X-Men: The Trial Of Magneto #4
As the kaiju attack, the Witch is reborn in X-Men: The Trial Of Magneto #4, by writer Leah Williams, artists Lucas Werneck and David Messina, colorist Edgar Delgado, and letterer Clayton Cowles. This issue is interesting. It sometimes feels like it's off the rails, and other times it doesn't.
The issue starts out by revealing that Scarlet Witch resurrected herself. From there, it's revealed who the old Wanda is, how the kaiju came into being, and more. Scarlet Witch helps end the conflict, reunites with Magneto, and gets ready to reveal who killed her.
This book has been… something else. It often feels like fans were sold one thing- an actual trial of Magneto- and given something completely different. In a way, this is par for the course with the X-Men books in the Krakoa era, as the books have used familiar iconography and told different kinds of stories. Sometimes, it hasn't worked very well. Williams started telling an X-Men story, and it's basically become a Scarlet Witch story and yet another stop on the Scarlet Witch apology train.
Scarlet Witch has been a victim of bad writing for years; she's been the poster child for the trope of women who can't control their feelings in comics. The problem comes in that she's probably done the worst things of all of them. Jean Grey's crimes as the Dark Phoenix were retconned to not be her fault at all. With Scarlet Witch, Marvel has gone on a long campaign to do the same with Wanda, except it doesn't feel the same. The Phoenix Force destroyed the D'Bari; Scarlet Witch, even with Avengers: The Children's Crusade blaming Doctor Doom for a lot of her actions, still did all of those terrible things. She killed three Avengers. She depowered the mutant race and killed countless mutants in the process, those who depended on their powers to live. She created the kaiju that attacked Krakoa.
There's a moment after she stops the monster attack, where she floats down and embraces Magneto, telling him she's whole again, and while that moment feels good, it also sort of feels like she wants the mutants to accept her again. One of them accuses her of creating the monsters, which is the truth, and then the Avengers and members of the X-Men stand with her against the crowd. It's an unearned moment; everything that Scarlet Witch has done is her fault. Her murder isn't, but that's about it. This book has taken an unexpected direction, and that's not a great thing.
The art is great in this one. Werneck and Messina are on point in this one in a way the previous issues, especially the last one, weren't. The character acting is good, the figure work is good, and the art is the book's highlight.
X-Men: The Trial Of Magneto #4 is certainly a choice. This one definitely isn't it anymore for anyone who wanted an X-Men story. It's yet another piece of apologia for Scarlet Witch, but it does have some good moments. Williams is a good writer, but this book is just mystifying. The art is the best part of the thing, at least. Where it goes next is anyone's guess.
