Credit: Marvel StudiosWhile the Marvel Cinematic Universe is branching out to the new Marvel Multiverse and its Cosmic reaches, it has been slowly building up its mythology. Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) once told Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) that there was only one god in the Marvel Universe – but he was very wrong.
Three projects coming soon in Marvel’s Phase Four are expected to add new and more powerful gods to the MCU. First, Moon Knight on Disney+ will debut the Egyptian god of the moon, Khonshu. Then Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May 6, 2022) may introduce elder gods like Chthon. And Thor: Love and Thunder (July 8, 2022) will introduce Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) to take on these gods.
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Who is Khonshu in Moon Knight?
Marvel fans will meet their first new god on Moon Knight on Disney+. Oscar Isaac (Star Wars) will play the Fist of Khonshu, Marc Spector/Steven Grant/Moon Knight. Khonshu is called the “God of the Moon,” “God of Vengeance,” and the “Shepherd of to the Lost.” He is from Celestial Heliopolis, where the Heliopolitan gods lived. It exists in a realm just outside of Earth, and the people of Ancient Egypt worshiped them.
However, this was slightly retconned in the King in Black (2020) Marvel Comics event by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman. Khonshu became one of the Elder gods of the Marvel Universe. He has been on Earth choosing Moon Knights to enforce his will since 1,000,000 B.C. during the time of the Stone Age Avengers.
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What are Khonshu’s powers?
The Heliopolitan gods, also known as the Ennead, all have the power to wield magic. This includes changing their appearances, transforming matter, wielding cosmic, elemental, and paranormal energies. Additionally, Khonshu has superhuman strength, durability and is essentially immortal.
His most unique power is called Lunakinesis. He can control any object that is made from moonrocks. This includes weapons like Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, which is made from Uru. He has used this to bestow his power on several artifacts which Moon Knight uses in his mission as the Fist of Khonshu.
He can also take up residence in the mind of Moon Knight. This caused Marc Spector/Steven Grant’s already troubled mind to fracture and create new personalities like Jake Lockley and Mr. Knight.
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Other Marvel Gods in ‘Moon Knight’
Rumors have circulated that other Egyptian gods could appear in Moon Knight on Disney+. Ethan Hawke is playing the villain Arthur Harrow, an evil doctor who tried to continue experiments by scientists during the Holocaust. However, the trailer hinted that the Marvel Cinematic Universe will take Harrow in a new direction with his cane with two crocodile heads. This implies that Harrow might be Ammut.
Or he could be working for Moon Knight and Khonshu’s longtime enemies Amon Ra, the God of the Sun, and his servant, the Sun King. Ra is Khonshu’s father, but they have been at war for millennia using their avatars Moon Knight and Sun King. Ra is also known as the Elder God Atum, who would become the Demogorge, the god-eater.
It is also rumored that Anubis, the God of the Dead, and Osiris, the ruler of Ennead, could also show up at some point in the Moon Knight series.
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Who are Marvel’s Elder Gods?
The Elder Gods are one of the most significant pantheons in Marvel Comics. And they are set to make a major debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. They have been teased since the Darkhold was introduced in WandaVision. These extradimensional demonic beings are also known as the Many-Angles Ones and the Great Old Ones.
Based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, they are monstrous beasts that exist outside of Reality. And it looks like as the walls of the Marvel Multiverse break down, they will start entering the main Marvel Universe. The trailer already revealed that Elder God Shuma-Gorath (called Gargantos in the MCU to avoid copyright issues) will attack America Chavez/Miss America (Xochitl Gomez).
Will Chthon appear in Doctor Strange 2?
The big-name rumored to show in Multiverse of Madness is Chthon. Chthon created the Darkhold and is deeply connected to the Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). Chthon, created by Marv Wolfman, Bill Mantlo, and Yong Montano, first battled the Avengers in Avengers #186 (1979). He was the first of the Elder Gods.
After the Elder Gods were corrupted and banished from the Earth, Chthon continued to influence humanity through the Darkhold. He eventually used Wanda as his vessel to be reborn on Earth and is the source of her powerful Chaos magic.
