Writer: Steve Orlando
Art: Lorenzo Tammetta & Sara Pichelli
Colors: Frank William
Letters: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover: Russell Dauterman
Variant Covers: Sara Pichelli; Lucas Werneck; Meghan Hetrick; Pablo Villalobos & Romulo Fajardo Jr
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: 3.99
Release Date: August 2nd, 2023
If you’re interested in this comic, series, related trades, or any of the others mentioned, then simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon as you read the Scarlet Witch #7 Review.
The Dispatch
Wanda received a shock at the end of the last issue–her adoptive father waiting in her shop. Is Magneto really back? And what could he want with her? SCARLET WITCH #7 doesn’t give Wanda the time to find out. A new arrival through the Last Door brings Wanda her most ridiculous person in need yet.
SCARLET WITCH #7 catches up with Wanda as she confronts a man who she believes is Magneto. In fact, it is Joseph, Magneto’s clone, who waits in Wanda’s shop. Joseph is looking for a fresh start after his most recent activities. But before he and Wanda can get very far into that, a man named Nelson falls through the Last Door. Nelson has the ability to touch books and make them real–which he did with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The kingdom has taken over Texola, Oklahoma, and its denizens have chased Nelson off. Nelson needs Wanda’s help to put everything right again.
The smartest storytelling choice Orlando makes in SCARLET WITCH #7 is to not try and play “Magneto” as a mystery. It made for a fun issue out in SCARLET WITCH #6, but concealing his identity until later in the issue would overshadow the story. And that story is an unusual one.
Wanda’s visitors through the Last Door have diverse interests. Nelson’s is especially unusual. It’s also hard to take seriously. But that’s a large part of why the issue succeeds. Thanks to the Last Door, SCARLET WITCH is a series that can go anywhere, do anything, and tackle any problem. It stands to reason that sooner or later, the problem someone needs help with will be ridiculous. Nelson’s problem certainly qualifies. And Nelson himself is absolutely insufferable. He’s certainly not sorry for what he did–he’s just sorry that it didn’t work out. As Last Door “clients” go, he and his cause are not endearing. The result is a fair amount of humor at his expense. And the well-deserved end to his problem pays off because we don’t feel a great deal of sympathy for the guy.
Joseph’s small part in SCARLET WITCH #7 ties in nicely to the ongoing theme of Wanda’s own efforts to redeem and redefine herself. Indeed, Wanda almost says as much. Joseph wants a fresh start after his more villainous behavior the last time he was alive. Wanda is just the person willing to give him one.
The Art & Letters
SCARLET WITCH #7’s first three pages are an emotional rollercoaster for Wanda. Orlando gives voice to some of that via dialogue, but the range of emotions she feels is largely left to Tammetta and Pichelli to communicate. Wanda is wide-eyed with shock on the first page, and it sells the weight of “Magneto’s” return. After Joseph reveals the truth, Wanda is devastated, something that Tammetta and Pichelli make clear in one panel. Wanda is turned away from Joseph, and a couple of very subtle speed lines emphasize how she withdrew into herself in that moment. When Wanda moves on to the Oklahoma based recreation of Oz, Wilson’s coloring takes center stage, not least because the emerald green kingdom is visible in virtually every panel. The black costume that the witch from Oz wears contrasts with that particularly well.
The three artists come together in a kind of harmony during the fight between Wanda and the witch from Oz. In particular there is a splash page that depicts Wanda and the witch confronting each other with a variety of powers as the story flows in an almost zig zag down the page. Wilson follows this zig zag with contrasting bursts of magenta and emerald. The two witches confront each other with zaps of energy, bursts of fire, manifested birds of prey, and old fashioned fists. Something that SCARLET WITCH does very well as a series is depicting unorthodox fight sequences.
Petit’s lettering is fairly straightforward in this issue. There are a couple sound effects, perhaps most notably an extended KREEEEEK as Nelson falls through the Last Door. Petit’s greatest contribution, though, is the flow of dialogue on the fight’s splash page. It adds a little bit of flow to more abstract organization.
Final Thoughts
After a larger stakes incident in the previous issue, the series returns to what it does best–tell stories that both reflect and are reflected by Wanda’s personal journey. SCARLET WITCH #7 proves to be an effective blend of introspection and humor.