What to expect from Agatha Harkness' MCU show Coven of Chaos? Comic history of the character explored

Agatha Harkness is the newest MCU character to get her own Disney Plus show. At Disney + Day, the nosey neighbor was announced to get her own spinoff series, titled Agatha: House of Harkness. However, the president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 that the show is renamed to Agatha Harkness: Coven of Chaos, suggesting that the studios have gone through massive changes in the story.

Agatha Harkness, corrupted by Darkhold, was last seen in WandaVision manipulating Wanda and learning about her magical origins. Her plan to absorb powers from Wanda failed miserably as the Scarlet Witch defeated Harkness in her own game by casting Runes on the Hex. Wanda drained Agatha of her powers and confined her to the role of Agnes as she left Westview.

Now with Scarlet Witch seemingly dead after her multi-versal misadventures in Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness, will Agatha Harkness return to power? What will her alignment be after the destruction of Darkhold? All the questions will be answered as we explore the comic book sources.

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Agatha Harkness in the comics is the mentor to Wanda and the nanny of Reed Richard’s son, Franklin Richards

Unlike her MCU identity, Agatha Harkness is a decent human being and hero who has helped the Avengers and the Fantastic Four save the planet several times. The only thing the MCU got right about her is that she is much older than she looks, having lived for centuries. She is said to have been born before 18500 BC.

Created by the awesome Stan Lee and King Jack Kirby, Agatha Harkness first appeared in October 1969 in the pages of Fantastic Four #94. In the comic, Reed Richards and Sue Storm hire Agatha Harkness as a nanny for their firstborn child, Franklin Richards. The issue introduced Agatha as a powerful witch who saved the Fantastic Family from the attack of the Frightful Four.

A powerful witch, Agatha Harkness, banded the Coven of Witches to practice witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. However, the Puritans revolted against the witches, burning them at stake in what is now known as the Salem Witch Trials. She and the Coven of Witches revolted against the Puritans but later decided to form a secret magical community and settle in New Salem, now known as Colorado.

She gave birth to a baby boy, Nicholas Scratch, whom she abandoned to explore the outside world. Harkness later resided in Whisper Hill in Upstate, New York. She worked as a nanny for Franklin Richards, one of the most powerful beings in the universe who had the ability to warp reality. Agatha helped young Richards hone his powers.

Unlike in the MCU, she was a mentor to Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, and assisted her in a variety of ways. Agatha would help her students in desperate times. When Wanda loses Vision and her twins to the demon Mephisto, Agatha takes pity on the Scarlet Witch and helps her by wiping her memory.

We expect the upcoming Disney Plus series to shed some more light on the Witch’s origin. As the title suggests, Coven of Chaos will showcase Agatha forming a community of like-minded witches as she takes shelter in New Salem. The creators might portray her son, Nicholas Scratch, and Salem’s Seven (The Seven children of Nicholas Scratch), who trapped and killed Agatha.

While Agatha's alignment in the show is unknown, if the series takes place after the events of Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness, audiences can expect Agatha to switch to the good side because the source of her corruption, Darkhold, has been destroyed, and she is now the most powerful witch on the planet with Scarlet Witch dead.