DARKHOLD DWARF

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Demon

Occupation: Acolyte of the Darkhold

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Agent of Chthon (aka. the Other), Chthonic Brotherhood (Brother Gregori, others); users of Darkhold pages (Harvestor/Johnny Farmer, Mr. Hayward, Mercy/Norman Zachos, Aurora Poule, Samantha Regent, Reverend Styge/James Sharp, Sarrah Roberts, Spider-X/Brian Kornfield, Morton Thurnton, Clarice Van Ripper, Donald J. Walsh, Lt. Frank West, others)

Enemies: Darkhold Redeemers (Sam Buchanan, Louise Hastings, Jinx/William Hastings, Modred the Mystic), Ebony, Agatha Harkness, Midnight Sons (Blade/Eric Brooks, John Blaze, Frank Drake, Doctor Strange/Stephen Strange, Ghost Rider/Dan Ketch/Noble Kale, Hannibal King, Morbius, Vengeance/Michael Badilino), Huitzilopochtli, Vittorio Montesi, New Warriors (Haechi/Mark Sim, Hummingbird/Maria Aracely de las Heras, Justice/Vance Astrovik, Speedball/Robbie Baldwin, Scarlet Spider/Kaine, Sun Girl/Selah Burke, Water Snake/Faira Sar Namora), Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Thor (Odinson), Wong

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Dwarf

Base of Operations: Realm of Chthon, mobile on Earth

First Appearance: (In vision) Ghost Rider III#28 (August, 1992); (real appearance) Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#1 (October, 1992)

Powers/Abilities: The Dwarf is able to magically transport anywhere at will. He typically appears anywhere a page of the Darkhold is to be found. He influences people in an effort to get them to use a page out of the Darkhold, thus damning their souls.

The Dwarf does not usually engage in any direct assaults, preferring to manipulate others. He may or may not be able to access the mystic energy of Chthon. He is influenced by ambient magic, as was the case when Victoria Montesi herself accessed a page of the Darkhold.

The Dwarf does not suffer from any human limitations, such as the need for air, water, food, warmth, etc. It is unlikely that he can be injured by any conventional means.

Height: 3'6"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Eyes: Variable
Hair: Black

History:
The origins of the Dwarf are unrevealed. He is almost certainly either a creation of or a demon in the employ of Chthon.

In recent years, he has been dispatched to Earth to convince others to utilize the pages of the Darkhold. Chthon gains power when the pages are accessed, and so the Dwarf attempts to convince others that they will benefit from using the page.

The Dwarf's efforts were opposed by the Darkhold Redeemers, who tried to prevent the use of any of the pages. However, despite this, the Dwarf succeeded in convincing one of their own, Victoria Montesi, to use one of the pages. The Dwarf also convinced another Midnight Son, Blade, to use one of the pages.

(Ghost Rider III#28 - BTS) - Lilith showed Dan Ketch's spirit a vision that included the Darkhold Redeemers and the Dwarf.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#1) - The Dwarf appeared in Donald J. Walsh's office with a black envelope addressed to Walsh, who was on the phone. Walsh got angry at the Dwarf because he didn't know how he made it past his secretary and had no interest representing him. The Dwarf offered him the envelope with a Darkhold page inside and vanished right after Walsh took it. Walsh was sure it was just another attempt of his wife to serve him divorce papers.

BTS - Walsh used the page to gain immortality only to be transformed into Chameleon Worms.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#1 (fb)) - The Dwarf delivered a black envelope with a Darkhold page to paralyzed children serial killer Clarisse Van Ripper. The Dwarf offered her a chance to feel and walk again and she took it by summoning a demon with the Darkhold page that was under her control. Through the demon she was able to experience life again through it and start killing again.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#1) - The Dwarf appeared to arsonist Morton Thurnton, who was in the process of firebombing the Library of Congress in Washington DC. The Dwarf used a lighter in front of him and offered Morton something that would change his career.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#2) - The Dwarf delivered a black envelope with a Darkhold page to Thurnton, who was impressed by the Dwarf's lighter and immediately read the Darkhold page, which summoned the Hellhound to help him track down a Gamma Bomb.

   Wearing a white suit the Dwarf later hitched a ride to the town of Perfection, South Carolina. He told the man that took him close to Perfection that he was part of the Census Bureau and was going to readjust the town's residential figures.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#3) - The Dwarf delivered a black envelope with a Darkhold page to Aurora Poule's desolate home on the outskirts of Perfection near the old quarry. She told him that she couldn't read, but he convinced her to just say what she felt and it worked. The Other appeared and Aurora chose beauty over vengeance, but later changed her mind after another attack on her and chose revenge.

