What Is Chaos Magic in the Marvel Universe and Is the Darkhold Made of It?
Of all the magical artifacts in the Marvel Universe, the Darkhold is one of the most intriguing. The Darkhold is a book of spells with unspeakable power—written by the evil elder god, Chthon. The book has been called by many other names, including, “The Shiatra Book Of The Damned” or “The Book Of Sins.” Its dark influence is so strong that nearly all those who read it are corrupted by it.
So far, we’ve seen the Darkhold appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) three times. First, it appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where it was described as a book made from dark matter from the Dark Dimension. In the show, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents manage to take the book back to the Dark Dimension after it leaves a path of corruption and death. However, even the Dark Dimension can’t seem to contain the Darkhold. In Marvel’s Runaways, the book is retrieved by Morgan le Fay (Elizabeth Hurley), who attempts to bring the Dark Dimension to Earth. However, her plan is foiled and she is imprisoned in the Dark Dimension.
Then, the Darkhold made another surprise appearance in WandaVision. In the series, it is revealed that Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), a witch who was part of the Salem witch trials, has been utilizing the Darkhold to cast her spells. She keeps the book in her lair in Westview as she investigates Wanda Maximoff’s (Elizabeth Olsen) doings. After Harkness is defeated, there’s a post-credit scene showing that Wanda has kept the Darkhold for herself and is studying it.
What is chaos magic?
In addition to the Darkhold, WandaVision also introduced us to chaos magic. Harkness, upon revealing her true identity, states that Wanda possesses chaos magic and dubs her the Scarlet Witch. In the comic books, chaos magic’s origins are the same as the Darkhold and lie with Chthon. Chthon utilized chaos magic to rule the Earth as the God of Chaos. Chaos magic is so powerful that it can alter the very fabric of reality and existence to whatever the wielder desires.
The magic has such immense power that even the Sorcerer Supreme believed it to be non-existent. Especially since Chthon eventually met his demise and was imprisoned in Mount Wundagore. However, many years later, Wundagore was the birth location of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Chthon then imbued the infant Wanda with the power of chaos magic. He hoped that she would one day become a vessel that he could possess to restore his power in Earth’s dimension. As an adult, Wanda is trained by Harkness and learns to harness chaos magic.
Is the Darkhold made of chaos magic?
The Darkhold contains the secrets of chaos magic and other dark magic within it. However, it is not specifically made of chaos magic, depending on what iteration we’re looking at. As explained above, in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. the book was made of dark matter from the Dark Dimension. In the comics, the original Darkhold was actually made of human flesh that was later bound into a book. It hasn’t really been clear, though, if the Darkhold in WandaVision is the same as that in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
For one, the Darkhold has a much different appearance in WandaVision. When Wanda is reading it, she does not physically touch the pages of the book. It is almost as if the Darkhold is made completely from magic and is too dangerous to even touch. The nature of the Darkhold in WandaVision and in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness has truly been called into question following the Doctor Strange 2 trailer. In one scene, the Sorcerer Supreme (Benedict Cumberbatch) appears to be wielding chaos magic. This, of course, causes confusion—as Wanda is supposed to be the only one capable of wielding chaos magic.
If the Sorcerer Supreme really is able to use chaos magic, there are two possible explanations. One, that The Sorcerer Supreme learned how to harness chaos magic from the Darkhold, or two, the Sorcerer Supreme is using the Darkhold itself to harness chaos magic. If the latter is true, it would explain why someone besides Wanda is capable of using chaos magic. It would also support the theory that the book itself is made of chaos magic, which can be channeled by those who come into contact with the book.
Traditionally, the Darkhold isn’t made of chaos magic. However, it’s possible that this particular version of the Darkhold is. If so, it would magnify the Darkhold’s danger tenfold by giving those besides Chthon and Wanda the power of chaos magic.
(featured image: Marvel Entertainment)
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