The Scarlet Witch has a deeper connection to the Elder God Chthon than most realize. He has been a part of her life since the moment she was born, when she was selected to be his pathway back to the mortal realm. While his efforts have failed in the past, he keeps coming because she is simply too powerful to resist, and his constant manipulations of her has violated Wanda in more ways than one over the course of her life, turning her powers into something horrific to be used as a tool for conquest.
Chthon is an Elder God first introduced in Marvel Chillers #1 by Marv Wolfman, Bill Mantlo, and Yong Montano. He was one of the foremost of the first race to inhabit the Earth known as the Elder Gods. They ruled the Earth for approximately one million years, during which time Chthon studied the mystical forces of the universe, becoming the world’s first black magician. Unfortunately, the Elder Gods degenerated into powerful demons that waged war on one another, putting any potential for future life on Earth at risk. This is where another of the prominent Elder Gods, Gaea, stepped in.
Unlike her siblings, she was not consumed by the same corruption and endeavored to protect life on Earth. To that end, she created a new Elder God named Atum, who went about destroying the corrupted Elder Gods. In the process, Atum absorbed their power and became the Demogorge, the God-Eater. Knowing he could not defeat the Demogorge, Chthon instead created a new dimension that would come to be known as Other-Realm. He could escape the Demogorge and live in his own world that obeyed his wishes. Before he left however, Chthon recorded all of his knowledge into a forbidden tome that would be known as the Darkhold, creating the book as a means of returning to Earth should he ever feel the desire to leave his new home. And he would indeed want to return in the future.
When Wanda Maximoff was born on Mount Wundagore, Chthon reached out and touched her, marking her as a future vessel to help him return. This was more than a simple mark though, Chthon endowed Wanda with the ability to wield chaos magic, which means that he is the reason that Wanda’s magic is so powerful. However, it wouldn’t be until Wanda had settled into her role as the Scarlet Witch that Chthon would enact his plans to use her. After corrupting Modred, a villain from medieval times, Chthon had him capture Wanda, performing a ritual so that Chthon might possess her body. Using her power, he captured the Avengers, intending to use them in a ritual to bring him back to Earth fully in 1979’s Avengers #185-187, by Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant, David Michelinie and John Byrne.
Fortunately, Wanda was able to regain control of her body thanks to the intervention of Beast and a well-placed doll that acted as a conduit that could trap Chthon and free Wanda. But this was merely one setback in a plan that was millions of years in the making. Chthon would continue to hold influence so long as the Darkhold was out in the world and Wanda was still connected to him, a fact he would exploit during the “Secret Empire” event. Seizing the opportunity presented by Hydra’s takeover of America, Chthon possessed Wanda once again, using her to join the Hydra Avengers. Thankfully, Doctor Strange was there to purge Chthon’s influence over the Scarlet Witch and delaying his return once again.
Wanda has struggled to put Chthon’s manipulation of her life behind her, but deep down she has always known that the two are forever linked. And like it or not, she may be the key to finally defeating the god that granted her such great powers. If she can succeed in stopping him permanently in the Darkhold crossover, she might be able to live her life without the fear of manipulation from an ancient chaos god.
About The Author
