Marvel Just Got a Big Step Closer to Forming the Young Avengers
From a mysterious teen to a legendary team.
Agatha All Along finally made good on its promise. The Marvel series started with a big mystery looming over it: who is “Teen,” the young boy Agatha seemingly adopted and referred to as her “pet”? He tried to tell her all about his identity, but a magical sigil prevented her from hearing any details. But the truth finally came out in Episode 5, and when it did, it confirmed a long-held fan theory... and gave the MCU a convenient addition to a Marvel team-up that’s been building steam for years.
At the end of Agatha All Along Episode 5, Teen and Agatha argue about the death of Alice, which gave Agatha her magic powers back. “That's what it means to be a witch? Killing people to serve your own agenda? No. Not for me,” Teen says. Agatha smirks and responds, “You’re just like your mother.” That sparks Teen’s transformation into Wiccan, aka Billy Kaplan, the magically powerful re-manifestation of Wanda’s son William Maximoff.
Wiccan instantly snaps into action, attacking Agatha, Jennifer, and Lilia. We don’t know if everyone will survive, but the coven’s hierarchy has clearly changed.
Wiccan’s Long History
Wiccan’s reveal included a crown similar to his mother’s, and was accompanied by Billie Eilish’s “You Should See Me In A Crown.”
Wiccan’s introduction to the MCU has been a long time coming. From the moment Wanda and Vision had their twin boys, Billy and Tommy, in WandaVision, speculation swirled about how they could grow up to be the next generation of heroes. Signs certainly pointed to it; in the Halloween episode, the two dressed as tiny versions of their comic book identities, Wiccan and Speed.
But Billy and Tommy were later revealed to be products of Wanda’s fantasy, which apparently dashed all hopes of them becoming major MCU figures. So how could Teen be Billy?
In the comics, Wanda used two lost souls to create Billy and Tommy, but like in WandaVision, they were fantasies that eventually disappeared. Their souls survived, however, and were reborn. Billy Maximoff became Billy Kaplan, and Tommy Maximoff became Tommy Shepherd, two unrelated people with different parents.
When the superhero Iron Lad formed the Young Avengers, he found Billy in New York City and recruited him. Billy’s powers first manifested as electricity, so he was dubbed Asgardian, and he fashioned himself to look like the next generation of Thor. However, a later battle revealed his true identity as a spellcaster, and he adopted the name Wiccan.
Wiccan has been a member of the Young Avengers for almost a decade, alongside his boyfriend Teddy Altman, aka Hulkling. They’re now married and defend the world together, either with the Young Avengers or alone. We may have actually heard from Teddy in Agatha All Along when Teen got a call from his boyfriend, but that’s just speculation for now.
Young Avengers in the MCU
In an echo of Nick Fury’s work, Kamala Khan recruited Kate Bishop at the end of The Marvels.
Ever since Avengers: Endgame disbanded the Avengers lineup the MCU had been building towards since day one, fans have expected the next generation to step up as The Young Avengers. Everything seems to be slowly leading to it: almost every time a classic Marvel hero gets an adventure in the post-Endgame MCU, they’re paired with someone younger who could take on their role.
Take Black Widow. She may have sacrificed herself in Endgame, but we still got her backstory in her own movie, where we met Yelena Belova, her kid sister now set to star in Thunderbolts. Here’s the long list of everyone who’s been teased as a possible Young Avengers member so far:
- Cassie Lang, Ant-Man’s daughter, introduced in Ant-Man
- Yelena Belova, Natasha’s sister, introduced in Black Widow
- Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel’s biggest fan, introduced in Ms. Marvel
- Billy and Tommy Maximoff, aka Wiccan and Speed, introduced in WandaVision
- Eli Bradley, Isaiah Bradley’s grandson, introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- America Chavez, multiverse traveler, introduced in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness
- Kate Bishop, Clint Barton’s protégé, introduced in Hawkeye
- Skaar, Hulk’s teenage son, introduced in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law
- Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, MIT’s aspiring bionic suit engineer, introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Toussaint, aka Prince T’Challa, T’Challa’s son introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The biggest hint at a Young Avengers initiative came in the final scene of The Marvels. The movie focused on Kamala Khan’s adventures with her idol, Captain Marvel, but there’s a scene where Kamala approaches Kate Bishop in her New York apartment and asks Kate if she thought she was the only kid superhero out there (Kate’s 23, but whatever).
“You’ve just become part of a much larger universe,” Kamala says. “Which, at the moment, is just me, mostly. I do have feelers out, though. Did you know Ant-Man had a daughter?” When Kate asks what Kamala wants, she has an answer that echoes Nick Fury’s old Avengers recruitment pitch. “I’m putting together a team, and I want you on it.”
With the introduction of Wiccan to Agatha All Along and the MCU, Kamala’s potential team is coming together. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll see her in a post-credits scene giving Billy the same offer.
