Marvel Comics has announced another event for 2023: Contest of Chaos. The story will star the newly rejuvenated Agatha Harkness, fresh off her exciting role in Midnight Suns, as she attempts to craft a new Darkhold book using chaos magic.
Led by writer Stephanie Phillips (Rogue & Gambit), Contest of Chaos will unfold in multiple annuals throughout the summer by a host of all-star creators, beginning with a prelude issue in Scarlet Witch Annual #1. Spinning out of writer Steve Orlando and Sara Pichelli's hit ongoing series, which will be written by Orlando and drawn by Carlos Nieto (Murderworld: Wolverine).
The exciting prelude will see Agatha, reenergized and more motivated than ever before, put her bold new plans for the Marvel Universe into motion as she reunites with Scarlet Witch for the first time since her rejuvenation. When she learns of Wanda’s recent absorption of Chthon, she decides to educate her former student on the dangers of such an endeavour.
But Wanda is not the meek pupil she once was, and Agatha’s intentions are not so straightforward. This epic clash between Marvel's most powerful witches will set off a chain reaction that will erupt across special annual issues of Marvel’s hottest ongoing titles.
The Contest of Chaos annuals will centre around Agatha’s quest to bring Chaos magic to the forefront so she can take her rightful place as one of the universe’s greatest sorcerers. In order to do so, she’ll orchestrate a mystically-charged challenge involving your favorite heroes.
We'll watch as Wolverine, Spider-Man, Venom, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Cyclops, Storm, Moon Knight, Ghost Rider, Human Torch, Taegukgi, Ghost-Spider, White Fox, and Deadpool are corrupted by chaos and pitted against each other in a thunderous tournament! Each annual will introduce a new matchup with each showdown upping the stakes and building toward an explosive final round, all part of Agatha’s grand scheme to reinvent Marvel magic.
"Contest of Chaos is the kind of story I would absolutely sprint to the comic store to buy as a reader," Phillips says. "There's action, mystery, magic, and my favorite characters from all over the Marvel Universe. To be spearheading the storyline is just incredibly cool for me as a creator. It's going to be big with ramifications for the larger universe."
You can check out Russell Dauterman's Scarlet Witch Annual #1 cover below along with Bryan Hitch's Contest of Chaos teaser image. The former goes on sale on June 21.