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Although Kathryn Hahn’s work in the role has made Agatha Harkness relatively well known to Marvel Cinematic Universe viewers and Joe Locke’s “Teen” will likely also be revealed as a more high-profile player in the franchise, the rest of the cast of Agatha All Along is made up of live action adaptations of obscure Marvel Comics characters and original creations for the MCU. One of the former is Jennifer Kale, played by Saturday Night Live alum Sasheer Zamata, but while certainly a deep cut, the character is well-connected to several different corners of the comic universe, which could lead her to play an important role in the MCU moving forward.
Who Is Marvel's Jennifer Kale?
Jennifer, referred to as “Jen,” is introduced in the second episode of Agatha All Along, “Circle Sewn with Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate.” She is described as a witch who is especially skilled in the use of potions and has an established, contentious relationship with Agatha. While attempting to recruit her for her new coven, Agatha notes that Jen has been under a “binding spell,” that prevents her from using her magic for around a hundred years. Teen also discovers that she is facing a large assortment of legal problems relating to the health and beauty store she runs as a day job. After initially refusing, Jen begrudgingly accepts Agatha’s invitation to join the coven and walk the Witches’ Road, likely hoping to regain her powers, much like Agatha herself.
Created by Steve Gerber and Rich Buckler, the comic book version of Jennifer Kale first appeared in Adventure into Fear #11 in 1972. Introduced as a supporting character in stories involving the monstrous anti-hero Ted Sallis, better known as Man-Thing, she would go on to become a regular player in Marvel's magic and horror-focused comics, and has occasionally worked with more traditional superheroes like the mutant crime fighting team X-Force. The Kale family is an influential dynasty of magic users in the Marvel Universe, with many of its members, including Jennifer’s father, Joshua, belonging to the Cult of Zhered-Na. The cult’s namesake and founder was a sorceress from Atlantis who was exiled for accurately foretelling the sinking of the ancient continent. As a teenager, Jennifer began experimenting with witchcraft using one of her father’s spell books. Later on, it is revealed that Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch, two of the modern hosts of the demonic vigilante called the Ghost Rider, are her cousins.
Jen Could Connect Various Parts of the MCU
Several of the characters Jennifer is connected to have already appeared in the MCU in one form or another. After being hinted at by a few discreet Easter eggs in other projects, Man-Thing was featured in the 2022 special presentation Werewolf by Night, in which he was played by Carey Jones and Jeffrey Ford. The 2022 film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduced the MCU’s version of Atlantis, known as Talokan, and its leader, mutant anti-hero Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía). The Ghost Rider mythology was featured in the fourth season of the ABC television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Although the Ghost Rider featured in that series was Robbie Reyes (Gabriel Luna), it is established that he received his power from another, unnamed Rider, and Johnny Blaze is specifically alluded to, with a flashback implying that at one point he was in possession of the Darkhold, the dark magic book later possessed by both Robbie, and, as shown in WandaVision, Agatha.
Talokan is rather different from the Marvel Comics version of Atlantis, with a distinct backstory, so it seems somewhat unlikely that the Cult of Zhered-Na and any ties Jen could have to it will be introduced, at least in the near future. But Werewolf by Night and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are both cult favorites that many Marvel fans want to see acknowledged and built upon by other projects. Given Man-Thing and Jen’s existing relationship from the comics and the fact that Werewolf by Night and Agatha are the most fully horror-focused projects in the MCU, it would make sense for the latter to continue developing one of the former’s characters. And S.H.I.E.L.D. fans would be ecstatic if the series’ use of the Darkhold and/or the Ghost Riders was addressed. Whether or not any of the series’ events are still canonical to the MCU’s main universe-616, in which Agatha takes place, is still unclear, but even using a variant of Robbie, a different Ghost Rider altogether, or variants of the shows’ other characters would still earn Agatha a lot of goodwill from a different part of the Marvel fandom. And even if Agatha All Along is devoid of any of these conenctions, the future is ripe for possibility for Jennifer Kale.