Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlet Witch, is one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel universe. As the daughter of Magneto, Wanda was born with incredible abilities to manipulate probability and chaos magic. But is she truly the strongest mutant ever? Let’s break down Wanda’s powers and feats and see how she compares to other powerful mutants like Jean Grey and Franklin Richards.
Wanda’s Powers
Wanda’s main ability is to manipulate probability and cause unlikely events to occur. This manifests as hexes and spells that can alter reality in various ways. She can create powerful hex spheres, manipulate elements like air and fire, teleport across great distances, and resurrect the dead. Wanda can also access Chaos Magic, an extremely dangerous and unstable energy source that allows her to warp reality on a massive scale when properly controlled. Her powers make her incredibly versatile in combat.
In addition, Wanda has telepathic abilities that allow her to read minds, communicate telepathically, manipulate memories, and project visions. She can also fly, create force fields, and absorb magic. As the Scarlet Witch, Wanda’s powers are constantly evolving and growing stronger over time.
Wanda’s Feats
Here are some of Wanda Maximoff’s most incredible feats that demonstrate the upper limits of her reality-warping abilities:
- Warped the entire Marvel multiverse – Wanda was able to merge all alternate universes together, leading to the House of M storyline.
- No More Mutants – Wanda depowered over 90% of the world’s mutant population with three words, dramatically reducing the number of mutants on Earth.
- Killed Thanos – A grief-stricken Wanda flayed Thanos alive down to his skeleton.
- Defeated the Avengers – Wanda single-handedly took down the Avengers, including Thor, in the Axis storyline.
- Resurrected Wonder Man – Wanda was able to bring Wonder Man back to life after he had died.
- Created her children – Wanda used magic to create twin sons Billy and Tommy out of thin air.
These astonishing displays of power show that at her peak, Wanda is capable of manipulating all of reality and even creating entire new realities. Her chaos magic can overwhelm incredibly powerful cosmic entities like Thanos and Mephisto. Across the multiverse, only a handful of beings can match Wanda at her full potential.
How She Compares to Other Powerful Mutants
Several other mutants come close to Wanda’s power level and reality-warping capabilities. Here’s how she compares to some other heavy hitters:
Jean Grey as Phoenix
The Phoenix Force makes Jean one of Marvel’s strongest cosmic entities. As White Phoenix of the Crown, Jean can manipulate time, space, matter, and energy on a universal scale. However, Jean struggles to control the Phoenix Force and is vulnerable to corruption, unlike Wanda who masters chaos magic. Overall, Jean may have greater raw power but lacks the experience and control at Wanda’s level.
Franklin Richards
The son of Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman, Franklin Richards is an Omega-level mutant with nearly limitless reality-warping abilities at his peak. Franklin has created pocket universes, resurrected Galactus, and helped defeat Celestials. But his powers wax and wane depending on his maturity and focus. Wanda has proven more consistent in manipulating reality for long periods of time.
Legion
Legion is one of the most dangerous mutants due to his splintered psyche. Each persona controls vast psionic power, including telepathy, telekinesis, and pyrokinesis. At his peak, Legion can alter timelines and rewrite the universe but he lacks control over his abilities and multiple personalities. Wanda has mastered directing her powers even under immense stress and chaos.
Vulcan
Vulcan is an Omega-level energy absorber and manipulator. He can absorb virtually any energy and has controlled the entire Shi’ar empire. However, his powers rely on external energy sources. While extremely formidable, Vulcan has less innate ability to alter reality than Wanda’s inherent chaos magic affords her.
Mad Jim Jaspers
An alternate reality version of James Jaspers, Mad Jim has beyond Omega-level reality-warping powers that overwhelm the Marvel multiverse of his Earth. However, Jaspers’ powers stem from outside warp realms and he must rely on cybernetic enhancements to control them. Wanda’s chaos magic and mental resilience give her an edge in a direct clash of powers.
Conclusion
When comparing Scarlet Witch’s powers, feats, and demonstrated acts of reality manipulation against other top-tier Marvel mutants, she has a very strong case for being the most powerful mutant ever. While the likes of Jean Grey, Franklin Richards, and Mad Jim Jaspers can rival her abilities under certain circumstances, Wanda Maximoff has repeatedly proven her capacity to alter the fabric of reality on a cosmic scale. Her resilience in wielding chaos magic gives her an advantage and she has embraced her powers in ways few other mutants have. Love her or fear her, the Scarlet Witch is undoubtedly one of the mightiest mutants Marvel has ever seen.