Agatha Harkness
Encyclopedia
Agatha Harkness is a fictional character
, a powerful witch in the Marvel Comics
universe
. Supposedly, she was one of the original witches from the Salem Witch Trials
in Salem, Massachusetts
. She somehow survived and later became a significant figure in Marvel continuity, protecting Franklin Richards
as his nanny and notably mentoring Wanda Maximoff (the Scarlet Witch
) in real magic. She was eventually killed by Wanda, who went insane. She also had a familiar
named Ebony, a weird cat-like creature that could sense the presence of mystical beings.
' governess after she easily fended off the Frightful Four
when they came to abduct Franklin Richards. She then aided the Fantastic Four
in battle against Annihilus
.
Through the actions of Nicholas Scratch
, her son, she was revealed as being a member of the previously unknown New Salem, Colorado colony of witches, of whom she had been the leader. Scratch had taken control of the town and had persuaded its inhabitants that Agatha had betrayed the communities' secrets by working for the Fantastic Four. She was abducted back to the community along with Franklin so that she might be put on trial. The Fantastic Four
followed and came into conflict with Salem's Seven
, who were Agatha's grandchildren by Scratch. The Fantastic Four eventually won out and freed Agatha. In the process, Scratch's evil was revealed to the community of New Salem and he was banished to another dimension.
Scratch tried many times to gain revenge on the Fantastic Four. Each time Agatha assisted them; she also disowned Scratch.
Agatha became the magical tutor for the Scarlet Witch
in the use of witchcraft.
Scratch and Salem's Seven returned one more time, and Agatha repulsed their world takeover attempt.
Eventually Salem's Seven took over the New Salem community again. They captured Agatha and killed her by burning her at the stake, though 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 still decimated. Following hints from Agatha's astral form, Wanda channeled the remaining energy to become pregnant with her husband, The Vision
's, children.
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. After Mephisto
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 by Immortus
. Agatha aided the Avengers
in their battle against Immortus.
Agatha assisted the Fantastic Four again, in babysitting and in controlling Franklin Richard's fluctuating cosmic powers. In at least one instance, when Franklin was angry, this failed, causing Agatha to faint. She also saved the life of the Avenger Tigra
, who had become confused, lost and injured while trapped in a very feline form. Agatha stayed with Tigra until her powers, for the moment, were stabilized.
Agatha assisted other mystics in a number of crisis situations. She continued to train Wanda further in the use of her powers, claiming that her mutant ability was actually to use "chaos magic". This magic was the energies derived from the demonic Chthon who had been sealed under the mountain where Wanda was born. Agatha helped Wanda fully resurrect the Avenger Wonder Man.
In a sequence during the Avengers Disassembled
storyline, Wanda, again having no memory of her children, angrily confronted Agatha about their existence. At the end of that issue (occurring some time after Wanda and Agatha's confrontation), Nick Fury
of S.H.I.E.L.D.
found what appeared to be Agatha's corpse in her home and concludes that Agatha had been dead for a long time.
Some time later, a partially amnesiac Wanda tells Clint Barton
(who had tracked Wanda to a small village near Wundagore Mountain, where he unknowingly saved her from a thief) that she is under the care of her "Aunt Agatha" in a small apartment; when Hawkeye, curious of this Aunt's true identity, ties to turn the doorknob to her room, the knob appears to slip from his hand, similar to Wanda's past subtle probability manipulations, yet she is still asleep. Wanda also mentions this Aunt to Beast, saying she is stuck out here for purposes of looking after an "elderly relative" who would worry is she got home late (indicating that this Aunt indeed exists in some form).
Agatha Harkness has a gifted intellect, and a vast knowledge of magical lore.
Agatha has a magical familiar named Ebony, a pet cat with the ability to transform into a large, ferocious panther.
counterpart, this version is much younger and is considered quite attractive. She first appears in #54, claiming to be a S.H.I.E.L.D.
psychologist sent to evaluate the Baxter Building thinktank.
In issue #56, it is revealed that her S.H.I.E.L.D status was faked and she is really an ancient empathic being that destroyed Atlantis
. Known as the Dragon-of-Seven or the Hydra, 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 group Salem Seven.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a powerful witch in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. Supposedly, she was one of the original witches from the Salem Witch Trials
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...
in Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
. She somehow survived and later became a significant figure in Marvel continuity, protecting Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in Fantastic Four.Franklin is an Omega-Level mutant with vast psionic and reality-manipulating powers...
as his nanny and notably mentoring Wanda Maximoff (the Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch
The Scarlet Witch is a fictional comic book character that appears in books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...
