Just over a week after its release, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness continues, as is customary with MCU-related productions, to be analyzed from every angle by fans. Those who know the lore of the Marvel universe best may have made an interesting link between Sam Raimi’s feature film and Blade !
!!! SPOILERS for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness !!!
The Darkhold and the Book of the Vishanti in Doctor Strange 2
Not meeting with the phenomenal success of a Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness does not have to be ashamed in view of the generally positive reviews it receives and its scores at the box office. It must be said that with the particular attention paid to the concept of the multiverse, it finally seems to get Phase IV of the MCU off the ground somewhat. For the most observant and the most Marvel fans, it is obviously full of many winks, references and other easter-eggs, that we listed in our dedicated article.
In this one, we talk to you about the two books that occupy a central place in Sam Raimi’s latest feature film: the Darkhold and the Book of the Vishanti. The first is the one used by Wanda Maximoff to try to get her hands on America Chavez and thus be able to travel at will between the universes to find her children. The second is somewhat its antithesis, since it concerns white magic and therefore does not tend to corrupt its possessor. He is wanted by Doctor Strange and the young heroine.
If you know in detail the lore of the Marvel universe, you should know that this could potentially tease the arrival of Varnae, one of Blade’s greatest antagonists. And that’s good, since a reboot with Mahershala Ali in the title role is in production at Marvel Studios.
The origin of the supervillain Varnae
To understand this a priori strange link made between Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Blade, it is necessary to concentrate on the origin of the book of Vishanti. This was written by the very first Sorcerer Supreme, Agamotto, who inscribed many spells on it, so much so that it is considered the greatest source of knowledge of white magic on Earth. Its very first known possessor, apart from Agamotto, was a certain Varnae, a citizen of the antediluvian Atlantis. Ironic, when we know that this one was a follower of the Elder God Chthon, the creator of the Darkhold.
It is also the famous grimoire which, when Varnae was on the verge of death, saved his life by transforming him into a vampire, the first to ever exist on Earth. It is he who will create the following, so that he later becomes the Lord of the Vampires. It is because of this status and its power thathe will become one of the greatest enemies of a well-known superhero of the Marvel universe: Blade, the vampire hunter.
If the Vishanti book and the Darkhold had many other roles to play in the comics and their presence in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may never be associated with Varnae, it might be interesting for Marvel Studios to use them as a basis for introducing the supervillain. An idea that seems particularly interesting when we know that the reboot of Blade, this time integrated into the MCU, should see the light of day next year!