BIOGRAPHY - page 1
The early years of Margali Szardos have yet to be chronicled, but she was apparently born in Paris, France and, at some point, joined a wandering circus. As with the females in her family before her, Margali was a disciple of the practice of magic known as the Winding Way (or Winding 
Path), and Margali claimed that it was her family's responsibility to protect the Winding Way. The Winding Way was a path to magical power and enlightenment, where one's mystical strength constantly waxed and waned. Periods of god-like power would be followed by humbling powerlessness, encouraging growth of character as well as ability. One of Margali's most well-used abilities was the power of self-alteration, frequently disguising her older, frail form as a younger version of (presumably) herself. However, most commonly, she took the form of a green-skinned woman with a ram-horn headpiece.
During travels in Germany, Margali met the demon Azazel and the two apparently became good friends, at least according to Azazel. [mentioned in Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #432] At some point, Margali settled with the Der Jahrmarkt circus in Winzeldorf, Germany, where she acted as the circus' fortune teller, all while continuing to practice her own magical powers on the quest of the Winding Way. [Nightcrawler (3rd series) #8]
Margali worked alongside other sorceresses, Lilia Calderu and Maria Russoff. Together, they discovered a young girl who would eventually become a powerful sorceress that straddled magic and science. Knowing that they needed her for their coven, the two set about to recruit the young 
girl and activate her powers. That young girl was Wanda Maximoff, who lived with her gypsy parents, Django and Marya. Unfortunately, the plan backfired when other sorcerers interfered. Worse, the powerful Chthon became involved, demanding that Wanda Maximoff be left uninfluenced by others until the time was right for him to control her. During the confrontation, Margali acted to protect young Wanda and, in the aftermath, was foretold that she would bear her own child of occult significance. [Mystic Arcana: Scarlet Witch]
Indeed, she did. With an unknown mate, Margali first gave birth to her son Stefan and, about two years later, to her daughter Jimaine. Around the same time, Margali had a third child come into her life, a young orphan with an obvious mutation named Kurt Wagner. While details originally conflicted on whether Margali found Kurt by chance after he was abandoned by his mother Mystique, or whether Azazel had influence on Margali becoming Kurt's foster mother, it was actually Destiny who told Margali where to find Kurt. Margali raised Kurt lovingly and her adoptive son became close with both Stefan and Jimaine. However, Margali's treatment of her special boy started to create some anger in Stefan. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #428, X-Men Unlimited (1st series) #19, Nightcrawler (3rd series) #8, X-Men Blue – Origins #1]
As she and Kurt developed feelings for each other in their teenage years, Jimaine also started to desire to see the world. However, Margali would not accept Jimaine leaving her, the circus or the Winding Way, and showed Jimaine an illusion of the Soul Sword, revealing to Jimaine that it would be her destiny to wield the sword. This did not persuade Jimaine though and, when she was packing to leave, Margali appeared before Jimaine in disguise as Belasco and threatened her. Jimaine then heard a scream and rushed to the big top to find her trainer, Sabu, dead, unaware that it was Margali who orchestrated this in an attempt to keep her at the circus. Jimaine was particularly shaken by this, as Sabu had been performing in her absence. [Excalibur #minus1]
With Jimaine now uneasily under her control, Margali's other biological child, Stefan, began to fall under an influence that caused him to act strangely. For unknown reasons, Margali did not become involved in the ills troubling her son, but Kurt found himself promising Stefan that he would do whatever it took to stop him. After Stefan killed some local village children, Kurt confronted his adopted brother, which resulted in Stefan’s death. When others investigated, Kurt was found standing over the bodies of the children and the villagers chased him into the night, believing him their killer. Effectively, Margali was robbed of both her sons. [Uncanny Origins #8, Nightcrawler (3rd series) #8-11, X-Men Annual (1st series) #4, Marvel Comics Presents (1st series) #101-108]
Time passed and Margali had come to blame Kurt for the death of Stefan. At some point, Jimaine left the circus to fulfill her own dream of seeing the world. Assuming the guise of “Amanda Sefton,” she became a stewardess and sometime thereafter found Kurt, now a member of the X-Men and known as Nightcrawler. For reasons of her own, Jimaine maintained the identity of Amanda Sefton with him and, even after the two began a relationship, Kurt remained unaware that Amanda was his teenage sweetheart, Jimaine. [X-Men (1st series) #98] Knowing of her mother's anger towards Kurt, Jimaine arranged for Kurt, several members of the X-Men and Dr. Strange to be transported to a facsimile of Dante's Inferno that Margali had created to enact her revenge. It was there that Margali and Dr. Strange first encountered each other and battled. 
