First premiering as the inconspicuous yet nosy neighbor in 2021’s WandaVision, actress Kathyrn Hahn’s depiction of Agatha Harkness has seemingly come full circle. Even though Wanda successfully defeated the centuries-old witch and trapped her in the magically created Westview, she now has her own miniseries on Disney+ titled Agatha All Along. Now joined by other unexplored Marvel names such as Jennifer Kale, Alice Gulliver, and Lilia Calderu, the premise of this new and exciting miniseries sees Harkness (along with her new coven) embark on the elusive Witches’ Road in order to get her powers back. With the trailers teasing that some dire sacrifices need to be made on the way, Agatha All Along will surely be a show comic book fans cannot miss. But wait, who is Agatha in the first place?
Surely, Hahn’s dedication to the role is enough to get any MCU enthusiast interested in the character, and viewers were treated to some of her tragic backstory towards the latter half of WandaVision. But in saying that, Agatha Harkness has played an interesting part in Marvel Comics since the early 1970s. From having the humble beginning of being a babysitter for The Fantastic Four to helping the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in some epic battles and finally using the Darkhold’s powers to pit iconic heroes against one another, this witch has a hidden history that must be told.
Agatha Harkness and the Salem Witch Trials
Her story starts all the way back in the early 15th century when her first coven (consisting of names like Zoric, Minoru, Corina, and Jacquette Laveau) tries to stop the witch hunts happening throughout Europe. A lynch mob quickly overtook the group, ready to kill them all. To fend off the attackers, Laveau summoned the demon lord Valtorr, who took swift care of the matter. Unbeknownst to the group, though, this incantation required a sacrifice, and Corina was dragged down to his domain.
This sisterly betrayal caused Agatha to go her own way, eventually landing in Salem, Massachusetts. The historical witch trials would end up putting her at war with the mutant known as Firestar. Harkness approved the witch hunts as it strengthened the magical people as a whole, destroying the weak. But because Firestar was stronger, the coven leader rounded up who she could and formed New Salem in the mountains of Colorado.
Away from the immediate dangers of an evolving society, she had a son named Nicholas Scratch (sound familiar?), fought for women’s equality with the help of The Daughters of Liberty (whom she helped train in the way of mystical arts), and joined the Department of Uncanny after World War II to take down Hilda Von Hate, a she-witch who worked for the Nazis. She’s doing so much already! Plus, who knew Agatha was such a patriot?
Some odd years later, when she had a house and a cat all her own atop Whisper Hill (and was about to retire from her teaching), she was called by Reed Richards and Sue Storm to become the governess of their son, Franklin. Before that could happen, though, Agatha rescued the team (and the baby) from the clutches of the Frightful Four (Madame Medusa, the Wizard, Paste-Pot Pete, and the Sandman), who invaded the mansion one stormy night. Agatha’s cat Ebony got into the action by turning into a massive panther and launching The Wizard out the window. Maybe we will get to see this gnarly transformation in Agatha All Along. Not to get into every little detail, but the Agatha and Fantastic Four connection goes very deep — she’s helped them defeat villains like Grom (a corrupted Eternal), Air-Walker (an android made by Galactus), and Ultron.
Protecting Both Scarlet Witch and The Fantastic Four
In this next chapter, she fatefully comes into contact with Wanda Maximoff, better known as The Scarlet Witch. After feeling that Maximoff wants to better wield her coming powers, Harkness tells Sue Storm that it’s time they took the reins of their own son. This training with Maximoff also comes to a close when (just like in the MCU) Wanda marries Vision. Agatha is then called back to New Salem, where her seven grandchildren are turning the town against her because of her alliance with non-coven entities — that being The Fantastic Four.
Calling themselves the Salem Seven, they actually burn Agatha at the stake and decimate the town. Thanks to the returning Scarlet Witch and The Fantastic Four, this resentful group was taken down. Wanda cleverly used the lingering massive amounts of power and energy to impregnate herself so she and Vision could take the next step in their relationship.
The consequences of this event quickly triggered Agatha’s revival as none other than Mephisto secretly absorbed the Scarlet Witch’s babies as he proclaimed they were of his own essence. Talk about soap opera drama. Under a memory loss spell for some time, Wanda (in a fit of rage) killed Agatha for a second time when she found out the old mentor was the one who put her in that trance to help her cope with the loss. However, this time, it was Wanda’s mother, Natalya, who summoned Agatha back to life. Springing back into her magical ways of life, the iconic user of the dark arts uncovers a conspiracy involving Vision’s robot wife, Virginia, using him to kill all the Avengers. Trying to slow down her life once more, Agatha became a professor at the Strange Academy, where she taught the children who came from her first coven in the 1500s. A hint in the story usually means so much more — and here it does, too.
Agatha’s Final Fight to Obtain the Darkhold
Remember Corina from Agatha’s first coven, who was slammed shut into a dark, confined dominion with Valtorr? She ultimately beats the demon lord to death, calls herself Korrosion, and wants to bring about the end of the world. Zoe, Nico, and Agatha have to team up once more and seal Corina away forever by using a magic dagger. This blast also de-ages Agatha drastically, who then goes into hiding. Finally, in the most recent Agatha-based story, she once again comes face to face with the Scarlet Witch and pits Marvel heroes against each other in her own twisted version of Doctor Doom’s Secret Wars.
While Contest of Chaos wasn’t well received by critics, we saw appearances by names such as Wolverine, Storm, Venom, and Cyclops. In her attempt to create a new Darkhold during this time, the young Agatha used her victorious heroes as pawns to find out who could help her contain the magic she desired. Through this chaotic storyline, these tranced names not only fended off demons in the Bermuda Triangle while she went about her conjurings but also fought the Avengers, who were trying to stop the witch from completing this ritual. Clea Strange (a student under Doctor Strange) eventually gained the upper hand during this fight, pulled the mystical experiment away from the mischievous witch, and caused an explosion, the likes of which had never been seen before. Slowly waking up on a barren shore, Agatha was met by a young boy who was actually the Darkhold itself, but in human form.
As you can see, Agatha Harkness has been up to a lot ever since making her debut over 40 years ago. She has been both a hero and a villain at times, battling her own evil grandchildren and teaching young new magic users. But then there were also times when she tried to use magic for her own selfish needs. We will definitely see more of this wavering personality as Agatha All Along continues to play out on Disney+.
