Scarlet Witch, Vol. 5: Amaranth Rising

Scarlet Witch by Steve Orlando

by Steve Orlando

Red-hot writer Steve Orlando continues his electric era of Scarlet Witch, with the return of Agatha Harkness!

The Scarlet Witch takes on a mysterious new pupil — at the request of Agatha Harkness! But where did the young sorceress known as Amaranth come from? And what could have spooked Agatha into giving up the chance to mentor her?

COLLECTING: Scarlet Witch (2024) 6-10

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

112 pages, Paperback

Published July 15, 2025

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 stars

Really enjoyed the story, particularly the guest appearances from Speed, Wiccan and the Black Cat. Really liked the artwork on the first three issues; wasn’t as keen on the quasi-manga style of the artist on the last two.

[Khurram · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is okay. A little too chaotic and all over the place for me, but I don't hate it and even enjoy it in places.

Wanda is visited by her old teacher Agatha Harkness. She is asked to take on a new student Amaranth. Who has no idea of her origin, her potential and is resistant to most forms of magic. What better way to sort her out than for Wanda to take her on life life-threatening adventure that is just another day in Wanda's life. Just when things are getting chaotic enter the Black Cat, who is am convinced is the most powerful agent of chaos in Marvel.

I am assuming this book is setting up things to come. I know Wanda does not have a normal life but she can't even get a pizza without someone trying to destroy her.

[Kayley Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having Wiccan, Speed, and the Scarlet Witch together was wonderful.

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Orlando just gets this character. This has been such a legendary run, and assuming this next series just becomes volume 6 I’m not sure why we keep rebooting the numbers. Why can’t we be here waiting for issue 26? Now we have to wait until May for The Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1. Much like how after the last issue #10 we took a break and came back with Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch #1 but it’s all still “Scarlet Witch by Steve Orlando”. Marvel does this constantly and it makes it hard to read a series sometimes. Anyway, I really enjoyed the introduction of Amaranth and I very much look forward to learning more about her, her power set, and where they take the character.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

They should have added one or two extra issues of Wanda and Amaranth bonding but I’m glad she got to experience having a weird girl daughter for a second. I think we should make Vivian Vision’s love life messy and have her have to ask her dad about getting a crush on a witch

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Scarlet Witch: Amaranth Rising" is a fun and fast paced addition to the ongoing Wanda saga. Like the last volume this book continues to build the energy, drive and positive vibes that the series started with but misplaced in mid run.

The main plot of this book focuses around Amaranth, a powerful and promising witch, who Agatha Harkness foists on Wanda after failing to make headway on understanding or training her powers. Not surprisingly the story entails large quantities of teen angst, big-sisterly advice and growing pains. More interestingly though, we also see some competitiveness and jealousy on Darcy's part followed by Wanda's efforts at mentorship that fall far short of expectations. Amaranth's personal development as her magic and emotions mature also stands out.

All in all, this is a pretty good book and most fans are likely to enjoy it. It does feel a bit transitional though and the Amaranth story line could have been significantly expanded to good effect.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Agatha Harkness dumps new character Amaranth on Wanda's doorstep, so the Scarlet Witch has no choice but to take her under her wing and try to figure out exactly who and what she is.

Steve Orlando's latest Scarlet Witch series comes to a roaring close in these five issues. Amaranth is a good addition to the cast, testing Wanda and her friends in some new ways, and the problems that Orlando throws at them keeps everyone on their toes. From an Eliminator to Nick Scratch to the Black Cat, there's something to keep us guessing on each page, and the final reveals about Amaranth feel right in line with the rest of the series and the rules of magic that Orlando has helped re-establish across his entire run.

The artwork remains phenomenal. Lorenzo Tametta and Jacopo Camagni tag-team well, and neither artist scrimps on the details or the backgrounds. The magical battles have weight and power behind them, and the smaller emotional beats hit just as strong. The double page spread by Russell Dautermann that ends the book is just beautiful.

