Warning: The following contains spoilers for recent the recent Darkhold one-shots, including Darkhold Omega, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Marvel's Darkhold series wrapped up recently with Darkhold: Omega (by Steve Orlando, Cian Tormey, Jesus Aburtov and Clayton Cowles). The series featured a few superheroes getting sent into terrifying alternate timelines by reading the tome of the Darkhold, essentially functioning as a loosely connected group of horror one-shots.
As a result of this, some of the heroes of the Marvel Universe were transformed into macabre versions of themselves. Here are a few of the most grotesque remakes that have been unleashed across the span of the Darkhold stories.
The Vampiric Transformation of the Avengers' Blade
In Darkhold: Blade (by Daniel Kibblesmith, Federico Sabbatini, Rico Renzi and Clayton Cowles), half of Earth's population has been turned into vampires. The change has affected everyone's favorite Daywalker and former vampire hunter Blade as well, with him now turning his attention toward the human population.
In this world, even Blade is turning into a full vampire. Although he injects himself with a serum to prevent the complete metamorphosis, his increased rage leads him to hunt both humans and vampires alike. By the end of the issue, he establishes himself as the de facto king of New York, with his eyes set on conquering the rest of the world.
The Plight of the Amazing Spider-Man
Darkhold: Spider-Man (by Alex Paknadel, Dio Neves, Jim Charalampidis and Clayton Cowles) doesn't feature any horrific mutations for Peter Parker, but the content of his universe is deeply upsetting. Due to an event called the Unraveling, the world and it's inhabitants are literally coming apart at the seams. Gwen Stacy is Peter's wife in this timeline, but he can barely make time for her, as his responsibility to the world is greater than ever before.
The cracks in New York's foundation are now held together entirely by his web fluid, and since the formula dissolves, every single day he has to re-web the city. When this Spider-Man reemerges in Darkhold: Omega, he's grown an additional four eyes, but the cause of this is never clarified.
The Horrifying Transformation of the Fantastic Four's Reed Richards
Although he did not receive his own Darkhold issue, Mister Fantastic's appearance in Darkhold: Spider-Man was probably the most disturbing part of the issue. The great unraveling dissolved his entire team, and without his family to hold him together, Richards completely gives up on maintaining the illusion of a human body. His first appearance in the issue displays him as a pile of organs with a skull on top.
According to Reed, letting loose with his organic composure allows him to enhance his cognitive abilities. This holds up, as the Reed Richards of the ultimate universe permanently stretched his head to achieve the same effect. The conclusion of the issue sees Reed stretched beyond his limit, with his body stretched to an agonizing degree to tie the entire city together.
The Flesh-Eating Armor of Iron Man
Even though the distorted flesh of Reed Richards is pretty disturbing, the Tony Stark showcased in Darkhold: Iron Man (by Ryan North, Guillermo Sanna, Ian Herring and Clayton Cowles) takes it a step further. In this reality, Tony's entire body was scarred, and his suit repairs and replicates his damaged tissue. As he continues to makes upgrades to the armor, it becomes harder and harder for him to remove the suit.
By the end of the issue, Stark has given up any hope of being healed. Even worse, the suit has become a part of his anatomy. Much like the Doctor Octopus of the Raimi-verse, the suit appears to communicate with him. Beneath the shell of the Iron Man armor, Tony Stark has been reduced to a goopy puddle of skin and muscle threaded with wires. Richards may have been gross, but Stark's fusion of gristle and metal is downright nauseating.