As Marvel continues to expand its cinematic universe, several types of magic now exist in the MCU. Most have their own visual designs that allow them to be distinguished from the rest, while their abilities and power levels are typically unique to each other. But what makes them different, and what is the most powerful magic in the MCU?
Over the years, the importance of magic has changed quite a bit in the MCU. Not only is it the primary weapon of Doctor Strange and the Masters of Mystic Arts, but it has also become an important plot device in a number of Marvel projects. In addition to these Doctor Strange Movies, it was a factor in the Thor franchise, WandaVisionAnd Eternal.
It was part of the story for Disney+ moon night Show too, weaponized by Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow against Oscar Isaac’s Stephen Grant. Werewolf by night, The homage to ’30s monster movies released as a Disney + Halloween special, also has a lot of allusions to witchcraft and magic thanks to the mysterious Bloodstone. The latest MCU series, Agatha all along Dives even deeper into magic, with a coven of witches who all have their own distinct abilities.
Looking at the direction Marvel is taking with its projects, magic is sure to remain integral to the MCU going forward. Needless to say, it was central to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness And shows how WandaVision And may also be relevant to any mystical or supernatural stories that Marvel has come up with after diving even further into it with Agatha all along. However, how magic is used in Marvel’s movies and shows tends to be different, considering that the MCU has more than one kind of magic. Here’s each type, and which one is the most powerful.
Celestial Magic
Although it’s not immediately confirmed, what the Eternals can do in the MCU seems to be a form of magic unique to their species and, presumably, their creators. Recognized by its golden color, this Celestial Magic is depicted as cosmic energy that the Eternals can harness and control. Then can channel celestial energy into a golden energy blade, though sprite can generate illusions.
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Each member of the Eternals has their own use for the energy powers given to them by the Celestials. But, since Eternal is a character-driven movie focusing on the personalities of the titular immortals rather than the exact science behind their abilities, The nature of Celestial Magic is under-explored. with an Eternal Sequel most likely not happening, it is unclear when this type of magic will be shown again.
Eldritch Magic
Introduced in Doctor Strange, Eldritch Magic is the name given to the power wielded by the Masters of the Mystic Arts. Accessible by humans, Eldritch Magic can be controlled properly by those with highly disciplined minds who have trained for years in casting spells. As an expert in Eldritch Magic, Doctor Strange is one of the strongest forces in the entire MCU. His mastery of this type of magic gives the former Sorcerer Supreme an untold number of weapons at his disposal.
He can create illusions, unleash all sorts of offensive and defensive spells, travel to different dimensions, and more. And sometimes, users of eldritch magic rely on the help of objects imbued with great magical power. In addition to the students of Kamar-Taj, the MCU has introduced other characters who seem to have an affinity for Eldritch Magic/the Mystic Arts. Most notably, Ned, Peter Parker’s best friend, has been shown to have a knack for gate-creating “castle rings” in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Asgardian Magic
The first form of magic to appear in the MCU belongs to the Asgardians. Some of the gods who live in Odin’s realm Possess the ability to control powerful magical energies and use them for various purposes. in ThorIt is established that people like the God of Thunder see magic as a highly advanced form of science that they have developed for centuries. One of Asgard’s most accomplished sorceresses is Thor’s mother, Frigga, who learned magic from a group of witches.
She then taught her skills to Loki, whose fights demonstrated what Asgardian magic was truly capable of. Nor is Loki from Earth-616 the most adept at Asgardian Magic. in Loki, Sylvie and Classic Loki both demonstrated much more mastery over this particular magic. Sylvie was able to use it to enchant the Elliot, a beast so powerful even Kang struggled to keep it under control. As for classic Loki, he showed just how powerful Asgardian illusions can really be when he finally found his glorious purpose in a moment of green-fire-filed self-sacrifice.
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Typically accompanied by green visual effects, Loki’s Asgardian Magic has enabled the god of mischief to create impressive illusions. With this one ability, Loki can effortlessly disguise himself with a completely different look and create projections of himself to fool his opponents. But illusions are far from the extent of what Asgardian Magic can accomplish. Through it, Loki can throw blasts of energy, conjure objects from thin air and create energy shields to protect himself from incoming projectiles.
