Scarlet Witch

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

- Wolfgang von Strucker

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.

Joining HYDRA
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.

Powers and Abilities
Scarlet Witch has an undefined array of psionic powers, which manifest in the form of reddish glowing energy currents that 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: Scarlet Witch has the ability to mentally move objects through force of the mind, as demonstrated 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.
 * Hypnosis: Scarlet Witch is able to deploy a form of mental inertness upon others through hypnotism. She was able to use this ability to cripple the Avengers, forcing them each to recall the darker events of their pasts, allowing them to be subdued by Ultron. When this ability is in use, Wanda's 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.
 * Hex Bolts: Scarlet Witch can conjure energy blasts by gathering molecules and physical forces into a contained space inside her energy.

Family

 * 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

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.

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.