BTS - The N'Garai attacked Perfection.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#4) - The Dwarf delivered a black envelope with a Darkhold page to Reverend Styge at his office in the Church of Resurrection in Brooklyn, New York. Styge read the page and he received the power to actually resurrect people.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#5 - BTS) - Styge used his power to resurrect the criminal Speakeasy and was in awe that the Dwarf's gift really worked.

   Agatha Harkness presented the results of her investigation into the resurfacing of the lost Darkhold pages and showed them to Doctor Strange through the Orb of Agamotto. She determined that in all events connected to the pages the Dwarf, Victoria Montesi, Sam Buchanan and Louise Hastings were involved and needed to be dealt with.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#1/2) - Dressed in prison gear the Dwarf delivered a black envelope with a Darkhold page to incarcerated serial killer Mercy (Norman Zachos). The Dwarf promised to Mercy that he would see things in a whole new light after reading the page aloud. Mercy was sure it would reveal how the Dwarf could enter and leave his cell without being seen.

BTS - Mercy killed himself, but his spirit was still trapped in his body and became the victim of demons in the dark.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#6) - The Dwarf sat at the front desk of Hotel Aloha in Maui, Hawaii and prank-called Doctor Strange, but only got Wong on the phone. He then told World War II veteran Mr. Hayward to go right in to Mr. Fujisaki's office. After Hayward cussed at Fujisaki for not giving his grandson Bobby a job at the hotel, the Dwarf told him that a letter from his old war buddies had just arrived and handed a black envelope with a Darkhold page to Hayward. The Dwarf promised Hayward that it would bring back some memories.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#7 - BTS) - When the Darkhold Redeemers found Hayward on the beach as the source of an attack with ectoplasm creations on Maui, Louise asked him to show her how it all began and he created an image of the Dwarf handing him an envelope from the ectoplasm before he died.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#8) - On a plane from Maui to Los Angeles Sarrah Roberts fled to the toilet after embarrassing herself in front of the flight attendant. After finally turning on the light, she saw the Dwarf offering her a black envelope with a Darkhold page inside. He promised her that it would help her, but had no time to chat with her because he had to make another important delivery. The Dwarf flushed himself down the toilet.

BTS - Roberts gained the confidence through the Wish-Demon, which exited her body through her mouth and attacked the plane by granting all spoken wishes in a twisted way.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#8) - Sitting on a bench in the Public Gardens in Boston, Samantha Regent saw something falling from the sky. She found a black envelope with her name on it in the lake shortly after. The Dwarf was in the lake beneath the envelope, but Samantha didn't want to believe that she actually saw a face underwater looking at her when she picked up the envelope.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#2/2 (fb)) - The Dwarf was hiding in Lt. Frank West's locker in a Los Angeles Police Department precinct and delivered a black envelope with a Darkhold page to him. The Dwarf watched as West read the page and summoned the Other, who offered West something to help him beat the police brutality charges against him.

BTS - The demonic Troids gathered information on Attorney General Allen Torres to give West something to blackmail him and get the charges dropped. Until the end he was unaware that he had become the host of a Troid queen.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#2/4) - In a special terminal ward the Dwarf appeared on the heart screen monitor of legally brain dead patient Johnny Farmer, who recently became a victim of Ghost Rider's Penance Stare, at the moment Farmer awakened. The Dwarf floated out of the heart monitor with a black envelope containing a Darkhold page and offered it to Farmer. He promised it would grant him the health and strength to gain his revenge if he read it out aloud. The Dwarf then floated away.

BTS - The Darkhold page turned Farmer into the Harvestor.

(Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#13) - The Dwarf watched the Nine (Midnight Sons) walk separate ways after Louise Hastings sacrificed her soul to stop Switchblade (Blade empowered by the Demogorge spell from the Darkhold) by using a counter-spell from the Darkhold to rob Switchblade of his powers and resurrect his victims. The Dwarf overheard Blaze talk about the events as a victory, but the Dwarf already knew that more terrible things were coming because the end of the Nine's alliance not only led to the return of Lilith and the rebirth of the Lilin, but also the fall of the walls between dimensions. He was eagerly awaiting what would come next.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#12) - When Modred arrived in London he got tripped by the Dwarf, who mocked his lack of a soul and offered him a black envelope with a Darkhold page that would allow him to regain his soul.

   Lounging on an angel statue in a graveyard the Dwarf watched the ruined abbey where Modred had once again offered his soul to Chthon to save his beloved Lady Janice, whom he had tricked to offer her soul to Chthon because he didn't recognize her aged form. The Dwarf knew that his work was not done yet because there were still two members of the Darkhold Redeemers with their souls intact.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#13 (fb)) - The Dwarf jumped out of the back of an ambulance at the Summertide Convalescent Home to finally meet face to face with Victoria Montesi, who was visiting her lover Nash at the clinic. The Dwarf had a black envelope with a Darkhold page inside a jar for Vicki and talked about Nash's unfortunate situation. Vicki caught the Dwarf in a headlock and he surrendered. He then told her about the Darkhold page that Vicki could use to save Nash, which unfortunately caught her interest.

