Family Ties is an episode that dives deep into the intricate web of relationships that make the X-Men universe so compelling. At its core, this episode explores the complex familial bond between Magneto and the twins, Wanda (the Scarlet Witch) and Pietro (Quicksilver). It kicks off with a dramatic twist as Wanda and Pietro discovers Magneto is their father, a revelation that throws their world into turmoil.

As the episode unfolds, we see the themes of family, loyalty, and identity come to the forefront. Wanda’s anger and sense of betrayal at discovering the truth about her parentage is palpable. Pietro, on the other hand, is torn between his desire to support his sister and his own feelings of resentment towards Magneto. This dynamic creates a rich, emotional narrative that explores the impact of secrets and lies.

Magneto’s role in this episode is particularly fascinating. As a character who has always been driven by a deep-seated belief in mutant supremacy, his interactions with Wanda and Pietro reveal a more vulnerable side. He must confront the consequences of his past actions and the toll they have taken on his family. The chapter delves into the idea that even those who seem the most powerful are not immune to the pain of personal loss and regret.

At the X-Factor headquarters, Quicksilver is taking a call from Forge when the Scarlet Witch interrupts him with urgent news: their father, Django Maximoff, is on his deathbed. The siblings rush to Django’s side, where he reveals a shocking truth: he and his wife were not their biological parents but adopted them as babies. The story thickens as Django explains that Bova, an Animorph, delivered the twins to them and swore them to secrecy.

Django suggests that the twins find Bova to uncover their true parentage, but Quicksilver is sceptical about this sudden revelation. Meanwhile, at the X-Mansion, Magneto arrives and confides in Professor X that he has heard rumours about his wife, Magda, being alive and living in the Balkans. He tells Xavier and the X-Men not to interfere if he ends up in trouble, but Xavier sends Wolverine to act as Magneto’s bodyguard.

Elsewhere, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch arrive at Mount Wundagore, where they meet Bova and the High Evolutionary. Bova recounts how their mother, Magda, arrived at Mount Wundagore years ago, fleeing from a mutant who destroyed their village. She gave birth to the mutant twins and then tragically died. Upon hearing this, Quicksilver is filled with a need for vengeance.

Magneto reaches the grave of his wife and is confronted by another Animorph. The twins arrive, mistakenly believing Magneto killed their mother. They tie up Magneto, but the situation escalates when the Animorphs attack. Wolverine arrives just in time to assist the mutants, but all four are soon gassed and taken back to Mount Wundagore by the High Evolutionary. Once there, the High Evolutionary reveals his plan to use the powers of Magneto’s family for his experiments, disclosing that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are indeed Magneto’s children.

Using his machines and technology, the High Evolutionary messes with Logan’s DNA, transforming him into a large wolf-like monster. The situation seems dire until Professor X and Beast arrive in the Blackbird to help the mutants break free. The High Evolutionary departs, Wolverine is restored to normal and, in the aftermath, the twins reconcile with Magneto.

X-Factor appear to still be based at Kirby Glen, as seen in Cold Comfort. Quicksilver uses an X-Factor jet known as the Hummingbird to meet his sister in Transia. In X-Factor #1, it was red.

Wanda and Pietro’s history with Django Maximoff, their midwife Bova and the Wundagore mountain range comes from Avengers #186. The revelation that Magneto is their father came from the Vision and the Scarlet Witch limited series, specifically the end of #4. Of course, since then… (see box-out).

The Scarlet Witch makes her debut in the series, apart from a cameo in season 2’s Red Dawn. No proper explanation about her powers and how they work through a whip is given, but this version of the character is pretty basic, with no European accent – so Iron Man messes with the continuity.

This is the first time Magneto has been seen alive since Sanctuary (Part 2). Wolverine is not amused at Erik’s survival of Asteroid M’s plummet to Earth! After this episode, he’s not seen until the season four finale, Beyond Good and Evil.

The High Evolutionary, who first appeared in comics in The Mighty Thor #134 is primarily not an X-Men villain. However, he flees Earth at the end of this episode. He can also be seen, in various different guises, in Spider-Man Unlimited and Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, where he is the creator of Rocket Racoon.

There is a reference to Magda Lehnsherr and Magneto’s causing her to flee his side. In the comics, he destroys the village and frightens her away. The villagers had previously set fire to his house, which killed their daughter Anya. This was revealed in Classic X-Men #10. No mention is made of Anya in this episode. A similar story can be seen in X-Men: Apocalypse.

In his own short-lived solo series in the late nineties, Quicksilver actually became leader of the half-animal Knights of Wundagore.

The original origin for Wolverine, before being changed, was that he was an actual wolverine evolved by the High Evolutionary. In this episode, it’s his tampering that causes Logan’s mutation.

FAMILY TREES

At the time of this episode in the late nineties, the relationship between the Maximoff twins and Magneto had long been established. They had first appeared alongside the villain in their first appearances in X-Men #4, but before the end of the run, the pair had renounced their evil ways and joined the Avengers. Apart from Quicksilver’s tenure as part of the mutant team X-Factor, they’ve largely stayed on the periphery of X-Men action, preferring to tackle global threats with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes instead.

As a result, when the Marvel Cinematic Universe used Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron, a deal was reached allowing FOX the use of the characters for their X-Men series. The result: two versions of Pietro Maximoff on cinema screens at the same time in two different franchises!

The MCU version, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, was unceremoniously killed for shock value in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The FOX X-Men version wowed cinema-goers with quick wit, fantastic displays of power and stunning sequences involved special effects, which became the highlight of the two movies (we refer to the Pentagon escape in X-Men: Days of Future Past and his rescue of the team from the exploding mansion in X-Men: Apocalypse). In the third, Dark Phoenix, the popular character, played by Evan Peters to acclaim, was dropped from the story half way through due to the actor’s availability. Such was his popularity, that when WandaVision needed a Pietro substitute, it was the FOX version that showed up! Sort of.

Regardless, in order to make sense of two wholes, Marvel Comics retconned the twins during the AXIS event so that they were no longer mutants or the children of Magneto, but the results of genetic experiments done to them as babies by the High Evolutionary!

This episode, appears more important now than it once did – perhaps because fans would quite like the twins back where they belong – as the children of the Master of Magnetism!

Proteus (Part 2) | Bloodlines