Marvel just revealed that Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch will be the next Sorcerer Supreme, taking on the title and power upgrade usually wielded by Doctor Strange. It’s a predictable choice, and one that would be boring except for one detail – Wanda is only one of two characters who will now hold the title.
Scarlet Witch Will Battle Agatha Harkness as Duelling Sorcerers Supreme
In July, Marvel teased a new Succession comic spinning out of One World Under Doom. With Doctor Doom losing the Sorcerer Supreme title (stolen from Strange in Blood Hunt), Marvel offered up a range of heroes who might take the title. While unusual choices included Captain Marvel, Gambit and Shang-Chi, fans assumed that Agatha Harkness would get the title, given her recent MCU popularity.
It turns out, fans were half right. In the reveal for Marvel’s new Sorcerer Supreme series, Marvel states that while Wanda will claim the title of Sorcerer Supreme, the Vishanti (who traditionally appoint the holder) will refuse to validate her and instead empower Agatha Harkness, turning the two against each other as magical rivals. The series comes from Steve Orlando and Bernard Chang.
Scarlet Witch Has Earned the Top Spot
The last few years have reinvented Scarlet Witch. Writer Steve Orlando has championed Wanda through Scarlet Witch Volume 3, Volume 4, Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch & The Vision, introducing the idea of the ‘Last Door’ – a mystical doorway which conveys those in desperate need to Wanda’s magic store.
Meanwhile, 2021’s Darkhold event enhanced Wanda’s powers, as she consumed the titular grimoire and thus the powers of its creator, the elder god Chthon. For these reasons, it’s likely Scarlet Witch will be the most powerful Sorcerer Supreme in modern lore.
Agatha Harkness Is an Essential Ingredient for Marvel’s New Status Quo
Non-A-tier characters like Scarlet Witch and Moon Knight rarely stay on comic stands for year after year. However, in both cases, Marvel has seemingly hit on a new tactic of using short-run series from the same writer to keep interest high.
It’s that tactic which has likely brought Scarlet Witch to the position of Sorcerer Supreme, however the role could still have been the wrong choice if not for Agatha Harkness’ inclusion. Scarlet Witch is such an obvious choice for the title that it could have been a boring move – after all, she’s already a vastly magically powerful protector of Earth. What would becoming Sorcerer Supreme actually change?
However, turning Scarlet Witch into one of two Supremes fighting for the role is far more interesting. The series sees Scarlet Witch claim the Eye of Agamotto and Cloak of Levitation, giving Agatha a reason to hunt her down, beginning her assault by banishing Wanda to Limbo.
Marvel’s New Era of Magic Is Off to an Amazing Start
Ultimately, Scarlet Witch becoming Sorcerer Supreme pays off years of story about her growing power, expertise and confidence. However, by including Agatha as a magical rival, Marvel has stopped the obvious choice feeling stale, taking a natural succession and turning it into a battle for the mantle. Scarlet Witch vs Agatha Harkness is set to be the ultimate battle for Doctor Strange‘s former title as Sorcerer Supreme.
Sorcerer Supreme #1 is coming December 31 from Marvel Comics.
- Movie(s)
-
Doctor Strange, Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness
- Character(s)
-
Doctor Strange, Karl Mordo, Christine Palmer, Wong, The Ancient One
