“Give It to Someone Who Genuinely Cares”: Agatha All Along Creator Faces Backlash from Marvel Fans for Dissing Source Material

The casting of Joe Locke as Billy Maximoff/Kaplan in “Agatha All Along”has provoked significant debate among fans. Recently, attention has shifted to the show’s creator, Jac Schaeffer, following her remarks regarding the character’s comic origins. In an interview with Variety published on October 18, 2024, Schaeffer admitted that she didn’t “fully understand”Billy’s backstory.

When questioned about changes to Billy’s origins for “Agatha All Along,”Schaeffer mentioned her lack of “patience”for the complex array of characters involved in the narrative. During the dialogue, she expressed:

“To be honest, I still don’t completely grasp it. My focus was more instinctive with the plotline, given the multitude of steps and characters involved, and I simply lacked patience for it.”

This statement did not sit well with the character’s fans, who felt that it disrespected Billy’s established comic history. Many were already upset about the decision not to cast a Jewish actor for Billy Kaplan, leading to widespread backlash following Schaeffer’s comments. One social media user on X voiced their disappointment:

A screenshot of the fan expressing their disappointment (Image via X/@wiccanfiend)

Others shared their opinions on the situation as well:

“Can you imagine being the original comics creators and watching these showrunners dismantle your work while profiting off it at the same time?”observed one fan.

“Honestly, I don’t take anything she says about the comics or the character seriously,”remarked another user.

Furthermore, fans criticized the Marvel Cinematic Universe for its continual disregard for character origins, noting the involvement of original creators in these adaptations.

“This is why I advocate for comic book writers, especially character creators, to be included in these movie projects,”commented a user.

“They’ve really mishandled Young Avengers; I can’t imagine how much I’ll dislike the MCU team they’re building,”another X user stated.

“You want Jewish voices to stay silent because of the Bar Mitzvah episode, yet the show’s creator (and writers) admit to being ignorant about Billy and being lazy in disregarding his source material,”someone added.

Exploring Billy’s Background in “Agatha All Along”versus the Comics

In the comics, Billy Kaplan was conceived when Wanda Maximoff took two lost souls to create twin boys. However, those souls were claimed by Mephisto. Due to Wanda’s transformation, the demonic entity was vanquished, and the souls reincarnated, with Billy’s soul ending up in the Kaplan family.

In contrast, “Agatha All Along”modifies this origin story to blend within the Marvel Cinematic Universe framework. When Wanda destroys the Hex, Billy’s essence finds the recently departed Billy Kaplan, subsequently taking control of his body. This alteration completely discards the Mephisto storyline and diverges significantly from the character’s comic book representation.

For viewers interested, “Agatha All Along”is currently available for streaming on Disney+.

Source