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Stephen Strange (Earth-616)

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This page is similar in name or subject to other pages.

See also Stephen Strange, Doctor Strange, Captain Universe for a complete list of references to distinguish between these closely named or closely related articles.

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Current Alias

Aliases
Master of the Mystic Arts, Master of Black Magic, Dr. Stephen Sanders, Captain Universe, Vincent Stevens, Sorcerer Supreme, Red Rajah

Identity

Alignment

Affiliation
New Avengers, Defenders, Midnight Sons, secretly a member of the Illuminati, Formerly The Order, Secret Defenders, former disciple of the Ancient One

Relatives
Eugene (father, deceased), Beverly (mother, deceased), Victor (Khiron, brother, apparently deceased), Donna (sister, deceased), Clea (wife, estranged), Umar (mother-in-law), Orini (father-in-law), Dormammu (uncle-in-law)

Universe


Characteristics
Gender

Height


Eyes

Hair

Unusual Features
Hair is white at his temples

Status
Citizenship

Marital Status

Occupation
Sorcerer Supreme of the Earth dimension, occult consultant; formerly physician, neurosurgeon

Education
Medical doctorate; extensive sorcery training

Origin
Origin
Taught the Mystical Arts by the Ancient One

Place of Birth


First appearance

History


Early Life

Stephen Strange was born to Eugene and Beverly Strange in 1930 while the couple was vacationing in Philadelphia. In 1932 Stephen's sister Donna was born at the family's Nebraska farm. Knowing that Strange was destined to become the next Sorcerer Supreme, resentful apprentice sorcerer Karl Mordo beset the child with demons from the age of eight, and on throughout his youth. Ultimately Strange was rescued by Mordo's master, the Ancient One, mystic protector of the Earth-realm as the current Sorcerer Supreme. A year or two after this torment began, Stephen's brother, Victor, was born. At age eleven Strange aided an injured Donna, an experience which ultimately fostered an interest in medicine. Strange entered New York College as a pre-med directly out of high school. Later, while home on vacation for his nineteenth birthday, Strange was swimming with Donna when she suffered a cramp. After a frantic search Stephen found her already drowned. The experience left him with a sense of personal failure that eroded his medical idealism.

Contents


Medical Life

Stephen earned his medical degree in record time and entered a five-year residency at New York Hospital, where his rapid success made him arrogant. Stephen's mother Beverly died near the end of his residency, and work became more and more impersonal for the bereaved surgeon. Strange's talent remained, however, and he became a wealthy and celebrated neurosurgeon before he turned thirty. Egotistical and greedy, cold and callous, Strange's interest in his patients generally began and ended at his bill. The exception was Madeleine Revell, an injured United Nations translator whom he saved and fell in love with. Following a whirlwind romance and proposal, she left him due to his increasingly materialist nature. Two years after his mother's death, Strange's father, Eugene also fell ill. Already crippled by grief over his mother's death (though he would never admit it), Stephen was unable to face any more tragedy, and refused to visit Eugene's deathbed. A few days later, an outraged Victor confronted Stephen in his apartment over his apparent lack of grief. Following the confrontation, Victor rushed from the apartment and into the path of an oncoming car. Victor died, and a guilt-wracked Stephen placed Victor's body in cold storage, half-hoping that future breakthroughs could revive him.

Blue tights never looked so good.
Blue tights never looked so good.

Car Accident

Around 1963, Strange was involved in a debilitating car accident. Though surgeons were able to save Strange, the nerves in his hands were severely damaged. With his surgical career over and too vain to accept positions as a consultant or assistant, Strange exhausted his fortune following every rumored treatment, no matter how legitimate. In a matter of months the once wealthy surgeon became a derelict, and resorted to performing a number of shady medical procedures to survive (and pay his growing bar tabs). Strange's guilt over the mistakes of his early life would come to weigh heavily upon him over the years, and his recollections of the time cannot always be trusted.

