Real talk: Why isn't there a 5-star Scarlet Witch?

Farmerbink
Farmerbink Posts: 28 Just Dropped In
I'll be the first to admit I'm not a huge comic buff, but everything I've read/heard from friends and family of mine that are is that she's supposed to be the "most powerful mutant."  Now, I realize that there are plenty of non-mutants in the Marvel universes, several of whom could probably rival her for oomph and whatnot. 

That said, there are at least three fairly classic X-men in the 5-star tier of play: Gambit, Logan, and Phoenix.  Counting recent releases, Cable and Kitty have joined the tier, bringing the *strictly mutants* count to 5.  Not even going into the issue of whether a bit role like Okoye or B-list heroes like Wasp have any business being up there, we've got a really odd issue going on.  Is Wanda drawing the short stick for any particular reason, or are we just following MCU popularity more than....  really any other factor at all?

Comments

  • CNash
    CNash Posts: 952 Critical Contributor
    edited December 2018
    I think she’s just been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. 3-star Scarlet Witch was released at the height of the 3-star tier’s popularity, back when there weren’t many 4-stars and the most common way to use them was to pair them with top-tier 3-stars. And as the 4-star tier grew it became clear that star level had no relation whatsoever to the objective “power level” of the source character.

    3-star Wanda is also the MCU version (despite using a cover depicting 616 Witch in her classic costume). Since Wanda’s appearance and powers hasn’t changed much, if at all, in successive Avengers movies - unlike Cap and Iron Man, who always get new costumes or suits in each installment - it’s harder to justify releasing a new Scarlet Witch as a movie tie-in. So any new variant would likely be based on the comics version, and released to no particular schedule whenever there’s a gap in the promotional cycle between movies.
  • jredd
    jredd Posts: 1,387 Chairperson of the Boards


    if she looked like this, i'd turn animations back on... 
  • bluewolf
    bluewolf Posts: 5,244 Chairperson of the Boards
    In April there’s a small movie coming....I feel like she will be part of it.  Expecting the 5* about then, or maybe when her show premieres later.
  • Dragon_Nexus
    Dragon_Nexus Posts: 3,701 Chairperson of the Boards
    Just wait until the TV show.
  • JHawkInc
    JHawkInc Posts: 2,601 Chairperson of the Boards
    Time, mostly. 5*s are only released so often, 5*s come out to tie-in to other media, there are loads of characters to get through which, tied to a limited release rate and an outside source dictating who can come next, means it takes a while.

    There are plenty of characters that we already have that could have a 5* version, Scarlet Witch, Juggernaut, Magneto, Doom, Iceman (616, not teen snowball face that we have now, we don't have a proper Omega-level 616 Iceman yet), etc, and plenty plenty more that could be added (Adam Warlock, Namor, Red Skull, Super Skrull, Dormammu, Odin, etc), and plenty of MCU characters that could still get a 5* version (thankfully we're down to most of the "second string" characters, Gamora/Rocket&Groot, War Machine, Falcon, Vision, Scarlet Witch herself, where SWitch probably ranks highest, but we could just as easily get a nano-tech Iron Man or a post-Ragnarok Thor or possibly a new Hulk or Cap for Endgame, not counting Captain Marvel, Spidey, and maybe Mysterio as candidates for other MCU movies next year)

    I wouldn't be surprised if she's placed on the long-term calendar to come out with her show (followed up with a 4* Vision, maybe?). Fortunate in that the show makes it seem more likely, more "inevitable", unfortunate in that we could have 6-10 5's before it's her turn, you know? And my quick brainstorming list above has a total of 23 on it, not counting any curveballs they might throw our way (comics are resurrecting a bunch of people, could get another Cyke or Professor X or Wolverine or Jean as a tie-in there). So once you start filling in some tie-in spots (one 5* for each of the three movies, for example), it starts limiting the number of spots for everyone else, which makes it harder to get everyone in.
  • Yepyep
    Yepyep Posts: 952 Critical Contributor
    JHawkInc said:
    ... Iceman (616, not teen snowball face that we have now, we don't have a proper Omega-level 616 Iceman yet)...
    Just commenting to say that Icy is arguably the most deadly in the tier... Certainly top 3, anyway...

    Carry on.
  • JHawkInc
    JHawkInc Posts: 2,601 Chairperson of the Boards
    Yepyep said:
    JHawkInc said:
    ... Iceman (616, not teen snowball face that we have now, we don't have a proper Omega-level 616 Iceman yet)...
    Just commenting to say that Icy is arguably the most deadly in the tier... Certainly top 3, anyway...

