Popverse's top stories of the day

• What Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is saying (and not saying) about the MCU X-Men franchise says a lot about the future of the Mutant Saga
• Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur episode pulled by Disney, seemingly because of anti-trans bigotry storyline
• Like it or not, the MCU changes Marvel Comics - Look at Agatha Harkness, as Marvel's executive editor points out (and dislikes)

If you've been here before, you probably know that we at Popverse are fascinated by the ever-evolving relationship between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the comics from which they get all their ideas. You'll recall that we covered Marvel's new office dedicated to Deadpool & Wolverine comics after this summer's smash hit film, or the annual meetings that Marvel editorial has with the cinematic chiefs. But one thing we are eternally curious about, especially since the answer is always changing, is just how much the MCU films actually effect the House of Ideas's comic book output. On November 17, we got a new answer to just that.

That answer came from Marvel executive editor (and current captain of the X-Men line) Tom Brevoort, writing in his weekly substack, Man with a Hat. In the most recent edition as of this writing, a fan going by the name "Biggu" asked a question that boiled down to: "How do [editors] know when to stand your ground because you’re confident chasing a trend do a disservice to a character, or when you have to swallow your pride and chase the trend and go with the sale?" (The "trend" Biggu is referring to here is a hypothetical change made to a character for their inclusion in the MCU.)

"This doesn’t really happen all that often," Brevoort begins, saying that he trusts the writers working with him to deliver what's best for the characters in their charge. However, he also admits that sometimes the choice isn't theirs (or his) to make.

"The reality is that I don’t own the characters of the Marvel Universe," he writes, "And so, if the organization (or somebody placed higher up in it) decides that a change is to be made and I disagree with it [...] my objective has to switch to focusing on telling the best version of that story that it’s possible to tell."

It just so happens that Brevoort can even think of an example of just that focusing, namely in the character of Agatha Harkness. First the villain of WandaVision and now the star of her own series, the Agatha that appears on Disney+ is a far cry from the one first introduced in 1969's Fantastic Four #94. Since Kathryn Hahn donned the purple robe and jingled her way into America's heart, her comic book counterpart has adopted a very similar characterization, making her "virtually an entirely new character" in Brevoort's eyes.

Of course, it wasn't just that the character's personality changed; she was also de-aged as the result of draining power from a particularly mighty magical threat - that old story - and went from looking like the wizened old lady originally designed by Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Hulk co-creator Jack Kirby as can be seen to your right to... well, someone who looks, if anything, even younger than Kathryn Hahn. (It all happened in 2022's Midnight Suns miniseries if you want to check it out.)

However, even though he's not personally a fan of the switch, Brevoort admits he sees the reasoning behind it.

"I’m well aware that Agatha had a sum total of zero fans before that change," Brevoort concludes, "and that an awful lot of people are incredibly invested in her as portrayed by Kathryn Hahn. So following suit in the comics simply makes good sense."

It's an interesting window into the Marvel editorial processes and how they're affected by their billboard-and-billion-dollar spawn. You have to wonder if Brevoort will have more examples like this in the near future - will he and his compatriots have to figure out a way to make Vision all white again in the comics? Or to work Muse back into Daredevil stories? Maybe even kill Blade off completely?

Odds are, he'll let us know. And your Popverse pals will be all over it.

Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights:

• Marvel Studios has accidentally created a new Phase that predates Phases 1 - 6: the MCU Phase Zero
• Which Secret Wars comic the Russos are basing Avengers 6 off of
• Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak
• The biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows
• Marvel's accidental closure on the Kang storyline
• Robert Downey Jr. is entering his villain era
• Donald Trump is the landlord for Marvel's House of Ideas
• For Marvel actors, the MCU also stands for the Marvel Commercials Universe
• The Fantastic 4: First Steps offers Marvel a visual makeover, courtesy of a classic movie designer
• Marvel Studios swapping out Doctor Doom for Kang offers the chance to jettison the Multiverse Saga
• What Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is saying (and not saying) about the MCU X-Men franchise says a lot about the future of the Mutant Saga