Geeks logo

MCU Theory: What The Destruction Of The Darkhold Could Mean For Agatha Harkness

Was Agatha Darkhold corrupted?

By Kristy AndersonPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
1
Credit: Disney.

As fans will know, Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch, spends the majority of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness corrupted by the Darkhold, leaving her with a laser-focus on reuniting with her lost children, no matter the cost. However, after she is freed from the Darkhold's influence in the film's climax, Wanda attempts to redeem herself by destroying the Darkhold in not just her own universe, but every universe, in the hope that no-one would ever be tempted by the dark tome again.

While some fans have shown concern over whether the destruction of the Darkhold carvings in the walls of Mount Wundagore may actually release something worse, others a questioning the effect the elimination of the Darkhold may have on another character known to have been in possession of, and likely used the evil book.. WandaVision villain Agatha Harkness.

Agatha and the Darkhold

While a few storylines in Agents of SHIELD dealt with the Darkhold, the events of that series are now considered either non-canon, or occupying a different timeline in the Marvel multiverse. Therefore, the first official appearance of the Darkhold in the MCU comes in the closing minutes of WandaVision episode seven, ‘Breaking the Fourth Wall’. Wanda briefly sees the book while she is searching for her children, before Agnes finally reveals her true identity as Agatha Harkness.

In the series final episode, Agatha consults the Darkhold while informing Wanda of the prophecies surrounding her as the Scarlet Witch. Following Wanda's defeat of Agatha, she is left trapped in Westview as 'Agnes', while Wanda takes possession of the Darkhold herself, eventually leading to her corruption, and the events of Multiverse of Madness.

Now, given what we have learned from that film, fans have come to the conclusion that Agatha Harkness was most likely corrupted by the Darkhold as well.

Signs of Darkhold Corruption

There are quite a few pieces of evidence that support this possibility, the first being in the flashback to Agatha's past that opens WandaVision's eighth episode. If the knowledge that Agatha stole was from the Darkhold, this would explain why Agatha's Mother was so certain that Agatha could no longer be 'Good'.

In Multiverse of Madness, after discovering that Wanda was using the Darkhold, Doctor Strange declared that she was gone. Agatha's Mother likely assumed the same thing. The Darkhold corrupts quickly. This is also supported in the comics. In the recent 'Darkhold' storyline, the prophesied Darkhold Defenders, consisting of some of Marvel's greatest heroes, including Iron man and Spider-Man, only have to read a short passage from the Darkhold to become warped into the monstrous Darkhold Defiled.

credit: Marvel

We can find more evidence in the fact the Darkhold-corrupted Wanda, who was left with the obsession of reuniting with her sons, Agatha developed a single-minded goal of gaining power. Both also tried to justify their actions, Agatha by claiming to only take powers from the undeserving, and Wanda by saying that the universe-hopping ability would be dangerous in America's inexperienced hands, and taking them for herself would be for the greater good.

Given these similarities, we can assume that Agatha Harkness was influenced by the Darkhold to some degree, whether willingly or otherwise, and possibly a worshipper of it's creator, the demon Chthon.

So, What does the destruction of the Darkhold mean for Agatha?

As mentioned earlier, Wanda destroys the Darkhold in Multiverse of Madness, to prevent others being tempted by it. So, what could this mean for Agatha, who had very likely been corrupted by the book?

Some fans believe that the destruction of the Darkhold may have freed Agatha from being corrupted by it. If so, this could facilitate the transition of the MCU's Agatha Harkness from a villain into a more morally ambiguous figure like her comic book counterpart. We could even, at some point, see Wanda seek Agatha out as a mentor, a possibility teased in WandaVision's ending.

Some of these ideas could be explored in the spin-off series Agatha: House of Harkness, currently in development for Disney Plus. Until then, we can only continue to speculate on the future of Agatha and any others who may have been under the Darkhold's influence.

tv
1

About the Creator

Kristy Anderson

Passionate About all things Entertainment!

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.