Chthon

• Core Identity: Chthon is one of Earth's primordial Elder Gods, a being of near-infinite power who devolved into the planet's first and most powerful master of dark magic, becoming the ultimate source of Chaos Magic and the demonic author of the cursed tome known as the Darkhold.
• Key Takeaways:
• Role in the Universe: Chthon is an arch-demon and a fundamental cosmic force of chaos and corruption. Millennia ago, he was sealed away from the Earthly plane but continues to exert a malevolent influence through his unholy grimoire, the darkhold, and his mystical connection to his chosen vessel, the Scarlet Witch.
• Primary Impact: His most significant impact is twofold: the creation of the Darkhold, which is responsible for spawning entire monstrous species like vampires and werewolves, and his “blessing” of Wanda Maximoff, which infused her with the potential to wield Chaos Magic, making her one of the most powerful—and dangerously unstable—beings in the universe.
• Key Incarnations: In the Earth-616 comics, Chthon is a distinct, sentient entity with a long history of direct interaction, including possessing heroes to act as his physical avatar. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), he is a more abstract, Lovecraftian horror, a legendary “first demon” whose existence is known primarily through the corrupting power of the Darkhold and his prophecy concerning the Scarlet Witch, without ever making a direct physical appearance.

Chthon's presence was first subtly hinted at before his official debut. The groundwork for his existence was laid in the ongoing development of the Scarlet Witch's powers, which writers sought to define beyond simple “hex bolts.” The entity himself was first named in Avengers #186 (August 1979) and made his first full, cataclysmic appearance in the very next issue, Avengers #187 (September 1979). This pivotal storyline was crafted by a creative team including writers Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant, and David Michelinie, with iconic art by John Byrne. The creation of Chthon served a crucial narrative purpose: it provided a definitive, high-stakes origin for Chaos Magic and retroactively established a deep, terrifying lore for Wanda Maximoff's abilities. By tying her to a primordial demon god, the creators elevated her from a standard mutant powerhouse to a mystical nexus of immense importance. Chthon's design and concept draw heavily from the cosmic horror genre, particularly the works of H.P. Lovecraft, with his name itself being a transliteration of the Greek word χθών, meaning “of the earth” or “subterranean,” befitting his status as an ancient evil trapped within the planet.

The history of Chthon is the history of darkness itself in the Marvel Universe. While the specifics differ between the comics and the cinematic universe, the core concept of a primeval, corrupting force remains constant.

In the primeval dawn of Planet Earth, billions of years ago, the sentient biosphere known as the Demiurge spawned a race of powerful beings who would become known as the Elder Gods. Among the first of these were Gaea (the future mother-goddess of Earth), Set (the serpent god of death), Oshtur (the goddess of the dawn), and Chthon. Initially, these beings were forces of nature, but Chthon was the first to explore a different path. He delved into the mystical forces of the universe, not to create, but to twist, dominate, and corrupt. He became the universe's first master of dark magic. As Chthon's power and depravity grew, he began a campaign of terror, warping life into monstrous forms and seeking to dominate his siblings. This led to a catastrophic war among the Elder Gods. Set followed Chthon's path, becoming the first murderer by slaying his brother Hyppus. The conflict threatened to shatter the very planet they inhabited. Gaea, fearing the utter destruction of all life, appealed to the Demiurge, which spawned a celestial avenger known as Atum, the Demogorge. Atum hunted and consumed the corrupt Elder Gods, earning the name “God-Eater.” To escape this fate, Chthon transcribed all of his malevolent knowledge and a portion of his own essence onto indestructible parchments. He then created a portal to his own hellish dimension, the Flickering Realms, escaping the Demogorge's wrath. However, he left behind his parchments as a permanent tether to the Earthly plane, a magical conduit through which his influence could always seep back. These collected scrolls would become infamous throughout history as the Darkhold, the Book of Sins. Before his final sealing, he erected a great fortress atop what would one day be known as mount_wundagore in Eastern Europe, marking the place where the veil between his dimension and Earth's was thinnest. Millennia later, the High Evolutionary established his scientific citadel on Mount Wundagore. It was here that a pregnant woman named Magda Eisenhardt sought refuge and gave birth to twins, Wanda and Pietro. The immense concentration of Chthon's demonic energy on the mountain deeply affected the newborns. At the moment of her birth, Chthon reached across dimensions and “blessed” the infant Wanda, marking her as a potential future vessel and bestowing upon her the latent ability to channel his own formidable chaos_magic. This act forever linked the future Scarlet Witch to the dark god, making her both the inheritor of his power and his most feared potential adversary.