Gone, but not quite over, as we head from Scarlet Witch into a new Vision & The Scarlet Witch series. Thank god, because I'm not ready for Orlando's Wanda work to be done yet.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I'm curious if Orlando is carrying on with this series as it rebrands to Vision and the Scarlet Witch in the near future. So far, this five volume run of his has been...fine? I feel like this issue didn't really tie up any loose ends, gave us little character development for either Wanda or Darcy, took Agatha back off the board (by just having her outside the narrative), briefly gave us some time with Wiccan and Speed, and then introduced Amaranth as a new apprentice to Wanda who...left by the end? Nothing here felt all that compelling -- the art continues to be visually arresting if a bit chaotic, and the story writing often gets in the weeds in every single issue around what Wanda's power sets actually mean. I think in a lot of these issues, I feel the lack of stakes pretty pointedly and that has an impact on how much I like this series (hence the average of 3 stars).

[Scarred Wizard · Rating 4 out of 5]

While i enjoyed all the fights & watching Wanda in action with all the magical hand gestures, hexes & reality manipulation is so awesome but.. I still can't move on with Steve Orlando's choices of words & sentences are bit too complex & difficult to understand. Too philosophical i would say. Maybe my English are limited as it is not my first language.

Like i reviewed all the previous volumes, the pros & cons are still the same. Steve Orlando has so many great ideas with Scarlet Witch. But the complexity choices of words can be head scratching sometimes.

While Wiccan & Speed appearance does nothing to this volume (they are not even in action), Amaranth is a nice addition of new character in this series.

Rating : 8/10

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Agatha Harkness dumps a witch with mysterious origins on Scarlet Witch's doorstep, essentially forcing an apprenticeship on poor Wanda. Cue: a series of generally low-stakes issues wherein Scarlet Witch and Amaranth (the newbie) do witchy things while Amaranth bemoans her lost past.

This is the more down-to-Earth stuff I was hoping for in this series... except the dialogue and art have not been brought down from their cosmic pedestal, leading to some very stilted interactions and wildly ambitious visuals. In general, it feels like an underexplained detour. Should I care to remember Amaranth going forward? Not likely.

I did appreciate the ending, where Darcy asks the obvious question of Wanda: "why not me (as your apprentice)?"

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way to go out with a ...meh?

Pushing REALLY hard on defining the metaphysical/magic universe that Steve Orlando. This time around we've got Agatha dropping off a new amnesiac character, Amaranth, with Wanda. Everything about this last collection seems to be pushing sooooooo hard to get to a suitable end. She has connections to the MU and the origins of magic. It'll all make sense.....eventually?

In a way, I wish they had just done ONE series with Scarlet Witch. Why keep restarting the numbering and title with each new story?

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Bonus: Black Cat cameo here too? Avengers, Iron Man, and Spider-Man. Where else will she show?

[Ly Van · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was just a weird issue for me that confused me sometimes. Some character actions I felt like at time didn’t have any logic to them especially the new character of Amaranth. It’s interesting to see a new apprentice under Wanda but she feels so empty. Hopefully more of her backstory is unearthed in later issues. She is propped up to be a powerful witch not like Wanda but from a different source which is a nice addition. The art seems to lack depth at certain pages but it’s still vibrate with its colors.

[AJ Easterday · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5 stars

For the most part this series has been a solid 4 stars, but I do feel the last few issues were slightly weaker. It just feels like we barely get any time to get to know the new character of Amaranth, and the mystery that is set up regarding her identity doesn’t get a great pay-off. I still enjoyed this volume, as it did have great moments between Wanda and Darcy, plus Wiccan and Speed make a brief appearance. I hope we see Amaranth again in the near future to finally get the closure we need from this storyline.

[goblin_ghoulz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh how I wanted more Agatha, but that’s because it’s all new to me and I just want as much information thrown at me as possible so I can eat it up. Still left with some questions, very fun appearances I wasn’t expecting in this wrap up but again it all seemed a little too easy! Scarlet Witch may need a big challenge coming up in future runs.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new apprentice with abjuration powers. Ice worms. Magic vaults and Black Cat. The Tri-Crown of the Chaos Godhead.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is best when it zooms in on focus, and disengages when it gets to larger magical gobbledygook, but thankfully it mostly stays on the main characters and has solid art to lift the story

[Fazun · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

[João Filipi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amaranth is a really interesting character! I loved her dynamic with Wanda, and i got really sad when she left