Seeking the Ancient One

After hearing rumors of the mystical Ancient One, Strange pawned his last possessions for a ticket to the East. Strange found the Ancient One's Tibetan palace, but the aged sorcerer refused to cure him. Annoyed, Strange later bore witness to a mystical attack by Mordo, the Ancient One's own pupil. Though Mordo mystically prevented Strange from warning the Ancient One, the sorcerer was able to fend off the attack nevertheless. Strange then learned that the Ancient One was the Sorcerer Supreme, mystical defender of the whole world; for the first time in years Strange acted selflessly, and vowed to learn magic himself so that he could counter Mordo and aid the Ancient One. Aware of Mordo's treachery the whole time, the Ancient One accepted Strange as a disciple.

Strange spent years under the Ancient One's tutelage, learning to tap the innate mystic powers of himself and the world around him, as well as how to invoke the powers of Principalities, powerful beings such as Dormammu, Satannish, and the Vishanti, who resided in their own mystic realms. A few years after Strange's arrival, Mordo left the Ancient One's palace to seek greater power. The two rivals would clash often in the future. It was during this time that Strange passed a test against Death itself. As a reward, Strange was given ageless life, and an ankh-shaped mark on his forehead that would only appear when his life was in dire jeopardy. The Ancient One himself had attained near-immortality by passing this test over 600 years earlier.

During his early years as a student of the mystic arts, Strange befriended many sorcerers around the world, including Lord Julian Phyffe and Sir Clive Bentley of Great Britain; Cardinal Alfeo Spinosa and Count Tancredo Carezzi of Italy; Omar Karindu, Rama Kaliph, and Turhan Barim of the Middle East; Wai Chee Yee and Sen-Yu of Asia; and Aleister Kane, Kenneth Ward, and Frank Brukner of America. Strange also found allies among more of earth's heroes, aiding the Black Fox in at least two adventures, while other adventurers, such as Immortalis and Terror, Inc., regarded him with skepticism.

It's not the size of your Eye of Agamotto, but how you use it.
It's not the size of your Eye of Agamotto, but how you use it.

Mystic Consultant

By the 1970s, Strange had returned to America and become a mystic consultant, establishing his Sanctum Sanctorum in New York's Greenwich Village. He was attended by Wong, latest in a centuries-old bloodline that had served the Ancient One, and who had became both Strange's servant and his friend. During this time Strange fought the demonic entities such as the Bottle Imp and KhLΘG. Strange also fought the otherworldly Nightmare, who fed upon dreaming humanity's terror, and became one of Strange's most bitter enemies. The mysterious doctor's reputation grew, and Strange even became an occasional consultant to local and federal authorities.

Superhero Career

When the debut of the Fantastic Four heralded the dawn of the Heroic Age, Strange initially remained aloof from New York's superhero community. At one point Loki, the Asgardian god of trickery manipulated Strange into attacking his heroic foster brother, Thor. The treachery was soon exposed, however, and the two united against Loki. Soon after, a clash with Mordo led Strange to ally with the young Spider-Man, who helped Strange rescue several people from a mystic dimension. The experience proved so traumatic that Spider-Man asked Strange to remove their memories of the event, though this caused them to forget Spider-Man's heroism as well. Impressed by the young hero's bravery and altruism, Strange came to regard him as a friend, and the two have teamed up many times over the years.

Doctor Strange kissing Clea.
Doctor Strange kissing Clea.

The Dread Dormammu, sensing his old adversary the Ancient One's declining power, soon challenged Strange to a mystic duel in his Dark Dimension as part of a larger plan to invade the Earth-Realm. While there, Strange was approached by Clea, a novice mystic and, though few knew it at the time, daughter of Dormammu's sister Umar. Clea feared that if Dormammu fell as ruler of the Dark Dimension, dimensional barriers would weaken and the realm would be ravaged by the Mindless Ones. Clea thus sought to prevent the duel, but Strange would not yield. Dormammu easily outmatched Strange, but in the process lost just enough of his energies that the Mindless Ones were able to invade. Seeking to save the Dark Dimension's denizens, Strange lent Dormammu enough power to restore the barrier. Enraged by his own weakness, Dormammu felt honor-bound to spare Strange, who in turn bargained with him to spare both the Earth-Realm and the attractive Clea. The vengeful Dormammu never forgot the humiliation, however, and has since became one of Strange's most implacable enemies.

