Scarlet Witch’s new costume is classic comic fan service

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, almost everybody wears a modernized version of their comic book costume, and the Scarlet Witch has been no exception. Until now.

WandaVision finally gave Wanda a real upgrade from her usual red leather jackets, red corsets, and red ... other stuff, by restyling her in true witch form. After teasing the transformation with a homemade version in episode 6, the show’s finale gave her a true MCU version of her classic comics costume. And it seems likely that we’ll see it again.

[Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers through the WandaVision’s finale.]

Image: Matt Fraction, Olivier Coipel/Marvel Comics

Wanda’s costume hasn’t changed much since she was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee as a reluctant villain for 1964’s X-Men #4. She’s always been in red, with a pronged headpiece, and a combination of a tight costume (leggings, unitard) with a flowing accent (a cape, or a half-skirt). Over the years, various artists have given it more or less fashionable turns, of course, but the color and silhouette are almost always the same.

If there’s one big improvement made over her original design, it’s that when she started out, her crown went all the way around her face like a nun’s wimple. These kinds of strange headpieces are very common in characters designed by Jack Kirby, from Wanda to Hela to Galactus, and lots more. And I’m not saying that it was because Jack Kirby hated drawing ears, but I’m saying that there is a lot of circumstantial evidence.

Wanda wears a lot of outfits in WandaVision, to go along with the era-hopping journey the show takes through sitcom history. But she only wears two different versions of her Scarlet Witch look. One, in episode 6 (“All-New Halloween Spooktacular!”), was teased in trailers for the series, and got a lot of Scarlet Witch fans very excited.

In the show, it’s a Halloween costume that Wanda claims is a “Sokovian fortune teller” (eesh, Wanda, that’s kinda stereotypical), but it has all the hallmarks of her comic book look. A cape, opera gloves, tights, unitard and a face-framing headpiece all in shades of scarlet.

Image: Marvel Studios

Then, in the series finale, as she defeated Agatha Harkness and reached her peak of self actualization, Wanda got her own magical girl moment as her new look formed around her from thin air:

Image: Marvel Studios

WandaVision telegraphed the transformation through other moments in the show when Agatha or another witch tapped into their magical powers. In moments of peak intensity, it seems like witch magic can make a sick-ass crown appear on your head, and if you’re the Scarlet Witch, it’s a red crown with two points.

Image: Marvel Studios/Disney Plus

This is certainly not the last we’ll see of Wanda’s new look. She’ll be back in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where we’ll probably find out all about what that mysterious end-credits scene really means.