Agatha All Along, the Marvel comics Easter egg found in the Disney+ show WandaVision spin-off, may have finally answered a major mystery surrounding the character played by Joe Locke, known as “Teen.” Fans have long speculated that Locke’s character was meant to be the teen version of Billy Maximoff, also known as Wiccan.
In WandaVision, Billy and his twin brother Tommy were introduced as the twin sons of Wanda Maximoff and Vision, conjured in the Scarlet Witch’s fantasy version of Westview. It would make sense for Billy to find himself cast adrift in the main MCU universe after Wanda’s misadventures with the Darkhold in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, the first episode of Agatha All Along hints at a different possibility – that Joe Locke could be playing the son of another Marvel witch, Agatha Harkness.
The spoilers for the first two episodes of Agatha All Along reveal that Wanda Maximoff fully embraces her power as the Scarlet Witch and traps Agatha Harkness in a spell where she forgets who she is. Agatha is now living her days in a television show narrative, similar to what Wanda and the people of Westview experienced.
Agatha All Along begins with Agatha living her own version of HBO’s Mare of Easttown, called “Agnes of Westview.” Kathryn Hahn brilliantly portrays the character with a Philly accent and copes with personal grief. When we follow “Agnes” home, we learn that she once had a son named Nicky, or Nicholas Scratch. Almost immediately after this revelation, Joe Locke’s “Teen” character bursts into the narrative as a potential thief.
With the help of Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal, Agatha breaks free from the Scarlet Witch’s spell. She discovers that the Teen is real and wants her to lead him down the legendary Witches’ Road. However, whenever Agatha asks the Teen about himself, he is silenced by magical forces.
So, who exactly is Nicholas Scratch in the MCU? Is he the same character from Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina? And is Joe Locke actually playing Agatha’s long-lost son in Agatha All Along?
Agatha All Along reveals that Agatha Harkness in the MCU had a son named Nicholas Scratch, just like her comic book counterpart. Nicholas Scratch was a villain introduced in a 1970s run of Fantastic Four comics. In the comics, Nicholas was born and raised in the magical community of New Salem and was later left behind by Agatha to live among humans. He eventually became Franklin Richards’s nanny and had seven children of his own, known as the Salem Seven.
While the MCU has made several changes to Agatha Harkness, it wouldn’t be surprising if Nicholas’s story in Agatha All Along is connected to the Salem Seven from the comics. This connection may explain the appearance of the creepy hoard hunting down Agatha at the end of Agatha All Along Episode 2.
As for Joe Locke’s character, it remains unclear if he is playing Nicholas Scratch or Billy Maximoff. If he is playing Nicholas Scratch, it is possible that he either doesn’t know Agatha is his mother or has been raised to antagonize her by another dark force. This could add an interesting twist, considering Agatha’s apparent detachment from other people.
Alternatively, the Nicholas Scratch Easter eggs could be red herrings, distracting both the audience and Agatha from the more obvious choice. Agatha herself remarks as Agnes that Wanda Maximoff might not be truly dead. If Locke is playing Billy Maximoff, he could be walking the Witches’ Road to eventually meet and resurrect his mother in the MCU.
While it is also possible that the Teen is just a random character, it wouldn’t be as exciting as the other possibilities.
To clarify, the Nicholas Scratch in Agatha All Along is not the same character as Gavin Leatherwood’s Nick Scratch in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Both characters share the name Nicholas Scratch due to it being an old folk name for the Devil. It is a coincidence that two different comic book series decided to name their warlock characters Nicholas Scratch.