BTS - She took the page and used it to. Though she gained healing powers, she didn't know that she only had those powers because the "Monstrosity" was murdering people and absorbing their life force, which Vicki could then use to heal others.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#13) - The Dwarf watched the "Monstrosity" kill a couple in a car in Long Island, New York and mocked them.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#3) - The Dwarf appeared in a depressed Spider-Man (Peter Parker)'s apartment and offered him a black envelope with a Darkhold page inside that would solve all his problems. Peter's Spider-Sense was tingling heavily.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#3/5 (fb)) - Peter declined the offer and the Dwarf cursed him and told him that he would just find another Spider-Man.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#3/5 - BTS) - The Dwarf offered the Darkhold page to Brian Kornfield, who idolized super heroes and craved revenge on his mother's mugger. He became the monstrous Spider-X.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#14) - Sam Buchanan was on the phone with Louise Hastings when the Dwarf appeared in his room in Louise's mansion in New Hope, Pennsylvania and offered him a black envelope with a Darkhold page inside. The Dwarf wanted to talk business with Sam.

BTS - Sam took the page, but didn't use it and instead went to sleep.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#14) - When Sam woke up, the Dwarf was still there, but fingers were growing out of his head and even Sam noticed that he didn't look well. The Dwarf was actually mad at Sam because he had still not used the Darkhold page that would make Vicki fall in love with him. Sam still didn't believe in magic and had no intention to force Vicki to fall in love with him. The Dwarf promised to make him use the page, but Sam surmised that there was no way the Dwarf could do this. The Dwarf angrily told him to live loveless before telling Sam that one of the Darkhold Redeemers would die soon. The Dwarf then vanished.

(Morbius: The Living Vampire I#13) - The Dwarf approached Morbius while he was talking to the Werewolf (Jack Russell) on the ledge of a building in New York City. He had eavesdropped on their conversation and told Morbius about a Darkhold page that could grant him his fondest desire. Unfortunately the Dwarf couldn't give him the page because it had already been ceased by the Darkhold Redeemers, but he knew that they kept it in their mansion in New Hope, Pennsylvania. The Dwarf then vanished.

   Morbius stole the page and used it to resurrect Martine Bancroft, who became possessed by the Parasite.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#16 - BTS) - The Dwarf was hiding from the Darkhold Redeemers while they visited the grave of Louise Hastings.

(Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#16) - He came out of hiding after everyone but Modred was gone and asked Modred why he had killed Truthsayer in Central America. Modred wasn't sure, but believed he did it to prevent Truthsayer to reveal the truth, whatever it was, about Victoria Montesi. The Dwarf then revealed to Modred that his assumption was correct that Victoria was created through a fertility Darkhold spell used by Vittorio Montesi, who was infertile. Therefore Victoria was the child of Chthon and the gateway to Chthon's dimension that powered the Darkhold pages in recent months. Unfortunately Chthon would prevent Modred from revealing the truth to Victoria because he was already back on Earth, growing inside Victoria's womb. Modred realized that the Malachy Prophecy talked about Victoria Montesi and was left behind in desperation by the Dwarf. On his way out of the cemetery to a well-deserved vacation the Dwarf offered a black envelope with a Darkhold page to...the reader.

(Morbius: The Living Vampire I#29) - The Dwarf appeared in Morbius' coffin during the latter's funeral to finally collect Morbius' soul for Chthon. He explained to Morbius' corpse that Martine was neither dead nor fully alive because Morbius had not paid yet with his soul. The Dwarf made fun of Morbius because Martine was so ungrateful for her current state and then resurrected Morbius because Chthon still wanted Morbius alive. Morbius then hit the Dwarf and he disappeared right after Morbius told him to tell Chthon that he can wait.

(New Warriors V#6) - Faira, who had found a Darkhold page in Mount Wundagore (the previous issue), dropped the page down a shaft. The Dwarf emerged from the page and approached Faira, who was the only one able to see him. The Dwarf manipulated her perception to get her to start a fight with Thor and cause a fight between him and the New Warriors. Faira tried to get rid of the Dwarf and attacked him, which was seen by Hummingbird, who used her telepathy to tap into Faira's mind to see what she saw and then revealed the Dwarf to everyone present. Hummingbird then stopped the Dwarf from possessing Thor when Huitzilopochtli took control over her and incinerated him.