Jotun Magic
Even without Frigga’s guidance, Loki already had magical connections. Members of his race, the Frost Giants of Jotunheim, are able to use ice magic. This innate ability lets them Manipulate ice and possibly, by extension, water. It was the Jotun Magic that made it possible for Laufey and his allies to shape ice into weapons Thor. They can craft armor, spears, daggers, and swords that are strong enough to be used effectively in combat against enemies as powerful as the Asgardians. As a frost giant himself, Loki naturally has these gifts at his disposal, but typically does not use them.
Dark Dimension Magic
In the MCU, a rule by the Masters of the Mystic Arts dictates that the use of Dark Dimension Magic is forbidden. Much to the disappointment of Baron Morda, it was discovered that the ancient had secretly violated this long decree. channeling Power from Dormammu’s realm can grant the sorcerer an enormous amount of power that far surpasses the capabilities of Eldritch Magic.. However, going down this path is a dangerous path as Dark Dimension Magic can open the door for the Sorcerer to be corrupted by Dormammu’s evil influence.
Dark Magic
The power of the Dark Dimension isn’t the only evil magic that some MCU characters can wield. There is also Dark Magic, which has a purple tint. This is what Agatha Harkness channeled from the Darkhold for her fight with the Scarlet Witch in WandaVision. After the events of WandaVision and the Scarlet Witch’s death at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessAgatha’s story continues Agatha all alongWhich leads her to build a coven of witches to walk the witches’ road to regain her power.
Divination
in Agatha all alongThe coven of witches all have some type of magic they are experts in. Lilia Calderu is an expert in divination, with cases in the series where her power is shown. She knows pieces of Agatha’s backstory without being told, and She receives property from the future without hardly realizing that she had them. With the witches’ road a challenge to the coven, Lilia’s divination should be of great help as they progress.
Green Magic
One of the members of Agatha’s coven is Sharon Davis, also known as Mrs. Hart, one of the Westview citizens who was also subject to Wanda’s mind control. Mrs. Hart is the Green Witch of the group, but she didn’t even realize she was one before Agatha dragged her along to the Witches’ Road. At the end of episode 2 of Agatha all the same, Mrs. Hart is dead, and the coven need to summon another green witch.
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After summoning a new green witch, Rio Vidal, played by Aubrey Plaza, appears. According to Rio Vidal, she is “The Green Witch,” Something that will need to be explained as the series progresses. Green witches seem to be Able to use the earth’s elements, and draw magical power from nature. So far, they seem to be extremely powerful and have shown the ability to heal a character’s wounds. Rio Vidal is rumored to be Lady Death, which would make her one of the most powerful beings in the universe.
Potions
Jennifer Kale is another member of Agatha’s coven and has proven to be A master of potions that focus on alchemy and chemistry. Agatha All Along Episode 2 sees Jennifer use her skills with potions to brew an antidote to keep the coven alive after drinking wine during their first trial. Potions may not seem as flashy as the rest of the magic in the MCU, but this ability has a lot of uses that could help the coven as they travel along the Witches’ Road.
Protective Magic
Another member of the coven is Alice Wu-Gulliver, who Excels at using protective spells. She uses hexes and shielding spells to protect her and the rest of the coven as they travel the Witches’ Road. The power of Alice Wu-Gulliver has laid dormant, but she has already proven effective throughout the series. In episode 4 of Agatha all along, The coven had to break Alice’s family curse by singing a version of ​​​​​​​​​The Ballad of the Witches’ Road that her mother recorded. The song was actually a protective spell against the family curse, showing that protective magic could be used in a variety of ways.
Chaos Magic
WandaVision Confirmed that the Scarlet Witch is a weapon of Chaos Magicwhich has a red color. This was massively expanded in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Which explains just how dangerous Chaos Magic really is, both to the user and the multiverse. This is an extreme form of magic, which Kamar-Taj seems more concerned about than even Dormammu’s influence.
