Warning: Contains Potential Spoilers for Ultimates #14!

Marvel’s current Scarlet Witch, and with her already being teased as a potential villain, I can’t wait to see how her powers are fully unleashed upon the heroes of Earth-6160. Though she’s had some bad days, the main Marvel continuity version of Wanda Maximoff is a superhero at her core, but the Ultimate timeline could totally reinvent her character.

...Scarlet Witch could sur Earth-6160’s other antagonists to be the most powerful and fearsome figure in the entire Ultimate Universe...

Marvel has recently released the first details for Ultimates #14, written by Deniz Camp with art by Juan Frigeri, scheduled for release in July 2025. The series has already introduced some seriously different versions of the publisher’s iconic characters that I’ve been loving, and Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are next to get the Ultimate reboot treatment.

Since the issue’s first description teases that this universe’s Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver could be introduced as or weapons of the villainous Hellfire Club, I’m looking forward to seeing how Wanda’s potential use of witchcraft and her formidable powers stand against Earth-6160’s Captain America and all-new Hawkeye.

I’m Beyond Ready for the Ultimate Universe to Unleash the Scarlet Witch’s Full Villain Potential

Ultimates #14 by Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri, with cover by Dike Ruan

The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver technically made their debut as villains, and Wanda has certainly had her moments of destruction. However, I can't wait to see how Earth-6160's bleak world, run by the villains, influences her latest villain era. With the evil Reed Richards, known as The Maker, as the dominating force behind the Ultimate Universe, this world could house a Scarlet Witch variant that is unapologetically evil. Wanda's more villainous turns are sometimes harder for me to understand in Earth-616, but this world already has versions of iconic heroes like Bruce Banner, who have become truly diabolical antagonists.

Though there have been other variants of Wanda in other corners of Marvel’s multiverse that have been on the bad side, I feel like Earth-6160’s Scarlet Witch has the potential to wreak more havoc than ever before. The Scarlet Witch’s powers are immense, and since Wanda is a usually heroic character, her most powerful moments of villainy are often tinged with tragedy. If a version of Wanda’s character could really relish her reality-warping destruction, she could become one of the multiverse’s biggest threats imaginable, along with the new version of Pietro as the Hellfire Club’s terrifying super-powered twin duo.

Earth-6160 Could Create the Scariest Wanda Maximoff Variant of All Time

Marvel's Wicked Twins: The Ultimate Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver

With the villains in the Ultimate Universe being particularly sadistic, the versions of both Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver could be the most fear-inducing that Marvel Comics has seen yet. Though Earth-616’s version of Wanda is especially powerful, as a Nexus Being, Scarlet Witch’s many variants throughout the multiverse are still quite formidable. Main continuity stories like Avengers Disassembled and House of M might see Wanda at her most out of control, but I think it’d be exciting to see a new universe where her extraordinary power is confidently and ruthlessly used for evil, without Wanda experiencing any moral hangups.

However, with many differences in the Ultimate Universe, it’s very possible that the twins being teased don’t have their usual powers, or perhaps aren’t even Wanda and Pietro at all. I’ve already seen some wild theories about another set of Marvel Comics twins like the Braddocks actually taking on the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver names somehow, so it’s clear that anything is fair game to be speculated about when it comes to Earth-6160. This world contains some of the most cruel characters that Marvel Comics currently offers, and an evil Scarlet Witch would make a fierce opponent for the Ultimates.

I Can't Wait to See How the New Ultimate Universe Reinvents My Favorite Characters

Will Earth-6160's Wanda and Pietro the Ultimates or Rule as Villains?

While some characters in the Ultimate Universe remain fairly identical to their Earth-616 counterparts, I find it most intriguing when the world completely reimagines characters or their mantles. And a truly evil Scarlet Witch would be a major and epic shift. Likewise, Hawkeye is one of my favorite new characters in the Ultimate Universe, and I can’t wait to see how they interact with Wanda and Pietro, as teased on the Ultimates #14 cover. If Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver can retain their powerful potential on Earth-6160, they could become some of the most powerful characters in the still-developing universe.

It’s still possible for this version of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to be heroes, and actually the Ultimates. Captain America and Hawkeye being present for their introduction is seemingly a callback to when the twins ed Earth-616’s Avengers, as the four heroes made up the whole roster for the Maximoff siblings’ first adventure as Avengers. However, if they are actually going to lean into being villains again in this new world, I seriously believe that the Scarlet Witch could sur Earth-6160’s other antagonists to be the most powerful and fearsome figure in the entire Ultimate Universe once she’s unleashed.

Ultimates #14 will be available July 30, 2025 from Marvel Comics!