The MCU’s Most Tragic Figure Is Officially Back as the Scarlet Witch’s Next Biggest Problem

One of Marvel's most underrated Masters of the Mystic Arts is back, and he has his sights set on the Scarlet Witch.

During what should have been an ordinary day out with her children and new protégé, the titular hero of Scarlet Witch #7 finds herself suddenly pulled into the depths of a dark, menacing underworld. While the likes of Amaranth, Wiccan, and Speed have no clue what they are up against, it doesn't take long for Wanda to reach the heart of the problem at hand. There, she finds none other than Nicholas Scratch waiting for her, and he is more than happy to have another chance to take her down.

Scarlet Witch #7

• Written by STEVE ORLANDO
• Art by LORENZO TAMMETTA
• Colors by FRANK WILLIAM
• Letters by VC's ARIANA MAHER
• Design by KAT WALKINGTON and ANTHONY GAMBINO
• Main cover art by RUSSELL DAUTERMAN
• Variant covers by PEACH MOMOKO, AUDREY MOK, and IMOGENE CHAYES

First seen in the pages of 1977's Fantastic Four #185 by Len Wein and George Pérez, Nicholas Scratch is the son of the immensely powerful Agatha Harkness. Born in the hidden village of New Salem, Nicholas came to resent his mother over time, both for distancing herself from New Salem as a whole and for leaving him behind. After coming to rule New Salem as his own, Nicholas led the charge against Harkness, abducting both his mother and the young Franklin Richards, who she was serving as a nanny.

In the decades since his debut, Nicholas Scratch has been at the heart of numerous supernaturally charged storylines. Apart from his encounters with the Fantastic Four, Nicholas Scratch has taken on heroes ranging from Patsy Walker, aka Hellcat, and even Doctor Strange. Despite all his best efforts, the heir to the Harkness legacy has never really managed to claim any proper victories over the competition, not even with the help of fellow villains such as the original Salem's Seven.

Nicholas Scratch played a major role in the overarching mythos of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Agatha Harkness, albeit while only making a couple of on-screen appearances. The mystery surrounding Nicholas' life and death was a primary plot point in Marvel Studios' Agatha All Along, with various characters positing that the series' titular witch had sold her own son's soul to a demon in exchange for the Darkhold. In the final episode of Agatha All Along, it was revealed that Nicholas was instead an ordinary child who lived an ordinary life up until his tragic demise, one which had been temporarily staved off by Death herself as a courtesy to her beloved Agatha.

Scarlet Witch #7 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics