Given where it fits into the MCU’s TV offerings, Disney+’s WandaVision spinoff Agatha All Along is automatically one of the more mysterious premieres hitting the upcoming Fall TV schedule. Fans have waited years to catch up with Kathryn Hahn’s Westview witch Agatha Harkness and see the aftermath of Wanda’s curse, and how her new coven will help her regain her purple-tinged powers. Perhaps a bigger question, however: who is Teen?
For all the fun and whimsy that’s been part of the show’s promotional campaign, from the lineup of fake title reveals to the focus on the Witch’s Road, Agatha All Along has also steadily sparked more and more curiosity over the mystery identity of Joe Locke’s character, who officially goes by “Teen” in the series’ earlier episodes. The show’s cast and crew are pointedly avoiding sharing details about him, so we’ve got our own theories lined up for the unidentified MCU newbie.
BIlly Maximoff/Kaplan
Easily the most obvious and anticipated answer to the question behind Teen's identity, Wanda's son Billy would indeed be a fairly logical choice for showrunner Jac Schaeffer & Co.'s big reveal closer to the end of the season. There's emotional poignance there, with the assumption that Teen would be a resurrected-esque iteration of Marvel's fan-favorite sorcerer, whether or not he would adopt the monikor Wiccan within this series. (Although he'd better.)
Frankly speaking, with all the hopes that fans have for Wiccan to arrive and usher in the age of New Avengers, it will be legitimately shocking if Teen turns out to be anyone but Billy in one form or another. But let us never forget the Ralph Bohner debacle, nor that Mandarin/Trevor Slater mess, as being proof of the MCU's ability to throw impossibly wide curveballs.
Not to mention the fact that Joe Locke has responded to questions about fan theories by saying most theories have been wrong (via SFX), which absolutely seems like it can't be 100% genuine truth outside of the actor purposefully being made privy to wrong ones by his colleagues. Since we won't get firm answers from the show for a while, let's go on entertaining some other ideas for how things could play out.
Agatha's Son Nicholas Scratch
While WandaVision didn't go all-out with blatantly stating that the bug-eating rabbit was actually the furry embodiment of Agatha's son Nicholas (or Jack) Scratch, the name Señor Scratchy was a very obvious nod to the comic characters' relationship. Director Matt Shakman revealed unresolved plans to have the bunny turn into some kind of demonic figure in WandaVision's finale, which speaks to the idea that it still won't just be an innocent pet in Agatha All Along.
So what if Scratchy was able to use his power to take control of a human subject, in this case Joe Locke's character, so that he could complete the Witch's Road trial with Agatha and sorcery himself into a human body. Which wouldn't address how his spirit got trapped in the rabbit in the first place, but that could obviously be explained in full on the show.
Even if it's not meant to be Agatha's son, I would still be intrigued by whatever exists within that rabbit emerging in some form.
A Mephisto Minion
Since WandaVision was a bouncehouse for Mephisto theories to flop about, why should Agatha All Along be any different? (I already speculated that he was responsible for the title changes.) But rather than just directly theorizing that Teen is a pubescent version of the demonic villain, I think the reveal that Joe Locke's character can't speak his own name is a sign that someone else is in control. Sort of like how Agatha was running things on WandaVision.
Like many who love going down this particular rabbit hole (as opposed to Señor Scratchy's), the first thing I thought of when watching Teen's mouth being censored in Agatha All Along's preview was that it wasn't so much like a zipper's zig-zag patter, but rather it looked like a fancy "M." I dunno that Mephisto would have such flair with his handwriting, but it's not that far out there.
Mephisto would likely have motives for making sure Agatha retained her powers, and for putting her in the position to expand her abilities in major ways. Sure, it's strange that he would need to possess a teenage boy to do it. But show me a Hell-spawn that isn't strange, I say.
Wanda Maximoff
No, it wouldn't make much sense for the same version of Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff to take on another form to give Agatha back the powers that the Scarlet Witch herself had removed in the first place. And it would probably be infuriating for Teen to turn out to be a completely different Wanda variant with her own new motivations to introduce. And Olsen herself doesn't seem like she'd be extremely eager to reprise the role after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
All that said...if it was revealed that Teen's mouth was censored with an "M" for "Maximoff," and that it turns out she was the one guiding him down the Witch's Road so that she can at last conjure up fully realized versions of Billy and Tommy, I'd be down.
But, to be clear, that's only if she then confirms that Locke's character will canonically be Wiccan going forward, and that he'll be the best version imaginable. But nothing less.
Hiram Shaw
With each of the previous theories tying directly into this already established world of Disney+ series (and Mephisto), let's throw out at least one idea that takes its cues wholly from comic book lore instead of the live-action MCU. And the clearest place to look for inspiration is the Harkness family's history.
As a Sorcerer Supreme created by Ben Raab and Charlie Adlard for their X-Men: Hellfire Club run, Hiram Shaw harkens back to the days of Salem, Massachusetts, where his son Obadiah was romantically involved with Abigail Harkness, who's technically an unconfirmed relative of Agatha's. Though his origin story wasn't very complicated and wouldn't explain why he's reappearing as a teenager 400 years after the witch trials, his Harkness ties give this the slightest amount of potential.
Plus, the Shaw family tree remains important within Marvel lore. More through X-Men narratives than anything else, via the Hellfire Club, but this could be an interesting way to bring Agatha All Along's mysticism into the mutant-minded fold ahead of any official X-Men features in the MCU.
Is there a chance that none of the above theorizing turns out to resemble reality? Absolutely. I'm certainly not as proficient in Marvel Comics lore as others, and there are no doubt great ideas that I'm not thinking of at the moment. But again, if Teen turns out to be anybody but Billy, there will be riots up and down Westview's streets and surrounding wooded areas.
Agatha All Along premieres on Disney+ on Wednesday, September 18, with the first two episodes going live for MCU fans.
