Warning: Spoilers forNegasonic Teenage Warhead #1!Not only is Negasonic Teenage Warhead back, but she’s unraveling a bit of sexism inMarvel’scomics. In her newest title, she takes her moment in the spotlight, but the very extent of her powers has yet to be fully reached. Understandably, she’s a little worried about going down the road of extreme power, considering how Marvel has treated female characters like Jean Grey andScarlet Witchthrough the years.
In a preview forNegasonic Teenage Warhead#1 by Andrew Wheeler, Eleonora Carlini, Carola Barelli, Brittany Peer, Ruth Redmond, and Joe Sabino - which collects and adds a new story to 2023’sMarvel’s Voice Infinity Comicarc starring the character - Ellie Phimister is wanted by the Time Variance Authority, who accuseNegasonic Teenage Warheadof a future crime she has yet to commit. It’s up to her to save herself and her own future. Dramatic power dynamics are at play, andEllie is no stranger to understanding how these dynamics have played out for women before her.
Thanks to changing timelines, Negasonic Teenage Warhead received reality warping powers, butshe clearly says that she doesn’t want them, alluding to what happens to women who change the world with their great power.Marvel’s sexist history is finally catching up to its characters.
Created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely,Negasonic Teenage Warhead first appearedinNew X-Men#115, named after theMonster Magnetsong. While she hasn’t been in comics for all too long, like some other characters, she’s made waves among the X-Men as well as in the iconicDeadpoolmovies. As a precognitive mutant, she’s no stranger to seeingpossible futures where she has the potential to be one of the most powerful heroes.
This tragedy is the way the world works for powerful women, and it’s been a staple of Marvel’s comics for an unfortunately long time.
But she doesn’t need precognition to know the history of what’s behind her. From Jean Grey’s famous Dark Phoenix arcto Scarlet Witch’s turnsat madness and villainhood, it seems as if Marvel has a habit of pulling its women into madness.Every powerful woman from the X-Men to the Avengers has to deal with their powers in ways that men don’t;most often, it involves them delving into madness where their own powers destroy them. Negasonic Teenage Warhead has no need to glimpse into the future. This tragedy is the way the world works for powerful women, and it’s been a staple of Marvel’s comics for an unfortunately long time.
The Deevolution of Heroes Like Scarlet Witch Is No More
Marvel needs to let powerful women be powerful without major negative, punishing consequences. This sexist history of female characters brought low by their own power is a relic of a misogynistic past where primarily male comic writers unconsciously echo their own un-examined beliefs: women should remain “in the kitchen” and leave the danger to men. In this way,Marvel’s history reveals more about the psyche of male writers than about its female characters.Negasonic Teenage Warhead is here to bring light to this very issue.
Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver Get A Redesign That Actually Embraces Their Transian Origins
What would Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver have looked like if their mother had kept them and they stayed in Transia? This fan art has the answer.
Ellie’s powers could put her on a god-tier level similar toScarlet Witch, and as loved as she is, fans would only love to see her succeed. The sexist history ofMarvel’sfemale characters is fading into the past, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead is here to usher comics into a new era - where women are powerful and don’t suffer for it.
Negasonic Teenage Warhead#1is available November 6th, 2024 from Marvel Comics!
Scarlet Witch
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Scarlet Witch debuted, along with her twin brother, Quicksilver in X-Men #4 (March 1964). Also known as Wanda Maximoff, she first appears as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, before she eventually became a member of the Avengers. In the comics, she is a mutant who uses chaos magic to alter reality.Scarlet Witch is played by Elizabeth Olsen in the MCU, having debuted in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
