Every superhero (and supervillain) fan loves to engage in a good "Who would win in a fight?" debate, but the debate takes on a whole new level of cool when it is coming from the actors who play the super-powered folks on the big screen. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Marvelverse residents, possible Hollywood couple, and I Saw the Light costars, Elizabeth Olsen and Tom Hiddleston got into a good-natured debate over who would win in a fight between Scarlet Witch and Loki. Olsen spoke up first — and, of course, she was team Scarlet Witch all the way. "I think Scarlet Witch would win — she’s one of the most powerful people in the universe," Olsen said.
Hiddleston was just as passionate about Loki's chances, though. While he acknowledged Olsen's Scarlet Witch is extremely powerful, she's a witch while Loki, on the other hand, is a god. In other words, Hiddleston is team Loki. Outside of someone at Marvel writing a scene with these two skilled characters going toe to toe, the only way to settle this debate is to test out all the possibilities.
I'm going to examine Loki and Scarlet Witch's powers, character traits, and history to decide who would win in a battle. It is time to settle Olsen and Hiddleston's debate. Who would truly win in a fight: Loki or Scarlet Witch?
Powers
Loki and Scarlet Witch have similar powers. Both of them can use mental manipulation against their opponents, they are both telekinetic, and both have been known to project energy blasts. At her core, Scarlet Witch is a human, though — and she does have human limitations despite her powers. As a god, Loki possesses superstrength, agility, speed, and healing. These attributes make it much harder to keep Loki down in a physical sense — and since he, too, manipulates the mind, he would surely be more attune to Scarlet Witch's attempts to get inside his head.
But being physically stronger doesn't automatically give Loki the first point. A big part of having powers is how you control them. This is where character comes into play.
Character Traits
Here is where things get interesting: Loki is a cocky guy. He thinks he is the smartest person in the room and the ultimate trickster, and the feeling that he is untouchable is one of his greatest weaknesses. Deep down, he also craves the love and approval of his father, and now Thor. His desire to not be an outcast and to hold all the power at the same time gives the god a very human flaw.
Scarlet Witch is harboring a lot of anger, but, just like the Hulk, you won't like her when she's angry. She has lived with her darkest moments for so long, they can't really touch her anymore. She is quiet, cool under pressure, and even more dangerous when her emotions do flair. She could see Loki's deepest fears and dreams and manipulate them in a way that even the trickster would have trouble fully understanding what was real and what was all in his head.
For both of these characters, the ultimate playing field is the mind, and as long as their battle remains in the non-corporeal realm, they would be evenly matched.
Fighting History
For all of his strength, Loki has been taken down in the past. Sure, it took all of the Avengers working together to stop his reign of terror on Earth, but they did defeat him. Scarlet Witch has a better record when it comes to winning the wars she starts: She was able to manipulate all of the Avengers, and even brought Thor to his knees with her mind-bending abilities. Add in the part where she ripped out Ultron's central processor, and her strength becomes undeniable. Both characters are still standing — Scarlet Witch is an Avenger now, and Loki is ruling Asgard in disguise — but Scarlet Witch's fighting record is nearly spotless.
And The Winner Is...
Sorry, Hiddleston — Loki is a god, but he is a god with vulnerabilities to exploit. He lived a charmed life until he found out about the whole Frost Giant thing which means he has good memories to manipulate. Scarlet Witch's powers were forged in the ashes of loss and death. She is too hardened to believe pretty fantasies about her family coming back and too smart to fall for mental manipulation about her culpability in her country's war. She's also been inside Thor's brain, which surely gave her a head's up on Loki, his past, and his tactics.
That's not to say Loki would crumble. Physically, he is stronger than Scarlet Witch, but if these two titans ever go up against each other in the battlefield of the mind, I think Scarlet Witch will come out on top — at least the first time. You can fool Loki once, but he is nothing if not infinitely adaptable.
Check out Hiddleston and Olsen's take on a potential Loki/Scarlet Witch battle below.
Image: Marvel Studios; Giphy (5)
