The Darkhold: Spider-Man (2021) #1 (The Darkhold (2021))

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Darkhold!Iron Man's attempt to preserve his life results in a self-adapting armor that's slowly bonding to him in an attempt to do its job of keeping him alive, expelling all of his matter to fuse him into a bio-mechanical abomination. Even worse, Tony's ambition to cure disease is warped into a need to turn everyone into suit-monsters.

Throughout the remainder of 2023 and into 2024, Wanda Maximoff's mind became corrupted by the Darkhold which allowed her to learn more about the Multiverse and how to see other universes using the book's spells. Once she saw that her children existed in alternate universes and lived happy lives, she became obsessed with reuniting with them and finding a way to live in an alternate universe where they lived. During her studies, she learned of America Chavez, a supernatural being who had the ability to travel through the Multiverse. Maximoff used the Darkhold to summon inter-dimensional beings to find and capture Chavez. Humans first found the Darkhold during the Pre-Cataclysmic Era, when the lands of Atlantis and Lemuria were still above the waves. When the warrior Kull slew the dark sorcerer Thulsa Doom, Doom's followers, the Darkholders, utilized a spell contained in the Darkhold to create the first vampire, Varnae. Varnae had been mortally wounded in battle with Kull. Varnae consumed one of the Darkholders who attempted to command him, and began creating other vampires. Some surviving Darkholders managed to make off with the Darkhold before Atlantis sank. Sources place the rise of Kull and the fall of Thulsa Doom circa 18,500 BC. [21] The book had a third ability. It amplified the user's magic, as shown with Harkness. The Salem witch used the book as an amplification totem. It enhanced her magic, which allowed her to break into the reality known as the Hex. Therefore, she was the only person unable to be controlled by Maximoff and was able to manipulate the course of events of the reality without being noticed. Harkness was able to hold her own against Maximoff due to her Darkhold-increased powers. However, this was not enough to overpower Scarlet Witch. [7] The book also amplified Scarlet Witch's magic to such a high-extent that she was able to easily destroy Kamar-Taj and defeat all of the sorcerers present there during the Siege of Kamar-Taj, besting the likes of the Sorcerer Supreme Wong and Doctor Strange. The book not only amplified someone's magic, but could also alter it, as seen with Sinister Strange's magic, giving it a purple color, which tended to be related to dark magic users such as Harkness. [26] [2] While not common, the Darkhold could also be used as a weapon, as Sinister Strange used it to deflect Doctor Strange's spells. [3]It was a mistake. We never should have taken it. We should've left it buried!" ― Joseph Bauer [src] The intrigue surrounding the book hasn’t died down in more recent times. In the 1920s, a group of archaeologists were rendered insane when they tried to translate hieroglyphics relating to the book. The Starscream: The Darkhold Defiled are insane, monstrous versions of the people Wanda summoned to aid her; corrupted by the Darkhold. They make their intent to murder both Chthon and Scarlet Witch, as well as Take Over the World, known with every passing word. They're returned to normal by event's end, unable to follow through. While there are copies of the Darkhold in existence, there is only one "true" Darkhold: the original Darkhold, made from the flesh of an Elder God. For eons, the true Darkhold was hidden until it was uncovered in Abysmia by Doctor Doom and Victorious. The reading of the true Darkhold woke Chthon and opened a pathway between the Other-Realm and Earth. [1] Spider-Man 3: | Venom ( Symbiote Suit) | Sandman | New Goblin | Lizard | Scorpion | Kraven the Hunter | Calypso | Kingpin | Rhino | Morbius | Shriek | H-Bombers ( Mad Bomber) | J. Jonah Jameson | Electro

The ancient sorceress Agatha Harkness was in possession of the Darkhold as of 2023. She kept it in her bewitched basement in Westview, New Jersey during the time Wanda Maximoff possessed the town to play out her fantasy of living a happy family life, including imaginary children created out of magic. Harkness tells Wanda Maximoff that there is an entire chapter of the Darkhold dedicated to her, the prophesized Scarlet Witch.

Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin: Kingpin | Doctor Octopus | Lizard | Electro | Sandman | Hobgoblin | Venom | Tinkerer | Mysterio | Vulture | Bullseye | Typhoid Mary

Chthon left these scrolls on Earth so that they might always serve as a conduit to the Earth-Realm for Chthon's influence and power, [14] with the purpose of opening a doorway from Earth to Chthon's dimension. [17] The scrolls were transcribed, first to stone and later to a collection of parchments often referred to as the Chthon Scrolls. [14] It's a bit more complicated but yes. Man could once and for all break the bonds of his mortal restraints." ― Holden Radcliffe and Aida [src] Body Horror: The version of Iron Man created by the Darkhold intended to make his armor into a mobile hospital that could heal injuries, but the armor's programming goes wrong and leads to it trying to permanently bond with Tony; at one point he tries to remove the armor and ends up tearing off his own skin. Hoping he can protect people from all diseases, Tony proceeds to convert everyone by producing and putting them into the suits, akin to a Cyberman. All for Nothing: The ending to Spider-Man's tie-in confirms that Darkhold!Peter's desperate solution of using Reed Richards as Human Resources to keep the city and its people together is doomed to fail.I know it's the Book of the Damned, and that it corrupts everything and everyone that it touches." ― Stephen Strange and Wanda Maximoff [src] Tome of Eldritch Lore: The titular book is the typical example for the Marvel Universe but it's ramped up because it's the original copy. Reading it is likely to melt someone's face or possess them with eldritch power and make them thralls of Chthon. Life-Model Decoy Body: It was created by Aida. Anton Ivanov's brain controlled the body remotely as it functions as Ivanov's body. In a very disturbing one-shot issue from Marvel Comics, Darkhold: Spider-Man #1 reveals the horrifying truth behind the body of Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. After reading from the Darkhold, Peter Parker's Spider-Man is shown a dark alternate reality where the entire world has begun to unravel. In an effort to hold his city and its people together, this reality's Spider-Man spends every day webbing up as many as he can to keep them from dying and falling to pieces. However, Peter himself is fine thanks to his accelerated healing along with Reed Richards whose powers of elasticity have kept him together as well. However, the absence of actual human life beyond Spider-Man has revealed Reed's true natural state (which is truly quite horrifying). Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: Kingpin | Doctor Octopus | Prowler | Tombstone | Scorpion | Green Goblin | Lizard | Jonathan Ohnn