Scarlet Witch

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

- Wolfgang von Strucker

Wanda Maximoff, better known as the 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. Abandoned by their parents at a young age, the two became heavily dependent and protective of each other as they grew up.

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 Wolfgang von Strucker, the leader of 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
The Scarlet Witch has an undefined array of psionic powers including:
 * Telekinesis: Scarlet Witch has the ability to mentally move objects through force of the mind, as demonstrated when she moved building blocks around while imprisoned in Wolfgang von Strucker's secret facility.
 * 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.
 * Hex Bolts: Maximoff can also generate a unique reddish energy from her hands, and can harness it to create energy blasts.

Family

 * Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver - Twin Brother

Allies

 * Avengers - 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

Enemies

 * Ultron
 * 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 son 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 n 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.