The second that Agatha All Along’s “Teen,” aka Billy Kaplan (Joe Locke), started spouting trivia about Agatha Harkness, saying he was a big fan of her “Salem era,” I groaned. Not again. Even though part of that was an act with an ulterior motive, he’s along for the ride in a way that feels so familiar at this point. And if the Marvel Cinematic Universe wants to team him up with the next generation, they’ve got a major problem: These young adult characters are too dang similar.

This is not a criticism of Locke’s performance. Nor is it a criticism of Agatha All Along — or even WandaVision, for that matter. These shows with “Agatha” and “Wanda” in the title are clearly not Billy’s story, and that’s fine. But the Marvel Cinematic Universe is, for better or for worse, a connected franchise with its own set of trends that are sometimes frustrating. The latest, it seems, is to introduce younger characters on the backs of more established heroes and villains in ways that don’t allow them to stand on their own.

There’s a homogenous devotedness to them. They serve as audience surrogates and expository devices. Many of them are fans of the character whose property they are entering. In Hawkeye, Kate Bishop idolizes Clint Barton, and gushes to a stranger that she was just talking to an Avenger. Riri Williams drops the chip on her shoulder to ask Shuri and Okoye if she’s getting recruited in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. America Chavez is weirdly invested in whether or not Doctor Strange gets the girl in Multiverse of Madness. In Black Widow, Yelena might act above everything but still pays enough attention to her sister’s Avenger career to make fun of her fighting “pose” and various team-ups. Cassie Lang, whose superhero journey should have been........

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