WandaVision

[BRC]

Spoiler: Episode 8

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So... I'm not sure how i feel about the show going all "Sabrina the teenage witch" on us with 1700's era real-magic witches with spells and hexes and the like. I mean i suppose old superhumans could exist, but a whole bunch of em with all the same power? Ehh... Less invested in that to be honest. Think i would have preferred if Agatha was alone in her witchy ways and kind of invented the whole thing herself, maybe it was an early branch-off of Dr. Strange's magic (Which seems more based on math and science) or something. Having witches and covens and hexes and charms just feels really "High fantasy" to me, while up until this point the MCU has been pretty reliably "Low fantasy", with any magic being either a subset of science, ancient big-bang power, or significantly advanced technology.

nooot sure I'm a fan of Wanda being a Witch either, like i know her hero name is "Scarlet witch" an all but you know what i mean, real magic-magic that she was apparently born with. I preferred her powers being more psychic then magical, as they were granted from the MIND stone, thus giving her MIND related powers, with no related abilities prior.

Kind of feel like Wanda not stealing Vision's body kind of diminishes the story a bit too? Like I'm glad she's confirmed the one behind the hex and all, but having her not take the body kind of invalidates a lot of what's going on. Though i am interested in seeing what Zombie-vision from the post-credits scene can do, and whether or not he will be sapient or anything like the original vision at all. Perhaps he's a mindless "zombie" and will merge with Wanda's incarnation of vision to make a hybrid that's more like the original?

i will say this. I hope they never explain where Agatha's coven's powers come from. sometimes you don't need explanations for stuff like that. Maybe explain Agatha's specific branch of powers (Please no Mephisto *Crosses fingers*) as she does seem to be an oddity even among them, but i feel like trying to explain the coven's powers will kind of ruin the "Magic" so to say.

Spoiler: On Wanda's Powers

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So, Doctor Strange is canon, which means Magic exists.

The terminology is different, but my understanding of Comic Book Marvel Magic is, to use D&D terms, mostly various flavors of Wizard.
Magic is something you can learn how to use through study, through the use of magic items and tools, and through bargains with powerful magical, usually otherworldly, beings. Doctor Strange uses a mix of all three.


Scarlet Witch, in the comics, is a Mutant. Her mutant power, specifically, is that she is innately really, really good at Magic.
There is an X-Man named "Forge" whose mutant power is that he's innately such a good engineer that he can make Tony Stark cry himself to sleep at night.

Wanda is to Doctor Strange what Forge is to Tony Stark. She's a D&D style sorcerer. Her MEDIUM is Magic, but her power, and ability to use it, are both innate, so she doesn't interact with magic the same way Doctor Strange does. She doesn't need to use rules, tools, or Incantations, even if she's ultimately working through the same medium.

I'm going to use the word "Sorcerer" here to refer to Marvel spellcasters, since that's the word they use.


Agatha's Coven ask her if she is a "Witch", implying that a "Witch" is a distinct thing. Perhaps Witches have some degree of Innate power (Sorcerers, to use the D&D term), while Sorcerers (Wizards to use D&D terms) have to study/bargain for their power.

The Coven were probably Sorcerers. Agatha is a Witch who, while nowhere near Wanda's level of power, has studied magic, so she's got her innate power, plus the knowledge and technique of Sorcerers. She uses Runes and has names for her spells.

Wanda is an insanely powerful Witch, one with so much innate power that she can do what she does without the use of any tools or techniques, or any formal magical training.