10 years ago, Marvel finally redeemed the Scarlet Witch with a shockingly beautiful ghost story

Ahead of its Dec. 18, 2026 release, Avengers: Doomsday rumors and fan theories abound. Sources have reported that the Scarlet Witch is likely to return for the film. Though believed to be deceased in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the events of Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, Wanda Maximoff has always been full of surprises.

At first glance, Wanda has it all: beauty, power, and an incredible sense of style. Yet, she's been beset by hard times since we first met her in X-Men #4 (published in March 1964). Back then, she and her brother Quicksilver were working for Magneto as part of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. While Pietro is known for his haughty attitude, Wanda was wracked with guilt over their actions as part of this Mutant terrorist cell. Eventually, the siblings left the team to join the Avengers, but this established a pattern for Wanda, who has consistently sought redemption ever since.

Image: Brian Michael Bendis, Olivier Coipel/Marvel Comics

Wanda's lowest point came in 2005 with the event known as M-Day. With her back against the wall as the Avengers and the X-Men discussed her possible execution after the events of Avengers: Disassembled, in which the Scarlet Witch kills several major superheroes, she makes an even worse mistake. Wanda utters the words, "No more mutants," effectively disabling the vast majority of mutantkind in an instant by removing their powers.

Her actions in both events were later retconned to have been heavily influenced by Marvel's version of a Lovecraftian horror, Chthon. Still, repercussions of M-Day continue to reverberate today. Wanda's path back to the light began with the 2010 series The Children's Crusade, in which the Young Avengers attempt to find the Scarlet Witch, but for some fans, the later 2016 Scarlet Witch series was still a pretty big deal. After several years in which she either teetered on the brink of madness or obstinately failed to grasp the severity of her actions, fans were tired. In this story written by James Robinson, Wanda finally had a leading role in a comic designed explicitly to move her back into the realm of heroism.

These myriad themes coalesced in Scarlet Witch #5. In this solo Wanda adventure, released a decade ago in April 2016, Wanda travels to Spain to free some tortured souls from the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition, but the issue's mostly silent format allows her heroic actions to finally speak for themselves.

In a story titled "SHHH: A Whisper," Wanda's presence is requested at a vineyard, once the site of gruesome burnings of several nuns accused of heresy and witchcraft. Upon her arrival, a local named Sister Lorenz explained that, anytime anyone entered the cellar, speaking a single word would cause possession by their spirits. Opening herself to the horror of their deaths at the hands of inquisitors, Wanda was overwhelmed by the residual trauma. Experiencing what they felt, she stayed willfully silent as she took on demonic forces and methodically freed every soul from their torment. In the end, her work complete, Wanda opted to go for a peaceful walk in the vineyard.

This issue's experimental formatting, gorgeous art, and its attention to the specific good Wanda can do in the Marvel Universe came as a sigh of relief in 2016. While Captain America and Iron Man can fight Ultron all day long, Wanda can do that and more. It's unlikely characters like Tony Stark or Steve Rogers would have been able to stop yapping long enough to see what needed to be done here. Reaching for redemption, Wanda was able to see people who needed grace in a way other Avengers never could.

Wherever Wanda pops up in the MCU next, whether she appears as a hero or a villain, her guilt remains a driving force for her character. Sometimes, it throws her story off the rails. Then, sometimes, it leads to quiet moments like this, with Wanda finding some sense of peace through helping others.