Lately we've been looking at the developments from the current big Marvel Comics event: Axis. In the story, Red Skull, with the power of the deceased Charles Xavier, obtained the power of Onslaught. Basically, Scarlet Witch, with the help of Doctor Doom, unleashed an Inversion Spell, meant to bring forth the good part, Charles Xavier's essence, forward in order to stop Onslaught. This resulted in several villains being inverted to becoming good and some heroes turning bad.

One of the results was Scarlet Witch being a little angry at Doctor Doom for all the grief he's caused her. When Quicksilver and Magneto saved Doom from her wrath, she took it as an extreme betrayal.

She decided there was no forgiving their actions. She spoke out to the Lords of Chaos and lashed out with a spell that would "crush their bones, boil their blood dry in their veins, rupture their souls, and end the line." She wanted nothing to do with her family.

We then see Quicksilver collapse in extreme agony. Surprisingly, nothing happened to Magneto. Magneto goes to Quicksilver's side to see if he's alright. This is when Scarlet Witch discovers an apparent long hidden truth.

Because Magneto didn't suffer and wasn't struck down, that could only mean one thing...he's not related to Scarlet Witch. In other words, he must not be the father of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Everything he thought he knew was wrong. His beloved wife, Magda, didn't give birth to these twin children.

How can this be? Why did this happen? There's two possible answers.

Magneto first came across the twins in their European village (told in 1964's THE X-MEN #4). Because the villagers were superstitious, they thought Wanda was an actual witch. Magneto kept the crowd away as they closed in on her. Feeling an obligation, she and her brother joined Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. They weren't completely sold on the idea that Homo Superiors were born to rule the Earth. This was further shown a little while later (in 1965's THE X-MEN #11) when the two felt their debt was paid and they returned to Europe.

That same month in THE AVENGERS #16, they saw the opportunity to try to join the Avengers and we saw how they felt about being Homo Superior.

Pietro wanted to forget they were Homo Superior. Could he possibly get his wish?

It wasn't until 1983's VISION AND THE SCARLET WITH #4 that Magneto discovered the truth about the twins. Magneto, wrapped in a white cloak, had traveled to Wundagore Mountain and found a little house to get some shelter from a snowstorm. The cabin belong to Bova, a midwife of Wundergore, who was evolved from a cow by the High Evolutionary. Magneto told Bova he was seeking answers from his past. Bova then told him that it was a night like this one, years ago, that a woman arrived, seeking shelter from the storm as well. She was pregnant and about to give birth.

Bova went on to tell this stranger how the woman loved her husband but was scared of the power he possessed. Magneto figured out it was Magda, his wife who fled from him when she became frightened of his powers and for the safety of their unborn children. Discovering the children had lived, he demanded to know their names.

Magneto discovered the children were the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. This was just as Quicksilver's wife, Crystal of the Inhumans, gave birth to their daughter Luna. It also marked Magneto's road to becoming less of a villain now that he had a granddaughter.

Why has Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver's origin changed?

It's possible there may be more to their story than we all thought. If Magneto truly is not their father, someone wanted him to believe he was. The entire story of Madga visiting Bova and giving birth to twins could have been a fabrication. Why would Bova lie?

The only logical explanation is the High Evolutionary commanded her to do so. This would require him knowing that Magneto would, someday, visit Bova, seeking answers. The High Evolutionary has gone through many stages over the years. It's almost difficult to figure out exactly what his motives are with anything. Why would he want Magneto to think these two were his kids?

What if they were something more than just mutants? It could be that the High Evolutionary wanted to hide their true nature. What better way to hide their true ancestry than to convince Magneto, a powerful mutant actively involved in seeking rights for mutantkind? Once he knew what he thought to be the truth, he would go out of his way to protect them, at least most of the time. Being labeled as "Magneto's kids" would turn away any suspicion of who, or what, they really are.

The other explanation could be this is done for Marvel's Cinematic Universe. We know mutants aren't allowed to be used because the Fox Studios has the rights. Marvel's seems to be pushing Inhumans on us. It could be revealed that Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are actually Inhumans. This could also fit in with the comic universe.

We'll either see the two are of different parentage or possibly aren't even mutants. Changing their status as mutants seems more in line to accommodate their big screen debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Does changing who their father is change the characters? Yes and no. They appeared for nineteen years before it was revealed (or decided) to make them Magneto's kids. That was plenty of time to develop their characters and they aren't necessarily defined by Magneto. If it turns out they are no longer mutants, that does change things a little.

