Agatha All Along may be replacing the MCU's Thanos in an iconic Marvel Comics story. Thanos' death five years ago has not removed the Mad Titan from the MCU. Despite his defeat, Earth is still reeling from the effects of the Snap while many Multiverse Saga stories struggle to preclude him entirely, with The Marvels even using a Thanos soundbite in its trailer. Still, things are now looking more divested from Thanos than ever with the promise of a new arch-villain in Doctor Doom and the threat of even greater cosmic adversaries.
Agatha All Along, meanwhile, has been leaning into the mystical side of the MCU that is typically represented by such characters as Wanda Maximoff and Doctor Strange. The show has already confirmed Mephisto as part of the MCU's canon, an immensely powerful extradimensional being synonymous with the Devil himself. The true identity of the main characters in Agatha All Along, meanwhile, has been heavily hinted at throughout the series' five episodes so far - and it is a character that was first set up in 2012.
Thanos' First MCU Appearance Set Up Lady Death
The Other Mentions Courting Death In The Avengers
Loki assumed the role of arch-villain in The Avengers with the express purpose of ruling Earth. He intends to do this with the help of a clandestine figure who is later revealed to be Thanos in The Avengers' post-credits scene, though a more accurate reading is that Thanos uses Loki as a pawn. The reveal came as Thanos' assistant, The Other, informed the Mad Titan of the Avengers' role in foiling Loki's plans, suggesting that "To challenge them is to court Death." Thanos then reveals his face for the first time as he turns and smiles.
The Other's statement has a double meaning in the context of the Marvel Universe. While the Other could be suggesting that Thanos is endangering his own life by facing the Avengers, Lady Death is an established Marvel character and the personification of Death itself. This is why Thanos smiles, alluding to his comic-book motives of wielding the Infinity Gauntlet to woo Death by killing untold trillions. Marvel ultimately opted to make Thanos' MCU motives more sympathetic, dropping the idea of Death for a decade.
A Decade Later, The MCU Set Up Lady Death Again
All Sign Suggest That Rio Vidal Is Death
It appears as though Marvel is revisiting Lady Death in Agatha All Along. The fact that Lady Death has not made an appearance thus far despite there being so many deaths in the MCU over the last several years is somewhat puzzling. Still, all signs suggest that Lady Death has debuted alongside the MCU's magic-users in Agatha All Along in the form of Aubrey Plaza's Rio Vidal. The green witch of Agatha's coven is a mysterious figure whose actions have hinted heavily at her true identity as Death. This evidence includes:
- Carrying the same curved dagger as Death in Lilia's Tarot card deck.
- Asserting that she was only "doing her job" when causing Agatha heartbreak.
- Telling Agatha that she wants to "get her bodies" in reference to the deaths of the other coven members.
- Agatha tells Rio "Don't" when it looks like Teen is near death.
- Rio's nonchalance about being attacked by the Salem Seven.
- Cackling when the Ouija board spells "Death."
- Being absent from the final scene in the wake of Alice's death, implying that she was dealing with her body.
All the evidence in Agatha All Along is difficult to discount. It would mean that the MCU is introducing the latest supremely powerful eternal being to its roster, with the power of Death surpassing all but the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. The fact that there is a romantic history between Rio and Agatha, meanwhile, is particularly interesting - not only as Death's interest in Agatha suggests that Agatha is responsible for an incredible amount of deaths, but also because it means that Agatha has taken the place of Thanos.
Agatha Is Thanos' Replacement In The MCU's Lady Death Love Story
Agatha Is Now Romantically Involved With Death
Agatha All Along hinted as early as the first episode that Rio Vidal and Agatha Harkness share a romantic history. This culminated in episode 4 when the two shared an intimate moment following their ordeal with the second Witches' Road trial, where Rio confirmed that Teen wasn't Agatha's son. With their romance now undeniable, Agatha has now taken the place of Thanos in the love story surrounding Death.
This is probably for the best. Thanos' obsession with Death in Marvel Comics would have only worked to make him a far less sympathetic and intimidating villain than what he ultimately became in the MCU. Agatha's relationship with Death, however, seems far more fraught and not so one-sided, which should be a much more engaging relationship to see develop throughout Agatha All Along.