) in real magic. She was eventually killed by Wanda, who went insane. She also had a familiar
Familiar spirit
In European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits were supernatural entities believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic...
named Ebony, a weird cat-like creature that could sense the presence of mystical beings.
Fictional character biography
Agatha Harkness was first introduced as Franklin RichardsFranklin Richards
Franklin Richards is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in Fantastic Four.Franklin is an Omega-Level mutant with vast psionic and reality-manipulating powers...
' governess after she easily fended off the Frightful Four
Frightful Four
The Frightful Four are a group of fictional characters in Marvel Comics who serve as the antithesis to the Fantastic Four.-Publication history:...
when they came to abduct Franklin Richards. She then aided the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
in battle against Annihilus
Annihilus
Annihilus is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' Marvel Universe. In 2009, Annihilus was ranked as IGN's 94th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.-Publication history:...
.
Through the actions of Nicholas Scratch
Nicholas Scratch
Nicholas Scratch is a fictional wizard in the Marvel Comics universe. He is predominantly a foe of the Fantastic Four. The name "Nicholas Scratch" is an amalgam of colloquial names for the Devil: "Old Nick" and "Old Scratch" or "Mr...
, her son, she was revealed as being a member of the previously unknown New Salem, Colorado colony of witches, of whom she had been the leader. Scratch had taken control of the town and had persuaded its inhabitants that Agatha had betrayed the communities' secrets by working for the Fantastic Four. She was abducted back to the community along with Franklin so that she might be put on trial. The Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
followed and came into conflict with Salem's Seven
Salem's Seven
Salem's Seven was a team of magical supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. They were foes of the Scarlet Witch and the Fantastic Four. All seven were the children of Nicholas Scratch and the grandchildren of Agatha Harkness...
, who were Agatha's grandchildren by Scratch. The Fantastic Four eventually won out and freed Agatha. In the process, Scratch's evil was revealed to the community of New Salem and he was banished to another dimension.
Scratch tried many times to gain revenge on the Fantastic Four. Each time Agatha assisted them; she also disowned Scratch.
Agatha became the magical tutor for the Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch
The Scarlet Witch is a fictional comic book character that appears in books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...
in the use of witchcraft.
Scratch and Salem's Seven returned one more time, and Agatha repulsed their world takeover attempt.
Eventually Salem's Seven took over the New Salem community again. They captured Agatha and killed her by burning her at the stake, though 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 still decimated. Following hints from Agatha's astral form, Wanda channeled the remaining energy to become pregnant with her husband, The Vision
Vision (Marvel Comics)
The Vision is the name of three fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The first Vision was created by the writer-artist team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in Marvel Mystery Comics #13 The Vision is the name of three fictional characters that...
's, children.
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. After Mephisto
Mephisto (comics)
Mephisto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Silver Surfer #3 and was created by Stan Lee and John Buscema, loosely modeled on Mephistopheles - a character from the Faust legend.Debuting in the Silver Age of comic books,...
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 by Immortus
Immortus
Immortus is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe. He is the future self of Kang the Conqueror, and first appeared in Avengers #10, and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
. Agatha aided the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
in their battle against Immortus.
Agatha assisted the Fantastic Four again, in babysitting and in controlling Franklin Richard's fluctuating cosmic powers. In at least one instance, when Franklin was angry, this failed, causing Agatha to faint. She also saved the life of the Avenger Tigra
Tigra
Tigra is a fictional American comic book superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe. Introduced as the non-superpowered crime fighter The Cat in Claws of the Cat #1 , she was co-created by writer-editor Roy Thomas, writer Linda Fite, and penciller Marie Severin...
, who had become confused, lost and injured while trapped in a very feline form. Agatha stayed with Tigra until her powers, for the moment, were stabilized.
Agatha assisted other mystics in a number of crisis situations. She continued to train Wanda further in the use of her powers, claiming that her mutant ability was actually to use "chaos magic". This magic was the energies derived from the demonic Chthon who had been sealed under the mountain where Wanda was born. Agatha helped Wanda fully resurrect the Avenger Wonder Man.
In a sequence during the Avengers Disassembled
Avengers Disassembled
"Avengers Disassembled", referred to in some participating series as "Disassembled", is a crossover event between several Marvel Comics series. The general idea is that the major heroes are assaulted, not just physically, but emotionally...
storyline, Wanda, again having no memory of her children, angrily confronted Agatha about their existence. At the end of that issue (occurring some time after Wanda and Agatha's confrontation), Nick Fury
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...
of S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....
found what appeared to be Agatha's corpse in her home and concludes that Agatha had been dead for a long time.
