Scarlet Witch may have stumbled upon a new mineral that could change the future of magic users within the Marvel Universe.
The following article contains spoilers from Scarlet Witch #1, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Scarlet Witch is one of the most powerful magic users in all of the Marvel Universe. So, when she is perturbed by something, it must become a priority, and Scarlet Witch #1 (by Steve Orlando, Sara Pichelli, Elisabetta D’Amico, Matthew Wilson, and VC’s Cory Petit) may have introduced a game changer to the world of magic. In the issue, Wanda discovered a strange mineral that was not only resistant to magic but canceled it out entirely.
Wanda seemed to be under the impression that there was more of this substance out there in the world. As such, anything strong enough to completely negate her magic must be located, studied, and in all likelihood locked away. When this quest plays out, whatever Wanda discovers might become Marvel’s next vibranium.
The Worry Stone That Could Stop the Scarlet Witch
While listening to the worries of a woman named Jarnette, Wanda couldn’t help but be enticed by her worry stone. She realized that the stone was naturally repelling her magic, likening it to oil shifting around water. Nothing she did could affect it. What was truly shocking though was that it did this in its natural state. When Wanda had her brother, Quicksilver, wear it down into a talisman, the effects of the stone were amplified, enabling Jarnette to essentially become a dead zone for magic.
This effect was used on the Corruptor, who had taken over Jarnette’s town and turned it into his personal playground. By using the stone, she canceled out his ability to control magic, as it turns out his mind control abilities were magical, not biological. Later, Wanda held onto the stone, intending to use it to guide her in her search for more of the mineral.
Marvel May Have Just Introduced a New Vibranium
What needs to be considered here is the full capabilities of this new resource. Wanda Maximoff is easily one of Marvel’s premier magic users. She has been known to alter reality at a whim, yet this stone, completely resisted her power. Weaponized to Wanda’s specifications, it could cancel out magic entirely at the direction of the wielder. If only a small portion of this strange substance could resist Wanda’s magic, someone empowered by Chthon, an elder god, then the potential for this material used as a weapon against magic users is staggering. Marvel already has a metal that is resistant to magic in the form of mysterium, but it is controlled by the mutants of Krakoa.
If the rest of the world discovered that there was a naturally forming substance that could cancel out the abilities of someone as powerful as the Scarlet Witch, then it would become a race between various nations to acquire as much of it as possible. The price for it would skyrocket, turning it into one of the most valuable minerals on Earth, and there would be a good number of people who would abuse such power. Wanda is right to want to research this, but she needs to be very discrete going forward lest she inadvertently gives the rest of the world a superweapon against all magic.
