The Marvel Universe's long history has set the stage for amazing evolutions regarding its character. For example, when Bucky was first introduced, he was a plucky young sidekick that helped Captain America fight off the Nazis. However, in recent years, his sacrifice was used to turn him into a tortured soul and a dangerous assassin-turned-hero turned named The Winter Soldier. But where some changes came decades after their creation, others, like the Scarlet Witch, started their journey early on.
Scarlet Witch was initially introduced as Wanda Maximoff, the daughter of Magneto and a mutant with the ability to use hexes to create bad luck for her targets. For years, it was believed that she was a mutant. But in reality, she was a child that was birthed on Wundagore Mountain and was the subject of experimentation by the High Evolutionary that altered her body and granted her abilities that could eventually break reality. But even though her powers were great, the first step to her change came when she transitioned from mutant-turned-Avenger to full-fledged witch in a classic issue of Avengers.
The Avengers' Scarlet Witch Didn't Always Possess Magic
In The Avengers #128 (by Steve Englehart and Sal Buscema), Wanda Maximoff and the Avengers aided The Fantastic Four in a lightning storm that would've killed both the teams. However, in the same event, Agatha Harkness outed herself as a witch and used her abilities to make the storm disperse. In that instance, she explained that the storm was actually an attack on Agatha, and she would have to retire from her position as caregiver to Reed and Sue Richards' son. But in retiring from one position, she took on another, offering Wanda a tutor in her witchcraft.
To kickstart her training, Wanda had to face off against a magical being known as Necrodamus. Even with her limited knowledge and full range of Hex powers, she awakened a strength in her that allowed her to push her powers past her limit and cast a hex that defeated the magical being. While it wasn't much compared to what she'd be able to do in the future, Wanda's first magical battle showed her potential and set the stage for a strange and dangerous life ahead of her.
Wanda's Transformation Changed Her Life Forever
Wanda's evolution from mutant to witch ultimately pushed her powers and mind to the limit, and the latent potential of her powers served as a spark that lit a fire of change she never expected. For example, through magic, she willed two children into existence, and while her mind was wiped of the memories after they left, they returned with a vengeance. Years later, Wanda's sudden return of these memories caused her to have a mental collapse that dismantled Earth's Mightiest Heroes and rewrote reality in Avengers #500-503 (by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch). These events famously led to the near eradication of the mutant population, but for all the damage she's done Wanda has also changed lives with her power.
Following her bout with mental health, Wanda began to make amends, traveling the world and helping those in need with her magical powers. Even now, she's made a hub of aid where anyone could find her, and she would do what she could to make a difference. Wanda has experienced an interesting and harrowing life where she started as a hero and evolved into a being of power that she had to harness for good. In short, while her life started as a mutant, she has since embraced her heroic nature and become a powerful (albeit flawed) member of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers.