Centuries ago, Agatha Harkness lived among the witches of Salem, Massachusetts during the height of anti-witch persecution in colonial America. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Agatha initially believed that survival could only be achieved through resistance and magical retaliation against their persecutors. She attempted to organize Salem’s witches into a unified force prepared to defend themselves violently if necessary.

Events involving the time-traveling mutant Angelica Jones, later known as Firestar, and internal disagreement among the witches eventually convinced Agatha that open war would lead only to annihilation. Abandoning her earlier militant philosophy, Agatha instead guided most of Salem’s magical population westward into secrecy and isolation. Those loyal to her eventually founded the hidden magical community of New Salem in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, shielding the settlement from outside discovery through powerful enchantments.

Over the centuries, Agatha married and bore a son, Nicholas Scratch. However, she gradually became disillusioned with New Salem’s isolationist culture, believing that complete separation from the outside world would ultimately lead to stagnation and corruption. She eventually departed the hidden city and settled at Whisper Hill, an estate in upstate New York.

At Whisper Hill, Agatha devoted herself to training gifted individuals in the use and control of their powers. One of her students was Jack Holyoak. Although she later withdrew from public magical teaching, Agatha sensed the extraordinary latent power within Franklin Richards, the infant son of Reed and Susan Richards of the Fantastic Four. Manipulating circumstances to draw the family toward her, Agatha became Franklin’s nanny and protector.

While initially concealing her magical nature, Agatha repeatedly intervened to protect the Fantastic Four and Franklin from mystical and cosmic threats. She rescued Reed Richards from the Negative Zone through sorcery, consulted the Watcher during the Over-Mind crisis, and even enabled Reed to speak simultaneously to every human being on Earth in their native languages.

Agatha’s relationship with the Fantastic Four deepened during Franklin’s early childhood. She protected the child from multiple extradimensional threats, including Annihilus, who once forced her to aid in the abduction of Susan Richards and Franklin from the Negative Zone. When Franklin later fell into a coma, Agatha personally cared for him until his recovery.

Following Franklin’s recovery, Agatha shifted her focus toward Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. Recognizing the instability and danger of Wanda’s powers—particularly their connection to the elder god Chthon—Agatha undertook Wanda’s magical training. Though Wanda’s abilities were already immense, Agatha sought to provide discipline, structure, and emotional control.

Agatha trained Wanda extensively until Wanda’s marriage to the Vision, at which point Agatha concluded that her student would no longer fully accept her guidance. However, she continued to watch over Wanda from afar, particularly as Wanda’s magical power continued to evolve in dangerous ways.

Meanwhile, tensions within New Salem escalated. Agatha’s son Nicholas Scratch fathered seven superhuman children known collectively as Salem’s Seven. Scratch manipulated the citizens of New Salem into believing that Agatha’s involvement with the outside world endangered their secrecy. Agatha was captured, Franklin Richards was abducted, and the Fantastic Four became embroiled in a direct conflict with New Salem.

The Fantastic Four ultimately exposed Scratch as the true threat, leading the people of New Salem to banish him to another dimension. However, Scratch repeatedly returned, at one point possessing the Fantastic Four and large portions of New York City before Franklin Richards defeated him. Agatha subsequently erased the city’s memories of the event through magic.

When Scratch later possessed Franklin himself, Agatha concluded that her continued presence endangered the child. She returned permanently to New Salem, where Salem’s Seven eventually turned against her, severing her connection to magic and apparently executing her by burning her at the stake.

Death proved temporary. Agatha soon reappeared in astral form to Wanda Maximoff, aiding her and the Vision against Salem’s Seven and helping Wanda conceive children through magical means. After Wanda’s twins were born, Agatha defended them against demonic influence and later cared for them personally.

When Wanda’s children were revealed to be fragments of the demon Mephisto, Agatha altered Wanda’s memories to shield her from emotional collapse. This act would have catastrophic long-term consequences, as Wanda’s suppressed trauma eventually resurfaced years later during the Avengers Disassembled crisis.