Some time later, a partially amnesiac Wanda tells Clint Barton
Hawkeye (comics)
Hawkeye , also known as Goliath and Ronin, is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #57 and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck. Hawkeye joined the Avengers in Avengers Vol. 1 #16 Hawkeye...
(who had tracked Wanda to a small village near Wundagore Mountain, where he unknowingly saved her from a thief) that she is under the care of her "Aunt Agatha" in a small apartment; when Hawkeye, curious of this Aunt's true identity, ties to turn the doorknob to her room, the knob appears to slip from his hand, similar to Wanda's past subtle probability manipulations, yet she is still asleep. Wanda also mentions this Aunt to Beast, saying she is stuck out here for purposes of looking after an "elderly relative" who would worry is she got home late (indicating that this Aunt indeed exists in some form).
Powers and abilities
Agatha Harkness derives her powers from manipulation of the forces of magic. She has the ability to manipulate magical forces for a number of effects, including teleportation, energy projection, and the tapping of extra-dimensional energy by invoking entities or objects of power existing in dimensions tangential to Earth's through the recitation of spells. She also has the abilities of mesmerism, thought-casting, and illusion-casting. Agatha Harkness's age reduces her ability to perform strenuous physical tasks.Agatha Harkness has a gifted intellect, and a vast knowledge of magical lore.
Agatha has a magical familiar named Ebony, a pet cat with the ability to transform into a large, ferocious panther.
Ultimate Agatha Harkness
The Ultimate Universe version of Harkness makes her debut in Ultimate Fantastic Four. Unlike her mainstream Earth-616Earth-616
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.-Origin of Earth-616:...
counterpart, this version is much younger and is considered quite attractive. She first appears in #54, claiming to be a S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....
psychologist sent to evaluate the Baxter Building thinktank.
In issue #56, it is revealed that her S.H.I.E.L.D status was faked and she is really an ancient empathic being that destroyed Atlantis
Atlantis (Marvel Comics)
Atlantis is a fictional location in the Marvel Universe. It is based on the mythical island of Atlantis first mentioned in Plato's initial dialogue the Timaeus, written circa 360 BC. In the Marvel Universe, Atlantis was a small continent with many human settlements...
. Known as the Dragon-of-Seven or the Hydra, 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 group Salem Seven.
Television
- Agatha Harkness has appeared in The Avengers: United They StandThe Avengers: United They StandThe Avengers: United They Stand is an animated series based on the Marvel Comics superhero team The Avengers. It consists of 13 episodes, which originally premiered on October 30, 1999, and was produced by Avi Arad and distributed by 20th Century Fox Television...
episode "The Sorceress' Apprentice" voiced by Elizabeth ShepherdElizabeth ShepherdElizabeth Shepherd is an English character actress whose work has spanned the stage and both the big and small screens. Her surname has been alternately billed as "Shephard" and "Sheppard"....
.
- Agatha Harkness has appeared in a few episodes of X-Men: EvolutionX-Men: EvolutionX-Men: Evolution is an American animated television series about the Marvel Comics superhero team the X-Men. In this incarnation many of the characters are teenagers rather than adults...
voiced by Pauline NewstonePauline NewstonePauline Newstone is a voice actress.- Voice credits :*Beast Wars - Airazor *Dragon Ball Z - Frieza *Class of the Titans - Medusa*Hamtaro - Kaitlin Endo*Inuyasha - Mistress Centipede...
. Mystique brought her in to train Scarlet Witch. She is later seen telling Rogue and Nightcrawler how to save Mystique.
Video games
- In Ultimate Spider-Man: The GameUltimate Spider-Man (video game)Ultimate Spider-Man is a video game based on the comic book of the same name by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. The game was released for most sixth generation consoles, including PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and Microsoft Windows, as well as a mobile phone...
, during a race with Johnny Storm and if he is in the lead, Johnny will shout to Spider-Man that "Agatha Harkness is faster than you!".
Other
- The character of Captain Jack HarknessJack HarknessCaptain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
from the BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science-fiction television series Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
and its spin-off TorchwoodTorchwoodTorchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
was named after Agatha Harkness.
External links
- Agatha Harkness at the Marvel Universe
- DrStrange.nls biography for Agatha Harkness
- Agatha Harkness at the Marvel Database Project