If this is going to be explored, where will we see it? What comic title will focus on this newly developed twist?

Let us know what you think of the change and the possibilities. Do you think they're still mutants or might they be something else, like Inhumans? You can also take our poll which was created in this week's Best Stuff in Comics. The poll ends on 12/21.

(Note: if you get a "session expired" notice, refresh the page).

Motherf*cking retcons

(First)

I really think this change didn't need to happen, Magneto being their dad won't scare off potential movie fans who want to get into comics. Then again it's more likely this was done to get us fans use to the idea of Magneto net being their dad for the movie. That being said I still think it was for the most part unnecessary.

Still, it's nowhere near as big a deal as the FF being canceled.

Marvel Studios rules comics now.

I have a good feeling that the comments for this article are going to be something.

>:(

Well, Magneto being their father was already a retcon, so why not retcon a retcon.

It could be that Wanda and Pietro are not twins and Magneto is still Pietro's papa. Wanda is a cosmic entity born from a union of the all mighty celestials and put inside their shared mother. She seems to be omnipotent at the moment so they could create a goddess complex out of Mary Sue.

This could have some depth but it seems to be just another reason to make Cray Cray Cakes even more angsty and powerful. I feel bad for whatever h&ll they will make Quicksilver run through though. Seems to me this will Magneto possibly go full villian again and makes sense why Lorna will be in his book if she turns out to be his only child...at least until the 616 refreshes.

F#*king stupid

I hate it. Thought it might work. This is just confusing times.

I don't mind Magneto not being their parent as much as I do mind they are being retconned to become Inhumans for the cinematic universe, if that ends up being the case

I honestly quite like this change and hope it ultimately is revealed they are Inhumans. Recently I've began to grow interest in the Inhumans (a group I've honestly never cared for in the past) and would like to see further explored and expanded upon.

With Marvel seeming to push the Inhumans in their movieverse due to the inability to use Mutants, I think this is a great opportunity to create interest in the Inhumans and having Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch take the forefront of this interest, I feel, would be a great idea.

Overall, this has not only caused me to began having interests in Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, but in the Inhumans as well. Hopefully this will be the same with other comic fans, both old and new, and is most likely what Marvel is hoping for.

So they just stripped magneto of the only family he had...I liked that magneto had kids that he didn't have the best relationship with and now they have no reason to even associate with him. I'm actually happy I fell off comics(Money is tight) because Marvel & DC have become so convoluted in recent years and that's saying something.

Couldn't they just've revealed Magda was actually an inhuman? Thus Wanda & Quicksilver would be half inhuman and then you get the same effect essentially without messing things up again. Then you can address Magneto not knowing his wife's secret and investigating that part of her life because maybe the other inhuman knew her which might lead to other revelations for Magneto & the twins.

Maybe they can change it back they are the children of The Whizzer and Miss America like they first had it before they changed it to Magneto it would work a lot better and less confusing.

This is one of the dumbest things to come out in comics in years. This was what defined their f**king characters for decades. I understand they want to try something new but this is just crossing some serious lines. Especially since this change probably has to do with the movies.

So, potentially Quicksilver was once married to his cousin? Because all of the Inhumans are cousins, right?

It's a stupid idea of course as Tom Broovert did point out that there is no real evidence that Magento is/isn't their dad. They never took a DNA test and have the word of a Talking Cow and they fact they look similar. On the other hand, Wanda isn't a great sorceress so her spell might not have worked they way she though it would; after all, we don't know if the spell affected Polaris, Wiccan or Speed.

@ensabahnurx: I said the same thing about Magda. We know next to nothing about her and what we do know is told through the eyes of others. We don't even know if Magda was even her real name for Christ's sake (Erik surely isn't Magnetos). This would've been the easiest solution to making them Inhumans to more tie in with the movies and it gives them at least a mother to search for and learn about. Especially since I fully believe Magda is very much alive and well somewhere.

I always liked Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch as Magneto's children, so I'm pretty bummed about that now. This just reeks of the Marvel Cinematic Universe taking priority.

@leokearon: Well Wanda definitely isn't the best sorceress but if Magneto isn't her father, the spell definitely wouldn't affect Polaris if shes Magneto's daughter with a different mother and I don't think that Wiccan and Speed are even blood related to her anymore since being reincarnated so it shouldn't have any affect on them either.

