This June, chaos reignites when Steve Orlando's Scarlet Witch run returns!
Teaming up with X-Men Red's Jacopo Camagni, Orlando's series will continue to push the limits of what Wanda Maximoff's magic is capable of as she becomes the Marvel Universe's prime defender against deadly mystical threats...new and old.
Today, it's been revealed that Lore will be among them. Wanda's demonic counterpart from 1994's Scarlet Witch limited series. Complete with a wicked new look from Russell Dauterman, you can check out Lore on both the cover of August's issue #3 and Dauterman's original design sheet.
In addition, Dauterman will join Camagni as an interior artist on Scarlet Witch #3 to bring Wanda and Lore's epic battle to life.
"Lore returns!" exclaims the issue's solicitation text. "Scarlet Witch’s fight to reach the land of the living puts her face-to-face with her necromantic multiversal counterpart! Lore won’t stop until her death at Wanda’s hands is avenged - but another one of Wanda’s nemeses may hold the key to her survival!"
Talking about his take on Lore, Dauterman said, "Redesigning Lore was a huge treat! Lore is an evil Wanda variant, so I wanted to contrast the design I did for our Scarlet Witch, which was meant to be magical, vibrant, and super-heroic, by going dark and sinister, with a goth, undead vibe."
"I’m incredibly excited to also be drawing some interiors in the issue where these two Wandas face off," the artist concluded.
Given what we saw in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it's hard not to wonder whether Marvel Studios could borrow elements from Lore to explain Wanda's actions when she tore through realities searching for her children.
Kevin Feige oversees everything Marvel-related these days, so the villain's return here may be no mere coincidence.
"The news is out and I couldn't be more excited!" Orlando previously said of the series. "Scarlet Witch has been a dream job, and getting to return to her once again and continue Wanda's adventures is something I could never say no to. And Wanda's going to keep climbing!"
"Here, we'll be bringing the blockbuster storytelling of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to the focused, personal journey Wanda began in Darkhold and Scarlet Witch," the writer added. "And standing in her way? Only one of Marvel's most powerful and climactic entities, bent on destroying everything Wanda stands for."
Lore, who destroyed her own world before trying to conquer the multiverse, represents Wanda’s worst fear: a version of herself that’s gone mad with power. Will the Scarlet Witch need her own inner darkness in order to defeat her?
Check out the cover art for Scarlet Witch #3, including a variant by artist Joëlle Jones, below.
SCARLET WITCH #3
Written by STEVE ORLANDO
Art by RUSSELL DAUTERMAN & JACOPO CAMAGNI
Cover by RUSSELL DAUTERMAN
Variant Cover by JOËLLE JONES
On Sale 8/21