This 1 Sentence Made Me Realize the MCU Already Introduced a Mephisto-Level Villain

Warning: Spoilers for Venom #38!Marvel has a lot of big bads, and some of them have finally made their way into the MCU – like Chthon. However, I feel like I’ve been waiting a long time for Mephisto or even the power of the Living Tribunal. There are a host of magical beings waiting to be drawn straight from the comics and placed into the films, and, like me, some fans are getting a little vexed about the wait. But recently, thanks to Venom and Doctor Strange, I’ve discovered a powerful comic villain – and he’s already snuck his way into the MCU.

As Old Man Venom, or Future Eddie Brock, tries to rectify the timeline during the Venom War event, he seeks the help of Doctor Strange in Venom #38by Torunn Grønbekk, Germán Peralta, Cafu, Frank D’Armata, and Clayton Cowles. Together, they descend into the Flickering Realms to meet with one of the most powerful Marvel villains, who is the only being who can help forge the weapon that can save Eddie Brock’s dystopian future.

And yet it’s Strange’s quiet confession that interested me the most: “Chthon is more than a demon. He is to demons what the universe is to humanity.” With this definition of the demon Chthon, I see a tease of the MCU’s future with Mephisto-levels of destruction, considering Chthon has already made his way onto the silver screen.

Chthon Is the First Major Magical Villain with Influence in the MCU

His Ties to Scarlet Witch Are Even Stronger in the Comics

Thanks to Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Chthon has already been unleashed in the MCU. Chthon is more than just a powerful demon in the comics, but one of the very first black magicians in history, and Doctor Strange’s description shows how he’s on a separate level than Mephisto. He has major ties to the Darkhold, being its very author, and even built Darkhold Castle atop Mount Wundagore.

Both this place and this book are major plot points for Scarlet Witch in the film. But in the comics, their ties go even further: he’s the source of her powers, granting them to her when she was a baby in order to use her as an avatar.

Mephisto too has been anticipated for a long time in the MCU. Show after show, I waited to hear his name be dropped or to see him work his devilish magic in the background. Finally, thanks to Agatha All Along, Mephisto has finally been confirmed to exist. Considering how much influence the dark demon has in the comic world, it’s a wonder the MCU has taken this long to introduce one of my favorite villains. And yet this most recent description of Chthon makes Mephisto pail in comparison. To me, the long-awaited demon is nothing compared to the god of the deep and the dark.

Chthon Has a Real Mythological History Beyond His Presence in Marvel Comics

There Is No Being as Deadly As Chthon in His Underworld

Chthon is a name that has a major influence on the historical world. The word chthonic means subterranean or concerns itself with the Underworld. Most often a descriptor referring to the dark deities in mythology that have a numinous mystery surrounding them, the very word chthonic stands for all the monsters in humanity’s closet as well as the demons that lurk in their shadow. As late as Greek Mythology, Hades, the god of the underworld, had the epithet of Zeus Chthonios, meaning that he was the Zeus of his own realm and its sole king.

I can clearly see this human history at play in the demon Chthon. Old Man Venom and Doctor Strange are descending the staircase into the Underworld, performing an ancient and archetypal rite. In the Flickering Realms, Chthon is an ancient god, and no magic or technology of these heroes can help them down here in a world where the laws of the upperworld mean nothing. Mephisto has Hell, which, as scary as that can be for a comic fan like me, can never give me the feeling of utter dread that Chthon’s mysterious Underworld can offer.

Chthon Is Almost Ready for His Official MCU Debut

Chthon Sits on His Throne in the Flickering Realms

In the comics, Chthon, as an elder god, has a wide range of influence. He has major ties to the Darkhold as well as Wanda Maximoff, and yet their comic history is much richer, considering she broke ties with him and sealed the demon into her own body. This only makes me think that, while Chthon’s eventual appearance in the MCU has been teased, there can be no Chthon without Scarlet Witch’s teased return.

If he does appear though, just as he did in the comics, the entire Marvel Universe will be at stake, because this isn’t a demon like Mephisto. As Doctor Strange says, Chthon is to demons what the universe is to humans. And that definitely scares me.

Venom #38is available now from Marvel Comics!