Move Over, Doctor Strange: Marvel Now Has an Army That Could Wipe Out Its Top Sorcerer (2025)

Warning: Contains spoilers for Scarlet Witch #6!!

Magic users are some of the most powerful heroes and foes of the Marvel Universe – yet even the strongest sorcerers and witches, like Doctor Strange and the Scarlet Witch, are bound to struggle against one surprisingly effective anti-magic foe: the Eliminators. Though they were originally introduced to battle the Fantastic Four, the Eliminators have the potential to become the "Sentinels" of the magic world.

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In Scarlet Witch #6 – written by Steve Orlando, with art by Lorenzo Tammetta, Frank William – Agatha Harkness sends a new apprentice, Amaranth, to the Scarlet Witch, and the two are promptly attacked by a being calling itself the Eliminator. It's incredibly resistant to Wanda's magical attacks and quickly recovers from her hexes, leaving her struggling to defeat it.

Move Over, Doctor Strange: Marvel Now Has an Army That Could Wipe Out Its Top Sorcerer (1)

Though Amaranth mysteriously neutralizes the self-destruct ability, the Eliminator's surprising success against the Scarlet Witch reveals its potential against magic users. In greater numbers, an Eliminator army could theoretically be capable of neutralizing Doctor Strange, Wanda Maximoff, and Marvel's other high-level magic wielders.

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The Eliminators Are Resistant To Marvel's Strongest Magic Users

Scarlet Witch #6 – Written By Steve Orlando; Art By Lorenzo Tammetta; Color By Frank William; Lettering By Ariahna Maher

With Doctor Doom as the acting Sorcerer Supreme, magic is currently in a state of relative upheaval in the Marvel Universe. Doctor Strange certainly isn't at his strongest, and there's always a broad range of approaches and talent among the various sorcerers, witches, and others. It may seem impossible to target them all, let alone overcome them, but the Eliminators appear to have the adaptability to make that possible. Much like the Sentinels that target the X-Men and other mutants, the Eliminators change their approach depending on the type of magical attack, and recover quickly from any hits taken.

As a full army, the Eliminators would quickly become overwhelming.

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This particular Eliminator was built to target Wanda Maximoff and Amaranth, specifically. With a broader scope and greater numbers, they could pose a substantial threat – all it would take is someone with the motivation to destroy magic users and the ability to create Eliminators en masse. Wanda's Eliminator is spell-tempered and equipped with a range of attacks, beyond its self-eliminate setting. Its so-called "Necrogaze"and Glawakus Oil are effective against the Scarlet Witch and, given her immense magical talent, that would apply to most other magic users as well. As a full army, the Eliminators would quickly become overwhelming.

The Original Eliminator Nearly Took Down The Fantastic Four – Imagine What An Army Could Do

Eliminator's First Appearance: Fantastic Four #184 – Written By Len Wein; Art By George Pérez

Move Over, Doctor Strange: Marvel Now Has an Army That Could Wipe Out Its Top Sorcerer (3)

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Agatha Harkness has currently repurposed the Eliminator concept for her own ends, but the original version set her as its target. Marvel's first Eliminator was introduced in Fantastic Four #184, created by Nicholas Scratch to erase any trace of Agatha, including anyone who knew her. At the time, Agatha acted as a nanny for Franklin Richards, making the Fantastic Four one of the Eliminator's primary targets. Scratch's Eliminator wasn't as advanced as the one Agatha commissioned to attack Wanda and Amaranth in Scarlet Witch #6, and proved incapable of outsmarting the Fantastic Four, though its attacks were still powerful.

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Harkness clearly never forgot the Eliminator, and traveled to the planet Amanna to commission her own. That gives the idea of creating an army further credence, as there are "magitek" engineers in the Marvel Universe fully capable of building them. With the right alterations and features, Eliminators could be built to withstand an even broader catalog of magical attacks. Even the original design was adept in physical fights against the Fantastic Four, giving Eliminators the versatility and range of an effective army. It's just a matter of pairing ideas and tech together simultaneously, rather than operating on an individual scale.

The Eliminators Offer An Answer To Out-of-Control Magic In The Marvel Universe

A Controversial, But Effective Option

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The Marvel Universe has been ravaged by magic on multiple occasions, and at times the entire universe is vulnerable to its damage and alterations. Not only is magic difficult or impossible to resist for even the strongest heroes, but it conjures such a broad range of results that it's hard to anticipate what it's capable of. Doctor Strange losing the Sorcerer Supreme mantle to Victor von Doom is only one of many examples of how quickly magic can spiral into something dark, and how vulnerable it leaves the rest of the world; an army of Eliminators could be a failsafe.

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The world doesn't need a squadron of anti-magic Sentinels targeting innocent magic users, but the Eliminators could be useful in quelling the more out-of-control magical threats. They have the capacity to be incredibly effective and have revealed what they can accomplish even in brief battles. There's plenty of room for improvement, but they could become a formidable force for good, or a devastating army in the wrong hands. Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, and those like them would be at the mercy of the spell-resistant Eliminators, and a full army could wipe out even Marvel's top magic users.

Scarlet Witch #6 is available now from Marvel Comics.

Move Over, Doctor Strange: Marvel Now Has an Army That Could Wipe Out Its Top Sorcerer (6)
Scarlet Witch

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Scarlet Witch debuted, along with her twin brother, Quicksilver in X-Men #4 (March 1964). Also known as Wanda Maximoff, she first appears as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, before she eventually became a member of the Avengers. In the comics, she is a mutant who uses chaos magic to alter reality.

Scarlet Witch is played by Elizabeth Olsen in the MCU, having debuted in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Move Over, Doctor Strange: Marvel Now Has an Army That Could Wipe Out Its Top Sorcerer (2025)
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