Establishing Chaos Magic in this way was incredibly true to the source material. In the comics, Chaos Magic comes from an Elder God called Chthon, who is one of the most powerful beings to ever roam the Earth. Transferring a fraction of his Chaos Magic abilities into Wanda’s body when she was a child is what paved the way for her to become the Scarlet Witch in Marvel Comics.
Armed with this ability, the Scarlet Witch can reshape the fabric of reality itself, which is how she created Westview and manipulated the lives of its people to create her own fantasy world. She can also dreamwalk between different realms of the multiverse, which is a pretty big deal for characters without powers like America Chavez’s, who Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Also established.
werewolf by night, The 2022 Disney+ MCU Halloween special also appears to have a Chaos Magic artifact, judging by the visual effects. The Bloodstone fought by various monster hunters in Werewolf by night Shines with the same energy as Wanda’s powers. Given that the Bloodstone grants longevity, implied near-invulnerability, and confirmed abilities to force a werewolf to change without a full moon, it is highly likely that the incredibly powerful gem was imbued with power using Chaos Magic.
Cosmic Magic
Ms. Marvel Making its way to Disney+ in 2022, and as well as introducing Kamala Khan to the screen, it also brought a new kind of magic to the MCU, Cosmic Magic. Ms. Marvel’s origins have changed dramatically for the MCU, and so has her power set. As well as reconnecting her comic-book Inhuman backstory to make her Earth-616’s first confirmed mutant, it also added a mystical element to her abilities.
Kamala’s stretching was switched out for glowing purple crystalline energy, which was dubbed “hard light.” The Cosmic Magic comes from the Noor Dimension. While it initially appeared that Kamala channeled cosmic magic through her bracelets, the revelation that she is a possible X-Men in waiting calls this into question.
It now seems that her mutant ability, much like many X-Men comic characters, including the Scarlet Witch, is to channel magic naturally, without spell books. In Kamala’s case, this magic is the heavy light of the Noor dimension. It is possible that any future movies Kamala is shown in the following The Marvels will establish just how powerful Heavy Light is compared to other types of magic, as this kind of cosmic mysticism is almost entirely unique to the MCU.
Divine Magic
The moon night TV series also introduced a new type of magic through Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow. The character uses divine magic, which is a form of magic that draws energy from deities and then is able to channel it in a variety of ways. The Enneads are the primary users of divine magic who use their avatars to manifest the magic in different ways.. Arthur Harrow was revealed to be the avatar of Amit and primarily used Amit’s staff for his magic. Like dark magic, divine magic is extremely powerful and sometimes requires the use of incantations to work.
Necromancy
Another form of magic in the MCU is necromancy. in Thor: Ragnarok, the goddess of death, Hello, the dead relatives are being revived By using flames of the eternal flame. Hela can use necromancy, making her incredibly powerful and dangerous. Not many characters in the MCU use necromancy, but Agatha Harkness considered it to revive Wanda’s brother Pietro during WandaVision. Necromancers can also use their power to communicate with the dead.
Why Chaos Magic is the strongest magic in the MCU
Just like it is in the comics, the power of the Scarlet Witch is the strongest type of magic in the MCU. Wanda is able to rewrite reality with it, speaks volumes about its potentialNot to mention Agatha’s reaction when she realized what she was up against. And despite being an experienced, immortal sorceress in possession of the Darkhold, Agatha still couldn’t overwhelm Wanda in the end.
Not only that, but Doctor Strange, for all his time learning the mystical arts, is still weaker than the Scarlet Witch – and it’s all due to the insanely high power level of the MCU’s Chaos Magic. Even the assembled might of Kamar-Taj is essentially powerless against Wanda with the Darkhold at her disposal.
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The Scarlet Witch is one of the most powerful beings in Marvel ComicsAnd the MCU has stayed true to her character in this regard. In the context of the MCU, Chaos Magic also has an implied multiversal connection somehow, as it allows for interdimensional dreamwalking, and Wanda is able to use one Darkhold to destroy the Darkhold in each reality.
This suggests each variant of the book is linked. In the ever-changing MCU Power tiers and scale, it’s important to have a ceiling against which to compare new antagonists and powers as they appear, and Chaos Magic more than serves that purpose.