The age of Doctor Strange is over, as Marvel enters 2026 with a brand new Sorcerer Supreme. The ultimate magical authority in the Marvel Universe has shifted to a new hero, but not without a dark caveat…
Scarlet Witch Is Marvel’s New Sorcerer Supreme
In the recent Sorcerer Supreme #1 – from Steve Orlando, Bernard Chang, Ruth Redmond and Cory Petit – Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch becomes the new Sorcerer Supreme. Following the death of Doctor Doom in One World Under Doom – and Doctor Strange’s recent exile in Asgard – the title needed a new holder, and Wanda decides to take it.
In the comic, Wanda arrives on the scene to defeat Dormammu, declaring herself Earth’s new Sorceress Supreme. She goes on to reveal that following Doom’s death, the Eye of Agamotto and Cloak of Levitation sought her out, begging for her protection. With the tools in her possession, Wanda took on the title that comes with them.
Wanda is a new type of Sorcerer Supreme, and one not everyone is happy to see. Doctor Strange’s foremost ally Wong worries she’ll be too radical, while the elder god Chthon hopes to leverage his relationship with Wanda into a new position of power.
Meanwhile, Scarlet Witch has turned Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum into a place where she can confer with both heroes and villains on how to wield her newfound power, assembling a council of mystical advisors that includes her sons Wiccan and Speed, X-Men’s Somnus and New Avenger Clea Strange.
Scarlet Witch Isn’t Marvel’s ONLY Sorcerer Supreme
She may be new to the role, but Scarlet Witch’s new title has already caused trouble. Traditionally, the godlike Vishanti choose the next Sorcerer Supreme, and they don’t approve of Wanda circumventing their power. However, Scarlet Witch feels that the Eye and Cloak are with her of their own free will, and banishes the Vishanti to the liminal plane known as the Crossroads when they attempt to strip her of the role.
However, before the Vishanti make their exit, they also appoint their own Supreme – Wanda’s old mentor Agatha Harkness. Agatha is now the other Sorceress Supreme of Earth, but can’t truly claim the title until she wears the Eye and Cloak, setting up a clash between the two.
Scarlet Witch is an awesome choice as Marvel’s new Sorcerer Supreme, especially because there’s still so much story to tell with Doctor Strange adventuring in Asgardian mythology. It’s spot-on for Wanda to be a new type of Sorcerer Supreme, claiming the mantle in response to a cry for help, rather than because magical authority allows it.
Doctor Strange will undoubtedly return to the Sorcerer Supreme at some point in the future, but until then, the Scarlet Witch is a bold choice with her own trailblazing approach to the role.
Sorcerer Supreme #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
- Movie(s)
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Doctor Strange, Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness
- Character(s)
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Doctor Strange, Karl Mordo, Christine Palmer, Wong, The Ancient One