Shortly after, Strange joined several superheroes in battle against the powerful mutate Sundown. Now more involved with the superhero community, he became a special consultant to prominent super-teams such as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the Avengers. Months after attending the wedding of Reed and Sue Richards, Strange was reunited with his own love, Clea, who came to live with him in New York.

Later, Strange was exiled to a hostile dimension by Asmodeus, who took the doctor's form in an attempt to catch the Ancient One by surprise. Prevented from returning to the Earth-Realm by metaphysical law so long as Asmodeus occupied his form, Strange adopted a new form with a full-face mask (perhaps emulating his superhero allies). After defeating Asmodeus, Strange retained the new appearance to preserve his anonymity. After carelessly revealing his name during a battle with Nightmare, the cosmic Eternity, whom Strange was aiding at the time, agreed to return Strange's anonymity by altering all relevant earthly documents and memories bearing the name “Stephen Strange” to “Stephen Sanders.”

Strange next resisted the invading Undying Ones, a race of demons that had once dominated the Earth, and were led by the infernal Nameless One. To face the onslaught, Strange manipulated Prince Namor of Atlantis and the monstrous Hulk into aiding him. With the Undying Ones defeated, Strange seemed to believe the world safe from further incursion. Strange was troubled by his arrogant exploitation of Namor and the Hulk, however, and decided to forego magic and return to medicine as a consultant, selflessly performing the duties once thought beneath him.

Strange's return to medicine lasted only a few weeks. After Baron Mordo tried to kill him, Strange returned to sorcery and defeated Mordo with the help of the Ancient One. The Ancient One, for reasons of his own, reversed Eternity's spell, restoring the name "Stephen Strange" to the world's records and memories. Shortly thereafter, the Nameless One returned and Strange donned his (non-masked) robes to confront the threat alongside Namor and the Hulk. Becoming friends despite their differences, the three were soon joined by the alien Silver Surfer to form the core of the Defenders, a loose-knit "non-team" that would reunite sporadically to meet threats against the Earth.

The Illuminati

Following the Kree-Skrull War, a number of Earth's most powerful heroes -- Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, |Professor X, Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, and Namor -- traveled to Skrullos to confront the Skrull King, informing him that the Earth was strictly off-limits. While the meeting predictably turned violent, the experience would provide the basis for the later establishment of the Illuminati. The secretive group of Earth's most influential heroes would meet only a few times, and only to tackle events of extraordinary importance.

Later Career

Strange came under attack by servants of the Old One Shuma-Gorath, a vast extradimensional entity who had ruled on Earth millenia ago, but was banished in the Hyborean era. Shuma-Gorath sought to return through the mind of the Ancient One himself, and Strange entered his mentor's mind to confront the creature. After fighting a losing battle, the Ancient One himself asked Strange to slay him rather than allow Shuma-Gorath passage to Earth. The Ancient One's physical death made him one with Eternity, and Strange inherited the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme, guardian of the entire universe. Seeking solace from his new burdens, Strange attempted to use his power to revive his brother Victor using spells from the Book of the Vishanti; unfortunately, Strange did not realize he had read the Vampiric Verses, imbuing Victor with the potential for resurrection as a vampire. Thinking the spells had failed, Strange left his brother's body in cold storage.

Strange continued his adventures with the Defenders, and over the months the informal team's ranks included beings such as the Asgardian Valkyrie, Brunnhilde, the winged millionaire Nighthawk, the happy-go-lucky Hellcat, and others. Though this pitted Strange against less magical foes (such as the mutant Magneto, the alien Nebulon, the subversive Sons of the Serpent, and the bizarre Headmen) the camaraderie of the team and the love of Clea gave Strange a welcome change from his customary solitude.

