Shuma Gorath, the Lovecraftian Marvel Entity, made an appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but with a different name. The multiverse was extensively explored in the eagerly anticipated Doctor Strange sequel after the idea was first hinted at in Loki and used as a major plot device in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Not only did Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) appear in various variations in Doctor Strange 2, but other multiversal characters from Marvel Comics were also featured, including the fearsome Shuma Gorath, a demon with tentacles.
Gorath is referred to as one of the “Great Old Ones” in the source material, a group of evil multiversal monsters that predate the world itself and are all modelled after various Lovecraftian creatures. A few of the Old Ones, including Gorath, decided to settle on Earth a million years ago and feast on the cavemen until Sise-sorcery Neg’s drove them from the planet. Gorath appears frequently throughout the rest of Marvel history, generally as a foe, for Doctor Strange.
Shuma Gorath, the tentacled creature from Marvel, is, regrettably, referred to in Doctor Strange 2 as Gargantos rather than by his comic-accurate moniker in the MCU. This is a first for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which has always used the characters’ original names from the comics, regardless of how strange they might sound to the general audience. The underlying intent for the name change was to avoid legal issues with Conan Comics, which published a character by the same name before Marvel did.
Why Marvel Studios Couldn’t Use The Name Shuma Gorath In Doctor Strange 2
Although Shuma Gorath made his Marvel debut in Marvel Premiere #10 from 1973, Robert E. Howard first used the Lovecraftian moniker in his Conan short story The Curse of the Golden Skull from 1967. In light of this, Marvel may have decided to use the name Gargantos rather than Shuma Gorath in order to avoid any needless legal battles (particularly given how little Gargantos/Gorath really accomplished in the film). The tentacle creature Gorath from the comics inspired that Strange and Wong battle in Doctor Strange 2 is strikingly similar to it. As a result, it appears to be Shuma Gorath using a new name rather than the comic book character Gargantos. However, considering that “Gargantos” was defeated inside the first hour of Multiverse of Madness and had little to do with the plot of the movie, none of this has really mattered much. The creature’s MCU future is currently unclear but appears bleak.
Marvel Studios undoubtedly wants to avoid any potential legal challenges over character rights after the legal disputes with the Jack Kirby estate, particularly when it comes to the MCU. In order to avoid any potential legal disputes with the Robert E. Howard estate regarding the name Shuma-Gorath, the multiversal being was renamed to Gargantos. Even though Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may not have fully exploited the character, Marvel Studios is now covered legally in the event that he ever reappears. However, it appears that Disney’s lawyers may now rest comfortable since the creature was rather promptly enucleated with a spear and disappeared.
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