Scarlet Witch

"I can show you what you truly fear!" "You know what I fear?"

- Scarlet Witch and Ulysses Klaue

Wanda Maximoff, better known as Scarlet Witch, is a native of the Eastern European country of Sokovia who grew up in the company of her twin brother, Pietro. In an effort to help purge their country of strife, the twins agreed to undergo experiments with the Chitauri Scepter under the supervision of Wolfgang von Strucker's HYDRA cell, and achieved superpowers as a result, with Wanda attaining various telekinetic and energy manipulating abilities.

Early Life
Wanda Maximoff was born in the Eastern European country of Sokovia along with her brother, Pietro. They became orphaned at the age of ten when a mortar shell hit their living quarters. The weapons involved in the tragedy originated from Tony Stark's company, and as a result, the twins developed a deep-seated grudge against Stark.

Joining HYDRA
"There's nothing more horrifying than a miracle!"

- Baron Von Strucker about Wanda and Pietro

When the twins reached adulthood, Sokovia had become a warzone, with foreign forces invading their streets frequently. Wanda and her brother took part in various riots to drive the foreign forces out of their streets. What the twins did not realize was that the riots were orchestrated by HYDRA, who had taken up residence in the country and were using the riots to cover up their illegal experiments. One day, Wanda and Pietro were approached by List, a scientist at the the HYDRA cell in Sokovia, who offered them the opportunity to achieve the power needed to drive war out of Sokovia. Initially skeptical, Wanda was convinced by Pietro to agree.

Along with other volunteers from the town, Wanda and Pietro underwent a series of tests where they were exposed to energy from the Chitauri Scepter, which had fatal effects on the others. Wanda and Pietro, however, experienced exceedingly different effects. The power of the scepter unlocked latent supernatural powers within the pair; while Pietro achieved superhuman speed, Wanda attained a number of mental powers such as telekinesis, hypnosis, and energy projection.

Soon after, the Avengers arrived in Sokovia and raided Strucker's facility, stealing the scepter and arresting Strucker. In the confusion, Wanda and Pietro escaped from their holding cells and, though inexperienced, were able to use their powers to evade the Avengers and escape. Wanda herself used her powers to distract Iron Man and the Hulk, tricking the latter into believing that a dead Leviathan specimen that Strucker had been studying was still alive, goading him into attacking it.

A Misguided Partnership
"Ultron can't see the difference between saving the world and destroying it: Where do you think he gets that from?"

- Wanda, about Ultron, referencing to Stark

Wanda and Pietro were soon called by Ultron to join him in his plans to destroy the Avengers, knowing that with their powers, they can tear the opposition apart. Soon after, Wanda and Pietro accompany Ultron in acquiring Ulysses Klaue's supply of vibranium. Wanda manages to knock Captain America back with her powers and began "hexing" the minds of Thor, Black Widow, and the Cap. She attempted to "hex" Hawkeye, but was subdued by him. Pietro saved her in the nick of time and took her outside Klaue's base, where she caught sight of the Hulk and manages to "hex" him as well. When the Twins arrived in Seoul, Wanda learned of Ultron's plans upon touching the Cradle and left the facility, much to Ultron's rage. The Twins then assisted Captain America in fighting off Ultron on a moving passenger train and Wanda managed to stop it when it went off the rails. Wanda and Pietro then accompanied Captain America back to Avengers Tower and tried to stop Stark and Banner from bringing Vision to life. Wanda was held back by Banner in the scuffle, but she managed to escape his hold, only to witness Thor bringing Vision to life. She and Pietro then join the Avengers in stopping Ultron and saving Sokovia.

Battle of Sokovia
Wanda played a significant part in evacuating the civilians from Sokovia, using her powers of mind control on dozens of innocents. When Ultron's army began their attack, Wanda was overwhelmed by the carnage. Hawkeye told her that she needed to make a choice, to stay hidden and wait for her brother or to get out there and be an Avenger. When Clint was surrounded by Ultron's robots, Wanda made the save, taking them out. Wanda was then taken by Pietro to help rally the civilians and assisted in escorting them to the reinforcements sent by Nick Fury. Then, she and the rest of the Avengers stood together in defending the key to Ultron's plans and managed to wipe out a majority of the enemy forces. Wanda opted to stay behind to guard the key while the others went their separate ways to accomplish their objectives. Unfortunately, Pietro is killed saving Clint Barton and a young boy and Wanda senses this, causing her to cry out in pure anguish. Wanda then left her post to avenge her brother by taking down Ultron's primary body with her powers, though she had inadvertently allowed an Ultron drone to activate the key that sent Sokovia plummeting towards Earth. Fortunately, Stark and Thor averted the cataclysm and Vision saved Wanda just in the nick of time.

