Scarlet Witch’s Chaos Magic Explained: Here’s Why It’s So Powerful

Scarlet Witch is known to be among the most powerful magic users in the Marvel Universe. She has devastating powers able to affect reality itself. In numerous instances, she proved that her magical talents extend far beyond reality, and the fact that she often chose to be the villain didn’t help as well. But what is the secret to Wanda’s powers? We know that she is the so-called Nexus Being, but she is also quite proficient in ‘Chaos Magic,’ a taboo form of magic within the Marvel Universe. This is why we decided to explore this power further. Now without further ado, let’s see what Chaos Magic is and how Scarlet Witch is connected to it. 

Chaos Magic is an ancient form of magic that allows its practitioners to basically manipulate reality and existence. Chaos magic is powerful enough that in the wrong hands, it has the potential to tear the cosmos apart. Scarlet Witch gained access to Chaos Magic when she was touched by Chthon as a child, but it was only after she was tutored by Agatha Harkness that she truly learned to harness and utilize this magic properly. 

Now, there is a lot to unravel here, Wanda’s involvement with Chthon, Agatha Harkness, and where does the fact that Wanda is Nexus Being come in? Fear not. Everything will be explained, so if you’re interested, keep reading!

Who created the Chaos Magic? 

The exact entity or force that gave rise to the Chaos Magic is not known, but we do know that the first user of this foul art was the Arch-Demon and Elder God Chthon. Chthon was eventually banished from Earth for dabbling with the Chaos Magic, but not before he wrote the infamous artifact Darkhold, a book that serves as a connection between the Earth and the Realms where he is supposedly trapped. 

Chaos magic is extremely powerful and gives its users the ability to manipulate existence and reality as they see fit, but this act itself leads to instability of the Universe, and the threat of its destruction is imminent if the Chaos Magic is not controlled properly.

The Sorcerer’s Supremes were long aware of the existence of Chaos Magic but decided to gaslight themselves that it does not exist, just like Chthon. In fact, they managed to banish Chthon and the Chaos magic by uttering the lie, “There is no Chaos Magic, and there is no God of Chaos.” 

Chthon was eventually sealed underneath the Wundagore mountain, the infamous place where Herbert Wyndham, also known as High Evolutionary, conducted his experiments. 

How are Chaos Magic and Scarlet Witch connected? 

Chthon, after he was sealed, did not rest easy, and he still had some moderate influence upon the outside world, and he used it to transfer a fraction of his powers to newborn Wanda Maximoff. Yes, Wanda was born at Wundagore Mountain, and she was touched as an infant by Chthon. 

He ultimately planned to transfer himself inside her body and use her as a vessel. 

Chthon lay in waiting and anticipated the moment when Wanda would reach her full potential, but his plans backfired. Since Wanda eventually crossed paths with Darkhold, in fact, she backstabbed Doctor Doom to get her hands on it. She used the infamous book to seal Chthon inside herself. 

By absorbing the Elder God fully, Wanda gained access to the full potential of the Chaos Magic, and Chthon was cut off from his influence on the world. However, the downside of this setup was the fact that if Wanda was to be killed, Chthon would escape as there is no seal strong enough after her passing that can contain him. 

Agatha Harkness taught Scarlet Witch most of what she knows about Chaos Magic

Fans of Scarlet Witch might be familiar with the new powerful sorcerer that debuted in the ‘WandaVision’ series, Agatha Harkness, but Agatha played an important part when it comes to Wanda’s magical journey in the comics as well. 

At first, Scarlet Witch was unaware of her potential and what the power that she had was, and quite frankly, she wasn’t aware of what exactly she could do, and this is where Agatha Harkness comes in. Agatha Harkness long dabbled in such twisted forms of magic, and she was aware of what Chthon was.

She taught Scarlet Witch everything she knew about Chaos Magic and stopped training her only after Scarlet Witch married Vision. 

How are Chaos Magic and Nexus Beings connected? 

The fact that Scarlet Witch is a Nexus Being is not connected to the Chaos Magic, although the powers are similar in nature, and the fact that Wanda is a Nexus Being greatly improves her connection to the magic, any kind of magic because she servers as the focal point of mystical and magical forces within the 616 Universe. 

Nexus Beings are basically extremely powerful characters that can affect the probability and future and, with it, the Time Stream itself. Nexus Beings are crucial to the stability of the Universe but can also be quite a danger due to it, and this is why they are ultimately being watched over by TVA and the Time-Keepers. 

Each Universe has only one Nexus Being, although the Ultimate Nexus of the Multiverse can exist. Not all Nexus Beings are skilled in Chaos Magic, and not all Chaos Magic practitioners are Nexus Beings. For example, Chthon was a powerful Chaos Magic User, and he wasn’t a Nexus Being. 

Kang the Conqueror is also a Nexus Being, but he doesn’t have an aptitude for Chaos Magic at all.

The confusion and connection between the two terms mostly stem from the fact that Chaos Magic affects reality and hence allows its manipulation, and Nexus Beings can affect probability and hence manipulate it, but otherwise, the two terms are not connected. 

It’s important to add, however, that if Wanda wasn’t a Nexus Being, her connection to the magical forces of the Universe would be much weaker. 

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