If Polaris is affected, then we would know for sure something is up since she definitely is related to Magneto

What makes me cringe is this though: If Quicksilver is an Inhuman, does that mean he might have potentially married and fathered a child with a relative??? I don't know how the Inhuman familial line works.

If their entire history of being Magentos children is retconned for the sake of the MCU, that's really cheap.

This further pushes my thought that they are going to split the mutants away from the main Marvel Universe next summer, creating two universes one with the Avengers and Inhumans and one with Mutants. It wouldn't surprise me to see Parker sent to the mutant universe and Miles taking his place. Scarlet Witch does another No-more-mutants when she realises she is an inhuman and has spent most of her life being manipulated by them, however rather than erase them, she separates them.

I'm hoping this she-isnt-a-great-sorceress thing is true and she just messed up the spell. Didn't she already mess up the "no more mutants" spell? There were still 198 mutants after she cast it.

count down til this is undone

That;s just the thing. The majority of their history happened before it was ever even mentioned in the same breath of magneto. Them being Magneto's kids was a retcon itself.

Knee-jerk reaction is that it's cheap and wrong

Though-out reaction is that it doesn't really change much

Well this story might be both true and a lie. The twins might still be Magneto's children but maybe all the reality manipulations Wanda caused somehow severed their blood ties with Magneto and only left them genetically related to their mother, Magda (who could be revealed as an Inhuman). She already inadvertently did this with her own children when she changed their fates. Wiccan and Speed came back but are now the children of different parents and aren't even blood related to each other for that matter (at least I don't think).

I just think we already got the Star Wars "Luke, I am your father" moment when Magneto was revealed as their father...we don't need another.

My main problem with all this uber rubbish is that sentinels and many other kind of detectors have showed Pietro and Wanda as mutants several times, so one thing is retconning their parents and another very different thing is retconning their whole origin and source.

Also, Im pretty much sure Magneto did blood test and everything, how could he be so wrong? I mean, he is not exactly the kind of character getting anything for granted without making proper checks, as he did with Polaris in example.

And what happens with Polaris? This makes her NON related to Wanda or Pietro at all.

Well, Here is my theory... Wanda has reality changing powers. She undid most of mutantkind without any effort... what if she wished Magneto wasnt their father?

arg, i hope it has nothing to do with inhumans. ive always been a marvel fan and the Inhumans are the thing i have always disliked the most. i hate that theyre being pushed because of the x-men movie rights, marvel cant replace the x-men any more than DC can replace the justice league. guess i can be happy that theyre not really affecting any of the titles i read -yet.

Haven't read the issue yet, but I do love me some Quicksilver, so I'd hate it if he wouldn't be a mutant anymore.

This feels kind of cheap even more so if its Movie related. But u know what. This is how it is when your being run by corporations. They are looking for profits and nothing more.

Diffrently, The more i read comics, particularly Marvel in short, The more i am starting to drift away with disdain. They have become very "cheap" in their story telling through the means of inconsistent storytelling and use f characters. Gone are the good days. As a Marvel reader, i would feel as if im in the age of apocalypse. Maybe its just my time to move on from this company. Maybe its just time for a new generation of readers and my era is over or maybe they are just as i said cheap. Anyways, im.going to soon jump off of this ship(not litterally). Peace.

I'm not entirely sure about what I think about Magneto not being the twins father, but honestly I just hope that they aren't inhumans just for the sake of it and that the one who now are the twins real father will give them an equally complicated father as the one that the Maxifmoffs had with Magneto.

Also I would like to give my suggestion of who I think is their real father, namely theHigh Evolutionary because not only would it give a very interesting father-children relationship and another interesting villain that are the twins father but it would also make them NOTinhumans and also a stronger connection between the twins and Mount Wundagore, Bova and the story that Bova told Magneto. It can also be safe to write that just that story could easily fit in on not just Magneto because it could work an many other people in the MU, at least with enough explanation and extra backstory.

Upon hearing this news, I cancelled my pre-order for the Axis trade.

I'm thinking that they are half-Inhuman, half-mutant. It would explain why the Terrigen Mists worked on Quicksilver wouldn't it? They could say that the more Inhuman blood a mutant has, the better the Mists work on him/her.

Actually, this makes more sense.

I think it's stupid, I hope we at least get a good follow up to this news

I hate this! Magneto being a father is one of the things that gave him a human side!

Dumb and pointless and juvenile by Marvel. If this leads them to tell Fox they can't use Quicksilver in X-Men: Apocalypse, I will go through the roof.

