The MCU Just Made One Of Marvel’s Most Powerful Objects Pointless

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

There are many powerful objects in play within the MCU, but Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness quickly made one pointless. Since the MCU is a world full of advanced technology and supernatural magic, there is naturally no shortage of powerful items operating within its multiverse, whether born of a brilliant mind like Tony Stark’s or an ancient mystical rite. Perhaps the most powerful object used in the MCU to date is Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet, which harnessed the power of all six Infinity Stones.

As seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, though, a clear contender for the title of the MCU’s new most powerful item is the Darkhold, a book of demonic spells employed by a now presumed dead Scarlet Witch to try and reunite with her children in another realm. Ultimately, the only thing that ends up being able to combat the Darkhold’s power is the Darkhold itself, with Doctor Strange resorting to its use to later combat Wanda.

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Yet, as teased several times during Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the MCU houses – or at least housed – a book of magic spells said to be the good counterpoint to the evil Darkhold. That tome is called The Book of Vishanti, and the former Sorcerer Supreme spends a good chunk of the movie seeking its power. Then, when he finally reaches it, Scarlet Witch destroys it with even less effort than she used to kill Doctor Strange 2‘s Illuminati. This serves as a shock for the audience, but it also takes what’s said to be the only copy of the Book of Vishanti out of the MCU mix, seemingly for good, without ever actually showing what it can do. It is a perplexing decision and almost feels like an outright cheat for the wider MCU.

The MCU Just Made One Of Marvel’s Most Powerful Objects Pointless

In the context of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it is relatively easy to see why this narrative decision was taken. The script’s endgame forced Strange to use the Darkhold and become, to an extent, corrupted by it (as seen by his new third eye). This sets up interesting new possibilities for how Doctor Strange might develop as a character going forward. At the same time, there is no real reason the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness team should not have been able to accomplish that goal without destroying the Book of Vishanti outright.

On the other hand, with Doctor Strange 2‘s ending revealing Scarlet Witch destroyed every Darkhold copy in the multiverse after coming to her senses, it could be argued that the Book of Vishanti might not be needed anymore. Still, there will always be another existential threat on the horizon for the MCU’s heroes to deal with, and their chances of doing so would be better if Doctor Strange had the Book of Vishanti in storage somewhere. It seems short-sighted to just throw away what should be such an important object within the MCU, but that appears to be exactly what Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has done.

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