Salem's Seven explained: Who are Agatha All Along's Marvel villains?

Agatha Harkness has returned to the land of the living. The ancient witch has spent the past three years trapped in Westview, the town that Wanda Maximoff previously took over with her Hex in WandaVision. After attempting to steal Wanda's immeasurable power, Agatha was imprisoned by the Scarlet Witch in the character she had been playing to trick her; becoming Agnes once again.

But she has become self-aware once again, making her way to the Witches' Road in the hopes of reclaiming her power. But it isn't going to be easy, for the Road throws its own obstacles the way of whomever walks the path, making it a journey for survival.

Agatha has no choice, however, as she's going to be confronted by dark, shape-shifting souls that she needs power to defeat. Yes, the Salem's Seven play quite the role in Agatha All Along and if you're well-versed in the Marvel lore, you'll know that they aren't to be trifled with. Here's what you need to know about the Marvel Cinematic Universe's newest threat (and why they might actually be its oldest).

Salem's Seven connection to Agatha Harkness and Nicholas Scratch

You might have noticed a reference to Nicholas Scratch in Agatha All Along and that's intentional. In the comics, Nicholas was the son of Agatha Harkness. A dark, imposing figure, he fathered seven children during his time in New Salem, all of whom would go on to become known as Salem's Seven.

Shortly after Agatha becomes the governess of Franklin Richards, Scratch uses his children to kidnap her in a bid to betray the town, but it ultimately backfires. With the help of the Fantastic Four, Agatha overcomes and defeats the Seven, eventually taking some of their powers to stop them. However, like everything in Marvel, nobody stays locked away forever, and they eventually worked out a way to overcome their spell and regain control of some of their powers.

Okay, so you know the origins of the Salem's Seven and some of their history with Agatha Harkness herself; but just who are they as people - or, well, entities - and what exactly are their powers? Let's dive into that.

The Salem's Seven consists of seven members: Brutacus, Gazelle, Hydron, Reptilla, Thornn, Vakume, and Vertigo. All of them can transform into various creatures, such as lion humanoids, fish-men, snake-creatures and more. But Agatha All Along appears to feature some very different manifestations for the characters.

According to a report from Scarlet Witch Updates from a number of months ago, the members of the MCU's Salem's Seven will be able to transform into a Crow, Cicada, Fox, Snake, Rat, Coyote, and Owl. This lines up with what we have seen so far, as Agatha was confronted by a number of these animals before the Seven showed up at her front door in Westview.

Whenever she was in the mall with Teen, a rat passed by the two. Whenever she was getting back into her car after meeting Lilia Calderu, she spotted a Crow watching them. And whenever Teen looked out onto the road outside of Agatha's house (as Agnes), he saw a fox looking straight at him.

The question is: What do they want with Agatha? Rio Vidal suggested that she has history with the eerie figures and that they would be coming for her now that Wanda's spell has been broken and she's vulnerable. Could this lead to the arrival of their father, Agatha's son Nicholas? We'll have to wait and see.

The Salem's Seven have arrived in the MCU, and it's going to be interesting to see what kind of role they play in Agatha All Along going forward. Don't be afraid of them, be terrified!