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Agatha all along

WORLDS aged to avenge Agatha by defeat­ ing the witches and destroying OF WONDER New Salem, that episode reduced Agatha all along Agatha to the role of a wandering spirit, until..… By KALEON RAHAN The surprise villain in the Marvel TV show WandaVision, Magic mentor THE pandemic may have stalled the Marvel Cinematic Universe Agatha Harkness, is actually one of the most powerful Agatha's most significant contri­ somewhat by closing cinemas glob­ bution in comics has to be her role ally, but fans of the MCU at least sorcerers in the Marvel universe. as Wanda's mentor and confidante. got something to cheer about with Recognising her “mutant" hex pow­ the release of Wanda Vision on ers at an early age, Agatha was Disney+ recently. Wanda's sounding board as her while Malaysians will have to powers evolved. wait for the show to come our way, However, her untimely “death” WandaVision's dose of hex and during the New Salem event coin­ chaos proved popular enough to cided with Wanda's pregnancy at kickstart the MClTs assault on the the time. Had Agatha been around, small screen, which is continuing she would have been able to dis­ with the ongoing Falcon And The sect the main contributors (i.e. Winter Soldier, all of which tie into Mephisto's soul fragments) to the larger MCU universe Wanda's pregnancy. (WandaVision leads directly into Unlike the vil­ Coincidental!% Agatha also had a the upcoming Doctor Strange m the lainous turn in role in Mephisto's wandering soul Multiverse of Madness in 2022), WandaVision, in fragments, as she was involved in Anyway our focus today is not the comics, the FF versus Mephisto battle (see on Wanda, the Vision or Dr Agatha Fantastic Four # 276 and Strange, but on the surprise lead Harkness plays #277), which Franklin unleashed antagonist of Vision, Agatha an important his psionic might on the demon! Harkriess. While some fans were role in the life of Fast forward to the story arcs in disappointed with the witch hog­ Scarlet Witch.— West Coast Avengers #42*61, ging the Big Bad role (instead of where a stressed out Scarlet Witch bigger names like Mephisto or Photos; Marvel Comics struggled with a re-programmed Kang), Agatha turned out to be the Vision and her vanishing kids. perfect ,reunion joy as Agatha match for Wanda's chaos magic, recently got a breaks the news to Wanda that her she also has a major connection makeover in the kids are not real and merely frag­ with the character in the comics. 2016 Scarlet ments of Mephisto's soul. To nullify In case you have never heard of Witch solo title. the shock and pain, Agatha mind her before WandaVision, here is wipes Wanda's memory of her chil­ the lowdown on Agatha Harkness. dren. Further dicing with the From nanny to governess ther taunted him with the possibili­ comics roots have never p j dangers of Wanda's fragile ty that she was a witch, which revealed the identity of(Wonder Man. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby witch but a very powerful sorcerer, Nicholas Scratch, who is the / This move proves disastrous she made her first appearance in proven by her invaluable assis­ father of the villainous group I as during the Avengers 1970's Fantastic Four #94, where tance to both the FF and the Salem Seven. I Disassembled storyline she was approached by Reed and Avengers over the years. She may Scratch was the one who I (Avengers (vol.3) #5O”5O3), Sue Richards to babysit their new­ lack the usual combat skills of revealed that Agatha was the I Wanda regained her memories born aka Franklin PUchards. superheroes, but she makes up far farmer leader of the New and kills Agatha. Being a Man of Science, Reed, it with her powerful spells, telepa­ Salem colony of witches. probably overlooked Agatha's thy, astral projection and energy Infuriated by his mother's Die hard spooky demeanour, but as it turns betrayal of the communities， out, it was the villainous Frightful secrete due to her affiliation f As expected, it isn't easy to kill Four who bored the full brunt of Golden Girl with the Fantastic Four, I someone who has lived 12,500 her mystical powers, when they Scratch abducts her (along years. In the 2016 Scarlet Witch trespassed into her sanctum. While the Agatha in with Franklin) and puts series, Agatha returns in spir- As Franklin's nanny and later WandaVision, played by Kathryn her on trial. p it-mode courtesy of Wanda's bio- governess, Agatha was also instru­ Hahn, looks considerably younger Obviously the FF inter­ [logical mother, Natalya Maximoff. mental in helping the child hone (despite being hundreds of years venes and frees Agatha and 1 The gift of life also comes with a his considerably powerful abilities old), the one in the comics could Franklin. Scratch was banished to r remodelled image as the new mod­ (he could manipulate reality itself, easily be mistaken for Spider-Man's another dimension, but the sorcer­ Ironically, Agatha em-looking Agatha re-enters and also had psionic powers), and Aunt May. er returned on several occasions to approved of the trials, as she saw Wanda's life for the third (line even saved the FF on several occa­ In the comics, Agatha is at least torment the FF, eventually forcing it as a mean to cull the weak and hopefully this time's the sions (i.e. from the Negative Zone, 12,500 years old.而 revealed in Agatha to do the unthinkable.... within her coven. When she relo­ charm. Overmind, Air Walker and even Silver Surfer (Vol.2) #135, Agatha denouncing him as her son. cated her practice to Colorado Ultron). was old enough to remember 500 aka New Salem, the culling prac­ Heroine or Villain? Her connections with the rirst years before Atlantis sunk, which Hex in the city tice continued with Agatha her­ Family of Marvel established works out to be 10,500 BC in self assuming the protagonist While WandaVision may have Agatha as a key supporting charac­ Marvel Comics years, What's evi­ A large chunk of her comics his­ role. cast her as a villain, gatha's ter in the Marvel universe. dent is that she has been practicing tory revolves around the 17th cen­ After centuries of culling weak comic book contributions have mystic arts way before Dr Strange tury, when Agatha settled in the witches, her grandchildren aka usually been for good causes Yer a witch, Agatha even appeared on the scene. English colony of Salem, the Salem'S Seven took over the (except for the witch-culling, of Massachusetts. There, she formed New Salem community (Vision course), With the TV Agatha Hints of Agatha being a witch Scratching the itch her own coven of witches where Scarlet Witch (Vol. 2) # 3) and trapped in West view and very were dropped from her very first they practiced magic freely... until their first homecoming act was to much alive still, don't be sur­ appearance, as Ben Grimm aka The While WandaVision threw us a they were persecuted by the kill Agatha by burning her at the prised to see her making a come­ Thing spotted a book titled Tales of red herring in the form of Agatha's Puritans during the Salem Witch stake. back in the MCU among the forc­ Old Salem on her table. Agatha ftir- husband (aka Ralph Bohner), her While Wanda and Vision man­ es of good!

She may look frail, but Agatha is one of the most power­ ful mag- ic-wielders in the Marvel uni­ Agatha made her first appearance as a nanny/governess Agatha eventually had to do the unthinkable and denounce verse. working for the Fantastic Four. her son, stripping him of his powers.