Scarlet Witch #4
The Witch is Mine!
Plagued by nightmares and hunted by demons, the Scarlet Witch has ventured to the town of Unity, New England for answers. There, she and Agatha Harkness fought Master Pandemonium and demonically possessed members of the Avengers West Coast. Following their victory, the two witches are then confronted by the astral form of Lore, the Nexus Being from another reality who has come to steal Wanda’s power for herself.[1]
Agatha Harkness attempts to assist Wanda in battle, but Lore proves more powerful than the old crone and quickly incapacitates her. Wanda tries to fight back against her attacker, but this proves nearly impossible because Lore has appeared only as an astral projection as one one Nexus can exist in each reality.
Amused by Wanda’s apparent helplessness, Lore then decides to explain what has compelled her to go after other Nexi in the multiverse and steal their powers.[2] Lore comes from a world of necromancers and she was not above killing in order to increase her power. Soon, she exhausted all sources of power in her own reality. Soon, she set her sights on attacking other Nexus Beings across the multiverse and stealing their power for herself. This process is completed by binding the target reality and then driving its Nexus insane. Once her victim is rendered helpless, Lore would then have the power to take possession of their bodies and steal their power before moving on to the next reality.
The Scarlet Witch, however, refuses to allow herself to become an easy victim. Using her hex powers, Wanda is able to circumvent the barrier that prevents Lore from crossing over. This allows Wanda to punch her foe in the face, much to Lore’s surprise. However, this is only a minor surprise as Lore no longer is limited to astral attacks. She then uses her powers to reanimate the centuries old dead soldiers whose skeletal remains litter the catacombs. As she is swarmed by undead warriors, Wanda fights them off long enough to cast a powerful hex that returns them all to their eternal rest.
The Scarlet Witch and Lore then engage in mystical combat, casting and deflecting spells against one another. A stray bolt of mystical energy strikes the monolith that Master Pandemonium has been restrained to, allowing the man-demon to break free. He manages to grab Wanda and Lore orders him to hold her still long enough for her to finally kill her opponent. However, the Scarlet Witch manages to break free, and Lore’s mystic bolt strikes Pandemonium instead. Furious that he failed to carry out such a simple task, Lore uses her power to obliterate Master Pandemonium.[3]
By this time, Wanda and Agatha Harkness have freed the rest of the Avengers West Coast. However, Lore is fed up with the battle and decides to summon the souls of all the Nexi that she has killed in order to boost her power to even greater levels so she can destroy the Scarlet Witch once and for all. Unfortunately for her, rather than boost her power the souls of the Nexi begin attacking her instead. The Scarlet Witch then seals Lore’s fate by plunging a sword into her wicked heart causing a massive mystical explosion that seemingly destroys Lore in the process.[4] The Scarlet Witch is then visited by the spirit of Eleyn, Lore’s last victim. She congratulates Wanda for stopping their foe and tells her to rest, assuring her that he friends are safe.
When Wanda wakes up again she is back at Avengers Compound with Agatha Harkness and the rest of the Avengers standing by her bedside. Wanda tells them that she owes them all for their support and training, especially US Agent, whose combat skill helped her hold her own in the battle against Lore and her legions. When Spider-Woman asks how Wanda is doing, she admits that she is feeling much better than ever before.[5]
Recurring Characters
Scarlet Witch, Agatha Harkness, Master Pandemonium, Lore, Avengers West Coast (Wonder Man, US Agent, Spider-Woman, Living Lightning, War Machine), Eleyn
Continuity Notes
Immortus identified Wanda as a Nexus Being in Avengers West Coast #61-62.
As of this writing (January, 2023) this reality that Lore comes from has yet to be officially indexed.
Despite being obliterated here, Master Pandemonium will turn up again in Deadpool (vol. 3) #68.
As of this writing, Lore is still considered among the deceased.
It is from here that Wanda will stop mentioning her children — who were slain by Master Pandimonum in Avengers West Coast #51-52. However, she will be made to remember them, with disasterous consequences, in Avengers #500-503. Although her children were seemingly destroyed, as explained in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #6, they will be reincarnated into new lives. They’ll turn up again in Young Avengers #1.