The MCU's depiction of Chthon is more mythic and less direct, presenting him as the ultimate source of evil whose story is told through whispers and cursed artifacts. He is established as the “first demon,” a being of immense power who authored the Darkhold. His direct history with other Elder Gods is not explored; instead, his entire legacy is focused through the Darkhold and the prophecy of the Scarlet Witch. As revealed in doctor_strange_in_the_multiverse_of_madness, Chthon's power is anchored to mount_wundagore, which is not merely a former prison but his eternal throne. Eons ago, he carved his dark spells into the very walls of a castle atop the mountain, and it was from these carvings that every copy of the Darkhold across the multiverse was transcribed. This makes the Wundagore castle the one true, primary source of his power on Earth. Unlike the comics, where Wanda was “blessed” at birth, the MCU's lore, introduced in wandavision, treats the Scarlet Witch as a prophesied being. The Darkhold contains an entire chapter dedicated to her, stating that she is a being of spontaneous creation, not born but “forged,” possessing the innate ability to wield Chaos Magic. The prophecy foretells that her power exceeds that of the Sorcerer Supreme and that she is destined to either rule or destroy the cosmos. In this continuity, Chthon's influence is a corrupting force transmitted through his book. The Darkhold doesn't just grant power; it actively poisons the mind and soul of its reader, twisting their desires and fears into weapons, as seen with both Agatha Harkness and, most tragically, Wanda Maximoff. Wanda's study of the Darkhold after the events of WandaVision exposed her to Chthon's full, undiluted will. It warped her grief over losing her children into a multiverse-spanning crusade, effectively turning her into Chthon's champion. The ultimate climax of this arc saw Wanda, horrified by the monster she'd become, choose to destroy the Wundagore throne, causing the entire mountain to collapse upon her and seemingly destroying every copy of the Darkhold across all universes, silencing Chthon's influence for good.

Chthon's capabilities place him in the highest echelons of mystical power in the Marvel Universe, rivaling entities like Dormammu and Mephisto, and in many respects, surpassing them as a more fundamental force of reality.

• Powers & Abilities:
• Chaos Magic: Chthon is the originator and undisputed master of Chaos Magic. This is not merely a school of spellcasting but the ability to directly manipulate, warp, and reconstruct the fabric of reality itself on a multiversal scale. Unlike the “Order Magic” used by entities like the Vishanti and practiced by the Sorcerers Supreme, which follows established rules, Chaos Magic is inherently entropic and unpredictable. It allows for the manipulation of probability, the spontaneous generation of matter and energy, and the complete rewriting of physical laws.
• Godly Attributes: As an Elder God, Chthon is functionally immortal, possessing a form of cosmic life force that cannot be extinguished by conventional means. He is highly resistant to injury, and even when his physical avatars are destroyed, his essence simply retreats to his home dimension.
• Nigh-Omnipotence (in his dimension): Within the Flickering Realms, Chthon's power is absolute. He is the reality of that plane, and no being can challenge him on his own turf.
• Possession: Chthon's primary method of interacting with the Earth dimension is through the possession of mortal hosts. By overwhelming a host's will, he can manifest a portion of his true power on Earth. His most notable hosts have included Pietro Maximoff and his ultimate target, Wanda Maximoff.
• Demonic Creation & Corruption: Chthon can create and summon legions of demons to serve him. More insidiously, his magic is a corrupting agent, capable of twisting living beings and even inanimate locations into monstrous reflections of his will.
• Vast Intellect: As a being billions of years old, Chthon possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of magic and cosmic secrets far beyond mortal comprehension.
• Key Artifacts:
• The Darkhold: Chthon's magnum opus. It is not merely a book of spells but a direct conduit to his consciousness and power. Each spell read from its pages strengthens his connection to Earth and slowly erodes the user's soul, making them more susceptible to his control. The book is responsible for the creation of the first vampires (through the Montesi Formula spell), the first werewolves (curse of the Lycanthropes), and countless other horrors. It is indestructible by nearly all means.
• Weaknesses:
• Dimensional Imprisonment: Chthon's greatest weakness is that he is sealed off from the Earth-616 dimension. He cannot enter it with his full power and requires either a host body or a massive expenditure of magical energy to manifest even a fraction of himself.
• Order Magic & Purity: Beings of immense purity or those wielding powerful forces of order can combat his influence. The magic of his sister, Gaea, is a direct antithesis to his own.
• Iron: In line with classic folklore, pure iron can disrupt his magical influence and harm his demonic creations.

