Scott's Take: What if… Wanda Maximoff And Peter Parker were Siblings? A Scarlet Witch And Spider-Man Story by Seanan McGuire

What if… Wanda Maximoff And Peter Parker were Siblings? A Scarlet Witch And Spider-Man Story by Seanan McGuire is the second What If book in a loosely connected series. There is barely any connection to the first book,  What If… Loki Was Worthy? A Loki And Valkyrie Story. The narrator is supposed to be the same, but because this second book has a different author, this “The Watcher” is radically different.   There is also a background villain doing shenanigans, but not really that plot relevant. I enjoyed this book way more than the first one. This story was way more original and more comic book based. The MCU influence on the first one was very heavy and was telling yet another story about what could happen if Loki became worthy.

 

In this story, thanks to a series of events, the Scarlet Witch and Spider-Man grew up together. The cover plot synopsis and what the book is are not the same. The book blurb stuff does not happen until much later in the book. One has to be at least halfway through the read before one starts encountering any of the book blurb stuff.  The plot is actually more of a life story. It tells how they became a family, growing into their powers, losing Uncle Ben, and how they handle early adulthood and their college years.

 

There are a number of guest stars from the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Avengers. Spider-Man is a main character in this novel, but the focus is more on the Scarlet Witch as the main protagonist.  Despite being billed as a duo book, Scarlet Witch is favored more than Spider-man in this story, but he is very important to the plot. There are a number of adult mentor type supporting characters including Doctor Strange. In his case, he is depicted more like his early comic book appearance vs how he is written now. There is a clear sliver age influence to this read. 

 

I really enjoyed this novel, but I wish it was longer since there are events alluded to in this novel that are not fully fleshed out. Also, the ending is rather rushed. I felt like there was a lot more that could have been written.

 

There is a third book coming out in this series from yet another writer.  What If… Marc Spector was a host to Venom by Mike Chen is scheduled to be released on October 22nd.  Marc Spector is one of the personalities that make up Moon Knight. Somehow the dangling plot threads from the first two books are supposed to be connected in that read, but I don’t think they will matter that much.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3Y57t53

 

My hardback reading copy came from the White Rock Hills Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2024