The X-Men's Hellfire Gala was full of big moments, but one of its biggest came at the end: The murder of Scarlet Witch. This was a shock to a lot of Marvel fans, as Scarlet Witch is one of the most powerful heroes around and her death was pretty mundane— strangulation. The only suspect so far is the last person she was with, which is Magneto.
However, it's almost certain that he isn't the killer for a variety of reasons. So, who is? While this story will play out starting in August's Trial of Magneto, there are plenty of suspects who may not be as apparent at first glance.
10 It May Be Unlikely, But It Could Have Been Quicksilver
Scarlet Witch has long been one of the most cosseted heroines in the Marvel Universe, with many heroes looking out for her. One of her biggest guardians over the years has been her twin brother Pietro. The two are as close as any Marvel Universe sibling pair, so it doesn't seem like he'd be the one to kill her. Or does it?
Quicksilver is fast enough to run on water, so he could have gotten to the Gala without an invite and Scarlet Witch didn't show up until after the festivities, when the telepathic surveillance was at its least. She'd certainly allow him to get close enough to choke her and he's smart enough to know that Wolverine would be around and hide his scent. As for motive, he hates Magneto and seeing the two of them reconcile might've given him the impetus to do it.
9 Doctor Doom Could Have Done It To Destabilize Krakoa
Doctor Doom is known for despicable acts and killing Scarlet Witch wouldn't be beyond him. There's a chance he's made his armor so efficient that it could fool Wolverine's sense of smell and his magic abilities would allow him to strangle her from afar with little to no problem. His motive is simple: He wants to hurt Krakoa.
The fact that mutants trespassed on Latverian soil and their terraforming of Mars are all sleights in Doom's eyes and framing Magneto for a murder, one that breaks the laws of Krakoa, weakens the nation. Magneto is one of the main leaders of Krakoa and one of the most powerful beings on the planet. Doom has the motive and the power to make it happen.
8 It Could Have Been Agatha All Along
Agatha Harkness and Scarlet Witch have a complicated past. Agatha helped Scarlet Witch with her powers but was also partly responsible for the mindwipe that caused Scarlet Witch to go crazy. She paid for that with her life, as Scarlet Witch killed her. Death, though, hasn't stopped Agatha in the past.
Agatha's magic is powerful enough to allow her to kill Scarlet Witch from afar and if she's gone bad, killing Scarlet Witch by strangulation wouldn't be beyond her. In fact, making Scarlet Witch suffer wouldn't be beyond her at all, especially if she's holding a grudge.
7 Mr. Sinister Could Use Her Death To Make A Power Play
Mr. Sinister's time on Krakoa has seen him manipulating everyone he can. His position on the Quiet Council was only the beginning, as he also figured out a way to get his own team, the Hellions, and blackmail Psylocke into working for him. His whole game on Krakoa has been gaining more power, and what better way to do so than to frame Magneto?
Sinister has pretty much any superpower he's ever encountered, so strangling her from a distance wouldn't exactly be difficult for him. Getting Magneto off the Council opens up an opportunity for him to get even more power and Sinister has no qualms about his actions when it comes to getting his way.
6 Madelyne Pryor's Been Known To Return & Cause Havoc
Madelyne Pryor recently came back to life but she was killed not long after by the Hellions. It would seem that being dead at the time of Scarlet Witch's murder is a pretty solid alibi, but it's never that simple when it comes to comics. Sinister's been known to clone her whenever, which is why she came back in the first place and it's not that much of a stretch to believe that there isn't another clone out there. Her psi powers would easily allow her to kill Scarlet Witch from a distance.
Her motive would be because the Krakoans refuse to consider her one of them— they consider her a clone rather than a mutant. This could cause her to want to lash out against Krakoa's leaders and framing Magneto for the death of a human would be the perfect way to do it.
5 The Vision May Have Gotten Tired Of Her Playing With His Heart
Scarlet Witch has had a lot of strong relationships over the years but her most iconic is with the Vision. She taught the android how to love and they were married for a long time. However, since their divorce, their relationship hasn't been the best, as she's been torn between him and Wonder Man. While he's seemingly gotten over her, that doesn't mean he may not have decided that he was tired of her playing with her heart.
Love is often a motive for murder and with his flight and phasing powers, he easily could have flew to the Gala, hid out, and awaited her— then came up and strangled her from the inside, ending the person who has hurt him the most.
4 Echo Could Have Used The Phoenix Force To Kill Her
Echo is the new host of Phoenix Force, and while it doesn't seem like she has a motive to kill Scarlet Witch, the Phoenix Force does. Scarlet Witch's power to rewrite reality makes her a natural enemy to a force that represents death and rebirth. The Phoenix has been known to take control of its hosts and Echo is someone that it could easily dominate.
Killing Scarlet Witch would be child's play for the Phoenix Force-empowered Echo and the first steps down the inevitable road to becoming the Dark Phoenix.
3 The High Evolutionary Might Not Like Krakoa Muscling In On His Territory
Marvel famously retconned Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver as not being the children of Magneto, instead making their powers come from the High Evolutionary. What if this wasn't true? What if it was all a trick from the High Evolutionary and when he learned Scarlet Witch was invited to the Gala, he sprang into action.
By killing her, he'd start a conflict that might stop anyone from looking too hard into Scarlet Witch's genetics and hurt Krakoa, which is something someone who wants to control the genetic future of the planet would be interested in doing.
2 Mystique May Be Framing One Of Her Tormentors
Mystique had a simple request of Xavier and Magneto: She'd do their dirty work if they resurrected Destiny, her dead wife. However, they never had any intention of doing so but they still wanted her to use her deadly skills for Krakoa, so they've been stringing her along. This is pretty dangerous and she may believe that now's the time for revenge.
It would be simple for Mystique to shapeshift into Magneto, call Scarlet Witch over, and strangle her to death. It would serve to hurt Magneto and could be the opening salvo in her war against Krakoa.
1 Exodus May Have Done It For Revenge
Exodus has always been one of Magneto's most faithful acolytes, even playing up his legend to the children of Krakoa while also denigrating Scarlet Witch for M-Day and calling her the Pretender. If he saw his hero hugging and kindly speaking to one of the beings he hates the most, it could shatter him.
The death of Scarlet Witch would serve two purposes for him. One, it would destroy the Pretender he hates so much. And two, it would take revenge against the man who he saw as a hero until he fraternized with the terrible Pretender. It would kill two birds with one stone and with his telekinetic powers, would be child's play.