| Agatha Harkness | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Agatha Harkness and her familiar, Ebony | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Fantastic Four #94 (January 1970) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Witches of New Salem Daughters of Liberty Strange Academy |
| Partnerships | Fantastic Four Scarlet Witch |
| Notable aliases | Prof. Emeritus Harkness |
| Abilities |
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| Altered in-story information for adaptations to other media | |
| Partnerships | Death (Rio Vidal) William Kaplan (Billy Maximoff) |
Agatha Harkness is a character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created by writerStan Lee and artistJack Kirby, the characterfirst appeared inFantastic Four #94 (October 1969).[1] Agatha Harkness is a powerfulwitch and one of the original witches from theSalem witch trials.[2]
The character debuted as thegoverness toFranklin Richards, serving as an ally to theFantastic Four.[3] She trained theScarlet Witch / Wanda Maximoff in the art of magic.[4] Harkness is the mother of the warlockNicholas Scratch and the grandmother of theSalem's Seven. She has also been a member of theDaughters of Liberty. Originally depicted as an elderly woman, Harkness was able to become young again and increased her strength.[5]
Since her introduction in comics, the character has been featured in various other Marvel-licensed products, includingvideo games,animatedtelevision series, and merchandise.Agatha Harkness made her live-action debut in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) live-action miniseriesWandaVision (2021), portrayed byKathryn Hahn. She reprised her role in the spin-off seriesAgatha All Along (2024).
Agatha Harkness debuted inFantastic Four #94 (October 1969), created byStan Lee andJack Kirby.[6] She appeared in the "Avengers Disassembled" storyline,[7] the 2022Midnight Suns series,[8] the 2023Scarlet Witch Annual one-shot,[9] the 2024House of Harkness series,[10] and the 2024Agatha Harkness: The Saga of the Salem Witchtrade paperback.[11]
Agatha Harkness was introduced as thegoverness ofFranklin Richards.[12] She easily fended off theFrightful Four when they came to abduct Richards, and admitted to theFantastic Four that she is awitch.[13][14] She then aided the Fantastic Four in battle againstAnnihilus.[15]
Through the actions of her sonNicholas Scratch, she was revealed as a member of the previously unknown New Salem, Colorado, a colony of witches of whom she had been the leader. Scratch had taken control of the town and persuaded its inhabitants that Agatha betrayed the community's secrets by working for the Fantastic Four. She was abducted and taken back to the community with Franklin to stand trial.[16] The Fantastic Four followed and came into conflict withSalem's Seven, Agatha's grandchildren fathered by Scratch. The Fantastic Four defeated them and freed Agatha. In the process, Scratch's evil was revealed to the community of New Salem and he was banished to another dimension.[17] Agatha became the magical tutor for theScarlet Witch in the use of witchcraft.[18]
Scratch and Salem's Seven returned, and Agatha foiled their attempt to conquer the world.[19]
Eventually, Salem's Seven took over the New Salem community again. They captured Agatha and killed her by burning her at the stake, although Agatha soon made her presence known to Wanda in what appeared to be a post-death astral form. In an ensuing battle between the Scarlet Witch and Salem's Seven, the entire community's energies were drawn into Vertigo of the Seven, who lost control of them. Wanda managed to capture some of the energy and funnel it away, but the entire town was destroyed. Following hints from Agatha's astral form, Wanda channeled the remaining energy to become pregnant with twin children ofVision, her android husband.[20]
Later, Agatha resurfaced, again alive and well, when Wanda's infant children began exhibiting odd behavior (disappearing for brief periods of time) and Wanda became unstable after her husband's dismantling; Agatha provided no explanation for her return.[21] AfterMephisto claimed that Scarlet Witch's children were actually fragments of his own soul and reabsorbs them, Agatha briefly mind-wiped Wanda's memory of her children in an attempt to help her deal with the trauma. Agatha later restored those memories soon after when Wanda became a pawn in a complex plot byImmortus. Agatha aided theAvengers in their battle against Immortus.[22]