Wanda has been using the Darkhold since the end of WandaVision to find her twin sons Billy and Tommy. Now, her travels through the Marvel Multiverse put her at risk of falling to Chthon and becoming the MCU’s next big villain.
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What other gods are lurking in the MCU?
While Mephisto is technically not a god, he was created by the death of the Elder gods. When Demogorge, or Ra from Moon Knight, killed the Elder Gods who did not escape like Chthon, he created three demons: Thog, Satannish, and Mephisto. And Mephisto has been hinted at since the start of WandaVision, and Marvel fans are convinced he could still show up in Phase Four.
And Marvel introduced one of the most powerful beings in the Universe without much fanfare. WandaVision introduced Scarlet Witch’s son Billy. Also known as William Kaplan, Wiccan, his power exceeds even Wanda’s. At the beginning of the universe, there was the Demiurge. The sentient life force of the Earth created the Elder Gods, like Chthon and Khonshu.
During the Young Avengers, it was revealed that Billy was destined to become Demiurge. And his fellow Young Avenger, America Chavez, was born in a dimension called the Utopian Parallel that exists inside the Demiurge. Does this make an abundance of sense? No, but it doesn’t have to because comics.
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Is Odin More Powerful than Thor?
Marvel fans should be used to cosmic gods. The Asgardians are the Norse Gods and were introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Thor (2011). However, the question is, among the powerful gods of Asgard, who is the most powerful.
Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is the trickster god who uses his magic and shapeshifting to cause mischief for his family. Hela (Cate Blanchett) gave her brothers a run for their money. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) claims he is the strongest Avenger, but he may not even be the most powerful god on his world.
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What are Thor’s Powers?
Thor possesses superhuman strength, speed, agility, durability, and immunity to most diseases. His greatest weapon, Mjolnir, has power over storms and can generate energy blasts known as anti-force. Thor uses Mjolnir to summer rain, wind, lightning, and thunder. But as seen in Ragnarok, he is not the God of Hammers, but the God of Thunder and Thor learns to control this power without Mjolnir and uses his new hammer, Stormbreaker.
However, in Marvel Comics, Thor’s powers are much more nuanced. This will be hinted at in Thor: Love and Thunder. Thor’s powers are tied to his worthiness, and he lost his powers when he loses the ability to wield Mjolnir. This is what allowed Jane Foster to take up the mantle of the Mighty Thor. Odin had enchanted the hammer, which reads, “Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”
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What are Odin’s powers?
Odin (Anthony Hopkins) is most likely the most powerful Asgardian. The King of Asgard wields the Odinpower, also known as the Odin Force. This is how he can bestow powers on the other gods and take them away in the case of Thor. However, in Marvel Comics, when Thor became the King of Asgard, he gained the ability to control the Odinpower.
It does not seem like the Odinpower will be passed to the new King of Asgard in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). Odin was able to overpower Hela and trap her in another dimension until his death. It took Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, and Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) destroying Asgard to stop Hela a second time.
However, there could be a new, more powerful threat to the gods of the Marvel Universe – Gorr the God Butcher.
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Who is Gorr the God Butcher?
Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman from Christopher Nolan’s Batman) will make his Marvel debut in Thor 4 as Gorr the God Butcher. Gorr first appeared in Thor: God of Thunder #2 (2012) by Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic. He suffered tremendously and lost his entire family. He vowed revenge upon realizing gods were real and never answered his prayers for help.
He took the All Black Necrosword from the symbiote god Knull. His quest for vengeance would bring him to battle Thor, and he was responsible for Thor becoming unworthy of Mjolnir. He was trapped inside All-Black until King Loki released him.
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What other gods would appear in ‘Love and Thunder’
Gorr the God Butcher is reported to have eyes set on more than the Asgardian gods. The Wakandan goddess Bast is rumored to appear in Thor 4, played by Akosia Sabet. The panther god worshiped by characters like T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) is another Ennead like Khonshu. She is another child of Ra though she and the Moon God are said to be cousins.
Fans of Chloe Zhao’s Eternals (2021) want more of the Eternals who have posed as gods throughout human history. It was revealed that Thor has previously met at least some of the Eternals like Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) and Sprite (Lia McHugh). Perhaps they could return to help fight Gorr as well.
Let us know in the comment which Marvel god is your favorite.