This article is about the Marvel Cinematic Universe character. For the character from Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book, see Death.
- “In the end, all roads lead to me.”
- ―Death[src]
Death, also known as Rio Vidal and Lady Death, is a Marvel Comics character who appears in the Disney+ series Agatha All Along. She is the original Green Witch, and seeks to capture Agatha Harkness' soul, with whom she shared a former relationship. She is portrayed by Aubrey Plaza.
Death was created by Beach Allen and Ed Robbins.
Background
Sometime in the past, Rio Vidal met Agatha Harkness and the two became lovers, though they turned to enemies after Agatha obtained the Darkhold. In 1750, Rio comes to a pregnant Agatha to claim her unborn son Nicolas, but agrees to let him live for a while after Agatha pleads with her. Six years later, when Nicholas falls ill, Rio comes for him and takes his soul to the afterlife while Agatha is asleep.
Centuries later, Rio starts her search for Agatha and discovers that she was trapped in a spell set by Wanda Maximoff in Westview, which caused her to live as Agnes O'Connor (a character that originally appeared when Westview was under Wanda's control). Rio was soon able to enter Agatha's spell and took on the guise of an FBI detective.
Physical appearance
Rio Vidal is a witch of Hispanic descent. She has black hair and wears a black outfit that has a hood attached to it. Her outfit also consists of a belt and high heels. As a detective, Rio wears a black sweater with a white shirt, black pants, and a police badge and has her hair in a bun.
On the Witches' Road, Rio's attire changes depending on the trial. During the second trial, she wore a green one-piece suit accompanied by a hood and white pajamas with red and yellow outlines in the third.
When her true identity is revealed, Rio has a skull face and wears a dark colored outfit with a cloak which covers her skull forehead.
Powers and abilities
- Control of Life and Death: As the embodiment of Death itself, Vidal can control the flow of life and death.
- Nigh-Omniscience: Death possess near infinite knowledge of the multiverse. She understood the supernatural world, concepts of life and death, the natural order.
- Nigh-Omnipotence: As a primordial being, Death possess a great deal of near infinite supernatural power.
- Magic: Being a Green Witch, Rio Vidal has nature-based powers, which grant her the ability to perform a wide variety of supernatural feats.
- Chlorokinesis: Death can manipulate plant life. She is able to summon vines that are strong enough to immobilize the dark witch Agatha Harkness.
- Atmokinesis: Rio can control the weather being capable of making powerful wind through it.
- Healing: Rio can completely heal a person of their physical injuries.
- Spell Casting: The ability to perform spells. The user can perform acts of magic, that they may not naturally possess, but can access, though different means. Once cast, a spell can never be changed.
- Flight: Rio can levitate off the ground and fly.
- Invulnerability: As a cosmic being, Death was exempt from physical harm and pain and couldn't be physically destroyed in any manner.
- Immortality: As Death herself, Rio is incapable of dying and instead takes the souls of those who have died.
- Dimensional Travel: Death can teleport herself anywhere in the universe instantly. She could teleport in and out of the Witches' Road at will.
Appearances
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Agatha All Along
Rio poses as an FBI agent.
After a body was found on the outskirts of Westview, Rio, posing as an FBI detective in Agatha's spell, was brought in, as the dirt under the victim's nail belonged to Eastern Europe. Walking into Agatha's office, Rio is scowled at by her as the two have bad blood, and because Agatha believed Rio was there to take over the case. Rio, however, assures her that is not what she intends to do and the two begin to discuss multiple theories on how the body showed up in the woods. After striking a chord in Agatha, she is shown out of her office.
Later that night, Rio shows up at Agatha's house to socialize with her, bringing pizza. The two sit in Agatha's living room and begin to discuss the case. Agatha says that she has a lead, though Rio interrupts her, saying the case was not why she came over, but tells Agatha to continue. Rio is told by Agatha that there was a car accident an hour before the body was found. Rio then asks if Agatha is hiding evidence, though a noise is heard upstairs and Rio watches as Agatha investigates it.
Agatha is able to catch the thief, a teenager, and Rio is told by Agatha outside the investigation room at the police station that the suspect's name is not in the system. Rio watches as Agatha interrogates the suspect, though warns her after kicking him out of his chair. Further into the interrogation, Rio vanishes from the window, confusing Agatha.
