Agatha throughoutThe inclusion of the Darkhold in the story of a makeshift coven traveling the witch trail once again centers “The Book of the Damned” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The book, which was first introduced into the MCU in episode 7 of WandaVisionalready has a rich history in the franchise having appeared in just two projects – he also appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Given the obvious importance of this mystery novel in the MCU, many fans are asking the important question: what exactly is the Darkhold?
In the Marvel comics, the Darkhold – commonly referred to as the “Book of Spells” or “Book of Sins” – was created by the Elder God Chthon who put all of his dark knowledge to paper and created the Scrolls of Chthon. The teachings, considered to be among the worst spells known to magic (think of the example of the unforgivable curses of Harry Potter), would later become known as Darkhold. Even though Chthon didn’t make his flesh-and-blood debut in the MCU, it’s important to note that he is the first master of chaos magic, the source of power for Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) like him explains Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) in WandaVision.
Additionally, it appears that the importance of the Darkhold will only grow as Agatha throughout clearly lays the groundwork for a storyline about what Agatha was willing to do to possess the book. It is widely alluded to in the early episodes that Agatha sacrificed her son, Nicholas Scratch, to obtain the book. Episode 3, in particular, sees our anti-hero hallucinate in a crib only to reveal the Darkhold under a blanket. Could this be Occam’s Razor or is it bad direction on the part of the writers? Either way, the Darkhold will have big consequences both in the series and in the MCU – remember, one of the first fake titles of Agatha throughout was Agatha: Darkhold Journals.
Apart from Agatha throughoutthe book appeared in two other major Marvel projects: WandaVision And Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the first, the all-powerful collection of spells is presented as a means for Agatha to control and manipulate events in Westview, where Wanda had bewitched an entire town. After defeating Agatha in the series finale and relegating her to the role of nosy neighbor Agnes, Wanda retreated to a remote location and was seen studying the Darkhold texts – all in astral projection , we might add – before the events of Doctor Strange 2.
Meanwhile, in Multiverse of MadnessWanda used the Book of Spells to “dream walk” between realities and universes in search of her sons, Billy and Tommy, who vanished from existence as she removed the spell. WandaVision. The film explains that Wanda’s tireless research was causing catastrophic damage to the multiverse and that Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is tasked with stopping her. While completing her task – Wanda ends up crashing under Mt. Wundagore after realizing the wrongness of his actions – the book is destroyed. Strange, however, has used the Darkhold before and is left with the aftershocks of its use in a cliffhanger ending where he develops a third eye.
As for the role of the Darkhold in Agatha throughoutit looks like the book will stick around as the coven continues down the witch trail and pursues what they desire most in the world. But for Agatha, will it be the Darkhold or her son? You’ll have to stick around to find out.
The first four episodes of Agatha throughout are now streaming on Disney+. All episodes of Wandavision are currently streaming.
