The combatants returned just in time for those assembled to succeed and rid the planet of vampires.but only for a time as the spell was later undone.Īnd that’s just one example of the might of the text within the Book of the Damned.

To implement the spell, he recruited Wong, Hannibal King, Frank Drake, and Blade to help him retrieve the book from its new hiding place: Baron Mordo's castle. After a bloodcurdling battle with the vampire in present reality, Strange took him to another plane, which gave the others time to concoct the Montesi Formula. This time, Dracula did not just want to use his own power, but that of the ancient book.Īfter a failed attempt to steal the tome from Avengers Mansion, Strange learned of a spell kept in the Darkhold called the Montesi Formula that could rid the whole world of vampires. One of Doctor Strange's deadliest brushes with the Darkhold was when Dracula reemerged to cause trouble for the Sorcerer Supreme-and all of Earth-in DOCTOR STRANGE (1974) #59-62. In the 1920s, a group of archaeologists were rendered insane when they tried to translate hieroglyphics relating to the book. The intrigue surrounding the book hasn’t died down in more recent times. Dracula sent a thief to steal it from him, but that didn’t exactly go as planned-and the sorcerer Cagliostro ended up with it instead. By the Middle Ages, Mephisto was using it to imprison a demon named Darklove.īy the 17th century, the Vatican had custody of the book. In the following centuries, the book was passed through the hands of sages, priests, and scholars. But, as one would expect of a creature of the night, Varnae turned on his creators when they tried to command him and used the book to start creating more vampires. Doom’s followers, the Darkholders, then used a spell from the book to create Varnae, the first vampire. Back when Atlantis was still above water, a warrior named Kull killed the dark sorcerer Thulsa Doom. For example, it was used to create the first vampire. It’s a well-traveled book, and it has been at the center of more than its fair share of dramatic episodes over the centuries.

The dark prophecy series