Doctor Strange 2: The Darkhold and The Book of Vishanti Explained

If you’ve just returned from watching Doctor Strange 2, I bet you have a few questions on your mind. Let’s get tackling the one that involves books. Now, at the center of Wanda and Strange’s battle, were the Darkhold and the Book of Vishanti that each of them tried to wield as their weapon.

But what exactly are these books? Where did they come from? Have we seen them before in the MCU?

The Darkhold is a spell book written by the demon Chthon to wield dark and evil powers, while the Book of the Vishanti is a virtuous spell book complied by the ancient entities Agamotto, Oshtur, and Hoggoth.

The best analogy I have is that both the books act like a ying-yang to each other, in an existence that thrives on balance. Shall we dive in?

The Darkhold

We’ve seen the Darkhold in two places: Agents of SHIELD and WandaVision. In both occurrences, it has not been good. They don’t call it the Book of the Damned for nothing!

In WandaVision, Agatha Harkness’s goal is to become the most powerful witch and uses the Darkhold to control and manipulate Wanda into giving her all her powers. But this goes haywire, when Wanda’s chaos and grief awakens the Scarlet Witch in her.

While Wanda first takes possession of the book of out sheer curiosity and safekeeping, its corrupting powers tempt her into seeking out her sad, pipe dream desire: Being with her kids once again.

In Doctor Strange, we also find out that the Darkhold was transcribed into a book of spells by a demon entity called Chthon. While it gives the user an insane amount of power and the ability to perform spells like dream walking, it also entraps the user and makes them a twisted version of themselves.

The Book of Vishanti

Let’s into some history before we look into how the Book of Vishanti falls into Doctor Strange 2’s plot.

In ancient times, the super-powerful beings Agamotto, Oshtur, and Hoggoth, together known as the Vishanti, were working on ways to defend Earth against threats of magic and chaos. So they compiled their positive spells in one book.

Besides spells, the book also has a lot of case studies and references that have been recorded by those who have previously possessed it. Plus, it’s said to be a living document that one can inscribe into as well.

It is usually kept in possession of the Sorcerer Supreme, which Wong also confirms in the movie.

It can also act an antidote, and as we see in Doctor Strange 2, it’s an antithetical force to the Darkhold. The movie also specifies that the Book of Vishanti can give a sorcerer any spell they needed. That’s a pretty monumental ability for a spell book to possess!

Which is more powerful?

The most obvious question one would have next is, which is more power — The Darkhold or the Book of Vishanti? While we’d like to believe (and the MCU does majorly depicts) that good triumphs evil, it’s difficult to give this a verdict.

As seen in the movie, both contain immense knowledge and power, but destroying either of them is not a difficult task. The only advantage the Book of Vishanti has is that it can provide the sorcerer with any spell they need.

At the end of the day, it’s always how you wield these books that makes all the difference. You can have the most powerful weapon in the universe and still be defeated if you don’t know how to use it with tact.

About Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the sequel to the  2016 movie Doctor Strange. The film is directed by Sam Raimi with a screenplay by Jade Bartlett and Michael Waldron.

It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, alongside Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Xochitl Gomez.

The sequel revolves around the dangerous consequences of Doctor Strange opening the multiverse.