Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: Who is Chthon?

By Adam Barnhardt

Chaos Magic. The Darkhold. Wundagore Mountain. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness introduced multiple mystical concepts to further flesh out that particular side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also name-dropped a major character many have been hoping to see at one point or another. If you're asking the question, "Who is Chthon?," fret not — we've got you covered.

For the past few years, Chthon is a villain that's been speculated by many to appear in Marvel's live-action world due to his close ties to both the Scarlet Witch and the dark magics of the Marvel mythos. The character is mentioned when Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Wong (Benedict Wong) first arrive to Wundagore and the latter talks about the creation of the Darkhold, a tome full of dark spells that corrupt those who use it.

For the most part, the character's comic origins mirror the brief explainer in the film. Chthon is not only a demon, but the one responsible for actually authoring the Darkhold. First appearing in Avengers #186, Chthon has taken one quite a few appearances throughout the years. Sometimes he has appeared as a scarred, Dr. Doom-like sorcerer, other times he's possessed the bodies of Quicksilver and others. More recently, however, he's been imaged as various demonic incarnations.

Because he's often linked to the Darkhold — he did create it, after all — he virtually always appears in the same stories the book does. The character had a healthy role during the events of Dark Reign, where he even caught the attention of the Mighty Avengers and other members of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

In one way, he's Marvel's homage to Eldritch horrors and the Lovecraftian mythos with the added flare of Chaos Magic and the like. For what it's worth, the demonic defenders that backed Wanda up at Wundagore bear a shocking resemblance to the character's most popular comics design, potentially signaling the arrival of their master sooner rather than later.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now showing exclusively in theaters around the world. What'd you think about the sequel? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!

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