Marvel’s WandaVision on Disney+ has packed a whole bunch of surprises into just seven episodes and this week’s installment added to the total. While we knew things weren’t exactly what they seem, we learned some exciting new things in “Breaking the Fourth Wall,” including the reveal of a certain character.
WandaVision spoilers ahead!
There have been many fan theories regarding characters we might see in WandaVision and one of the most popular involved a witch known as Agatha Harkness. So it doesn’t come as the biggest shock to learn than Agnes, played by Kathryn Hahn, is in fact this character in disguise.
Agnes reveals herself to be Harkness at the end of this week’s episode, outing herself as the villain who has been pulling the strings all along. However, this is a beat of a turn from this characters neature in Marvel Comics.
Agatha lived through the Salem Witch Trials well before she ever meets Wanda Maximoff in the comics. In fact, she actually meets the Fantastic Four before the familiar Avenger, serving as a babysitter for Franklin Richards.
Agatha was eventually killed by her grandchildren, a group known as Salem’s Seven. Wanda confronted the group and defeated them, absorbing a tremendous amount of energy in the process. That energy eventually led to her pregnancy and the birth of her twin boys.
As is often the case with comic book characters though, Agatha didn’t stay dead for long. She eventually returned and acted as a mentor to Wanda, teaching her to better control her powers. She does however also tell Wanda that her children are not really her children, and instead are pieces of the soul of a demon known as Mephisto. When they are eventually reabsorbed into Mephisto, Agatha simply wipes Wanda’s memory of them, making it as though they never existed.
When Wanda eventually remembers her children, she confronts her old teacher and kills her. This happens in the midst of a mental break for Wanda, during which she also kills Hawkeye and Ant-Man. This led to the disassembling of the Avengers and changed the reputation of the Scarlet Witch forever, with much of the world believing her to be a threat.
Wanda isn’t the only witch with children though. Agatha actually has a son of her own, a sorcerer named Nicholas Scratch. Scratch acts as a villain on several occasions in the comics, getting on the bad side of the Fantastic Four and eventually being banished to Hell. There he forms an alliance with the aforementioned Mephisto.
It’s worth noting that Agnes’ pet rabbit in WandaVision is name Senor Scratchy. This could be a nod to Scratch or perhaps could even be the character trapped in an animal’s body. With magical abilities like those of Harkness and perhaps even Mephisto involved, anything is possible.
It certainly appears as though some things have been changed for this character in WandaVision, though I’m willing to guess there are still a few twists and turns to come in the final two episodes. Given the history of these two characters though, I’m also willing to guess things won’t end so will for Agatha.
You can watch WandaVision on Disney+ now.