Wanda, again having no memory of her children, angrily confronted Agatha about their existence.Nick Fury ofS.H.I.E.L.D. found what appeared to be Agatha's corpse in her home and concluded that Agatha had been dead for a long time.[23] Some time later, a partially amnesiac Wanda tellsClint Barton she is under the care of her "Aunt Agatha" in a small apartment.[24] However, this version of Wanda was later revealed to be aDoombot that replaced the real Wanda at some point.[25]
Agatha has since made her presence known in theNew Multiverse as a ghost. She appears to Wanda and confirms her death at the hands of her protégé.[26] She also concurrently serves as the omniscient narrator of Vision's ongoing solo title, having induced precognitive visions through an arcane ritual involving the murder of Ebony at some undetermined point before her death.[27] Agatha fights alongside Wanda and the spirit of her biological mother Natalya Maximoff against a physical manifestation of Chaos which is attempting to destroy witchcraft. The two spirits channel their magic through Wanda and, afterQuicksilver is summoned, they manage to defeat the being once and for all although this has gravely wounded Order, the Goddess of Witchcraft. Natalya sacrifices herself to restore Order and, in doing so, also returns Agatha to life. Despite noting that her and Wanda's paths are intertwined, Agatha chooses to have some time to herself to enjoy being alive again.[28]
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Agatha Harkness later appears as a member of theDaughters of Liberty where she taught magic to its members. At the time when Captain America figured out that Dryad is a revivedPeggy Carter, Agatha teleported herself to inform him that the threats that the Daughters of Liberty have been facing are connected withAleksander Lukin's sister Alexa.[29] Agatha later briefed the Daughters of Liberty's latest recruitShuri about the situation involvingSelene havingSharon Carter's soul. She then proceeded to transport herself, Sharon'sIron Patriot appearance, and Shuri to where Selene is located.[30]
During the battle with Corina (now calling herself Korrosion), a giganticexplosion of energy was unleashed due to the Black Mirror's destruction and neither Korrosion or Agatha Harkness were anywhere to be found. It later turns out that the explosion had sent them back to their homeworlds where they belong. Agatha discovers that by absorbing the Mirror's energy, she has been restored to her physical and mental prime and is now a young woman again. She briefly goes into hiding as she adjusts to her new body.[31]
During the "Contest of Chaos" storyline, Agatha uses Chthon's remains to create a new Darkhold and starts by havingSpider-Man andWolverine fight each other in the Amazon rainforest. Wolverine wins because Spider-Man held back and he gives Agatha the orb as they both disappear.[32] ThenIron Man andStorm find themselves fighting each other in Giant Crystal Cave due to Agatha's spell which ends with Storm defeating Iron Man.[33]Human Torch is transported to a moving train made to look like Hell where Agatha's spell makes Human Torch andGhost Rider fight each other. Human Torch defeats Ghost Rider as Agatha locks Human Torch up.[34] While hunting theJersey Devil,Moon Knight encountersTaegukgi where Agatha's spell makes them fight each other which ends with Moon Knight surrendering. While somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle, Agatha is attacked by demons who found out that she is trying to recreate the Darkhold. Agatha summons Wolverine, Storm, Human Torch, and Taegukgi to fight them.[35]Ghost-Spider fightsWhite Fox in a Haikyu which ends with White Fox winning.Clea hears about what happened from Spider-Man and heads to the Amazon rainforest and finds that someone is using chaos magic. Clea ends up knocked out enough to end up in the Astral Plane where she encounters Agatha.[36] Agatha's magic makesDeadpool andDylan Brock possessed by theVenom symbiote fight each other at Hopper Land amusement park in the United Kingdom which ends with Venom winning. After a brief battle with Clea on the Astral Plane, Agatha returns to her body in the Bermuda Triangle while in the presence of her champions.[37] Agatha's magic makesCyclops andCaptain Marvel fight each other in an abandoned Iceland town which ends with Captain Marvel surrendering. Clea figures out that Agatha is recreating the Darkhold using the energy of her champions causing Spider-Man to contact theAvengers.[38] When the Avengers arrive in the Bermuda Triangle, Agatha unleashes her possessed champions on them. Captain Marvel and Scarlet Witch run into Agatha as they try to reason with her. When Agatha drops the newly created Darkhold and Captain Marvel drops it, an explosion happens. Agatha's body is nowhere to be found. On another beach, Agatha witnesses the Darkhold take on a sentient form which is slowly getting powerful.[39]
