Hello my pretties and welcome to Agatha Harkness comics reading guide!
After her breakout performance in WandaVision, Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness is set to dominate the pop culture world once again in Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Gathered below are all the Agatha comics to keep you hexed until the series comes out!
Agatha Harkness Comics Recommendations:
- Classic Agatha:
- Fantastic Four (1961) #94, 107-117, 150
- Avengers (1963) #128-129, 133-134; Giant-Size #4
- Fantastic Four (1961) #185-188, 222-223; Annual #14
- Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #3-5, 12
- Avengers West Coast (1989) #50-52, 55-57, 61-63; Annual #7
- Avengers (1998) #503
- Modern Agatha:
- Vision (2016) #1-12
- Scarlet Witch (2016) #1-8, 12-15
- Captain America (2018) #19, 22-23, 27-28
- Hulkling & Wiccan Infinity Comic (2021) #1-4
- Captain Marvel (2019) #38-41
- Midnight Suns (2022) #1-5
Agatha’s lasting legacy in the comics is her central role in the lives of Wanda Maximoff and her children. Originally introduced as the nanny for Franklin Richards, Agatha quickly took on a new type of guardian role when she began tutoring the Scarlet Witch as her mysterious past was gradually uncovered.
From the Fantastic Four to Strange Academy, from the Midnight Sons to the Daughters of Liberty, just who is Agatha Harkness? Read on to find out!
For more related to Agatha Harkness’ comics, check out our other reading guides for Scarlet Witch, the Young Avengers, and the Fantastic Four!
Agatha Harkness & The Fantastic Four (1970s)
Agatha Harkness originally appeared in 1970, created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby as a powerful supporting character in Fantastic Four. It wasn’t until Avengers #128 four years later that she met the Scarlet Witch and Vision, who would soon transform her reality entirely in the 1980s.
In the late 1970s, Agatha’s son Nicholas Scratch was introduced with her origin story in Fantastic Four #185-188, along with the Salem Seven! These guys are characters we will likely meet in the Disney+ show as major villains from Agatha’s comics history.
In fact, Scratch might have even been the inspiration for “Señor Scratchy,” Agatha’s pet rabbit in the MCU. In the comics, Agatha has a magical pet cat named Ebony. Could Señor Scratchy be a combination of the two characters, with hidden magical traits of his own?
- Fantastic Four (1961) #94, 103, 107-117, 120, 123, 127, 129, 134, 140-141, 150
- Avengers (1963) #127-130, 133-134, 137, 234; Giant-Size #2, 4
- In #128, Agatha begins training Wanda!
- After #129: Giant-Size #2
- After #134: Giant-Size #4
- Features the Avengers vs. Kang! Continue with the Kang reading guide!
- Fantastic Four (1961) #181-182, 185-196, 204, 222-223; Annual #13-14
- After #196: Annual #13
- After #204: Annual #14
Extra reading:
- Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #47, 66
Nicholas Scratch and the Salem Seven:
- Fantastic Four (1961) #185-186, 222-223; Annual #14
- Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #3, 5
Avengers Annual 2000 - Hellcat (2000) #1-3
- Marvel Knights 4 (2004) #25-27, 30
- New Warriors (2013) #1-2
Fantastic Four (2014) #10, 642; (2023) #5
Agatha Harkness & The Scarlet Witch (1980s)
In the 1980s, Agatha took on her main role as the mentor of the Scarlet Witch. This quickly evolved into a new level of responsibilities when Wanda magically gives birth and Agatha struggles to resolve the situation.
This saga totally changed Wanda and Agatha’s comics relationship forever, and has had a seismic impact on their history across media. This was the inspiration for Agatha’s role in WandaVision, and will likely influence Coven of Chaos as well. (Plus, Mephisto actually shows up in the comics)
Besides the introduction of Wanda’s kids, Vision and the Scarlet Witch also saw Agatha caught in the New Salem witch trials. Episode 8 of WandaVision showed a brief scene of the original Salem witch trials, but perhaps there’s more to the story in the MCU? This is also the first appearance of Agatha’s ghost, who has a key role in the Midnight Suns video game. (Check out Vic’s game review here!)
You can continue the story with the full Scarlet Witch and Young Avengers comics guides!
- Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #3-5, 12
- Avengers West Coast (1989) #50-52, 55-57, 61-63; Annual #7
- After #52: Avengers #313
- After #63: West Coast Avengers Annual #7 (“A Study in Scarlet”)
Extra reading:
- Avengers Spotlight (1989) #38
- Infinity War (1992) #1-6
- After #2: Fantastic Four (1961) #368; Wonder Man (1991) #13
- After #3: Warlock and the Infinity Watch (1992) #8; Quasar (1989) #38
- After #4: Wonder Man (1991) #14; Alpha Flight (1983) #111
- After #5: Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme (1988) #46-47
- Alternate universes:
- What If? (1976) #18
- Fantastic Four Roast (1982) #1 (Hembeck-verse)
- What The–?! (1988) #3 (“Haggatha Darkness”)
Agatha Harkness & The Scarlet Witch (1990s-2000s)
In the 90s, Agatha settled into a cameo role, showing up for only a few appearances at a time. Agatha was briefly involved in the Midnight Sons’ Darkhold comics series with Doctor Strange and Wanda, but her main role was mentoring Wanda in the Scarlet Witch solo series and Avengers (1998) #10-11. But Agatha’s actions from West Coast Avengers come back in a major way during Avengers: Disassembled!
