Key Takeaways
- Agatha All Along praised for diversity & magical side of MCU, teases future plot threads.
- Aubrey Plaza as Death in MCU a big deal, despite lack of comics connection.
- Potential return of Thanos and Lady Death in the MCU explored, with hope for Plaza’s reprisal.
The dust is only just settling on Agatha All Along, and as Jac Schaeffer’s WandaVision sequel continues its legacy as one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s greatest creations, the Kathryn Hahn-led series has been praised as a ‘gay explosion’ in terms of diversity and diving into this more magical side of the MCU. Agatha All Along might’ve teased some major plot threads for the franchise’s future, but it also feels like a missed opportunity for one.
Alongside an all-star cast that included Hahn, Patti LuPone, Joe Locke and more, Aubrey Plaza’s role as Rio Vidal was a big deal. Fans were guessing early on that Rio was just an alias for a more important character from the pages of Marvel Comics, and while Funko Pops spoiled the surprise early, the fact that Plaza is playing Death in the MCU is a big deal. Unfortunately for Agatha All Along, its Death reveal looks like it won’t be connected to the comics.
Related
Agatha All Along Handled [Spoiler]’s Identity Perfectly, Despite the Funko Leak
Agatha All Along was met with leaks of Funko characters for two big reveals in the series, yet somehow managed to handle them perfectly.
Who is Death in Marvel Comics?
The idea of Death being a personification is nothing new, with everything from Final Destination to Castlevania and American Horror Story including a literal character of death. Marvel Comics first introduced its own version of Death (as the Grim Reaper) in 1939’s Marvel Mystery Comics #10, but the character wouldn’t make a proper debut until 1973’s Captain Marvel #26. Death is typically depicted as female and referred to as Mistress Death or Lady Death – boasting a colorful comic book history.
Due to Death being female, she’s dated some notable fan-favorites from pages of Marvel Comics, but aside from a dalliance with Deadpool, her most famous romance is with Thanos. Death’s introduction in Captain Marvel had the Thanos trying to woo her, which eventually led to him collecting the Infinity Gems, forging the Infinity Gauntlet, and pulling off his iconic snap to ‘impress’ her by killing half of the universe.
While Thanos is successful in The Infinity Gauntlet, Death joins Mephisto and other cosmic entities including Galactus and Epoch in trying to defeat him, but after she’s trapped in stasis and Thanos takes the place of Eternity, he’s eventually bested by Nebula. Tensions were high between Death and Thanos after this, although he’d still try to court her and even cursed Deadpool with immortality to keep the Merc with a Mouth away from her.
Death and Thanos’ relationship is expanded in the likes of Avengers: Celestial Quest, with a convoluted story involving the pair going against their own offspring, called the Rot. Death has also taken on a human form by using Marlo Chandler as a substitute in Las Vegas, although the character is usually known for residing in the Realm of Death. Given Death’s ties to Thanos, the introduction of Plaza in Agatha All Along could be used as a way to bring Josh Brolin’s Mad Titan back to the MCU, but sadly, it doesn’t look like this will be the case.
Death and the MCU
Death was first referenced all the way back in 2012’s The Avengers, with a mention that challenging humans was to ‘court’ death. In the aftermath of Guardians of the Galaxy, Josh Brolin suggested that Death would appear and be portrayed as a woman like in the comics. The Avengers director Joss Whedon told IGN that his tease of Death was only a placeholder, but went on to praise the Russo Brothers for taking Thanos in a different direction. The Russos later admitted to Business Insider that they considered using Death in Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame, but with so much to fit in, they were worried about confusing fans by introducing a new character with such an important mythos. There’s still a nod to Death thanks to Ross Marquand’s Red Skull wearing a cloak inspired by her comic book look in Endgame.
While Plaza is the first time we’ve seen Lady Death in the MCU, some thought Cate Blanchett’s Hela would be used as a substitute. Instead, Thor: Ragnarok made it clear that Hela is the Goddess of Death rather than the literal personification of Death. It’s likely that Plaza will reprise her role further down the line, but speaking to Inverse, Schaeffer reiterated it was never the plan to tie her to Thanos like in the comics:
“Thanos is not in my show, so I can’t speak to any Thanos connections. Thanos stans out there, I have no answers for you.”
After giving Agatha the kiss of death in the Agatha All Along finale, Death said balance was restored and Billy Maximoff (Locke) was free to leave as she walked away. It’s possible for someone else to use Death to bring back Thanos, and as for Plaza coming back for more, Schaeffer simply said, “As a fan? I hope so.”
While there was a tease of Agatha’s relationship with Death thanks to the reveal of what happened to Nicholas Scratch, there are still plenty of gaps in their story and many centuries of being scorned lovers. It would take away from Agatha and Death’s romance (as well as the MCU’s first lesbian kiss) to have her suddenly romancing Thanos – especially if it was just a way to bring him back.
Thanos has been referenced several times since his demise in Avengers: Endgame, and the madness of the Multiverse means it would be easy to bring back an alternate version of him for something like Avengers: Secret Wars. Brolin himself has discussed the idea of returning to the MCU, most recently telling Collider:
“Thanos has to fit if you’re going to bring him back. I would do anything that the Russos wanted me to do.”
While it makes sense to bring Brolin back for Secret Wars alongside other rumored returnees like Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, it remains to be seen who won’t make the cut for the presumably supersized cast lists for the next two Avengers movies. Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom is expected to take over from Jonathan Majors’ axed Kang the Conqueror as the big bad, meaning there might not be room for Death. Still, as the MCU continues to explore its cosmic and magical branches, she could pop up when fans least expect it. With or without Thanos in tow.