• Influence & Manifestation:
• In the MCU, Chthon's power is demonstrated almost exclusively through the Darkhold. The book acts as the sole vector for his will. Its influence is profoundly psychological, preying on the reader's trauma and ambition.
  • It showed Agatha Harkness the secrets of Chaos Magic but demanded a price.
  • It whispered to Wanda Maximoff, convincing her that her only path to happiness was to enslave her multiversal variants to be with her children, promising her the power to do so.
  • It even corrupted Doctor Strange after only brief usage, manifesting a third eye as a physical sign of its dark power.
• Dreamwalking: A key power granted by the Darkhold in the MCU, and a perfect adaptation of Chthon's possession abilities. Dreamwalking allows a powerful sorcerer to project their consciousness across the multiverse and seize control of one of their variants' bodies. This is Chthon's will made manifest: a power that violates the sanctity of self and the boundaries of reality, spreading his corrupting influence across infinite timelines.
• Chaos Magic:
• The MCU defines Chaos Magic as the ultimate expression of Chthon's power, personified in the Scarlet Witch. It is presented as a uniquely powerful and dangerous form of magic, capable of spontaneously rewriting reality (as seen in Westview) and overpowering even the Sorcerer Supreme. The runes and spells associated with it have a distinct, dark, and chaotic visual language, contrasting sharply with the ordered, geometric patterns of Kamar-Taj sorcery.
• Comparative Analysis:
• The primary difference is one of subtlety versus directness. The comic book Chthon is a villain who can and does show up for a fight, possessing heroes and speaking with a clear, malevolent voice. The MCU Chthon is an unseen, cosmic horror whose presence is felt like a poisonous atmosphere. This change makes the conflict more personal for the cinematic characters, focusing the drama on Wanda's internal struggle against the Darkhold's corruption rather than a battle against a giant demon. The MCU effectively uses Chthon as the “why” behind the Scarlet Witch's tragic downfall in Multiverse of Madness.

Chthon does not have friends or allies in a conventional sense; he has tools, worshippers, and temporary partners of convenience.

• The Darkholders: Throughout history, various cults have formed to worship Chthon and unlock the secrets of the Darkhold. These followers, known as Darkholders, see him as a god who will grant them immense power. They are his primary agents on Earth, working to spread his influence and find a suitable host for his return.
• Morgan Le Fay: The ancient and incredibly powerful Arthurian sorceress has frequently used the Darkhold to augment her own abilities. While she serves her own ambitions, her use of Chthon's magic often aligns with his goals, making her an unwitting (and sometimes willing) pawn in his grand designs.
• Set: Chthon's brother and fellow corrupt Elder God. They are bitter rivals for the dominion of Earth, but on rare occasions, they have formed uneasy alliances when faced with a common enemy, such as the Demogorge or the combined forces of Earth's heroes. Their relationship is one of mutual, primal evil.

