Avengers #503
Chaos Part 4
Then
The Wasp and Scarlet Witch are out getting a tan by the swimming pool at Avengers Mansion while Hawkeye practices his archery. Janet fills Wanda in on the situation between her and Clint. Although they aren’t dating they have been fooling around a bit.[1] That was until Janet had a pregnancy scare when her period was late. Luckily, after getting a home pregnancy test, she was relieved to see that she wasn’t carrying a child.
The idea of being pregnant with Hawkeye’s kid horrified her to no end. In Jan’s opinion superheroes should not have children. She then off handedly wonders what Wanda was thinking when she had two children of her own. Wanda has no idea what Janet was talking about and asks what she means. Catching herself, Jan says she was mistaken — the product of too many margaritas and too much sun — and abruptly leaves the pool side. Despite this explanation, it has got Wanda thinking….[2]
Now
Someone has made the most devastating attack on the Avengers in their entire history. The mansion has been destroyed. Ant-Man, the Vision, and Hawkeye are dead. The Wasp, and Captain Britain have been seriously injured. She-Hulk gone mad and contained. The team disgraced, losing their position with the UN.[3] After surviving an apparent invasion by the Kree, the Avengers and their allies are visited by the astral form of Doctor Strange. He has just confirmed that someone has been specifically targeting the Avengers and has been abusing magic to cause all of their recent troubles. The being responsible has been altering the very fabric of reality with their immense power. When the Avengers ask who is responsible, Strange asks them to think about who they have dealt with that had such magical power and could sow chaos in such a fashion.
Then
The Scarlet Witch pays a visit to her former mentor, Agatha Harkness.[4] Agatha hadn’t seen Wanda in a while and is pleased to see her. That is until Wanda asks why people think she once had two children. This startles Agatha that she almost spills her cup of tea. She tries to get the Scarlet Witch to calm down and listen to her, but Wanda angrily demands to know what happened to her children.
Now
The Avengers all realize that Doctor Strange is referring to the Scarlet Witch. Many don’t believe it, but Nick Fury reminds them that Wanda is the daughter of Magneto and a founding member of his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.[5] Spider-Man then chimes in, suggesting the fact that Wanda was married to the Vision, is another sign that she could go bad.[6] This idea is outright rejected by the others. Still, they can’t understand how learning about her children existing could drive her over the edge. Hearing this, Doctor Strange asks them to explain what happened, as he was the one who helped deliver Wanda’s children years earlier.[7] The Beast, Wonder Man, and Warbird all chime in explaining how Agatha Harkness revealed to Wanda that the children were only figments of her imagination brought to life by her hex powers. The children were then erased and Wanda was made to forget about them.
This deeply concerns Strange, who points out that Wanda was born with the power to manipulate magic, a skill that nearly everyone else needs to spiritually earn it. That’s when everyone recalls that Wanda didn’t always have full control over her power. When Warbird suggests that they reverse Wanda’s magic and bring their dead friends back to life, Doctor Strange says that is impossible because what happened wasn’t a trick, it really happened. When it is brought up that Wanda has been gaining more control over her powers by tapping into chaos magic, Strange has no idea what they are talking about, telling them that there is no such thing as chaos magic.[8] The Avengers still don’t believe Wanda has turned on them,[9] that’s when Iron Man arrives and tells Strange that Wanda couldn’t have been the one responsible as she was with him at the United Nations when the Avengers were first attacked.
The Sorcerer Supreme points out that Wanda might not be aware of what she is doing. He points out that Wanda is a mutant who can tap into great magical power, enough power to alter reality. He then outlines how she has suffered tragedy after tragedy while also using a power source that she hasn’t been properly trained to command. He believes that both her losses and magic have affected her sanity and that she has been driven utterly mad.[10] They deduce that somehow Wanda has remembered her children and that has pushed her over the edge. Although not everyone is convinced, Doctor Strange offers to bring them to her location.
Inside the ruins of Avengers Mansion, Wanda has used her power to create an idyllic family dinner. She brings a home cooked meal to her sons Billy, Tommy, their father the Vision, and Agatha Harkness. Captain America — who had grown close to Wanda recently — approaches her and tries to convince her that none of this is real.[11] Billy and Tommy tell her not to listen to him. Wanda rejects Cap by creating constructs of the Red Skull and Nazi soldiers who open fire on him. Leaping out a window, Steve escapes her illusion. This confirms to all the others that everything Doctor Strange said was true. Furious that Wanda wrecked the Avengers, Warbird tries attack her directly. However, Wanda creates a version of Rogue to intercept her.[12] She then uses her powers to create duplicates of many of the Avengers friends and foes to attack the gathered heroes.
While everyone else is busy, Doctor Strange confronts the Scarlet Witch directly. He pits his magic against hers. While Wanda is incredibly strong, Strange ultimately is the more skilled sorcerer and uses the Eye of Agamotto to force her to see the truth. This causes Wanda to pass out and fall from the sky, luckily Captain America is able to catch her before she hits the ground.
