*** Spoilers for the first three episodes of Agatha All Along up ahead***
By now, most of you have seen the first few episodes of Disney+’s highly anticipated series, Agatha All Along, which premiered mid September. Coming to us from WandaVision showrunner Jac Schaeffer, Kathryn Hahn returns in her witchy role with some fresh faces joining her. The new additions include Aubrey Plaza (Rio Vidal), Sasheer Zamata (Jennifer Kale), Joe Locke (we’ll get to him in a second), Ali Ahn (Alice), and Patti LuPone (Lilia).
WandaVision was the first Marvel series that premiered on the streaming platform back in 2021 and it was a massive success. It reignited the excitement we would feel when TV shows would drop new episodes weekly at a certain time.
Unfortunately, Disney+ didn’t churn out a ton of shows that kept the momentum that WandaVision had started. Loki and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier were arguably the only ones that saw such viewership. With Agatha stemming from the Wandaverse, fans were hoping this series could piggyback off of its predecessor.
What really worked for WandaVision was that it gave audiences content to put theories together, and that appears to be the direction Agatha is headed. On that note, let’s discuss the biggest theory we are currently trying to decipher: Who exactly is Joe Locke’s “Teen” in the MCU? You may see quite a bit of characters thrown around, but we are going to be honest: Don’t let them fool you. There are enough crumbs to piece together that Teen is none other than Billy Kaplan aka Wiccan, Wanda Maximoff’s son. Not convinced? Let us provide the receipts for our conclusion.
The Marketing
Perhaps the most tell-tell sign that Teen is in fact Billy Kaplan is the studio’s choice to utilize a particular character photo and trailer that looks uncannily similar to the comics (young Billy also wore something identical in WandaVision). The headband under the shaggy dark hair with the red shirt is quite the combo. Is it a mere coincidence or is it a direct hint at his identity?
That’s not all, as things get even more interesting in the second episode when Teen tries to say his name. As the name is leaving his mouth, he is stopped when a sigil in the shape of a cursive letter M appears. While many geeked out at the idea it could be associated with Mephisto (he was finally named-dropped but that’s a conversation for another day), the very real possibility that the M stands for Maximoff compliments the Billy theory.
The Future
It’s important to note that the MCU is lining up their future projects now that the golden age has come to an end (unless Robert Downey Jr.’s Doom pulls the original Avengers back in for one more go). The Young Avengers has been a conversation for some time now, so Teen turning out to be Wiccan is a smart move in that direction. He is one of their leaders and, with identical powers to his mother, arguably one of the most powerful of the batch.
If this is true, we can assume that his twin brother, Tommy aka Speed, will soon be introduced. It is currently unknown if Marvel Studios is pursuing a series adaptation of Young Avengers or a movie, but it’s definitely on the way as we already witnessed Kamala Khan recruit Kate Bishop in The Marvels (it can also be assumed that Cassie Lang would be on the squad as well). With six more episodes to go, the possibilities are endless and an answer is inevitable because his identity being hidden is clearly intentional, creating a buildup of curiosity.
The Comics
If you’re a comic book fan, then you probably are pulling your information from knowledge that lies outside of Marvel’s series and films. If that’s the case then you might recall that Billy Kaplan is one of the small handful of male characters that is openly gay. At one point, there’s a scene in a car where Teen receives a call from his boyfriend, which could turn out to be Teddy Altman, also known as Hulking. Marvel has increasingly been on their diversity and inclusion path, so introducing Wiccan would be provide some much-needed representation for queer comic book characters.
Part of enjoying comic book related projects is the fun in trying to tie together the source material to the visuals. Kevin Feige has been a force to be reckoned with when it comes to giving Marvel fans what they want, and he pays attention to conversations online. The people want more stories from what’s already written, not new spins on the beloved characters. With that in mind, Teen being Billy truly adds up, as it would be full-blown trickery to give us clues to lead to Wiccan, then turn around and reveal someone who doesn’t make sense. Guess only time will tell, but our money is definitely on Wanda’s offspring, especially since the twins are known to be part of Mephisto himself.