At the end of Agatha All Along, after a telepathic connection with Billy Maximoff, Agatha Harkness chooses to surrender to Death at last. Kissing her ex-lover Rio Vidal, a.k.a. Death, her body instantly decays and goes into the ground, after several centuries of living. However, that is not the end of Agatha Harkness on this plane of existence. She pops up again in the final episode, now as a white-haired ghost. So how does this all match with her comic book counterpart’s history? Actually, it matches rather well, and hints at greater things to come for her.
Agatha Harkness Was Originally an Old Crone Witch
In the original Marvel Comics, Agatha Harkness was less a devious villain and more a mysterious presence in the lives of the Fantastic Four. She first appeared as an elderly witch, illustrated in the “Old Crone” cliche. She wore Edwardian clothing and was always stroking her pet black cat, Ebony. In the ’70s era of Marvel Comics, she not only babysat for young Franklin Richards, the son of Reed and Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four, but also tutored Wanda Maximoff in the use of true magic. When Wanda realized her children Billy and Tommy were magical constructs, it was Agatha who wiped her mind of any knowledge they ever existed.
Agatha Goes From Old Witch, to Ghost, to Young New Body
Years later, Wanda discovered she once had twin sons. Learning this sent her into a rage. She was furious that Agatha and her fellow Avengers hid the truth from her. Losing control of her powers, she presumably killed Agatha, keeping her decaying body in her home. When Nick Fury found her corpse, he surmised that Agatha had been dead for a very long time. But that wasn’t the end of Agatha Harkness. She reemerged as a ghost, after the Scarlet Witch had found redemption. She guided her on the Witches Road, mentoring her again, only in spectral form. Later, Agatha gained a new mortal body, much younger, with jet-black hair and a white streak. This was thanks to the witch Natalya Maximoff, Wanda’s mother.
MCU Agatha Now Resembles Her Classic Marvel Comics Incarnation
So how does the MCU version of Agatha line up with her comic counterpart’s destiny? The two versions of the character began to resemble each other much more at the end. Like her comic book version, MCU Agatha also died, but stuck around in this plane as a ghost. In fact, Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha in her ghostly form has white hair, just like the original Jack Kirby comic book design. And Agatha now seems ready to mentor Billy Maximoff in this new ghostly form. This is very similar to what she did for his mother Wanda in the comics.
One thing that hasn’t happened, at least not yet, is that Agatha Harkness in the comics has a new flesh-and-blood body. Meanwhile, MCU Agatha is obviously still a ghost. Funnily enough, Agatha in the comics was given a new younger body with black hair after Kathryn Hahn made that version of the character so popular in WandaVision. Now comic book Agatha looks more like Kathryn Hahn, while the actual Kathryn Hahn looks more like her original comic book appearance. (So much for corporate synergy). But who knows what happens next? Perhaps Agatha could return to mortal life and the comics and MCU versions will truly align. We just hope whatever that project is, it happens soon.
