightmarish hallucinations that could stun and weaken an individual as powerful as Thor. These visions can show something that a person fears, regrets, or is generally disturbed at, though the nature of it is not up to Wanda. She does seem to be able to know what her victim is seeing and be inside the vision with them, seemingly invisible to them.
	+ **Psionic Energy**: Maximoff can project energy blasts, waves and bolts by projecting her own psionic and telekinetic energy, or gathering particles, molecules and physical forces into a contained space, allowing her to either blow, destroy, push/pull or direct her hits at her enemies. These contained spaces could be in any shape and form and outlined her telekinetic spheres of influence, making her telekinesis visible and in reddish color. When a target of hers is hit with her energy, she can use her telekinesis to inflict further damage. Maximoff unleashed a wave of reddish energy that tore apart and disintegrated surrounding Ultron Sentries when she sensed Pietro's death and cried out in grief and anger. She can also generate a bolt of hex energy to project light.

### Abilities

* **Multilingualism**: Wanda is fluent in Sokovian and speaks English (though with a heavy Sokovian accent).

## Appearances

In chronological order:

* *Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Scepter'd Isle*
* *Captain America: The Winter Soldier*
* *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.*
	+ *Season Two*
		- *The Dirty Half Dozen* (mentioned)
* *Avengers: Age of Ultron*
* *Captain America: Civil War* (unreleased)

## Trivia

### Comic Notes

* In the comics, the Scarlet Witch is a mutant and a founding member of the Brotherhood of Mutants, being initially identified as the daughter of Magneto (Erik Lehnsherr) and his then-wife Magda Lehnsherr (née Eisenhardt) in *Vision and the Scarlet Witch* #4 (1983), 19 years after Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver's first appearance. Magda leaves Erik while pregnant and takes sanctuary at Mount Wundagore in Transia, the home of the High Evolutionary, where she gives birth and later dies. The High Evolutionary then places them instead in the care of the Romani couple, Django and Marya Maximoff, who raise them as their own children. Prior to that, in *Giant-Size Avengers* #1 (1974), they were revealed to be the biological children of Golden Age superheroes The Whizzer and Miss America, a fact that was later retconned. In *Avengers & X-Men: AXIS* #7 (2014), it was revealed that Wanda and her brother have no blood ties to Magneto and are not related after all. In *Uncanny Avengers* #4 (2015), it is confirmed not only are they not related to Magneto but they are also not mutants, as the High Evolutionary was the one that genetically altered them as infants, giving them their powers, before returning them to their true parents, the Maximoffs.
* In the comics, Wanda married Vision, and had two sons with him.

### Character Notes

* Although Wanda's comic book moniker was never spoken by anyone during the course of the film, Iron Man did disparagingly refer to her as a "witch", alluding to her Scarlet Witch moniker.
	+ The credits did in fact credit her as "Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch".
* Wanda ultimately destroying Ultron's primary body in the film is probably an allusion to the fact that her powers in the comics are considered one of Ultron's most significant weaknesses.

### Behind the Scenes

* Elizabeth Olsen was uncredited for her appearance in *Captain America: The Winter Soldier*.
* Both Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were originally going to appear in the post-credits scene for *Guardians of the Galaxy*.

## References

1. ↑ The character was credited as Scarlet Witch in *Avengers: Age of Ultron* but she was never called by that name on screen.
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 *Avengers: Age of Ultron*
3. ↑ *Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Scepter'd Isle*
4. ↑ *Captain America: The Winter Soldier* Mid-credits Scene
5. ↑ *Avengers: Age of Ultron* Deleted Scene
6. ↑ No Longer Mutants. The Real Parents Of Scarlet Witch And Quicksilver Are...