SECRET WARS III HAPPENED

(Carnage II#8) - The Dwarf appeared to Carnage in Jakarta, Indonesia when the latter was looking for the whereabouts of Brother Gregori. He told Carnage to just call him the Darkhold Dwarf. He knew Carnage was looking for answers about the Darkhold, which was the reason why Carnage sought Brother Gregori. Carnage tried to attack the Dwarf when he turned his back on him, but to Carnage's surprise, the Dwarf used his powers to make the symbiote retreat. The Dwarf left while issuing a warning to Carnage that the Darkhold offers great rewards with greater risks and in the end uses the user.

(Carnage II#8 - BTS) - The Dwarf told Brother Gregori that Carnage was coming for him.

(Carnage II#8) - After Brother Gregori was informed at the docks of Jakarta Old Town by his men that three of them had gone missing and that the Red Slayer (Carnage) was hunting them like pigs, the Dwarf stepped out from the shadow to tell Gregori that Carnage was currently in Menteng Market and had the Darkhold with him. He asked Gregori to catch Carnage.

   The Dwarf was sitting on a shipping container and watched Victoria Montesi and her team learn that Carnage, after killing most of the cultists, had left with Brother Gregori on a ship called the Caspian Sea. Victoria decided to go after him, which made the Dwarf happy.

Comments: Created by Christopher Cooper and Richard Case.

I wonder if the page the Dwarf gave to Sam Buchanan in #13 was the page containing Darklove, which had been smuggled to New York City not that long before. The Darklove storyline over in Marvel Comics Presents ended around two months before the Darkhold story, so it seems possible.

The page Morbius used in Morbius: The Living Vampire I#13 was probably the same page Reverend Styge used in Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#4. The amount of pages seen in the Morbius story also made it look like the Darkhold Redeemers had redeemed more pages than we knew about from their adventures seen in Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins and Midnight Sons Unlimited.

His weight and weight were taken from his profile in Marvel Encyclopedia: Marvel Knights (April, 2004).

Clarifications:
The Darkhold Dwarf has no connection to:

images: (without ads)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#1, p1 (main)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#14, p14, pan1 (head shot)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#2, p23, pan5 (white suit)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#1/2, p2, pan2 (in prison clothes)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#2/2, p4, pan1 (in locker)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#2/4, p1, pan4 (on heart monitor)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#12, p5, pan4 (as a Bobby)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#3, p45, pan3 (as conscierge)
New Warriors V#6, p9, pan3 (appearing to Water Snake)
Carnage II#8, p4, pan4 (meeting with Carnage)

Appearances:
Ghost Rider III#28 (August, 1992) - Howard Mackie (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Joe Kubert (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#1-2 (October-November, 1992) - Chris Cooper (writer), Richard Case (pencils), Mark McKenna (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#3 (December, 1992) - Chris Cooper (writer), Tony Harris (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#4 (January, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Norman Felchle (pencils), Mark McKenna & Andrew Pepoy (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#5 (February, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Richard Case & Al Bigley (pencils), Mark McKenna & Ariane Lenshoek (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#6 (March, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Richard Case & Al Bigley (pencils), Stan Woch & Ariane Lenshoek (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#7 (April, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bud LaRosa (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#1 (April, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Klaus Janson (artist), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
   Story 2: Chris Cooper (writer), Joe Quesada (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#8 (May, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bud LaRosa (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#9-11 (June-August, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bob Downs (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#2 (July, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Dan Lawlis (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
   Story 4: Mort Todd (writer), Bart Sears (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#13 (August, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Adam Kubert (pencils), Joe Kubert, Dan Green, Klaus Janson & Frank Spinks (inks)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#12 (September, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bud LaRosa (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Morbius: The Living Vampire I#13 (September, 1993) - Gregory Wright (writer), Ron Wagner & Henry Martinez (pencils), Andrew Pepoy & Sam de la Rosa (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#3 (October, 1993) - Mort Todd (writer/pencils), Pat Redding (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
   Chapter 4: Mort Todd (writer), Ken Meyer Jr. (artist), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#13-15 (October-December, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bud LaRosa (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins#16 (January, 1994) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bob Downs & Malcolm Jones III (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Morbius: The Living Vampire I#29 (January, 1995) - Lisa Trusiani (writer), Craig Gilmore (pencils), Mike Witherby (inks)
New Warriors V#6 (August, 2014) - Christopher Yost (writer), Nick Roche (pencils/inks), David Baldeon (pencils), Jordi Tarragona (inks), Sana Amanat (editor)
Carnage II#8 (July, 2016) - Gerry Conway (writer), Mike Perkins (artist), Darren Shan (editor)

First Posted: 02/07/2002 (?)
Last updated: 10/31/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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