Agatha remained deeply involved in Wanda’s life during numerous mystical crises, including conflicts involving Immortus, Chthon, Morgan Le Fay, Lore, and the Darkhold prophecy. She repeatedly assisted the Avengers and Doctor Strange in containing magical catastrophes while simultaneously attempting to stabilize Wanda’s increasingly dangerous powers.

During the Infinity War involving the Magus, Agatha joined a coalition of mystics including Doctor Strange, Shaman, and Anthony Druid. When the alternate Doctor Strange known as the Necromancer attacked, Agatha survived by merging her soul temporarily with her familiar, Ebony.

Agatha later resumed her role as Franklin Richards’ protector after sensing that his rapidly growing mutant powers threatened reality itself. Together with Nathaniel Richards, she orchestrated Franklin’s temporary displacement into the future so he could master his abilities. Susan Richards reacted furiously upon learning of this manipulation and temporarily severed ties with Agatha.

Agatha eventually reconciled with the Fantastic Four after revealing that Franklin had survived the Onslaught crisis. However, Wanda Maximoff’s growing instability once again became the central concern of Agatha’s life. Wanda’s suppression of traumatic memories, combined with increasingly uncontrollable magical power, culminated in the Avengers Disassembled crisis after the Wasp accidentally reminded Wanda of her lost children.

As Wanda psychologically collapsed, Agatha attempted unsuccessfully to contain the disaster. Following the crisis, Nick Fury discovered what appeared to be Agatha’s desiccated corpse, though the exact circumstances of her death—or whether she truly died at all—remained uncertain.

Subsequent events further blurred the line between life, death, and spiritual existence for Agatha Harkness. Wanda later encountered an “Aunt Agatha” while suffering from memory loss, leaving unresolved whether Agatha survived physically, existed as a spirit, or transcended conventional mortality entirely.

Regardless of her current state, Agatha Harkness remains one of the most influential mystical figures in Marvel history—a centuries-old witch whose guidance, manipulation, and foresight have repeatedly shaped the destinies of heroes, magical bloodlines, and reality itself.

Agatha typically casts spells through elaborate rituals involving magical circles, incantations, enchanted objects, and prepared components. Although physically frail due to age, she compensates through preparation, foresight, and strategic use of magic.

Her aging has been slowed dramatically through mystical means, allowing her to survive for centuries.

Ebony: Agatha’s familiar Ebony is a mystical cat capable of regenerating from severe injury, transforming into larger feline forms, and acting as a conduit for Agatha’s senses and spells.

Limitations: Agatha rarely engages in direct magical combat due to the physical limitations of her advanced age, preferring indirect or ritual-based methods.

• Death at New Salem (Vision and the Scarlet Witch Vol. 2 #3, 1986)
• Returns in astral form (Vision and the Scarlet Witch Vol. 2 #3–12, 1986)
• Assists Wanda with magical pregnancy (Vision and the Scarlet Witch Vol. 2 #3–12, 1986)
• Children revealed as fragments of Mephisto (West Coast Avengers #51–52, 1989)
• Confronts Immortus manipulation (Avengers West Coast #61–62, 1990)
• Infinity War involvement (Infinity War #1–6, 1992)
• Darkhold prophecy crisis (Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins #1–16, 1992–1993)
• Franklin Richards future displacement (Fantastic Four Vol. 3 #11–14, 1998)
• Lore conflict (Scarlet Witch Vol. 2 #1–4, 1994)
• Silver Surfer soul-virus storyline (Silver Surfer Vol. 3 #114–122, 1996)
• Avengers Disassembled revelations (Avengers #500–503, 2004)
• House of M aftermath (House of M #1–8, 2005)
• Encounters with Chthon (Various Scarlet Witch stories)
• Alliances with Doctor Strange (Various issues)
• Repeated guidance of Scarlet Witch (Various Avengers and Scarlet Witch titles)
• Modern magical investigations (Various Marvel titles)