The Marvel Studios Visual Dictionary raises the possibility that the MCU'south version of Scarlet Witch could be a mutant later on all. When Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch entered the MCU dorsum inAvengers: Age of Ultron, it was with a radically different backstory. Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver) weren't the mutants equally fans knew from the comics, rather two young Sokovians who gained their powers after existence exposed to the cosmic energies of the Mind Stone.

At that place was a simple business reason backside the characters' rewritten history. While Curiosity could use Wanda and Peter thanks to their potent links to the Avengers in the comics, they didn't have the rights to use the word "mutant" in the MCU, as the X-Men license belongs to 21st Century Trick.

Related: The MCU Would Be Worse If Marvel Had 10-Men Rights From The Outset

Disney'due south proposed Play a joke on merger now looks inevitable, and CEO Bob Iger has already confirmed that the X-Men and the Fantastic Four will be joining the MCU. If everything goes every bit planned, past the end of 2022 Marvel will accept gained the right to apply mutants in their shared cinematic universe. And a new canon book suggests Marvel may be preparing to retcon Scarlet Witch (and the late Quicksilver) as mutants later on all.

Scarlet Witch Could Be A Latent Mutant

Marvel Studios has just published its first official Visual Dictionary. It's a brief walk-through of the last x years' worth of Marvel movies, and one of the most interesting sections is dedicated to the Scarlet Witch. The Visual Lexicon devotes a paragraph to Ruby-red Witch's powers, and it hints at a possible retcon:

"She may be called Scarlet Witch, but Wanda's powers aren't derived from the occult. Whether it contradistinct her or merely unlocked something latent inside Wanda, the Infinity Stone on Loki's scepter bestowed incredible powers of the mind. Wanda's internal neuro-electric interface allows her to conjure blasts of red telekinetic energy. She can likewise use this energy to create barriers, levitate and move objects; to communicate and read thoughts by telepathy; and even to manipulate the minds of others."

Notice that careful and precise wording. The Visual Dictionary suggests that the Mind Stone may not havegrantedWanda her phenomenal powers, but instead triggered something that was already latent inside her. In the comics, mutants are individuals who possess a unique gene, referred to as the X-gene. The vast majority of people with the X-factor are said to be "latent" mutants, with the cistron lying dormant unless triggered past an exterior force. This brief description suggests that, once the Play a joke on merger is complete and the rights to mutants accept been regained, Marvel could retcon Wanda and her brother as latent mutants whose X-genes were activated by exposure to an Infinity Stone.

Related: Does Scarlet Witch Need The Heed Stone?

Narratively, the retcon makes perfect sense. While it wasn't difficult to believe the Listen Rock could have given Scarlet Witch powers such as telepathy and telekinesis - derived from the mind - it had e'er seemed odd that her brother became a super-speedster. If this idea is right, though, it suggests that all the Listen Stone actually did was trigger latent X-genes, and they just developed the powers that could always take potentially been theirs.

Legally, it's a little muddier. While Marvel will soon take the X-Men rights, Disney isn't allowed to make whatever changes to its plans involving Fox backdrop until everything is finalized. That means the X-Men likely won't announced in the MCU until 2021, merely likewise that Marvel Studios tin't start any prep simply however. Even so, this may be vague enough to not exist linked, merely with some major ramifications.

What Does This Mean for Mutants and the MCU?

In that location's been intense speculation about simply how Marvel could introduce mutants into the MCU. This may be the starting time hint that Marvel is settling on an arroyo; that at that place have always been potential mutants in the MCU, merely their X-genes take simply lain fallow, awaiting some sort of trigger outcome. Interestingly, at that place is comic book precedent for this idea. The 2012Avengers Vs. X-Menevent, for example, saw a smash of Phoenix Fire traverse the planet, activating dormant X-genes beyond the earth.

If this is indeed the approach Curiosity choose to accept, then the studio will finer retcon Quicksilver and the Red Witch every bit mutants after all. They backstories would be rewritten to brand them the first mutants seen in the MCU - a taste of all that is yet to come should everything become as planned betwixt Fox and Disney.

More than: Vision Is The Hardest Hero To Bring Back In Avengers 4

  • Captain Marvel (2019)Release date: Mar 08, 2019
  • The Avengers 4 / Avengers: Endgame (2019)Release date: April 26, 2019
  • Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)Release date: Jul 02, 2019

Every Ryan Reynolds Horror Motion picture Ranked From Worst To Best

About The Writer

Thomas Bacon (4855 Manufactures Published)

Tom Bacon is i of Screen Bluster'south staff writers, as well every bit a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Intendance Team, offering back up and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Dr. Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back - and this time information technology's cool. Y'all tin can find him on Twitter @TomABacon. A graduate of Edge Hill Academy, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He's heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he's into British politics too.

More From Thomas Salary