Larger than life!
Larger than life!

At one point, the trans-temporal sorcerers called the Creators manipulated the Ancient One's spirit into offering Strange a chance to become one with the universe. When Strange rejected the offer he was stripped of the mantle and power of Sorcerer Supreme. Strange soon joined battle with the Creators, defeating their ally, the In-Betweener, and thwarting their reality-reshaping plans. Their deception revealed, the Ancient One restored Strange's title; who, if anyone, assumed the title in the meantime is unknown. Though Strange's adventure took mere days from his perspective, weeks passed on Earth.

Months later, the mysterious alien Tribunals perpetrated a hoax that convinced the four founding Defenders that their alliance would eventually cause a cosmic tragedy, and the group was disbanded. It would be some time before the hoax was exposed. Strange soon lent aid to BorderLine Investigative Services (actually a band of vampire hunters) in confronting Dracula. At one point, Strange cast the Darkhold's famed Montesi Formula, a spell which destroyed all vampires within the Earth-Realm. The cryogenically stored body of Victor Strange, however, was passed over because it had been enchanted with the powers of the Book of the Vishanti. With the book ultimately being a tome of protection (even when applied to vampires), Victor's body survived.

Meanwhile, in the Dark Dimension, Clea had return to lead the rebellion against its current ruler Umar, whom she learned was her mother! Clea overthrew Umar and took the throne with Strange's help, but her responsibilities as ruler of the Dark Dimension and his as Sorcerer Supreme of the Earth-Realm meant the two would be forced to separate. Upon returning to Earth, however, Strange's role as Sorcerer Supreme was challenged by the covetous alien Urthona. At one point, the struggle against Urthona forced strange to destroy his own collection of talismans, tomes, and artifacts to prevent Urthona from take control of them. (It was later revealed that Agamotto, one of three Vishanti, had intervened, sequestering the collection away at the moment Strange seemed to destroy them.)

With the artifacts removed, the barriers between dimensions they had established weakened, and the Earth was assaulted by a number of once-pacified mystic threats. Strange met the threats with the extradimensional novice mystic Rintrah, and was eventually joined by Kaluu, an old rival of the Ancient One and master of life-draining black magic. Weakened by the loss of his artifacts, Strange reluctantly accepted Kaluu's offer to teach him the black arts. These skills served Strange well when confronted with the return of Shuma-Gorath, whom Strange fought on one of his home planes. The power required to defeat Shuma-Gorath corrupted Strange, to the point where he merged with the evil demon-god. After inducing the merged creature to commit suicide, both Shuma-Gorath and Strange's own ego were destroyed. Kaluu guided Strange's spirit back to Earth, slowly restoring Strange's ego as he burnt off the taint of Shuma-Gorath's evil. Though this ultimately allowed the demon to reform in his home dimension, at least it had been prevented from returning to Earth. Shortly thereafter, Strange returned to the Dark Dimension and married Clea, who came to live with him on Earth. Strange took Rintrah as his new apprentice, and an apparition of Agamotto restored Strange's seemingly lost collection. With the collection restored, Earth seemed return to status quo.

It was at this point, however, that Victor Strange's body finally rose as a vampire, and ultimately fell under the sway of sorceress Marie LaVeau. LaVeau tried to coerce Strange into again reciting the Vampiric Verses, thereby nullifying the Montesi Formula, but Strange instead banished the page containing the Vampiric Verses page from the Earth-Realm. Nonetheless, LaVeau was able to use Victor as a template to duplicate the spell, making it possible for long-destroyed vampires to reappear.

Doing a wicked version of the Robot (dance).
Doing a wicked version of the Robot (dance).

