In the most recent case in which a franchise player dismissed fans’ concerns, Agatha: All the time Star Joe Locke has claimed that the various criticisms of his portrayal of Billy Kaplan on screen are nothing more than whining out of jealousy.
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Perhaps better known by his codename “Wiccan,” the Marvel Comics character portrayed by Locke in the upcoming but largely unscripted television series is – at least in the original – the magically manifested son of Wanda Maximoff and Vision, who, thanks to his bloodline, has the ability to manipulate reality at its most fundamental level.
But unlike his outgoing friends and affable family members, a combination of his own self-doubt and fear of persecution for being gay has led Billy to develop a very reserved personality. The young hero often holds back from the main action of a battle, preferring to look for a way to end the conflict with as few fights as possible.
However, Billy’s entire personality seems to have been turned on its head when translated to the screen, with Locke’s portrayal of the founding member of the Young Avengers falling much more closely into the “gay camp” archetype than the “quiet teenager struggling with self-esteem” he was originally portrayed as.
And although many fans from all camps have spoken out against Marvel Studios once again botching the MCU debut of a popular comic book character, Locke himself is apparently not interested in their criticism.
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When he spoke about the backlash against his performance in Agatha: All the time In a recent interview with Adam B. Vary of Variety, the actor said, “It was like, ‘Oh, why did Marvel do this cheesy gay stereotype?’ It really annoyed me because I thought, ‘You can’t ask for authentic casting and then be upset when you have a cheesy character.'”
“I am fully aware that the Marvel fan community is far less nice than the Heart Stopper fandom,” he added, referring to the Netflix drama that made him famous. “There are going to be a lot of people who just hate everything about the character and everything I’ve done with it, and I’m just going to have to deal with that.”
Locke dismissed these complaints as nothing more than jealousy, eventually explaining, “Marvel fans are very open with their opinions. But they’re not on a Marvel show, so – (*blows raspberry*) I’m doing the only thing they really want to do. Sorry!”
For all four Marvel fans who still think that the series’ eponymous gag song is still absolutely funnyMarvel’s Agatha: All the time is scheduled to begin walking the Witches’ Trail on September 18, 2024.
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