Wanda Maximoff has just begun helping the magical community in “Scarlet Witch” #1 thanks to her mysterious magic shop called The Emporium. Several new things have been happening in Wanda’s life including a run in with her brother, Quicksilver amongst other family. Plus, this new “Scarlet Witch” series has even introduced longtime friend of Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Darcy Lewis to the comic book page. The first couple of issues in the new “Scarlet Witch” series have been an intriguing reintroduction to Wanda Maximoff’s life. Will writer Steve Orlando and artist Sara Pichelli be able to continue delighting readers with Wanda’s latest adventures with Lorna Dane in “Scarlet Witch” #3? Find out in our review of the issue!
Cover by Russell DautermanWritten by Steve Orlando
Illustrated by Sara Pichelli
Colored by Matthew Wilson
Lettered by VC’s Cory PetitENTER POLARIS! When Polaris’ visit to her sister’s new magic shop is interrupted by a microscopic warrior desperate for aid, Polaris and the Scarlet Witch put their own mystery on hold to help on a fantastic journey through Sub-Atomica! Meanwhile, the dark past of Wanda’s enigmatic shop clerk, Darcy Lewis, comes back…with a vengeance.
In “Scarlet Witch” #3 Wanda is able to catch up with Lorna before going on a massive adventure caused by the strange appearance of The Last Door. “Scarlet Witch” continues the series’ emphasis on deep characterization by fleshing out some great moments between Lorna and Wanda. “Scarlet Witch” #3 also does a great job teasing the mysterious nature of Darcy’s plot thread that is directly foreshadowed towards the end of the issue. Wanda and Lorna have an epic experience in Sub-Atomica, going onto to help craft a mysterious sword and go to a mysterious location.
The real star of “Scarlet Witch” #3 are the colors from Matthew Wilson and the art from Sara Pichelli. Wilson’s colors are so lush in this issue and offer a beautiful contrast in design between Lorna’s green hues and Wanda’s red colors. Pichelli’s depiction of Mardj captures a beautiful but restrained facial expressions that offer subtle ways that share the character emoting. When Wanda goes into Tryfa with Mardja and Lorna, the issue artistically starts to really come alive. The pages with only a few captions allow for Pichelli to design massive pages that are highly visually intriguing. There is a gorgeous page with a nefarious witch looming over it that instantly captures my imagination after reading the issue. Pichelli is also able to capture lots of emotion when Wanda spends time reflecting with her family.
The middle portion of the issue largely relies on captions and visuals to capture the questing of Mardj, Lorna and Wanda. While this moment does add some variety to the series, I believe that it also served to deflate some of the overall tension in “Scarlet Witch” #3. It almost seemed like the conflict of “Scarlet Witch” #3 as a whole finished even before the final page of the issue. While I enjoy the fact that author Steve Orlando isn’t imbuing each issue of “Scarlet Witch” #3 with an insane amount of conflict, I wish there were a couple more dangling plot threads that would keep readers coming back between issues. The series current focus on a lingering mystery with Darcy definitely adds some more context to this Scarlet Witch story as a whole.
It was really fascinating to acknowledge how the last issue of “Scarlet Witch” also explored some themes for the X-Men that were captured across this series as well. When the mystery behind the story with Mardj wrapped up, Orlando continued to focus on Wanda and Lorna’s relationship by having Wanda visit Lorna’s home. This sweet moment between characters who don’t often find themselves enjoying time together really sold me on this issue overall. Plus, the way that Pichelli’s art captures so much emotion from each character makes a tender moment like this land even stronger on the comic book page. Pichelli’s art in this title is incredibly versatile as well and when the book explores the dark elements of Darcy’s past ever so slightly, Pichelli’s art gets much darker along with Wilson’s colors in the issue.
So far Marvel’s latest “Scarlet Witch” comic book has been a slow series devoted to fleshing out some of the magic sides of The Marvel Universe. Despite the fact that the plotting in this series may not have impossible stakes, there’s still something to be said about the bright tone of the series that extends to the artwork and character interactions. Pichelli’s visual direction have emphasized some of the most intriguing visual moments possible with unique elements of design that makes the page come alive. It’s great to acknowledge how Orlando has used such a wide cast of characters in Wanda’s family to make this series more interesting. With the recent announcement of Agatha Harkness returning to this series and with the ‘Contest of Chaos’ just on the horizon for Wanda, I hope this series will continue to get more ambitious in future chapters leading up to that story. For now, the strong characterization that Orlando brings for Lorna and Wanda is enough to carry the series towards immense quality.
Final Verdict: 7.8 – “Scarlet Witch” #3 offers stunning art and an in-depth characterization for Wanda and Lorna.
