Just as she mastered her unpredictable abilities by studying the mystical arts, so too did the hex-casting heroine known as the Scarlet Witch reshape her very destiny through sheer force of will. Once manipulated by her father -- Magneto, mutant Master of Magnetism -- into serving the cause of genetic terrorism, Wanda Maximoff now fights for the greater good of all mankind. And as a member of the mighty Avengers, the odds are stacked in her favor!

Real name: Wanda Maximoff
Occupation: Adventurer, former criminal
Group affiliation: Avengers; formerly Force Works and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
Base of operations: Avengers Mansion, New York City
First appearance: X-Men (Vol. 1) #4 (1964)

Height: 5'7"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Eye color: Blue
Hair color: Auburn

Powers: Wanda Maximoff was born atop Transia's Wundagore Mountain, earthly prison to the chaos-demon called Chthon. The otherworldly entity imbued the Scarlet Witch with magical abilities, as he one day hoped to use her as a host to aid his escape. If not for the demon's intervention, Wanda simply would have been an energy-wielding mutant like her father, Magneto. Instead, she can channel chaos-magic in a number of useful ways. Chief among these are her probability-altering hex-spheres -- finite pockets of reality-disrupting, psionic force that cause random disturbances in the molecular-level probability fields surrounding their targets. As a result, unlikely phenomena occur. With greater preparation time, Wanda can cast her hex power to garner specific results.

Weapons: None

History: Wanda Maximoff is the daughter of Magneto, mutant Master of Magnetism, and his former wife, a gypsy named Magda. Prior to Wanda's birth, Magda fled Magneto, terrified by the recent manifestation of his bizarre powers and his newly adopted doctrine of world domination. Seeking refuge, Magda came upon the scientific citadel of Wundagore in the Balkan Mountains of Transia. She was taken in by Bova, a humanoid cow created by the master geneticist known as the High Evolutionary. Magda gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and named them Wanda and Pietro. Still afraid her estranged husband might hunt them down them, she walked into the frozen mountain wilderness to perish.

Bova presented the twins to the High Evolutionary, who agreed to find them human foster parents. He chose Django and Marya Maximoff, a gypsy couple camped nearby, who had lost their own twins. The Maximoffs accepted the gift and cared for the children as if they were their own. As adolescents, Wanda and Pietro discovered they possessed unusual superhuman abilities. Wanda could cause strange phenomenon to occur simply by waving her hands, and Pietro was able to move faster than the blink of an eye. When Django stole food to feed his starving family, enraged villagers attacked the gypsy camp. Using his phenomenal speed, Pietro took flight with his sister. The circumstances of the youngsters' separation from their family were so traumatic that not until well into adulthood could they remember anything but the barest details of their early existence. For the next few years, Wanda and Pietro wandered central Europe, living off the land.

While visiting a small village, Wanda accidentally caused a house to burst into flame with her then-uncontrollable hex-casting abilities. Superstitious townspeople took up arms against the young mutant, mistaking her for a witch. Despite Pietro's attempts to defend his sister, the siblings soon were overpowered. They were about to be killed when Magneto came to their rescue. The genetic terrorist pressed them into service in his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, costumed them, and rechristened them the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. For months, Wanda and Pietro served their new master out of a sense of obligation -- and for fear of reprisal. As members of the Brotherhood, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver aided Magneto in his terrorist campaigns against humanity and helped him combat the idealistic team of mutant heroes known as the X-Men. Magneto did not realize Wanda and Pietro were his children, nor did they know he was their father.

When the alien entity known as the Stranger stamped out the Brotherhood, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch petitioned for membership in the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes. They were inducted -- along with Hawkeye, arrow-slinging ex-con -- to replace the team's charter members, who wished to take leaves of absence. However, humanity's hatred and fear of mutants still disturbed Quicksilver; he briefly rejoined Magneto, compelling his sister to follow. Ultimately, the siblings confronted the Master of Magnetism. Combining their abilities, Wanda and Pietro helped the Avengers and X-Men defeat their former savior.

Rejoining the Avengers, the Scarlet Witch sought to acquire a greater degree of control over her unpredictable abilities. She found a mentor in Agatha Harkness. Where Wanda was a witch in name only, Agatha was a witch in reality. As the hex-casting heroine learned to master her powers, she became romantically involved with the synthetic humanoid called the Vision, despite her brother's disapproval. Eventually, she married the android Avenger. The couple then took a sabbatical from their adventures and moved to Leonia, New Jersey. Shortly thereafter, they were confronted by Magneto, who had discovered that Wanda and Pietro were his children. Though Wanda was happy to find her true father, the newfound knowledge could not undo the abuse she had suffered as a member of his Brotherhood.

After the Vision attempted to seize control of the world while possessed by the super-intelligent synthezoid known as Issac, he was apprehended and dismantled by the government. The Vision's components were recovered by the Avengers and reconstructed, but he could no longer recall his marriage. Hoping to restore his memory, Wanda turned to the ion-powered Avenger known as Wonder Man, whose psyche had served as the basis for the Vision's brain patterns. Simon Williams refused to help, however, as he had grown resentful of the Vision and was attracted to Wanda himself. Heartbroken, the Scarlet Witch sank into a deep depression.

Wanda finally learned to accept the absence of the Vision, and forgave Simon for refusing to restore her former husband's brain patterns. For a time, the two were even an item. Eventually, Wanda left the Avengers to help found a new team, Force Works. Soon after, Wonder Man sacrificed his life to save the world. When Force Works disbanded, Wanda returned to the Avengers. During battle, the Scarlet Witch discovered that she could summon the deceased Wonder Man to her side. She learned from Agatha Harkness that her overwhelming desire for the fallen hero was causing the manifestations. Simply put, she had wished him into being. Agatha told Wanda that all she need do to bring back Simon was love him. In a great feat of faith, the Scarlet Witch delivered Wonder Man from the realm of the dead. Reunited, the lovers renewed their relationship.