After Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame was released, we didn’t hear much from Wanda Maximoff. Despite Marvel announcing that she would get a miniseries in April 2019, Wanda didn’t appear in any subsequent Marvel movies, and it seemed like the MCU had all but forgotten her and the powers gifted to her by the Mind Stone. That is, until Marvel released WandaVision this past January, which I think we can say stole all our attention during the weeks that it aired.
Now that WandaVision is over, we’re back to our Wanda Maximoff drought. For those of you hoping for a bit more of our favourite witch (or those who just miss her and can’t wait until Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness comes out), I’ve compiled a list of eight comic series and events worth reading.
*Spoilers for WandaVision ahead*
The Vision and the Scarlet Witch
This is one of the series that inspired the concept of WandaVision. It follows Wanda and Vision as they move into a suburban neighbourhood and attempt to live normal lives despite their powers and status as Avengers. It’s in this series that we’re first introduced to Billy and Tommy, Wanda’s twin boys.
While I don’t believe there’s any reality-altering hex keeping an entire town under Wanda’s control, this miniseries has the bare bones of the WandaVision series and is well worth checking out if you want to see more of Wanda and Vision doing their best to fit into suburbia.
There are actually two miniseries with this title, and I’ve linked both if you’d like to read more about them here and here.
Avengers Disassembled
While not focused solely on Wanda and Vision, Avengers Disassembled is fundamental reading for any Scarlet Witch fans. This event, which ran from 2004-2005, involved a number of Marvel heroes, from Captain America to Iron Man to the Fantastic Four. However, the real standout star of this event is the Scarlet Witch, whose spiralling mental health is brought to the forefront and is one of the main catalysts for the Avengers disbanding. This event also features everyone’s new favourite witch, Agatha Harkness.
You can read more about Avengers Disassembled here.
House of M
This event is mainly focused on the X-Men and the mutants of the Marvel Comic Universe. I won’t spoil too much of the plot if anyone is unfamiliar with it, but this miniseries features Wanda’s reality-warping magic heavily, and it impacts the entirety of the Marvel universe.
You can read more about House of M here.
Young Avengers
Volume one of the Young Avengers is the first in a long-running series focusing on younger heroes standing in the shadows of the Avengers after the events of Avengers Disassembled. While the Young Avengers doesn’t feature the Scarlet Witch herself, two of the members of the original team are Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd, Wanda’s sons.
You can read more about Young Avengers here.
Avengers: The Children’s Crusade
This miniseries focuses mainly on Billy, one of Wanda’s sons. Like his mother, Billy possesses reality-altering powers, and The Children’s Crusade pits Billy against heroes and villains alike as he searches for Wanda Maximoff, who he believes may be the only person who can help him.
You can read more about The Children’s Crusade here.
Avengers vs. X-Men
Avengers vs. X-Men focuses on the Avengers and the X-Men in the aftermath of House of M and the damage Wanda wrought on all of mutant-kind. Instead of centring on Wanda, it instead focuses on Hope Summers, who is believed to be the next host of the devastating Phoenix Force (the cosmic power that led to Jean Grey’s end).
Despite not being a main player in the story, Wanda is of great importance to this story, and it’s an interesting event worth reading if you want to see what the world looked like after House of M and how desperate the X-Men became.
You can read more about Avengers vs. X-Men here.
Scarlet Witch
A couple of years ago, after a small resurgence in the popularity of the Scarlet Witch, Marvel thought it would be a good idea to run a limited series focusing on Wanda maneuvering through the world as she tries to uncover the truth about her past.
While short, this miniseries is beautifully done, with each issue acting as a standalone episode that connects into an overarching plot as Wanda slowly uncovers the truth of her magic. Each issue is illustrated by a different artist, so they all feel unique. The pacing of this series is quick, and it offers insights into Wanda’s mind that other comics often neglect in favour of focusing on her mental illness and painting her as unstable and dangerous.
This is one of my personal favourite Marvel comic series, and I think it’s a must-read for anyone who found themselves falling in love with Wanda Maximoff.
You can read more about Scarlet Witch here.
Bonus: Vision
Fear not, Vision fans, I’m not about to neglect the other half of the WandaVison duo. Although Vision mainly appears in group titles and series, he did get his very own miniseries in 2015 and 2016. The miniseries ran for 12 issues total, so it’s a quick read if you’re looking for something shorter and easier to follow.
In it, we find Vision again trying his luck with suburbia, except this time he’s constructed his very own synthezoid family, and he’s determined to make it work. Surely nothing could go wrong, because suburbia definitely worked out for Vision the first time around.
Read more about Vision here.
Wandavision gave us a lot of fun characters and a riveting storyline in a short, tightly paced series. It was fun, it was exciting, and it led to a lot of people falling in love with Wanda Maximoff. And if anyone is missing Wanda nearly as much as I am, I know that these titles will help fill the hole until the next Doctor Strange movie finally releases.