• • Comic Book Reviews
• December 22, 2021

The Trial of Magneto #5 Review

Written by: Leah Williams

Art by: Lucas Werneck

Coloring by: Edgar Delgado

Lettering by: VC’s Clayton Cowles

It may sound a little ridiculous to say that a character needs a redemption arc. In other mediums, a character only needs to be what the creatives need them to be. But in comic books, where multiple creatives can work on the same character in a month, sometimes even the same week, one of them can do something that will make the character untouchable. For that reason, there can be comic characters that need redemption arcs so other creatives can use them as they want to. This is especially true for the Scarlet Witch, and The Trial of Magneto #5 redeems her.

I think it’s a bit childish for a character to need to be redeemed in the eyes of fans. Whether it’s characters who never should have been bad in the first place or evil characters who never should have turned good, it’s ridiculous. Fans should know at this point that characters are slaves to the whims of creatives. The blame should go to them when we get stories like House of M. But, the same cannot be said for other characters who would be out-of-character if they didn’t hate Wanda. To rectify this, The Trial of Magneto #5 goes back to the tone and narrative from the first two issues. One of forgiveness and empathy for everything the Scarlet Witch has put through (by Marvel editorial).

Scarlet Witch isn’t a mutant again, but no one should feel uncomfortable with her on Krakoa after this issue. It’s a great finale to a mixed series. The reveals, the empathy for the characters, and the respect paid to them in issues #1, #2, and #5 make for one of the most loving stories from Marvel. Issues #3 and #4 kind of wasted our time with filler battles though, not gonna lie.

Saved by the Bell

This story can be a bit contrived in how it somehow makes so many long-lasting grudges right. At the same time, it leads to so many better things that it’s more than forgivable. While I wish I could say you could skip the middle issues of this series, there are important plot points in them. There is also some good stuff there too, it’s just not as good as the beginning and end. The Trial of Magento #5 saved a series that was veering off a cliff, and gave people who wouldn’t reason to be excited to read the Scarlet Witch again.