Strange and Clea were soon drawn back to the Dark Dimension, as both Dormammu and Umar sought to reclaim the throne. Umar ultimately won, leaving Clea exiled on Earth. While Clea sough allies to mount an offensive, Strange and others were drawn up in the fight with an Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Thanos of Titan. The death-worshiping Thanos used the Gauntlet's immensely powerful Infinity Gems to attain omnipotence, and he eradicated half of the universe's population before the heroes defeated him and used the same power to undo the damage.

Strange soon formed alliances with other supernatural heroes, manipulating the formation of the Midnight Sons, a loose group including his vampire hunter allies, as well as Morbius, Ghost Rider, and Blaze among others. These warriors were actually the last in a long line of Midnight Sons, destined to confront the demonic scourges of Zarathos and Lilith. He also briefly tutored the young sorcerer Augustyne Phyffe, who ultimately chose to abandon sorcery. After sharing leadership of Earth's heroes against the Magus during the Infinity War, Strange teamed with Namor, the Hulk, and the Silver Surfer to battle Shanzar, the invading Sorcerer Supreme of another dimension.

Meanwhile, the Principalities of various mystic realms began summoning their devotees to serve them in the War of the Seven Spheres, a war between opposing magical entities expected to last five thousand years. When the Vishanti sought to enlist Strange, he refused, unwilling to abandon his earthly duties. Unable to resist them if called, Strange instead renounced use of their powers, stripping him of much of his power.

Strange was then attacked by an even more powerful Dormammu, who had manipulated Clea into deposing of Umar so that he could again rule the Dark Dimension. With the help of the Hulk, the Silver Surfer, and Ghost Rider, Strange was able to repel the dark lord, but he continued to rule the Dark Dimension, and Clea remained there to again lead the resistance. Strange soon after began recruiting Secret Defenders, ad hoc teams assembled to meet periodic threats to the Earth that he could not handle alone. Strange also sought the aid of Immortalis in curing his brother Victor, but was refused because no permanent cure was known. After Rintrah was slain while destroying a dangerous talisman, Strange placed his body in stasis pending a potential revival, and took Kyllian Kell, heir to ancient Celtic magic, as his new apprentice.

Strange was at one time abducted by the Goddess, who collected 33 of the most "spiritually-attuned" heroes in the universe to aid her in her Infinity Crusade, an attempt to purge the universe of evil. Mesmerized by the Goddess, Strange joined her crusade, and while his physical form served the her, he sent his astral form to keep tabs on his brother. By this time Victor Strange had adopted the identity "Khiron," a costumed hero and deadly vigilante. After realizing how violent he had become, Khiron chose to take his own life. After breaking free of the Goddess, Strange again fought Urthona, who had grown even more powerful by serving in the War of the Seven Spheres.

Psychic Chopsticks!
Psychic Chopsticks!

While tutoring his new, impatient apprentice, Kyllian was pulled into another dimension by a talisman. When Strange managed to find him, Kyllian refused to go, preferring to remain with Iskelior, a woman he met there. The bickering sorcerers were interrupted by the ancient sorceress Lilith, who began tearing down mystical barrier to allow her demonic offspring, the Lilin, passage to Earth. Kyllian remained behind to seal the dimensional tear, and Strange returned to Earth, promising to rescue Kyllian later. Joining the Midnight Sons, Strange confronted Lilith and her Lilin. At one point the Midnight Sons were menaced by a bloodlusting Morbius, while Wong's betrothed, Imei, was dying from the poisoned kiss of the Lilin Sister Nil. Strange chose to subdue Morbius' bloodlust, saving the most people possible, but allowing Imei to die. Furious, Wong left Strange, and would even try to kill him on later occasions. Eventually, the Midnight Sons were victorious, and the Lilin were sealed back away in another dimension. In the meantime, Kyllian was rescued by Modred the Mystic, and returned to Earth in the form of Wildpride, now more in control of his "animal magick," and bearing a grudge against the master he felt abandoned him.