Despite Strange being the world’s Sorcerer Supreme, the skills of the two were equally matched. Possibly this was due to Margali’s use of a wand as the conduit of her powers, although when and from where she obtained this wand is unknown. During the battle, Margali was confronted with the truth of her son’s death, thanks to the abilities of Dr. Strange's Eye of Agamotto. Margali apologized to Kurt and departed, warning him that they would meet again soon, for they had much to catch up on. [X-Men Annual (1st series) #4]
At a time of great weakness along the Winding Way, Margali sent Jimaine to Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, because word had spread that Strange was apparently seeking a new disciple. When Dr. Strange called a meeting to talk to the many would-be disciples, he told them that he was not seeking a new student. This caused Jimaine to lash out at Strange for not accepting her as his student. Margali, calling herself the Sorceress Supreme, then finally revealed herself, confronting Strange for denying Jimaine the chance to further her mystical abilities. Margali, Jimaine, Dr. Strange and the would-be disciples were transported to another realm, 
where Margali battled Strange. Even as Strange cast a spell to counter Margali and the giantess size she presented herself in, she was able to stand her ground and eventually defeat him. However, Dr. Strange may have been faking his defeat, as he grabbed the mysterious wand from Margali and cast it into a circle of Cyttorak to protect it. With her current source of power gone, Margali's weakness exposed itself and she reverted to her true form, seemingly grateful to Dr. Strange for freeing her. [Dr. Strange (2nd series) #57]
Free from the wand's corruption, Margali and Amanda left Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum and returned to Amanda's Manhattan apartment, where apparently Margali remained for a few days before she returned to Winzeldorf. [Dr. Strange (2nd series) #58]
Margali spent the next few years maintaining an extremely low profile, but remained in contact with Amanda, who eventually joined the European super hero team, Excalibur, of which Nightcrawler was a founding member. At a low point of power along the Winding Way, Margali was captured by the Fear-Lord, D'Spayre, whose power was growing, strengthened as he fueled the discontent that was growing within Germany. Unable to act against D'Spayre, Margali was counting on the help of her children. However, after Amanda collected Nightcrawler and teleported him to Germany, she was unable to go any further, as D'Spayre would sense her. Forced to search for their mother alone, Kurt was attacked by an angry mob and knocked out, all of which Margali helplessly watched through a scrying pool. D'Spayre laughed at the rescue attempt, but Margali was given strength by Kurt's arrival and cast a spell through the scrying pool, 
though D'Spayre prevented it from succeeding. Kurt eventually recovered on his own and was able to confront D'Spayre, just in time before Margali withered to a husk and D'Spayre claimed her power for his own. D'Spayre was defeated and Margali freed, no real harm having come to her. However, she was concerned about how Nightcrawler would react to her after he recently learned about his birth mother, Mystique. Although Kurt was furious with Margali, this fury could not replace the love that the gypsy woman once gave him. [Excalibur (1st series) #76-77]
Still at a low point of power along the Winding Way, Margali managed to get herself to Cairo, Egypt to see Amanda. Though she was still a member of Excalibur, Amanda nevertheless still maintained her job as a stewardess so she could continue to see the world and happened to be in Cairo on a stopover.
Margali appeared as a street beggar before Amanda and informed her daughter of a sorcerer called Gravemoss, who was not only ahead of her on the Winding Way but who was a deviant that was warping the Way. Worse, this Gravemoss intended to steal a weapon that would enable him to kill all those ahead of him on the Way. That weapon was none other than the Soulsword, the weapon Margali long ago told Amanda that would be her destiny to wield. Powerless, Margali asked her daughter to stop Gravemoss and steal the Soul Sword. Amanda agreed and returned Margali to Germany before she ventured to Muir Island.
Trouble involving the Soulsword and Gravemoss was already playing out on Muir Island, the home of Excalibur. Fortunately, Amanda was eventually able to help her teammates defeat Gravemoss and she removed him from the Winding Way. Afterwards, when Kitty Pryde handed her the Soulsword, it became bonded to her. Margali was then given the sword by Amanda, at which point the bond was transferred to Margali – which is what the old woman wanted all along. [Excalibur (1st series) #83-85]
After leaving her daughter, Margali then used the Soulsword to kill everyone that was ahead of 
her on the Winding Way. She then strung their ghosts around her caravan and made a new, young, red-headed body for herself. Margali was finally at the peak of her power, both on the Winding Way and as the owner of the Soulsword. When Amanda went to visit her mother, she was shocked at the discovery she made and realized that this was her fault for giving Margali the Soulsword. As if this startling discovery wasn't enough, Margali revealed to Amanda that there was a demon under London and that she was going to control and suck dry its power too. [Excalibur (1st series) #85, 100]
To further her plans to wrest control of the demon and add to her expanded power, Margali joined the London branch of the Hellfire Club as its Red Queen. The London branch of the Hellfire Club was also associated with the enigmatic organization called Black Air, and together the two groups arranged for Excalibur's Douglock to be abducted. The techno-organic being was then beheaded and placed in the Blackwall, Black Air's headquarters in London. Margali was also magically influencing the Red King to help her further her own plans, seducing him into being her pawn. Her pieces in place, Margali placed her hands on Douglock's head, which was linked to the power 
source in the crypt beneath London, intending to absorb the power from the demon. To her horror, her hands became fused to Douglock's techno-organic head and, instead of her draining its power, the hungry demon began draining her of her powers. Unable to cancel the link, Margali’s power surged through the Blackwall, freeing the demon and starting a fire which spread through London.
Excalibur alone was left to deal with the trouble spreading across London, the demon and the Hellfire Club. Locating Margali in the catacombs beneath London, Nightcrawler, Amanda and Wolfsbane teleported to her location, where they found her now-withered form still connected to Douglock. After Wolfsbane severed the connection, Amanda used her power to seal the demon's tomb, trapping the creature once more. Unfortunately, in the process, Margali faded away. [Excalibur (1st series) #96-100]