At the same time, Nick Fury and his agents have entered the mansion and are now searching Wanda’s room. There, they are shocked to find the rotting corpse of Agatha Harkness. Apparently, the old crone had been dead for quite some time.[13]
Back outside, the Avengers wonder what to do with Wanda. That’s when her father Magneto arrives who demands that they hand her over to him. Captain America does just that, and Magneto realizes that Xavier was right about Wanda and that he failed her.[14] Magneto then leaves without another word, not telling the heroes where he is taking his daughter.[15] Moments later, the Avengers and their allies all depart as well.
Then[16]
At a Swiss Chalet, the Scarlet Witch tells her brother Quicksilver about the news from America. Apparently, the Avengers are in the process of changing their roster and have enlisted the reformed criminal known as Hawkeye.[17] Seeking to redeem themselves after being part of Magneto’s Brotherhood, Wanda and Pietro write a letter to the Avengers in New York expressing their own interest in joining.
The Avengers take them up on the offer, and the twins sail back to America. Arriving at port, they are greeted by Tony Stark who helps fund the Avengers. He takes them to Avengers Mansion, where the twins get to meet team. With Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, and Hawkeye joining Captain America the founding members of the Avengers — Iron Man, Giant-Man, and the Wasp — can now take a leave of absence. Once they leave, Captain America unveils the new roster to the press outside. As the crowd cheers, Hawkeye wonders if people will continue to have this level of confidence in the Avengers now that their heavy hitters are all gone.
From there, the rest was history…
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Hercules, Black Panther, Black Widow, Mantis, Wonder Man, Beast, Jocasta, Warbird, Falcon, Tigra, Photon, Sub-Mariner, Moon Knight, Quasar, Spider-Man, Stingray, Rage, Living Lightning, Firestar, Justice), Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Thing), Darkhawk, Daredevil, Hellcat, Rick Jones, SHIELD (Nick Fury), Magneto, Agatha Harkness (corpse) (in flashback) Wasp, Hawkeye
Continuity Notes
Hawkeye and the Wasp admitted they were attracted to each other and have been fooling around with one another since Avengers (vol. 3) #82.
Years earlier, the Scarlet Witch used her magic to make herself pregnant in Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #3. She gave birth to twin boys, Billy and Tommy, in issue #12 of that series. What happened next is quite complicated:
In Avengers West Coast #51-52, Agatha Harkness claimed that the children were not real and that Wanda was subconsciously using her powers to will them into existence. The babies were then destroyed by Master Pandemonium who believed they were fragments of his soul. In order to spare Wanda the pain of losing her children, Agatha cast a spell to make her forget.
This story is written under the pretense that Wanda never remembered that she had children. However, there are stories shortly after Billy and Tommy’s death that state the contrary. Notably notably in Avengers West Coast #75, 89, Annual #7. In Scarlet Witch #1-4, she even fights Master Pandemonium again. While her children are never mentioned she fights him with a level of awareness of what he had done. See below for my theory on how this can be.
Billy and Tommy weren’t actually killed. They were reincarnated into new lives. As Billy Caplan and Tommy Shephard, the pair will eventually become members of the Young Avengers in Young Avengers #1 and 10 respectively. They will discover that they are Wanda’s reincarnated children in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #6.
A lot of this stuff happened over the last 3 issues, where have you been? Next issue we learn that the Scarlet Witch was responsible for all of this. At the time of this story Stark was the US the Secretary of State as of Iron Man (vol. 3) #79. While you’re here, it should also be mentioned that the Avengers have also been recently designated a sovereign nation in and of themselves back in Avengers (vol. 3) #61.
Agatha had taken Wanda on as a mentor to teach her to control her magical hexes from Avengers #128 to Giant-Size Avengers #4. They would continue to cross paths on occasion. The last time the two worked together was in Avengers (vol. 3) #10-11 where Agatha guided Wanda in using her powers to bring Wonder Man fully back to life.
The Scarlet Witch’s status as a mutant and her relationship to Magneto given here have all been revealed to be false later on:
In Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5, it was revealed that Wanda wasn’t actually a mutant at all. As a baby she was experimented upon by the High Evolutionary. In order to cover up his work he made it so that if anyone every did a genetic test on her, she’d register as a mutant.
Wanda was a founding member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in X-Men #4. However, she and her brother Quicksilver left the group and joined the Avengers to make up for their past deeds, as seen in Avengers #16. Wanda has mostly been on the side of angels ever since with a few rare exceptions (which we’ll get into).
Wanda was led to believe that she was the daughter of Magneto in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4. However, this is later revealed to be false as well. Per Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #3, her mother is Natalya Maximoff. However, as of this writing (February, 2023) her biological father has yet to be identified.
The Scarlet Witch and the Vision famously fell in love while they were on the Avengers and got married in Giant-Size Avengers #4. However, after a period of estrangement that started in Avengers #312, the couple have considered their marriage over since Avengers (vol. 3) #4.
Indeed Doctor Strange was there. See Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #12.