Strange was later part of an international coalition of heroes opposing the techno-magical Mys-Tech, and was one of the six beings who stabilized the unraveling reality created by the clandestine group's "Un-Earth," A mystical replica they planned to use to control the real Earth.

Strange's again had to defend his tile as Sorcerer Supreme, this time from Salome, a winged member of the mysterious Blood race and allegedly the first Earth-born Sorcerer Supreme over 20,000 years ago. Salome easily reclaimed the mantle from a weakened Strange, and began gathering followers to help her rule the Earth. Unable to stand against Salome, Strange secluded himself in a pocket dimension, taking Sister Nil (the last of the Lilin remaining in the Earth realm) to record his actions and act as his assistant. From that dimension he dispatched two magical constructs based upon himself to tend to his earthly affairs. The first, Vincent Stevens, became a cunning businessman, and built a fortune with which to develop so-called technomagick. The other was a being called Strange, a masked figure who fought alongside the Midnight Sons and gathered artifacts for Strange to use against Salome. Strange also left leadership of the Secret Defenders to Doctor Druid, another of the Ancient One's pupils. Though Doctor Druid served as best he could, he was ultimately unable to lead the group.

Possessing few of his artifacts and mystically poisoned by Salome's dance, Dr. Strange realized that he would have to focus on developing his weakest discipline, elemental magic, in order to reclaim the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme. Dr. Strange had barely finished enhancing his sorcery when Stevens and Strange rebelled against him. Stevens was apparently destroyed in the resulting conflict, and Strange went to the Dark Dimension, where he merged with rebellion's Nobel as Paradox. Salome, meanwhile had enlisted Wong against his old master, claiming to have bound Imei's soul to the demon Xaos, and promising a full resurrection in exchange for his service. Later, Strange would show Wong that Salome had been deceiving them, and that Imei was truly dead. Wong gained some closure when Strange took him to visit her in the afterlife, and the two eventually reconciled. This time, however, Wong joined Strange as an equal partner, and in many ways a brother, not a servant. Wong still refers to Strange as "Master" from time to time because, as he has said, "old habits are hard to break."

After using defeating Salome, Dr. temporarily assumed a younger, more violent persona as he began to track down and terminate the illegal operations established by Stevens. Dr. Strange was still cleaning up after Stevens when he was again summoned by Vishanti to served in the War of the Seven Spheres; unwilling to lose any more of his already diminished power, this time Strange complied. Although from his perspective Strange spent 5,000 years fighting for the Vishanti against their enemies, the Trinity of Ashes, only a few months passed on Earth by the time he returned. Strange's memories of the war have been largely suppressed, though he seems to have returned to his more mature, bearded appearance (It is unknown who, if anyone, served as Sorcerer Supreme during this time). Exhausted from the war, Strange turned to the use of unpredictable Catastrophe Magic to increase his power. He later claimed to have supplemented it with so-called Chaos Magic, though still later he would claim that there was no such thing. In any event, Strange eventually regained the patronage of the Principalities, and his power was restored to their height.

Image:Defenders Vol 3 4.jpg
and Strange.

The Dread Dormammu returned to attack Strange at this point, using the mutant Jonathon White and Strange's ally Topaz against the him. Strange drove off his old foe and magically guided another surgeon to save Topaz from Dormammu's attack. Strange then faced the return of his old enemy Yandroth, the techno-mage. Strange, Namor, Hulk, the Surfer united to oppose Yandroth's attacks on the Earth, but the four began to quarrel amongst themselves. Yandroth seemed to perish in the final conflict, and as final curse used Earth's magical energy to bind the Defenders together, forced to reunited against all future threats to Earth, regardless of their other concerns. Other former Defenders came to their aid at times, and though irked by the cause, was nonetheless touched to see the team reunited. The curse magnified the egos of the cursed quartet, however, until they became mentally unstable. They then became Order, seeking to end all threats to the Earth by taking control of it. Other heroes, including Clea, fought them, and the energies unleashed by the battle were harnessed to resurrect and further empower Yandroth. Coming to their senses, the Defenders stopped fighting, and Yandroth was reduced back to his human form, defeated, and imprisoned.