I think it's kind of an interesting idea, but I find it hard to believe there aren't numerous stories in the past that would have somehow confirmed Quicksilver and SW's mutant status by scanning their genes at one point or another. It would honestly be even more interesting if the High Evolutionary was behind this, and he had perhaps experimented on trying to evolve Inhumans instead of just humans at some point. But I would guess this is just the cinematic universe's influence and it won't be as interesting as all that.

I also like the idea that Quicksilver married another Inhuman, it makes it seem sort of pre-destined in a way. And it explains why the mists worked on him. It would make Luna a full Inhuman now.

Wanda does seem to be wrong in saying Mags has no family, considering Lorna, although I suppose they could retcon her out of his bloodline as well.

Isnt Polaris still his daughter? he is not completely without family

For me this is just another case of Movie goers over comic fans. I mean im pretty sure over the years there has been proof of the twins parents being Magnus and Magda. In house of M Nocturne was DNA scanned as being Magnetos grandaughter (yes its alternate reality but only slightly twisted from 616). Hell I seem to remeber Magneto doing blood tests himself too. Also wouldn't Luna be affected by this spell too? Is she hurt or even dead now? Why would Wanda want her little niece to be hurt so? as crazy as she's been in the past im sure she would never hurt a child especially her own blood no matter how she feels about her brother. With regards to them turning out to be Inhumans, well haven't there been many scans, sentinels, cerebro units, mutant trackers etc. which clearly detect them as being mutants and im sure sentinels know the difference considering they have come up against Pietro and Crystal and split their races. This just seems to be away to remove the twins from X related work and for Marvel to once again take a big dump on the X-Men, who have been villified by nearly every major event in Marvel over the past few years.

I still maintain she unintentionally invoked Chthon who has used both Wanda and Pietro as hosts and he's just manipulating her into going back to Wundagore so she can serve as his host again.

But if that's not the case then it's a huge, huge misstep. It's a MASSIVE part of all of their characters and the House of M has lots of fans, it's really just ultimately harming the fans more than Fox which I don't think is fair at all.

I hope we go back to the Whizzer being their dad. heh

If they are not mutants why did Quicksiver lose his powers after "no more mutants"?

This is all crap. Marvel Universe is collapsing (all this it just to make more money and f**k the fans) so then, retconn it again. I'm so tiring of their crap. My money is being wasted on retconning and rebootses. No More Crap.

The logic that they're doing this for the cinematic universe doesn't make any sense. They already have the rights to be able to do the characters in the films, so changing their origins isn't necessary in order to do so. Plus I highly doubt that this will in some way prohibit Fox from using them in the future.

I will say it again... as far as im concerned the spell didnt affect magneto because wanda doesnt consider him family and they are still related im just going to cover my eyes and pretend i didnt read s*it.

Direct consequence for me:

I went in a comic book store with my kids this weekend. I told them what happened and after an unanimous vote we decided to buy only old comics from Marvel (while we bought at least one new one from DC).

From de 60s to to the end of the 90s my Marvel collection is quite complete. But from the early 2000s to Avengers vs X-Men I still have a lot of thing to buy and read.

Marvel now won't be part of my own vision of Marvel continuity.

I may buy some paperback from time to time but I'm really done.

(Let's hope that this attitude won't reach the cosmic saga with Thanos and Co.)

That would make too much sense, and cause too few continuity issues.

I agree with your sentiments; I liked that Magneto had a dysfunctional family relationship with his children.

I'm trying to recall which creator/writer/editor predicted this almost a decade ago, but I've heard this before. DC usually escapes the trap because they have been conducting universal re-sets, but Marvel is definitely falling into the corporate trap of relying way too much on retcons and major events to drive new business. The movies haven't helped, because now Marvel is simply retconning things just to shift movie rights. It's pretty bad. I've been a Marvel fan since I was a kid, and I have a very good memory...and even I can barely remember who some of the characters are because so many modifications have been made to them.

The only thing I can point out to help understand it is that it costs very little money to print comics, traditionally, so Marvel's business model seems to be making their books into promotional vehicles for their movies. Their movies have been really profitable and successful at bringing in profits, while maintaining some uniformity, and Marvel seems willing to focus on those. The issue is that there are better comics out there (quite frankly looking at some of DC's "52" books, and "Invincible", for example) so the comic medium is doing OK, but Marvel no longer seems to want to be completely invested in that side of the business.

Shhh don't call attention to the continuity errors.