Rachel Curti
Arts & Entertainment Editor
This article contains spoilers for the finale of “Agatha All Along.” Reader discretion is advised.
Marvel’s “Agatha All Along” follows titular character Agatha Harkness after escaping the spell that Wanda Maximoff placed on her in the finale of the series’ predecessor “WandaVision”. A mysterious teenager, who is under a sigil and unable to say his name and thus is simply known as “Teen” for a majority of the series, finds Agatha in hopes to find the famed “Witches’ Road.” After gathering a coven of witches that begrudgingly agreed to join Agatha, they set off.
After several intense trials, and the death of their protection witch, Alice, “Teen” lashes out. In a reveal that was both expected but delivered excitingly well to Billie Eilish’s “you should see me in a crown”, we discover the true identity of “Teen”— Billy Maximoff, the son of the Scarlet Witch.
Billy, also known as Wiccan in the Marvel comics, is one of the most well known gay Marvel characters. In the comics, he was recently married to Teddy, also known as Hulkling. Billy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was shown to have a romantic relationship but it is not entirely clear if his boyfriend Eddie is the MCU counterpart to Hulkling. Regardless, the MCU saw its first official queer romance.
It could be argued that these two are not the first, as Tessa Thompson’s character Valkyrie is another queer character. Valkyrie was implied to be queer in “Thor: Ragnarok.” However, Billy’s romance (and his charming kiss scene) is a MCU first. There was no beating around the bush this time, and no trying to hide sexualities.
Billy and his boyfriend were not the only same sex couple in the series either. Protagonist Agatha is revealed to have a history with the green witch Rio Vidal. Their story is still missing pieces, but it’s abundantly clear that they loved each other at some point and that Rio hates that she hurt Agatha, but ultimately fate had other plans. Their interactions throughout the series are filled with tension. Eventually it is revealed that Rio was Death, which Agatha had known “all along,” defending herself by saying “What can I say? I like the bad boys.” The two get their moment as well, making the second MCU same-sex on screen kiss, though it does not end well for Agatha.
What does this mean for the future of the MCU? For starters, Wiccan is a member of the Young Avengers team in the comics. That team itself is composed of many queer characters. America Chavez, who was introduced in the 2022 “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, is canonically lesbian in the comics. Lesser known Tommy Maximoff, also known as Speed who plays an important part in “Agatha All Along,” despite not being in it, is bisexual.
Another LGBTQ character worth noting is Yelena Belova, who made her debut in the 2021 film “Black Widow.” She will make her next appearance in May 2025 in the upcoming film “Thunderbolts*”. Yelena is heavily implied to be asexual in the comics. As she is one of the leads of this movie, hopefully her story and character will not be altered to include a romance. To have asexuality presented in a franchise as big as the MCU would be incredibly important due to the lack of asexual representation in media.
I was a big MCU fan when I was younger, but kind of fell out of love with it. Especially as a queer woman, I was always disappointed with the lack of representation, and longed for more. But watching “Agatha All Along” has renewed my excitement in the franchise. I am sure I don’t just speak for myself when I say I hope this representation continues.
After one of my manic Agatha rambling sessions, I spoke with fellow RIC student and staff member of The Anchor, Kelcy Conroy, who was also bewitched by the series. “I think it’s good they’re adding queer relationships just to represent everyone regardless of who you are,” she told me. Marvel comics have always been much less shy in portraying queerness than its cinematic universe. Considering the blaring success of “Agatha All Along,” hopefully the MCU will continue with its representation.
Watch all nine episodes of “Agatha All Along” now on Disney+ for an inclusive and enchanting experience.
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