Marvel "kills off" another Avenger in jaw-dropping twist

There have been a lot of unanticipated deaths throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe's tenure. It's been 16 years of action and heroics, so when good battles evil on such a large scale in all of these universe-spanning adventures, it's not entirely unexpected that some characters get killed off.

There was no greater example of this than Avengers: Endgame, which broke the hearts of all MCU fans as a number of beloved MCU heroes laid down their lives for humanity. And yet, audiences knew to expect some kind of casualties considering the scale of the Infinity Saga-concluder.

However, there is one apparent MCU death that fans weren't expecting (no matter how many times Marvel has tried to convince us of it), and so whenever they were confronted by it again in the Agatha All Along trailer, there was genuine shock.

Agatha All Along seemingly confirms Wanda Maximoff is dead

Marvel released the first trailer for upcoming Disney Plus series Agatha All Along recently and it has seemingly confirmed that a major character in the MCU has died. The show, which is a spinoff of WandaVision, stars Kathryn Hahn, who reprises her role as Agatha Harkness; the witch who tried to steal the Scarlet Witch's power. To say the sneak peek was a surprise would be an understatement.

It opened with a very serious tone, as Hahn's character, seemingly now a detective (named Agnes?) in Westview showed up to a crime scene to investigate the death of a mysterious Jane Doe. The body had black fingertips, suggesting she once wielded dark magic, and it is seemingly identified (albeit via supernatural means) as that of "W. Maximoff". Yes, it appears that Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch herself, is dead.

The fact that the MCU is still running with the idea of Wanda being dead isn't too shocking; what is shocking is how coldly they confronted fans with the possibility of it being real. Seeing that body and hearing Agatha and her fellow witches chat about how the Scarlet Witch is gone certainly does suggest that the character is no more, but should we be surprised?

We last saw Wanda in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness when, driven mad by the grief of losing her family in WandaVision, the former Avenger became corrupted by the Darkhold and evolved into that movie's villain. When she eventually realized what she had done, she brought all of Mount Wundagore down on herself, seemingly dying in the process. And yet, fans hoped she would return at some point.

Does the Agatha All Along trailer suggest that she still could or does it rule it out altogether?

Could the Scarlet Witch return to the MCU?

The important thing to remember when it comes to magic in the MCU is that everything isn't always what it seems. Heck, Detective Agnes isn't even real; she needs Aubrey Plaza's character, Rio Vidal, to help remind her that she is, in fact, Agatha Harkness. So what's to say that the body is even real and that all of this isn't an illusion?

There have been rumors that Agatha will serve as something of a murder mystery, presenting its main characters with a goal to work towards, and the trailer does imply that Wanda's apparent death could have a crucial role to play in the overarching story. Perhaps that central mystery will eventually lead Agatha to the realization that her former nemesis is still alive?

It's hard to believe that Marvel Studios would invest so much time and energy into evolving Wanda Maximoff into the Scarlet Witch, only to kill her off in the very next title she appeared in. The character is a fan-favorite and had only just taken on her more comic-accurate persona; what would be the point of ending her arc when her potential was only beginning to be realized?

There's also the fact that Heartstopper's Joe Locke is playing a character that is expected to be Billy Kaplan, a.k.a. Wiccan, one of the twin sons of Wanda and Vision. If this turns out to be the case, we doubt that Marvel would rob fans of a chance to see him and his mother cross paths after she was willing to venture into the Multiverse to find a version of him.

Here's hoping the Maximoff family reunion is on the cards. In the meantime, Agatha has a mystery to solve.