Agatha All Along theory suggests Aubrey Plaza's mysterious MCU role is a major comic book character

Aubrey Plaza in Agatha All Along
(Image credit: Disney+)

A new Agatha All Along theory presents another idea about Aubrey Plaza's character's identity: comic book villain Lady Death.

"I see a lot of parallels with this story and that of [Puss in Boots: The Last Wish]," one Reddit user explained. "Both have a protagonist searching for a wish and running away from an imposing figure dressed in all black (ie death). Agatha is running away from death. Aubrey’s character has a "black heart that beats" for Agatha bc she has been avoiding death for so long due to her stealing the life force of other witches. What’s more damning is that in the official promotional art for the Agatha series with the tarot cards, lady death appears and is clearly holding the same knife that Aubrey Plaza’s character is holding in ep 1."

In the new Marvel show, which follows on from 2021's WandaVision, Kathryn Hahn's Agatha is on a quest to regain her powers by taking a trip down the legendary Witches Road – with a newly formed, ragtag coven in tow. Faced with a series of trials, anyone who survives them all is promised to be rewarded with what they're missing.

We know that at some point she'll be joined by Plaza's character, who goes by Rio Vadal and shares a mysterious past with Agatha, but that's about all that's been given away so far. 

As for Lady Death, she's one incarnation of Death, a major antagonist in Marvel Comics. In the comics, she's rubbed shoulders with Thanos and Deadpool, and she's made appearances in the MCU before, too – sort of. Murals and statues of her can be spotted in Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Love and Thunder.

"I love this theory. Aubrey would make such a great death," another user replied. "She's got that slightly otherworldly, not quite normal, thing she can do so well, and she's playing scary, but only to certain people. Agatha has definitely flirted with death previously, so the flirtatious but dangerous thing would make a ton of sense. I'm not sure it will actually play out, but it would make me very happy if did."

Eagle-eyed fans may have spotted another piece of supporting evidence for this theory in the form of a recent social media promo spot, with the clip spelling out the word 'death' via an Ouija board.

New episodes of Agatha All Along are dropping weekly on Disney Plus – for more info, check out our Agatha All Along release schedule. For more on the MCU, get up to speed with our guide to watching the Marvel movies in order.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

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