The idea of heroes betraying their teammates or being influenced to perform acts they normally wouldn't is something we've discussed before. In a world full of superpowers, magic, telepathy and advanced technology, there's always a way for writers to come up with scenario where even the greatest heroes can fall from grace.
What Scarlet Witch did was unthinkable. She betrayed the Avengers, caused the deaths of several members and was the reason the team disassembled. She later nearly wiped out an entire species when she said, "No more mutants."
Clearly she was not in her right mind when she caused all of this. There are several causes that could be assigned to the cause of her actions. Some of her teammates and fellow mutants have forgiven her but not everyone is ready to accept what has happened. The question remains, what should Scarlet Witch do next?
== TEASER ==
During the events of CHILDREN'S CRUSADE, we found out how Wanda got so powerful. She was distraught over the death of her children. She went to Doctor Doom, despite him being their enemy, because she knew "his magicks were more powerful" than hers and Dr. Strange's. With Wanda being a nexus being, a living focal point for mystical energies, they combined their magicks and tried to capture the Life Force itself. It turned out to be too much to be controlled and manipulated. It ended up possessing Wanda which lead to bad times for all.
Scarlet Witch did try to atone for her actions. As a demonstration, she successfully restored the lost mutant powers of Rictor. Her plan was to use her vast powers to restore the power to all the other mutants that suffered from her actions. She wasn't given the chance due to Doctor Doom's scheming and the fact that he syphoned off some of her powers.
In this pre-Avengers Vs. X-Men skirmish, the two teams were undecided what should be done with Wanda. Some felt she should be put on trial and others felt death was what she deserved. In the end, it was accepted that she did want to do the right thing. She wasn't fully in control when she unleashed her powers. She left and hadn't been seen for a while.
Recently (in AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #0), she turned up in Washington, D.C. fighting MODOK and various soldiers of AIM. Carol Danvers (along with Spider-Woman) convinced her to return to the Avengers Mansion. She received a rather cold reception from her 'husband,' the Vision. Because of her actions, he ended up being torn to pieces by She-Hulk. To say he feels betrayed by Wanda is an understatement.
How many times have heroes turned on each other? There are several Avengers that were criminals at some point. Even Vision started out as a pawn of Ultron, meant to destroy the team. Wanda was a pawn as well. She wasn't fully in control of what happened. She wants to atone for her actions and knows it's not going to be an easy journey. People aren't always quick to forgive.
Vision is the one person whose opinion would matter most. In his mind, he suffered a major betrayal. A person he cared basically thrust a gigantic knife into his back.
Saying he should be forgiving and understanding is easy for others to say but regardless of what the reasons were, the doubt will always be there. The seed has been planted in his mind. She, in a sense, went behind his back and tore down everything he thought he knew. She could apologize and try to convince him how sincere she is but will it ever be enough?
It's hard to imagine that Scarlet Witch will simply go off into the sunset, not being able to win the forgiveness of everyone. She has a lot to offer and her appearance in AVENGERS VS. X-MEN gives the impression there's more coming. All Scarlet Witch can do is try to convince others she's sincere. The problem is because she betrayed others before, there's always the chance she could lose control and do so again. Vision and others should be able to give her another chance. It always comes down to forgiving and forgetting. The forgiving part is sometimes easy. The forgetting part isn't.
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