The Scarlet Witch, also known as Wanda Maximoff, is one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). As seen in the movies, her abilities include telekinesis, energy manipulation, and mental manipulation. She can move objects with her mind, create energy blasts, and control people’s minds. So the question is, which of the Avengers could potentially beat Scarlet Witch in a fight? Let’s analyze the key Avengers and their powers to see who stands the best chance against the Scarlet Witch.
Doctor Strange
As a powerful sorcerer, Doctor Strange has a strong chance at beating Scarlet Witch. Strange’s magical abilities allow him to create weapons and shields out of energy, teleport across dimensions, reverse time, and trap opponents in infinite time loops. Additionally, he can astral project to leave his physical body, making him harder to defeat. Strange’s mystical powers differ from Wanda’s chaos magic abilities, giving him an element of surprise in combat. With his advanced magical skills and strategic thinking, Doctor Strange has the intelligence and abilities to outmaneuver Scarlet Witch, though it would likely be a close fight.
Thor
As an Asgardian God, Thor possesses incredible strength, durability and lightning-based powers that make him a formidable opponent for Scarlet Witch. Thor can fly at high speeds and his control over lightning gives him the ability to strike from range while avoiding Scarlet Witch’s attacks. His Asgardian physiology also provides him with a high degree of resistance to injury and magical manipulation. While Scarlet Witch can control minds, Thor’s mental fortitude is immense after centuries of battle experience. Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer made from magical uru metal, also allows him to focus his powers and provides additional protection. If Thor can avoid getting ensnared by Scarlet Witch’s hexes and mind manipulation, he has the raw power to overwhelm her defenses through brute force.
Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel’s unique mix of abilities make her one of the few who could go toe-to-toe with Scarlet Witch and come out victorious. Her half-Kree physiology grants her immense strength, durability, flight, and energy manipulation capabilities. She can absorb energy and channel it back offensively through photon blasts. In addition, Captain Marvel has military training in hand-to-hand combat applicable in close quarters against Scarlet Witch. Her superhuman speed allows her to evade Scarlet Witch’s attacks and her binary form grants a massive power boost. While Scarlet Witch also has great power, Captain Marvel’s energy absorption may counteract her magic blasts. And her Kree-enhanced mind may have a higher resistance to telepathic assaults. Overall, Captain Marvel has the sheer power output and combat skills to overwhelm Scarlet Witch through a direct assault if she goes all out.
Vision
As an android with an Infinity Stone embedded in his forehead, Vision can match up to Scarlet Witch’s reality-bending powers using his own gem-derived abilities. He can phase through objects and fire energy beams along with enhanced strength, speed and durability. Vision and Scarlet Witch also share a psychic link from their time together as Avengers. This gives Vision an intimate understanding of Wanda’s abilities that he can leverage in combat. With his synthetic mind, Vision is likely resistant to Wanda’s telepathic and mind manipulation abilities. And his ability to alter his density can help avoid Scarlet Witch’s attacks until he can mount an effective counter-offensive. Vision is also highly analytical and strategic in battle, giving him an edge over the emotionally-driven Scarlet Witch. Overall, Vision has the necessary skills and powers to defeat Scarlet Witch, though their romantic history complicates the situation.
Scarlet Witch’s Powers and Abilities
To understand which Avengers can defeat Scarlet Witch, we need to look at the full extent of her powers:
Chaos Magic
– Reality warping – Alter reality on a localized scale
– Energy blasts – Project blasts of hex energy
– Force fields – Create shields and barriers from hex magic
– Transmutation – Alter the state of matter and objects
Telekinesis
– Flight – Levitate and propel herself through the air
– Motion manipulation – Move, lift, and manipulate objects with her mind
Telepathy
– Read minds
– Mental manipulation – Control minds and access memories/thoughts
– Illusions – Project illusions into a target’s mind
– Astral projection – Project her consciousness remotely
Other Abilities
– High durability – Withstand impacts and energy blasts
– Magic sensing – Detect magic and breaches between dimensions
– Spell casting – Perform rituals, incantations, and spells for various effects
Most Powerful Avengers
To defeat Scarlet Witch requires matching her immense psychic powers, reality manipulation, and magic with sufficient strength, durability, and hax abilities. Here are the most powerful Avengers based on their skills and abilities:
| Avenger | Powers |
|---|---|
| Captain Marvel | Superhuman strength, durability, flight, cosmic energy manipulation |
| Doctor Strange | Master sorcerer, magical energy manipulation, extradimensional travel |
| Thor | Asgardian strength, durability, lightning manipulation, flight |
| Wanda Maximoff | Chaos magic, telekinesis, telepathy, reality manipulation |
| Vision | Density manipulation, superhuman attributes, Mind Stone beam |
Scarlet Witch’s Weaknesses
Despite her tremendous powerset, Scarlet Witch still has vulnerabilities that could be exploited to defeat her:
Human Frailty
While durable, she can still be injured or knocked out like an ordinary human. A powerful enough physical attack could overpower her.
Emotional volatility
Scarlet Witch’s emotions can cloud her judgement in battle. Rattling her psychologically can cause her to make mistakes.
Limited ranged abilities
Most of her hex bolts and attacks are short-medium range. Long range assaults could overwhelm her.
Stamina limits
Overexertion of her powers can tire her out. Drawing out a fight could exhaust her magic reserves.
Lack of martial training
She relies almost solely on her powers in combat. A skilled fighter could overtake her in hand-to-hand.
Conclusion
Doctor Strange, Thor, and Captain Marvel seem to be the best equipped Avengers to counter Scarlet Witch’s reality-bending chaos magic and psychic abilities. Doctor Strange has the magical skillset to counter her spells directly and keep her off balance. Thor’s raw strength and durability could potentially overpower her through sheer force. And Captain Marvel’s energy absorption and combat training provide different angles of attack. However, Scarlet Witch is immensely powerful, so defeating her would not be easy for any of them. Ultimately, the Avengers’ best chance against Scarlet Witch is to coordinate and combine their unique abilities, minimizing her opportunities to control the fight. But in a direct one-on-one battle, Scarlet Witch can likely defeat most Avengers single-handedly through her versatile and potent magical powers.