Leaks sometimes come from the most unexpected of places and, in the case of Agatha All Along, it was from the back of a Funko Pop box.
Last night, we learned that Joe Locke is playing Wiccan and that Aubrey Plaza's Rio Vidal is, in fact, Death. While we still don't know how their respective transformations happen, the latter's MCU introduction is a very big deal.
In this feature, we explain the character's comic book history - it's somewhat convoluted and weird, so brace yourselves - and explore what this apparent reimagining of Thanos' love could mean for the franchise. Death can also raise the dead, and given the history the Scarlet Witch and her children have with Mephisto, there are all sorts of places for this story to take us.
You can read this Agatha All Along feature by clicking the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
5. A Powerful Cosmic Entity
Marvel's Death isn't just another grim reaper, she's an immensely powerful cosmic being who was "born" when the universe began. Coming into being alongside other cosmic entities like her twin "Eternity," she later resided in the Realm of Death.
On the page, Death takes on the form of a human woman, though she's often portrayed as a skeleton (albeit with a female form). However, Death has also been known to take on the form of whatever species sees her as they enter the afterlife...think of "her" as more of a concept than person.
Death has an obvious, important role to play and, if she's ever defeated, it's bad news because that can create a monstrous Cancerverse.
4. Her "Romance" With Thanos...And Deadpool
Chances are most of you will know Death best for her relationship with Thanos. She first became intrigued by the Mad Titan when he was a child and took the form of a schoolmate who pushed him to become a killer.
For decades, she kept him at arm's length but finally allowed him to court her, prompting Thanos to seek out the Infinity Stones and snap away half of all life in the universe. Even that didn't satisfy her, and the villain never fully managed to earn her love; instead, it felt like she was just toying with him.
Bizarrely, Death and Deadpool also have something of a twisted romance. He sees her each time he comes close to death but because the Merc with the Mouth can't die, they can never be together.
3. What Does Marvel's Death Actually Do?
Death has appeared somewhat inconsistently over the decades since first showing up in the pages of Marvel Mystery Comics #10. Whether it's as Thanos' beau, a comedic presence in the pages of Deadpool, or a cosmic entity, it's hard to fully pin down who or what she truly is.
Still, Death is omnipotent and wields the Power Cosmic, so she's not to be underestimated. While she can liberate the soul or spirit of a living being, she typically leaves that to the likes of Hela or the Valkyries. She can raise the dead, though rarely chooses to do so for obvious reasons.
She's cold, calculated and simply there to make that the living die. She's not a killer but welcomes death, explaining why she stood by Thanos' side for so many years. Death also doesn't have anywhere near as much personality on the page as Rio Vidal!
2. Death vs. The Beyonder
Here's where things get interesting. Rumour has it Marvel's plan was for the Avengers to battle Kang and his Variants before introducing the most powerful version of all, a new take on The Beyonder.
We'd imagine something like that will still happen in the MCU, albeit with Doctor Doom perhaps wielding the villain's power. Either way, the all-powerful Beyonder once decided that Death had no place in the universe and managed to kill her.
However, the Molecule Man persuaded him to create a new Death, explaining that without it, life has no meaning. This introduced the concept of "Death" being a mantle and could explain a lot of what we're seeing in Agatha All Along.
1. What Does All This Mean For Agatha All Along And Beyond?
Death has clearly been reimagined for the MCU, with ties to witchcraft and the supernatural instead of the cosmos. The Supernatural fans among you will recall how "Death" was a role passed between demons, and Rio Vidal might just be the latest to hold the title.
If so, she's likely working for Mephisto but, at this stage, perhaps she isn't Death...at least not yet. That might just be what she wants at the end of the Witches' Road, either to kill Agatha or resurrect their son, Nicholas Scratch (we're assuming they had the child together given their history).
Rumour has it Plaza has a role in the MCU beyond Agatha All Along and with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars on the way, there's a strong possibility Death will be crucial there, particularly if the death of the Multiverse kills countless billions.
Oh, and as we alluded to at the top of this post, the Scarlet Witch inadvertently used part of Mephisto's soul to create Billy and Tommy. He'd later reabsorb them to make himself whole but if they were then "reborn" like in the comics, Death might have had something to do with it...