After the events of Disassembled, Agatha was inactive for nearly a decade. Because of this, she missed the “reincarnation” of Wanda’s children in Young Avengers (2005), and was not able to mentor Wiccan until the Hulking & Wiccan comic series in 2022.
Continue the storyline with the Young Avengers and Scarlet Witch reading guides!
- Scarlet Witch (1994) #1-4
- Silver Surfer (1987) #135-137
- Features Agatha and Mephisto!
- Avengers (1998) #10-11
- Features Agatha and Scarlet Witch!
- Avengers (1998) #503 (“Avengers: Disassembled”)
Extra watching:
- The Avengers: United They Stand (1999) S1 E11
- X-Men: Evolution (2000) S2 E15; S4 E1
Extra reading:
- Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins (1992) #4-7
- Fantastic Four (1961) #371-377, 416
- Nova (1994) #6-7
- Force Works (1994) #8
- Fantastic Four (1996) #7
- X-Men: The Hidden Years (1999) #9
- Maximum Security (2000) #3
- Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Comics (2000) #4-5
- Witches (2004) #1
- Alternate universes:
- Avengers (1996) #1-11 (Heroes Reborn)
- Universe X: 4 (2000) #1
- Marvel Mangaverse (2002) #2; Fantastic Four #1
- Ultimate Fantastic Four (2004) #54-57
- Avengers Fairy Tales (2008) #4
Agatha Harkness: Marvel’s Magic Mentor (2010s-2020s)
Agatha Harkness was brought back to the comics universe just a few years ago, and she’s already made a huge impact in Marvel’s magical magazines.
After being re-introduced in Tom King’s acclaimed Vision series, Agatha went on to guest star in Wanda’s 2010s solo Scarlet Witch comic featuring the Witches’ Road! She also became a regular professor at Strange Academy, mentored Wiccan in the Hulkling & Wiccan Infinity Comic, and has a central role in the current Midnight Suns comic series.
Agatha’s comics history has been fleshed out more than ever thanks to flashbacks with an ancient witch coven in Midnight Suns and with the Daughters of Liberty in Captain America. And in Captain Marvel she had one of her best team-ups ever with a group of iconic Marvel witches, which might be an exciting glimpse of what we’ll see in Coven of Chaos!
- Vision (2016) #1-12
- Scarlet Witch (2016) #1-8, 12-15 (“Witches’ Road”)
- Captain America (2018) #19, 22-23, 27-28
- Features Agatha, the Daughters of Liberty, and the mutant witch Selene!
- Hulkling & Wiccan Infinity Comic (2021) #1-4
- Features Agatha mentoring Wiccan!
- Continue with the Young Avengers reading guide!
- Captain Marvel (2019) #38-41
- Features Agatha and a bunch of witches, including the Enchantress and Satana Hellstrom!
- Midnight Suns (2022) #1-5
Video games:
- Marvel Strike Force (2018)
- Marvel’s Midnight Suns (2022)
Extra watching:
- WandaVision (2021) S1 E1-9
- Agatha: Coven of Chaos (TBD)
Extra reading:
- Uncanny Avengers Annual (2016) #1
- Doctor Strange Annual (2019) #1
- Fantastic Four: Antithesis (2020) #1, 4
- Strange Academy (2020) #8, 17-18
- Strange (2022) #6
- Contest of Chaos (2023)
- Scarlet Witch Annual (2023) #1
- Spider-Man Annual (2023) #1
- Fantastic Four Annual (2023) #1
- Moon Knight Annual (2023) #1
- Spider-Gwen Annual (2023) #1
- Venom Annual (2023) #1
- X-Men Annual (2023) #1
- Avengers Annual (2023) #1
- Alternate universes:
- Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies (2015) #3-4
- Infinity Wars: Weapon Hex (2018) #1
- Wastelanders: Doom (2022) #1
And those are Agatha Harkness’s comics of chaos! How excited are you for the new show? Have you ever read any of Agatha’s comics before? Let me know on Twitter @vinwriteswords and remember to follow the site @MyCosmicCircus for more witchy words coming soon! For more information about Agatha Harkness, visit the official page.
Check out our full list of reading guides here and our Scarlet Witch and Young Avengers comics guides below!
Scarlet Witch Reading Guide
Young Avengers Reading Guide
All images courtesy of Marvel Comics.