Agatha soon visits the medical examiner's building, where she is greeted by Rio. Agatha asks how the victim died, to which Rio responds that the victim was a witch and that all existing copies of the Darkhold were destroyed when she died. Rio is then asked by Agatha if she is hot, to which she responds by saying, "Claw your way out." After taking her sweatshirts off, Agatha looks into a mirror, where outfits that she wore during Wanda Maximoff's initial spell appear.
Rio confronts a powerless Agatha.
After Agatha is freed from the spell that kept her living as Agnes, Rio enters her house, blasting her door off its hinges. Using her power, Rio leaps over to Agatha and pins her to a wall with a dagger, and cuts a tiny mark on her neck. Agatha is briefly able to free herself, but Rio flings her over a counter and throws a dagger at her, which Agatha deflects with a tray. Seeing the dagger lying on the floor, both grabbed for it, Rio taking the handle and Agatha the blade. Agatha tries to take the dagger but has to let go as the blade begins to cut her hand. After that, Rio is choked briefly by Agatha, though she is able to use her powers to throw her against a wall. Rio picks up the dagger, ready to deliver the fatal blow, though Agatha pleads for mercy, saying that she is powerless, and offers Rio to fight her when she regains her powers. Rio agrees, warning Agatha that the Salem Seven are coming for her. Before she leaves, Rio licks the cut on Agatha's hand, healing it.
Sometime after, Rio was summoned to the Witches' Road by Agatha's coven after the previous Green Witch died in a trial. Crawling out the ground, Rio scared the coven by posing as a zombie-like figure before revealing herself. Following her appearance, Rio was amused by Agatha's anger and saw her go in the opposite direction. Rio then introduced herself to the coven and began to charismatically walk the road, eventually catching up to Agatha and Teen. Inside, Rio's attire matches the 70s style of the house.
After checking out their outfits, Rio finds Agatha in a sound booth, Rio asks how her adventure to regain her power is going, and questions who the rest of the coven are. Rio is then asked by Agatha to call a truce in her quest to seek revenge on her. Rio considers the offer and responds by saying that she would enjoy seeing what Agatha does best, which is killing the witches around her, and that Agatha would get the power and her the bodies. At this, Agatha says that she is not that type of witch anymore, and takes her hand off of the speaker, which allows the others to listen to their conversation, making Rio look like a traitor. Just then, a loud scratching noise begins to play, though Rio is unaffected by it.
Rio during Alice Wu-Gulliver's trial.
Finding the source of the noise, Rio watches Agatha break the vinyl player that was playing the reversed music, and Rio spots a metronome, guessing that the trial has started. After this, Lilia and Jennifer's bodies begin to burn, though they are cured by Alice. Soon a shrieking is heard, and Rio says that it is the curse. In the main area, Agatha says that they would have to play Lorna Wu's version of "Ballad of the Witches' Road", though Alice is unconvinced and says that she will not perform the song. However, it is revealed that Lorna's version is a protection spell that protects Alice from her family's curse. The coven begins proceeds to play the song, and Rio chooses the drums.
After finishing the song, Alice is freed from her curse, though Teen collapses from the blood loss in his side caused by a glass shard. Rio watches as a distressed Agatha fears for his life.
At the campfire, after Teen is healed, the other witches show their battle scars, and Rio says that she also has one. She says that at one point she loved someone, but unwillingly hurt them, saying that person is her scar. After telling her story, Rio sees Agatha walk away and follows her. Before doing so, Lilia warns her that they have not forgotten what she said in the sound booth.
At a clearing, Rio walks up to Agatha, who hugs her. After pulling apart, Agatha tries to kiss Rio, but before she does, Rio says that Teen isn't her son, who Agatha thought was. Agatha then walks away from her.
Following the trial, the coven rests in the clearing. In the middle of the night, Lilia wakes up after seeing a vision of the Salem Seven on the road, pursuing them. The coven runs off, and while looking for a way to escape, Teen suggests a hexenbexen, a spell used to fly on brooms. Rio agrees with the idea, though the rest of the coven does not. However, hearing the Salem Seven's screeches in the distance, they change their minds. As part of the spell, Rio and Agatha exchange brooms., though before all of the coven is able to perform the ritual, Rio and the coven are ambushed by the Salem Seven. However, they are able to escape them and fly on their brooms.
Rio reveals her true identity to Lilia Calderu.
