Highlights
- Agatha Harkness, a powerful witch in the Marvel Universe, may face her foe Nicholas Scratch in the upcoming show “Agatha All Along,” expanding the magical side of the MCU.
- Nicholas Scratch, Agatha’s son, has a complicated history, including founding Salem’s Seven and making deals with Mephisto, making him a suitable antagonist for Agatha.
- The introduction of Nicholas Scratch and Salem’s Seven in the MCU could open up new opportunities for exploring the magical and supernatural realms in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the world of Marvel Comics, three areas of the multiverse define the stories told: street level, cosmic, and supernatural. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has done a great job covering the cosmic and street-level side of the superhero world, only a few stories have genuinely touched upon the magic and supernatural realms, such as films including Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch. Yet, with Agatha Harkness set to star in her show, Agatha All Along, there is a significant opportunity to expand the magical side of the MCU. For Agatha to have room to grow and become more realized in the MCU, she needs a foe to face, which means the MCU may be about to introduce Nicholas Scratch and Salem’s Seven. This move could profoundly impact the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The foundation on which the magical and supernatural worlds were built for Marvel Comics can be found in the history of Agatha Harkness and Nicholas Scratch. From their early battles against one another with The Fantastic Four caught in the middle to the modern age that connects the villain to powerhouses like Dormammu and Mephisto, Nicholas Scratch is a fiend who continuously tries to horde power and control himself, making him a good antagonist for Agatha to face in her solo debut, Agatha All Along. Who is Nicholas Scratch, and how does it relate to Agatha Harkness and the Salem Seven?
Agatha Harkness, EXPLAINED
Agatha Harkness is one of the oldest sources of witchcraft and power in the Marvel Universe. The woman hails from the days of the Salem Witch Trials, escaping the fires and making her way into the modern Marvel Universe. She was originally seen as a nanny for The Fantastic Four when they had their son, Franklin, but eventually, her supernatural origins were revealed. Her power helped to save Franklin and The Fantastic Four from threats like Mephisto and Nicholas Scratch himself.
In the following years, Agatha would take antagonist and heroic turns in the Marvel Universe. Agatha would help train and hone Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, as the hero left behind her life among the Brotherhood of Mutants and instead joined the Avengers. Agatha helped Wanda channel energy during a battle with the Salem Seven to become pregnant with her twins. Later, she would try to help Wanda when the twins were dismantled by wiping her memories of her children. In recent years, however, after being restored to a younger age, Agatha would try to create a new Darkhold, a powerful book of arcane blood magic from an elder god, to face approaching threats, turning heroes into dark magic warriors to unleash on the Avengers. To say Agatha’s history is complicated would be a gross understatement.
Nicholas Scratch and the Salem Seven, Explained
From Agatha Harkness comes Nicholas Scratch, her son. First discovered in New Salem, Colorado, a community of magic users hidden by the rest of the world, Nicholas was a community member. After Agatha left to join the rest of the world and became The Fantastic Four’s nanny, Nicholas became the town’s leader and convinced the others that Agatha had betrayed them. The town abducts Agatha to hold her on trial while taking Franklin Richards, leading The Fantastic Four to chase them down. When it was revealed, Nicholas revealed the town to The Fantastic Four and not Agatha, and the city banished Nicholas to a place known as the Dark Realm.
Before that banishment, Nicholas Scratch would father seven children, who would become the team known as Salem’s Seven. Originally a group of supervillains who served their father, the team has had many back-and-forth allegiances. After their father’s banishment, they take over the town of New Salem and regain their power to transform into powerful creatures. In a battle with Wanda and Vision, the group inadvertently let loose a powerful stream of energy, destroying themselves and the town. They would become trapped in the land of the dead, where an entity calling itself Samhain would have its power and be trapped among the souls of the Seven.
Later on, after some time in the Dark Realm and several attempts to reemerge as an all-powerful warlock, Scratch makes a deal with Mephisto. This would happen after Scratch tricked Salem’s Seven and The Fantastic Four into unleashing the powerful entity known as Shuma-Gorath during the Marvel Knights 4 storyline. However, Salem’s Seven would work with The Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, and the villain known as Diablo to stop their father Scratch and Shuma-Gorath. After this defeat, Scratch would be banished again, this time to Hell, where he would make his deal with Mephisto.
Scratch Heading to the MCU?
While not much is known about Agatha All Along, the show’s recent images from the show, including random witches alongside Agatha, and the casting of Heartstoppers star Joe Locke in the show have led to speculation that Nicholas Scratch could be making his MCU debut. With the actor’s teenage appearance, the MCU could be making a unique adaption of the character, as it has done with other characters like Thor Ragnarok’s The Executioner (without the Enchantress). The show could explore a version of New Salem and Agatha’s complex relationship with Scratch. How Salem’s Seven could fit into this story is up in the air, but introducing such deep-cut supernatural foes could open up the MCU to the mystical realm in ways it hasn’t dared before.