• Wanda Maximoff (The Scarlet Witch): This is the single most important and complex relationship in Chthon's lore. He is her creator, in a sense—the source of her ultimate power. She is his intended vessel, the living key to his escape. Yet, she is also his greatest fear and most persistent foe. Her humanity, her love for her family, and her connection to the Avengers have consistently given her the strength to reject his control and turn his own Chaos Magic against him. She is the ultimate paradox: the only being powerful enough to unleash Chthon, and the only one powerful enough to stop him.
• Gaea: His sister, the spirit of life and nature on Earth. Gaea represents everything Chthon seeks to corrupt and destroy: order, life, and creation. It was she who first orchestrated his defeat by summoning the Demogorge, and her life-giving energy remains one of the few forces that can directly counter his chaotic, necrotic magic.
• Doctor Strange: As the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, Doctor Strange is the planet's chief defender against mystical threats of Chthon's magnitude. His role is to enforce order upon the magical world, making him a natural and ideological enemy of the God of Chaos. Their battles are a fundamental conflict between the disciplined, structured magic of the Vishanti and the raw, untamable power of Chthon.

• Elder Gods of Earth: Chthon's primary and most ancient affiliation is with the pantheon of Earth's first divine beings. This is his family, his first victims, and his eternal rivals. His story is inextricably linked to theirs, representing the schism that introduced true, intentional evil into the world.

This is Chthon's grand debut. Seeking to finally escape his prison, Chthon uses the gypsy sorcerer Modred the Mystic to manipulate Wanda Maximoff and her brother Pietro. He successfully possesses Wanda's body, unleashing his full, terrifying power on the Avengers. The possessed Scarlet Witch single-handedly defeats Earth's Mightiest Heroes. It is only when the soul of Pietro is transferred into the body of the 14th-century puppet known as “The Elf” that the Avengers find a way to fight back. In the end, they manage to cast Chthon's spirit out of Wanda's body and back into his prison on Mount Wundagore, but the event leaves Wanda deeply traumatized and establishes the horrifying scale of Chthon's threat.

This 1990s horror-centric series saw the Darkhold disassembled, its pages scattered across the globe. Each page, when found, would grant a person their deepest desire at a terrible, monstrous cost. The series followed the “Darkhold Redeemers,” led by Victoria Montesi (a descendant of a line of guardians tasked with fighting Chthon's influence), as they tried to retrieve the pages. Chthon was the constant, overarching villain, his influence spreading like a plague with every page activated. The series culminated in the use of the Montesi Formula, a spell from the Darkhold itself, to temporarily destroy all vampires on Earth, showcasing the double-edged nature of his own magic.

In this more recent storyline, Chthon is freed from Mount Wundagore by the chaos unleashed by the former Inhuman king, the Unspoken. Free on Earth, Chthon immediately seeks a host and finds one in Quicksilver. As a massively powerful speedster, Pietro becomes a terrifyingly effective vessel. Chthon wages a direct war against the Mighty Avengers, led by Hank Pym. The battle is immense, with Chthon's power warping reality around the team. He is ultimately defeated by a clever scientific and magical strategy: the Vision phases a specialized “hex-casting” device inside Quicksilver's body, which disrupts Chthon's hold long enough for him to be banished once again.

• Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610): Chthon does not have a direct, named counterpart in the Ultimate Universe. The mystical lore of this reality was significantly streamlined, with Dormammu serving as a more all-encompassing magical threat. The themes of a corrupting, dark magical force were present, but the specific entity of Chthon and his detailed backstory with the Scarlet Witch were not adapted.
• Marvel's Midnight Suns (Video Game): Chthon receives a major, starring role as the central antagonist of this 2022 tactical RPG. In this continuity, he is the ancient master of the demon queen Lilith. The plot is driven by Hydra resurrecting Lilith, who in turn seeks to bring about the return of her master, Chthon. The Darkhold is a key plot device, and Chthon's corrupting influence is a major game mechanic, capable of twisting heroes like the Scarlet Witch, Hulk, and Venom into his demonic “Fallen” servants. This interpretation blends his cosmic horror origins with a more direct, demonic overlord persona, making him a tangible final boss for the player to confront.

• darkhold
• scarlet_witch
• chaos_magic
• elder_gods_of_earth
• mount_wundagore
• doctor_strange

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