As they are flying, the road senses them and forcibly brings them back down to the path, where the third trial awaits them, in the guise of an 80s-inspired house. Inside, Jennifer asks who the trial is meant for, and Rio responds that it is Agatha's, seeing a blood moon. Teen finds a Ouija Board, the focus of the trial, and it begins. As they play, the board tells them that the spirit contacting them is Mrs. Hart, who uses Agatha's body as a host. However, as she keeps talking, it is revealed that Agatha was purposefully pretending to be Mrs. Hart. As they continue, the Ouija Board tells them that they are talking to Death, and Rio laughs. They discover that they need to punish Agatha, and Rio offers to slit her throat as a way of doing so. Just then, the lights go out, and Rio lights a candle. They discover Agatha has turned into a demon-like creature. Agatha then chases the coven, though she soon disappears after Lilia turns on the lights. A misty creature begins forming, and Rio identifies it as a ghost, stating that she dislikes them. The ghost of Evanora Harkness reveals that the group must leave Agatha with her, though Rio strongly disagrees with this. Rio watches as Evanora begins to once again possess Agatha's body, though Alice is able to free her. However, Agatha begins to take Alice Wu-Gulliver's power, killing her. As soon as Agatha's trial ends, Rio is aware that Alice has died and greets her to take her to the afterlife. As Alice pleads, Rio tells her she is a protection witch and she did what she was supposed to: die saving someone. Rio takes Alice to the afterlife as she takes one last look at her deceased body. Elsewhere in the house, Teen completes the trial. A ladder leading to the road opens, but Rio stays behind. Hours later, while thrown off the Witches' Road, Lila realizes that Rio is indeed Death and she visits Lila in her true form. Death then takes Lilia's soul to the afterlife after the former dies from defeating the Salem Seven and being impaled by swords.
Death tells Wiccan he may return home.
Back on the road, after Lilia's death, Agatha, Billy and Jennifer find themselves in a new version of Agatha's basement and complete the trial as Rio greets Agatha once more, outside. This starts a fight in the backyard, where Rio tries to kill Agatha with a thousand cuts but she is eventually saved by Billy in his Wiccan suit. Billy allows Agatha to absorb some of his power to defeat Death, who tells them she needs to take someone's body. Through mind reading, Wiccan convinces Agatha to sacrifice herself as she briefly betrays Billy and decides to hand him over to Death as she promised. However, Agatha changes her mind and she kisses Rio. This kiss kills Agatha, who falls to the ground before going under it. With Agatha dead, Rio buries her love as Billy watches on. Rio tells Billy he may leave now before departing the area to her own home; the afterlife, as Billy returns to Eastview, back to his parents.
Trivia
- In the comics, Death was a lover of Thanos, who he tried to impress by collecting all the Infinity Stones to perform the snap during the infinity war. She is also frequently a love interest for Deadpool due to his inability to die.
- Rio's identity as Death was already spoiled before the release of "Death's Hand in Mine" in the form of Funko pops.
- Rio being Death was already hinted towards in "Darkest Hour / Wake Thy Power" when everyone was reading the Ouija board spells out the word "Death". The camera instantly panned to Rio laughing as Jennifer says that death was with the coven at that moment.
- Rio Vidal's name ironically translates to River of Life.
- This is not the first time Death has been portrayed as Hispanic, or even with a Hispanic aesthetic. In the 2013 Deadpool video game, Death is given an appearance inspired by Dia de los Muertos make up.
- Rio being Death means she is also considered the Grim Reaper who is known to collect the souls of the deceased in other media.
- Hive, a powerful Inhuman whom HYDRA revered, was referred to as "Death" due to its fearsome nature and reputation.
- As the personification of death in the MCU, it is likely that Rio Vidal has met literally every single character who's died (and will die) in the franchise at least once.
- Although Rio is just referred to as Death in the series, both Aubrey Plaza and Daniel Selon (the costume designer for Agatha All Along) confirmed that she is actually Lady Death, just like in the comics.[1][2]
- Agatha Harkness has a necklace of skull and crossbones, hinting at Death and Agatha's relationship.
- Death's costume features parts of her skin to match her comic book counterpart and the cloak has been described as a hollow tree, because Death is always looking at someone from "inside a very natural space". Rio's Death facial look was practical makeup, not CGI.[1]
- Lady Death originally made a cameo appearance in form of a carving in Guardians of the Galaxy, but Agatha All Along marks the first time Death appears in person.
Gallery
Promotional images
Photography
Screenshots
.png "Agatha All Along - 1x04 - If I Can't Reach You Let My Song Teach You (2).png (1.1 MB)")
References
See also
External links
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