Agatha Harkness

Agatha Harkness is a fictional character, a powerful witch in the Marvel Comics universe. Supposedly, she was one of the original witches from the Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts. She somehow survived and later became a significant figure in Marvel continuity, protecting Franklin Richards as his nanny and notably mentoring Wanda Maximoff (the Scarlet Witch) in real magic. She was eventually killed by Wanda, who went insane. She also had a familiar named Ebony, a weird cat-like creature that could sense the presence of mystical beings.

Fictional character biography

Agatha Harkness was first introduced as Franklin Richards' governess. She easily fended off the Frightful Four when they came to abduct Franklin Richards, and admitted to the Fantastic Four that she is a witch. She then aided the Fantastic Four in battle against Annihilus.

Through the actions of Nicholas Scratch, her son, she was revealed as being a member of the previously unknown New Salem, Colorado, colony of witches, of whom she had been the leader. Scratch had taken control of the town and had persuaded its inhabitants that Agatha had betrayed the community's secrets by working for the Fantastic Four. She was abducted and taken back to the community with Franklin so that she might be put on trial. The Fantastic Four followed and came into conflict with Salem's Seven, Agatha's grandchildren fathered by Scratch. The Fantastic Four defeated them and freed Agatha. In the process, Scratch's evil was revealed to the community of New Salem and he was banished to another dimension.