    Carry on.
    Doesn't change what I said. He's still doofy snowball face Teen Iceman, and not the badass adult who doesn't have the creepy babyface. The reality is that it doesn't matter how good the 4* version is, we don't actually have the normal Iceman in the game. (just like how 1* Venom didn't REALLY count as Venom because it was Mac Gargan and not Eddie)
  • Vins2
    Vins2 Posts: 183 Tile Toppler
    Just wait until the TV show.
    Supposedly the title is called The Vision and Scarlet Witch, so a double 4 release would be cool.  Or maybe it'd come out at a point where we could see a double 5 like Civil War 1.
  • Farmerbink
    Farmerbink Posts: 28 Just Dropped In
    JHawkInc said:
    There are plenty of characters that we already have that could have a 5* version, Scarlet Witch, Juggernaut, Magneto, Doom, Iceman (616, not teen snowball face that we have now, we don't have a proper Omega-level 616 Iceman yet), etc, and plenty plenty more that could be added (Adam Warlock, Namor, Red Skull, Super Skrull, Dormammu, Odin, etc), and plenty of MCU characters that could still get a 5* version (thankfully we're down to most of the "second string" characters, Gamora/Rocket&Groot, War Machine, Falcon, Vision, Scarlet Witch herself, where SWitch probably ranks highest, but we could just as easily get a nano-tech Iron Man or a post-Ragnarok Thor or possibly a new Hulk or Cap for Endgame, not counting Captain Marvel, Spidey, and maybe Mysterio as candidates for other MCU movies next year)
    While you make some good points, I may very well cry myself to sleep if we get another Cap/IronMan/Spidey/Hulk 5* before someone new and (therefore) interesting.  I'll be stunned outa my mind if Cap Marvel doesn't get a 5* slot with her movie release next Spring, but otherwise, I see SWitch as a solid (and obvious) choice for an upcoming 5.  

    Then again, I sure didn't see Kitty/Cable in that category, so....  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • Straycat
    Straycat Posts: 963 Critical Contributor
    She's not that popular?
  • MrEd95
    MrEd95 Posts: 280 Mover and Shaker
    5* Archangel says hi. I agree with everything you say though. As long as she still has a variation on her blue passive, I’ll be happy.
  • fight4thedream
    fight4thedream GLOBAL_MODERATORS Posts: 1,909 Chairperson of the Boards
    ***Mod note: Moved to the MPQ Character Discussion forum
  • Anon
    Anon Posts: 1,455 Chairperson of the Boards
    For the same reason Juggernaut is a 1* and Doom is a 3*, while Coulson is a 4* and Puny Banner is a 5*.

    It's the way of the D3.
  • HoundofShadow
    HoundofShadow Posts: 8,004 Chairperson of the Boards
    This was how the devs answered back in the early days, and it seems to be pretty relevant, based on the past releases.

    Q: How do you determine which characters you plan on creating and releasing? What factors go into deciding which character the development staff chooses to focus their work on?

    A: We look at a number of things: fan demand, current events, and what we think would be most fun to play. Everyone on the team here loves Marvel so it’s always a mix of those things that informs which characters get selected.


  • Dormammu
    Dormammu Posts: 3,531 Chairperson of the Boards
    ...she's supposed to be the "most powerful mutant." 

     ...whether a bit role like Okoye or B-list heroes like Wasp have any business being up there...
    As others have stated, don't confuse the number of stars a character has to anything like popularity, the character's respective power level, or anything other than rarity. That's all it represents - rarity. Trying to attach any other variables to a character's star level won't get you anywhere.
  • Jaedenkaal
    Jaedenkaal Posts: 3,357 Chairperson of the Boards
    Dormammu said:
    ...she's supposed to be the "most powerful mutant." 

     ...whether a bit role like Okoye or B-list heroes like Wasp have any business being up there...
    As others have stated, don't confuse the number of stars a character has to anything like popularity, the character's respective power level, or anything other than rarity. That's all it represents - rarity. Trying to attach any other variables to a character's star level won't get you anywhere.
    And, with slightly less correlation, release order. None of the first 50 characters were 5*s, and none of the last 50 have been 1*s :)
  • DaveR4470
    DaveR4470 Posts: 931 Critical Contributor
    There should be a SWitch based on the House of M version.  Whenever your team gets 8AP in any color, she fires a random power from a selection that ranges from instakilling the other team to instakilling your own team, and everything in between.  Unless you have a max-champed Vision on your team, in which case she has three "real" powers that the player can control.

    That would be.... interesting.  :)