The witch Agatha Harkness, played by Kathryn Hahn, was the breakout character of the Disney Marvel miniseries WandaVision in 2021. The series ended with Harkness trapped inside the disguise of nosy neighbour “Agnes” and cut off from her magic – but she is about to return in her own spin-off series, Agatha All Along on September 18. However, Harkness has a longer history than some fans of the show might realise.

Created by Marvel’s Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1969, Harkness was, until recently, portrayed as an old woman whose age was impossible to guess. She has been an ally to the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. She also appeared during quite a fraught time in US comics history.

Following a moral panic about the “immorality” of comic books, the US comics industry attempted to mollify their critics through self-regulation, establishing a code for content in 1954. This code, to which publishers had to adhere to protect their sales figures, prohibited vampires, ghouls, werewolves and horror content in general. Witches were not specifically mentioned among the prohibited stock characters (perhaps due to the legacy of “good witches” in US media, such as The Wizard of Oz and Bewitched), but they had to be on their best behaviour – comedic rather than creepy.

Harkness was introduced as a nanny for Franklin Richards, infant son of Mr Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, in Fantastic Four #94 (October 1969), a lighthearted Halloween special. In........

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