The New Team
Wanda has since joined Steve and Natasha's team of Avengers, alongside Vision, Sam Wilson, and Col. Rhodes, complete with an all new costume.

Powers

 * Psionics: As a result of exposure to the cosmic energies from the Chitauri Scepter, Maximoff acquired an undefined array of psionic powers, which manifest in the form of reddish glowing energy currents. Maria Hill describes her powers as "neuro-electric interface and telekinesis" and called Maximoff "weird" because of them. The currents can control and distort molecules and forms of physical forces, such as friction, kinetic energy, pressure, and even gravity. This energy is capable of controlling many forms of matter on a molecular level and can be used to control molecules and physical forces in various ways:
 * Telekinesis: Maximoff has the ability to mentally move objects through force of the mind. though she also can affect and control particles and molecules, as well as physical forces such as kinetic energy, friction, pressure, and even gravity. She demonstrated this when she moved wooden blocks around while imprisoned in Wolfgang von Strucker's secret facility. She pulled them apart with her power, and suspended them in the air, removing all motion and gravity from the pieces. Wanda has used this power to shield innocents from enemy fire, stop an off-rail train in Seoul, knock back Captain America, tear apart Ultron's drones and rip out the central processor of Ultron's primary body. It also appears that her emotions are linked to her powers as she unleashed a wave of reddish energy that disintegrated attacking Ultron sentries when she sensed Pietro's death and cried out.
 * Levitation: Maximoff was able to use this power to move herself through the air and simulate flight.
 * Telepathy: Maximoff can read and experience memories and thoughts of others through a neuro-electric interface that gives her telepathy. While she was using her hypnotic powers against the Avengers in Wakanda, she herself viewed the Avengers' memories. She also used this ability to temporarily merge her consciousness with Ultron's, and it was thanks to this that she was able to discover his genocidal intentions and rebel against him. Maximoff can also sense the minds and emotions of those around her as she could see Stark's fear in an earlier encounter with him and sensed her brother's death, knowing exactly what happened to him, as if she had seen it directly.
 * Mental Manipulation: Maximoff was able to deploy a form of mental inertness upon others through a form of hypnosis. This power is possible through a neuro-electric interface, just as her telepathy is. She was able to use this ability to cripple the Avengers, forcing them each to recall the darker events of their pasts and were put inside daydream-like visions of them, allowing them to be subdued by Ultron. When this ability is in use, Wanda's reddish energy takes a more mist-like form, floating into the head of the victim in the form of neurons. The effects also distort the victim's iris coloration, turning them red. This also allows her to control other people's actions, as she did with a considerable number of civilians in Sokovia to aid in their evacuation.
 * Hex Energy: Maximoff can conjure reddish energy blasts by gathering particles, molecules and physical forces into a contained space inside her energy. These contained spaces could be in any shape and form and outlined her telekinetic spheres of influence, making her telekinesis visible and in reddish color. When a target of hers is hit with her energy, she can use her telekinesis to inflict further damage. Maximoff unleashed a wave of reddish energy that tore apart and disintegrated surrounding Ultron Sentries when she sensed Pietro's death and cried out in grief and anger.

Family

 * Father †
 * Mother †
 * Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver † - Twin Brother

Allies

 * Avengers - Enemies turned Teammates
 * Steve Rogers/Captain America - Leader
 * Tony Stark/Iron Man
 * Bruce Banner/Hulk
 * Thor
 * Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
 * Clint Barton/Hawkeye
 * Nick Fury
 * Maria Hill
 * Vision

Enemies

 * Ultron † - Ally turned Enemy
 * HYDRA
 * Wolfgang von Strucker †
 * Doctor List

Appearances
In chronological order:
 * Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Scepter'd Isle
 * Captain America: The Winter Soldier
 * Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Season Two
 * The Dirty Half Dozen (mentioned)
 * Avengers: Age of Ultron
 * Captain America: Civil War (unreleased)

Trivia

 * In the comics, Scarlet Witch is a mutant and a founding member of the Brotherhood of Mutants, being identified as the daughter of Magneto in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4, in 1983, 19 years after Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver's first appearance. In Giant-Size Avengers #1 (1974), they were revealed to be the children of Golden Age superheroes The Whizzer and Miss America, a fact that was later retconned, though in Avengers &amp; X-Men: AXIS #7 it was revealed that Pietro and his sister have no blood ties to Magneto and are not related after all.
 * Although Wanda's comic book moniker was never spoken by anyone during the course of the film, Iron Man did disparagingly refer to her as a "witch", alluding to her Scarlet Witch moniker.
 * The credits did in fact credit her as "Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch.

Behind the Scenes

 * Elizabeth Olsen was uncredited for her appearance in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
 * Both Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were originally going to appear in the post-credits scene for Guardians of the Galaxy.