Flying into Transia in response to Quicksilver’s distress call, the Avengers must bail out of their Quinjet as violently stormy weather damages it. Beast volunteers to stay at the controls to keep the aircraft from landing on anyone, but Wonder Man insists on doing it since he is nearly indestructible. As the others exit, Wonder Man pulls Beast away from the console, places his rocket belt on Beast and tosses him out of the aircraft, which crashes with Wonder Man aboard moments later. Unable to control the rocket belt, Beast hurtles into a snowy mountain slope where he finds an armor-clad, strangely animal-like skeleton. The other Avengers land safely but Modred attacks them, subduing Falcon, Ms. Marvel and Captain America. Wonder Man emerges from the crashed Quinjet unscathed, but is captured by a Chthon-possessed Scarlet Witch. When Wasp strikes down an overconfident Modred, Chthon/Witch captures her, Cap, Ms. Marvel and Falcon, suspending them upside down in midair alongside fellow captives Quicksilver, Wonder Man and Django Maximoff. The gloating Witch/Chthon recounts the Darkhold’s history but is interrupted by Beast disguised as a Knight of Wundagore who spears the Darkhold with a lance, taking it away. Chthon is so distracted that her captives break free. Cap fells Modred and Quicksilver attacks the Chthon-possessed Witch, but Django suffers a fatal heart attack after realizing his adoptive daughter Wanda’s spirit is trapped in the magical marionette he carved to resemble her. Alerted by Django, Quicksilver tries to use the magical Scarlet Witch puppet to force Chthon out of his sister’s body. He lacks the magical training for this feat, but when the other heroes join mental forces with him, their combined will projects Wanda’s spirit back into her body and forces Chthon’s essence into the puppet. Quicksilver flings the Chthon-possessed puppet into a crater where Scarlet Witch buries it with an avalanche. Mentally childlike without Chthon’s guidance, Modred is left in Bova’s care. After burying Django Maximoff, the Avengers depart.
Forced out of the earthly plane by newer gods, elder gods Chthon and Gaea retreat: the former by fleeing to a nether plane and leaving behind the Darkhold text as a gateway for his eventual return, the latter by infusing her essence into all living things as Mother Earth(1). The Darkhold passes through many hands over the centuries (2). Morgan le Fay and her 6th Century Darkholders cult use the Darkhold in an attempt to summon and enslave Chthon. Unable to control Chthon, Morgan and her cult trap him in Wundagore Mountain. Shortly afterward, traitorous cultist Magnus steals the Darkhold and seals it in a mystically protected tower (3). Modred tries to use the Darkhold for good but falls to its power while protecting Lady Janice (MChil #1, ’75 fb). Removed from the tower by St. Brendan, the Darkhold passes through the hands of men such as Cagliostro, Taboo, and Gregor Russoff, whose use of the book brought a curse down on him and his family (4). Herbert Wyndham and his partner Jonathan Drew buy land from Russoff, find uranium deposits that make them wealthy, and use that wealth to build their Wundagore science citadel (5). As the High Evolutionary, Wyndham genetically evolves animals into his New Men and Chthon considers using them as pawns, but a Magnus-possessed Drew provides a chivalrous guiding influence that leads the New Men to become the Knights of Wundagore, unsuitable for Chthon’s purposes. Chthon’s host the Other attacks Wundagore, but is repelled by Drew/Magnus, Wyndham and the Knights (6). Aided by midwife Bova, Magda gives birth to Pietro and Wanda, whom Chthon imbues with magical potential (Av #186, ’79 fb). The Scarlet Witch studies witchcraft under Agatha Harkness (Av #133, ’75). Janet Lyton and Grant Whittaker revive Modred (MChil #1, ’75). Modred battles the Other (MChil #2, ’75).
Letters page includes a LoC from Cat Yronwode, later Editor-in-Chief of Eclipse Comics. The atomic steed Beast salvages in this story is later used by the Black Knight (on an ongoing basis starting in Av #259, ’85), the Swordsman (in AvUnp #6, ’96) and Hawkeye (on an ongoing basis starting in Tb #20, ’98).
