Agatha Harkness is taking center stage as she rebuilds her coven and attempts to reclaim her power as one of the most potent magic users in the MCU in Agatha All Along - but while we know more than a little about Agatha and her allies in the streaming series, we're still mostly in the dark about the show's villains.
But there's a chance that Agatha and her newly built coven will have to come up against the characters who have been Agatha's arch-enemies in comic books, the demonic entities known as Salem's Seven.
While there's more than a little likelihood that if the Salem's Seven are indeed adapted to Agatha All Along they'll undergo some changes (as is the way of the MCU), the comic book history of the group is still tied directly to Agatha's history in the Marvel Universe - and indeed, directly to her own bloodline.
Because, in comics, the Salem's Seven aren't just Agatha's enemies, they're her own grandchildren by way of her satanic son Nicholas Scratch, who is himself an enemy of the Fantastic Four.
The origin of Nicholas Scratch
To understand Salem's Seven, we'll first have to look at the history of Agatha Harkness' son, Nicholas Scratch. Created in 1977's Fantastic Four #185 by writer Len Wein and artist George Pérez, Nicholas Scratch is the son of Agatha Harkness and an unknown father whose identity has never been revealed.
Both Agatha and Nicholas lived in the secret magical community of New Salem, Colorado (which takes its name from the famed 'Witch City,' Salem, Massachusetts), which is populated almost entirely by magic users. But Nicholas Scratch takes things a step further, secretly getting involved with the demonic forces of Mephisto and his ilk.
When Agatha leaves New Salem to become the nanny to Franklin Richards, the son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm of the Fantastic Four, Nicholas becomes the town's new leader, convincing the rest of the townsfolk that Agatha had betrayed them by leaving. This leads to the abduction of Agatha Harkness and Franklin Richards with Agatha being put on trial in New Salem.
The Fantastic Four intervene, and after a brief battle with Scratch and Salem's Seven, they show the citizens of New Salem how they'd been tricked by Scratch, who is banished to a place called the Dark Realm after a clash with the FF. But that was not the end of Scratch, whose own children - all seven of them - hatched a plan to get revenge on the Fantastic Four and free their father all in one move.
The origin of Salem's Seven
Also created by Len Wein and George Pérez in Fantastic Four #185, Salem's Seven began life as Nicholas Scratch's sons Brutacus, Hydron, Thornn, and Vakume, and his daughters, Gazelle, Reptilla, and Vertigo, all born to Scratch's various polygamous wives. Like most of the citizens of New Salem, Salem's Seven are human magic users. But unlike the other townsfolk, they also possess the ability to transform into monstrous, mutated, magical beasts with a variety of special powers.
Brutacus transforms into a red, leonine demon with tremendous strength and durability. Hydron turns into a fish-like creature who can manipulate water. Thornn becomes yellow and spikey and generates red thorns he can use as weapons. Vakume becomes intangible and has the power to manipulate wind. Gazelle takes on a deer-like form with super fast and powerful legs. Reptilla becomes snakelike and grows a pair of venomous serpents for arms. And finally, Vertigo, who mostly stays human looking, has powers that make her enemies dizzy and nauseated.
Using these abilities, Salem's Seven kidnap the Fantastic Four, planning to use their bodies to channel the power they need to free their father, Nicholas Scratch, from his extra-dimensional prison. However, with the help of Agatha Harkness, the FF are able to escape, and Salem's Seven are banished back to New Salem with Agatha using her magic to bind them in their human forms.
Over the years, Salem's Seven would eventually regain their abilities to transform, collectively becoming the Sorcerers Supreme of New Salem. And while they, and their father Nicholas Scratch, would again bedevil the FF and the Avengers, they wound up turning over a new leaf to become allies of the Fantastic Four - though Scratch could rear his head again as a villain at any time.
Salem's Seven in the MCU
We don't yet know how or if Salem's Seven will factor into Agatha All Along, but given that the story revolves around Agatha rebuilding her coven and digging into her past, it's very likely some version of the characters could appear.
It's another question altogether whether they'll be magical, demonic mutates with extreme powers, or if Marvel Studios will take the concept and run with it in a different direction. It's possible that it won't be easy to adequately show their mutated forms on the budget of a streaming series, though we've seen in the trailers that the show will summon several demons, ghouls, and other dark forces, so it's not impossible.
It is interesting to note that one of Salem's Seven has appeared in a Marvel Studios project - kind of. In episode 3 of X-Men '97, some of the demons in the Limbo sequence are dead ringers for Thornn, though there are multiple demons and they are never called by name, so it seems it's just an aesthetic choice.
Still, that shows that Marvel Studios is certainly aware of the characters and their comic book history, so it's not impossible that some version of the demonic villains makes it into Agatha All Along intact. And it's also interesting to note the shared connections between Agatha, Salem's Seven, and the Fantastic Four, given the FF's upcoming movie, which is even rumored to secretly involve Franklin Richards, who Agatha once helped raise.
Agatha Harkness actor Kathryn Hahn says she'd "love to" team up with the FF, so we'll have to wait and see more when Agatha All Along premieres on September 18.
Check out our list of the best supernatural superheroes of all time.
