Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme has saved her friend, Agatha Harkness. Agatha, held under a uroath, was forced to fight her friend on behalf of the Vishanti. Having fended off the Vishanti, Wanda has now left her friend under the protection of Archimago, the caretaker of London’s Sanctum Sublimium. Agamatto warned that the Vishanti were too focused on Wanda. The original Sorcerer Supreme warned that the focus on Wanda could spell trouble not just for the Vishanti but the world….
This review is brought to you by Nerd Initiative’s Megan and Shawn!
Creative Team
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artists: Bernard Chang and Von Randal
Color Artist: Ruth Redmond
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Cover Artist: Lesley Li
Writing
Megan: Wanda’s life as the new Sorcerer Supreme is anything but easy. She’s unable to make any moves without them being criticized. Even if it’s something as simple as ensuring that the people of Earth all have a good day. On this particular day, Wanda put a hex on the planet that will guarantee that everyone’s day will be met with luck and magic. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished as the In-Betweener has some choice words for her. This is one of many examples of how Wanda having the title of Sorcerer Supreme sits unwell with many magical beings. However, Wanda doesn’t allow that to deter her.
After the meeting with the In-Betweener, Wanda receives an emergency message from her son Billy asking for help. As any good mother would do, she drops what she’s doing and heads to him immediately. Billy is in his dreamscape, where Nightmare has attacked him. Seeing that this is much more than he can handle, he calls on Wanda for help. With the help of the King of Dreams, Somnus, the three must take down Nightmare. It’s easier said than done, especially since Nightmare has a few magical tricks up his sleeve.
Shawn: What if everything just went right for once? That’s not only what we are introduced to in this issue of Sorcerer Supreme, but probably the mantra for Wanda Maximoff during her time as Sorceress Supreme. I think at this point, Wanda would just settle for encountering someone in the mystical realm other than Stephen and Clea Strange, who don’t nitpick every decision she makes. Wanda always seems to find herself on the short end of the stick but always meets resistance when she finally tries to tip the scales back.
The introduction of the Extinction King was beautiful. I also really loved that, despite being a Wanda-centered comic, we got to see an example of how Billy has grown into his own, taking on powerful entities. I truly appreciated the use of Nightmare and Somnus. While some have jumped into the comments to critique the lack of respect for established canon, I love that Steve Orlando is taking chances. The lore is shifting, it’s deepening, and it’s being used in new creative ways. Love it or hate it, that’s how stories evolve and move beyond the same kind of story being told over and over again with the same character.
Art
Megan: Bernard Chang, Von Randal, Ruth Redmond, and Joe Sabino make this issue a magically dark story with the perfect amount of mystical action. Chang and Randal bring drawings that capture the depth of the story very well. Magical powersets are put on full display, which are illustrated in an absolutely stunning way. Along with Chang and Randal, Ruth Redmond handles the coloring.
Redmond leaves their mark in everything they work on with gorgeous vibrant colors that make the story feel larger than life. In Sorcerer Supreme #6, that’s precisely what was done, while juxtaposing the much more darker tones. Joe Sabino handles the lettering and is able to bring the differing tones from the characters out excellently. There’s many different tones here, like an ominous tone, or a feisty or confident tone, that allows the readers to experience the story in a deeper way that Sabino captured perfectly.
Shawn: Bernard Chang and Von Randal owe me a jar of melatonin. The Wanda-Faced Owl will be in my nightmares for weeks to come. While beautifully drawn and colored, that thing was nightmare fuel. I thought the art on the Extinction King was simply superb. The character comes onto the scene with art befitting a major player in the game, and that is a testament to this art team. Bernard Chang, Von Randal, and Ruth Redmond did some unique things in this issue.
One highlight of the issue for me was some of the shifts in color palettes we got to see from Ruth Redmond. Somnus and Nightmare provided some really cool contrasts, such as Redmond contrasting the warm purple hues of Somnus against the dark subdued greens of Nightmare. Joe Sabino gets an SFX moment that echoes the infamous Doom vs Thanos moment in Secret Wars (2015), that sends a shiver up my spine. This art team perfectly captures the mystical aspects of this story.
Final Thoughts
Megan: 8.8/10. I’m a sucker for a Wanda and son team up and I think it was done well here. Wanda continues to prove why she’s the rightful Sorcerer Supreme and I can’t wait to see what’s next for her.
Shawn: 9/10. This was such a satisfying team-up. With Wiccan’s limited series ending, you knew Billy would show up here, but it was done in a way that gave us an interesting story and some beautiful visuals. I continue to love the idea of Wanda having a council to guide her despite all the opposition to her even being Sorceress Supreme.
Overall Grade: 8.9/10
What did you think about the beginning of this new arc? Let us know in the comments