During the "Blood Hunt" storyline, Agatha and the Darkhold's human form are traveling on a train incognito as they are being pursued by Scarlet Witch. Agatha poses as the Darkhold's mother during the trip. The Darkhold flees from Agatha and escapes into a river.[40]
Agatha Harkness is a powerful magic user.[41] She is also an expert in arcane knowledge.[42] Harkness can manipulate magical forces for numerous effects by invoking beings or objects existing in vast dimensions tangential to Earth throughspell recitations, such aspsychokinesis,levitation, and the tapping of extra-dimensional energy.[43] She erased the memories of Wanda Maximoff dealing with her children with a spell.[44] She displayed powerful telepathic abilities.[45]
Agatha Harkness was initially presented as an elderly woman who had kept herself alive for centuries through magic.[46] However, a mystical rebirth results in Agatha aging backwards into a young woman, which also vastly increases her powers.[47]
Agatha owns afamiliarblack cat named Ebony.[48] She possesses the capability to transform into a large ferociouswildcat of great strength, speed, and claws.[49] Ebony was eventually sacrificed by Agatha in a ritual to gain precognitive powers.[50] She is later resurrected through unknown methods.[29]
Deirdre Kaye ofScary Mommy called Agatha Harkness a "role model" and a "truly heroic" female character.[51]The A.V. Club ranked Agatha Harkness 38th in their "100 Best Marvel Characters" list.[52]
Brady Langmann ofEsquire ranked Agatha Harkness 4th in their "Best Characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe" list. He praised Kathryn Hahn's portrayal of Harkness, describing her as a "legendary character actress" who transformed what could have been a forgettable villain into a standout performance in the MCU.[53] Ben Saffle ofComic Book Resources stated Harkness gained a "fandom following her antics" inWandaVision which resulted in her starring in her own spin-off.[54] Richard Fink ofMovieWeb said that Hahn’s portrayal of Harkness inWandaVision transformed her from a quippy villain into a standout character within the MCU. He praised Hahn’s dynamic performance for blending humor with a sinister edge, which resonated with audiences. Fink found that Harkness' journey from antagonist to potential ally creates opportunities for compelling storytelling in her own television series. He stated that Harkness could fill a similar role to Loki as a charismatic villain, adding depth to the MCU's expanding mystical universe.[55] Cat Hampton ofCollider called Harkness a fan favorite because of "Agatha All Along."[56]
The character ofCaptain Jack Harkness fromDoctor Who and its spin-offTorchwood was named after Agatha Harkness.[57]
In theOld Man Logan reality of Earth-21923, Agatha Harkness was shown to be in a village somewhere in the Presidential Quarter having her powers siphoned byBaron Mordo. Sometime after Old Man Logan had killedRed Skull andHulk that led to a power vacuum in Amerika,Doctor Doom took over the Presidential Quarter and came across Baron Mordo's village where he cuts off Mordo's access to Agatha and kills him. Agatha is told by Doctor Doom that she now owes him.[58]
AnUltimate Marvel of Agatha Harkness appears inUltimate Fantastic Four. This version is a young woman and claims to be aS.H.I.E.L.D. psychologist sent to evaluate theBaxter Building think tank.[59] It is later revealed that her S.H.I.E.L.D status was faked and she is an ancientempathic being who destroyedAtlantis.[60] Known as theDragon-of-Seven or theHydra, it can exist as a single creature or as seven seemingly separate ones. In her form as a group of seven individuals, she posed as the superhero groupSalem Seven.[61]
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