Wanda began regularly using chaos magic in Avengers (vol. 3) #1. Here, Doctor Strange states that chaos magic does not exist. However, this is a lie that powerful sorcerers perpetuate to prevent those less skilled from using them, this is revealed in Mighty Avengers #21-22. The real source of Wanda’s massive power spike is later explained in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #7. Seeking to restore her children to life using magic, Wanda and Doctor Doom worked together so Wanda could tap into the Life Force, which is the mystical power source of the planet Earth. This is what drive Wanda mad.
It is noted that Thor isn’t present. The thunder god had left the Avengers in Avengers (vol. 3) #61. At the time of this story, Thor and the rest of the Asgardians have seemingly perished in Ragnarok as seen in Thor (vol. 2) #82-85. Thor will be restored to life in Thor (vol. 3) #1. Firestar states here that the Avengers fought Loki’s brother one time. They have fought him many times actually, but he was the one responsible for forming the team in the first place.
Here we see three images of Wanda from the past. The first is from Avengers (vol. 3) #19 when the team fought Ultron and Alchema. The next is from Avengers West Coast #56, shortly after her children were erased and she was driven evil by Magneto’s influence. Lastly we have Avengers #186 when she was possessed by the demon Chthon. We then get a montage page with scenes from Avengers #16, 185-187, Annual 10, (vol. 3) 2-3, 11, 19, 41, 51, 57, 70, 81, Avengers West Coast #56.
Cap and Wanda had recently gotten romantic with one another as seen in Captain America and the Falcon #5-7.
Wanda is using an illusion of Rogue to attack Warbird is due to the fact that Rogue once stole Carol’s powers and memories. See Marvel Super-Heroes (vol. 2) #11 and Avengers Annual #10.
This is not the end of Agatha Harkness. She will return as a spirit in Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #1 until she is fully restored to life in issue #14 of that series.
Magneto is likely referring to some strange circumstances that had to do with him in recent history. Namely, that he somehow survived the destruction of Genosha in New X-Men #115, as well how a Chinese mutant named Xorn suddenly became Magneto before his death as seen in New X-Men Annual 2001 and 122-150. Magneto learned of Xorn’s existence in Excalibur (vol. 3) #1-2, the same story that revealed that he was somehow alive. Excalibur (vol. 3) #8-9 reveals that Magneto came to New York after receiving a call for help from Wanda.
Magneto is taking Wanda back to Genosha to be treated for her insanity, as we’ll see in Excalibur (vol. 3) #10-11. Their attempts will fail leading to the events of House of M #1-8.
This is a reprint of events from Avengers #16. Per the Sliding Timecale these events happened roughly 10 years prior to the main story.
When Hawkeye first appeared in Tales of Suspense #57, he was duped into helping the Black Widow commit acts of espionage. He was convinced to go straight and was endorsed for Avengers membership by Iron Man in Avengers #16.
Wanda Forgetting Her Children
When this story was penned it was written as though Agatha’s spell for forgetfulness was uninterrupted this entire time. However, as I noted above, there were stories published shortly thereafter where Wanda remembers her children and that they were killed off. Particularly problematic was the back-up story in Avengers West Coast Annual #7, in which Wanda’s hex powers allowed her to view another reality where her family remained intact.
In my research I have not found any explanation for as to why Wanda forgot about her children again. Given that this is a storyline that’s over 20 years old as I write this, I don’t think anyone’s really going to go back and nitpick over this issue.
So I have a theories on this. First of all, when you go back and look at past stories where Wanda was “in the know” about her kids, one particularly story stands out to me. In Avengers West Coast #89, she is reminded of her children but stops herself, thinking to herself she said that such thoughts will only lead to madness. I might be forgetting an issue or two, but from that issue onward Wanda never mentions her kids again and nobody mentions them in front of her. When Wanda has a rematch with Master Pandemonium in the first Scarlet Witch limited series, she doesn’t mention her children but she is clearly aware that he had done something to her. The last time Wanda’s children are mentioned is by the Vision in Avengers (vol. 3) #23, but Wanda wasn’t in earshot.
Based on these references, it seemed Wanda had an awareness that thinking about her former children would drive her mad. So perhaps she willingly made herself forget again. That doesn’t seem that outlandish when you think about it.
My other theory is that Agatha Harkness had to renew the spell. I base this on the fact that when Wanda confronts Harkness over the lost memories of her children, it seemed as though Agatha was going to try and calm her down, perhaps to make her forget her children all over again.
Avengers Disassembled Reading Order
Iron Man (vol. 3) #84-85, Thor (vol. 2) #80-81, Captain America and the Falcon #5, 6, 7, Captain America (vol. 3) #29, Avengers #500, 501, 502, 503, Iron Man (vol. 3) #86, 87, 88, 89, Captain America (vol. 3) #30, 31, 32, Fantastic Four #517, 518, 519, Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, Thor (vol. 2) #82, 83, 84, 85, Avengers Finale #1, New Thunderbolts #1