WandaVision: Agatha Harkness Has Some Big Mephisto Connections

WandaVision has revealed its big villain – and as many Marvel fans suspected, it was Agatha all along! Kathryn Hahn’s Agnes revealed herself to be much more than just the nosy neighbor – she’s a powerful magic-wielding witch who has been pulling strings to keep Wanda wrapped in her imaginary world. So Who is Agatha Harkness? The character has a long and pivotal history in Marvel Comics (click the link for more on all that), which includes some big ties to one big Marvel villain that fans have suspected could be WandaVision‘s true big bad: the devil Mephisto. Here’s what you need to know:

Agatha Harkness & Mephisto Marvel Comics History

In Marvel Comics, Agatha Harkness is actually one of the older and more powerful witches around. Agatha was a leader of a community of witches, who went out into the world and made contact with Marvel’s heroes, through jobs like acting as governess for the Fantastic Four, and a magical teacher to Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff.

It was in that latter role that Agatha helped Wanda make a devil’s bargain: Agatha’s astral form/ghost showed Wanda how to channel some powerful magical energy taken from Agatha’s rogue coven into creating Wanda and Vision’s twins, Billy and Tommy Maximoff. Unfortunately for Wanda, that energy was actually a portion of Mephisto’s soul, which the devil eventually came to reclaim.

After Agatha set Wanda up for massive heartbreak by hiding the secret of the Twins’ creation, she was later responsible for wiping Wanda’s memory clean of their existence. Agatha allegedly did it to spare Wanda the pain and grief of her sons’ loss – but it was a decision that backfired big time. Agatha later had to restore Wanda’s memories, and in a later fit of madness, Wanda killed Agatha and left her lying dead and undiscovered for some time.

Agatha Harkness & Mephisto In WandaVision

So now that WandaVision has revealed Agatha Harkness as its villain, the question is: just how much of that Marvel Comics history above will come into play?

The big “reveal” scene at the end of WandaVision episode 7 gave us a couple of clues that the Agatha/Mephisto connection is still at play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. First, Agatha’s creepy witch lair in the basement contains a creepy old book that looks like Marvel’s Darkhold – the book of the devil. Agatha’s purple magic looks like the energy of the power stone, but whatever the case may be, it seems like Agatha’s power is backed by something (or someone) more nefarious than the witch herself.

The ominous clues of an Agatha/Mephisto connection in WandaVision run even deeper. “Agnes’” line about the devil being in more than details (Episode 2) may have been as on the nose as many Marvel fans figured it was. Agatha’s petty bunny “Senor Scratch” has a name that refers both to the devil (Mr. Scratch) and Agatha’s son Nicholas Scratch, an evil sorcerer who turned her coven against her. That’s a lot of devilish references from Agatha’s direction to just be a coincidence.

Finally, just before Agatha’s reveal Wanda’s sons Billy and Tommy disappeared from Agatha’s house – could they have been reclaimed by the Mephisto just like in the Marvel Comics storyline? We’ll soon find out…

WandaVision is now streaming on Disney+.