Shaken by the ordeal, Strange cut himself off from the superhero community, including his longtime friend Spider-Man. Strange made the idealistic mystic Topaz his fifth known disciple, but kept her at an emotional distance. When the power of the Kale family Book of Shadows unleashed the Hellphyr, a monster that attacked mystics, Topaz joined Jennifer Kale and Satana in meeting the threat. She ultimately decided to leave Strange's side to join the other two in guarding the tome.

Following the catastrophic mental break-down of Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange and Prof. Charles Xavier attempted to mend her shattered psyche and minimize the damage done by her reality-altering powers. Due to the interference of her brother, Quicksilver, they failed, resulting in the warping of reality known as "the House of M." During this time, Strange acted as a psychiatrist until Layla Miller restored his lost memories. He and other heroes found Wanda in Genosha and confronted her over her actions. Strange and Emma Frost attempted to protect the other heroes when Wanda restored reality and depowered nearly all mutants. They were partially successful, but Strange felt he had let the others down.

Afterwards, Strange recruited the mutant Dead Girl to help him investigate the Pathetic One's attempt to resurrect a number of hell-bound villains. During this time he came into conflict with the spirit of his old master, the Ancient One, who had apparently been relegated to a level of Hell for petty misuses of his power. Strange was able to neutralize the threat, and was merciful to his old master. While Strange enjoyed a brief flirtation with Dead Girl, Wong grew concerned over the Doctor's health, particularly his failing memory.

Recently, the Illuminati fractured over the treatment of the Hulk, who had been launched into space following a recent rampage, and Strange was forced to break up a fight between Iron Man and Namor. The Illuminati further split over the Superhuman Registration Act, perhaps for good. Perhaps due to the unpredictable, poorly understood nature of magic, Strange was one of the few "superheroes" with which the federal government wished to make a deal once the act passed. Since there is no requirement for him to register, Strange has mostly avoided conflict arising from the superhuman Civil War. Instead, he has focused on healing his old friend Wong, who Dr. Strange has recently learned is afflicted with an incurable cancer.

World War Hulk

When the Hulk returned to Earth, he sought revenge on those who sent him away, which included Strange. After the Hulk was almost calmed down by Rick Jones, Strange invaded the Hulk's mind, trying to find Bruce Banner. Strange was finally successful, and after hearing what had happened to the Hulk, he offered help and returned to physical form. When he did, Banner turned back into the Hulk and crushed Strange's hands. Back at the Sanctum Sanctorum, Strange drank a potion that invoked the power of Zom and became possessed by him. Strange defeated two of the Hulk's allies and appeared before him, with his hands replaced by spiked maces. Strange, barely able to control Zom, attacked the Hulk, actually being able to beat him. He then threw the Hulk into a building, which collapsed on the Hulk and some innocent bystanders. After seeing that the Hulk protected the bystanders, Strange began to doubt his new powers, and the Hulk viciously beat him and imprisoned him. Strange was later seen fighting alongside Black Bolt, Iron Man, and Mr. Fantastic in the Hulk's gladiatorial arena against a giant tentacle creature, against which they were victorious. The Hulk turned the tables on them and modified their obedience disks so that they would want to kill each other.


Powers and Abilities

Powers

Sorcery: Dr. Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme of the Universe; he has unparalleled mastery of the mystic arts, which he uses to defend his reality from otherworldly threats; his primary magical patrons are a group of entities known as "the Vishanti." The Vishanti are a trinity of godly beings comprised of Agamotto, Hoggoth, and Oshtur. Although he has, on rare occasions, called upon the power of the demon Dormammu, he no longer does so.

Doctor Strange is one of the most powerful sorcerers in existence. Like most sorcerers, he draws his power from three primary sources:
Personal Powers: As a result of his mystic training, Stephen is capable of a great many abilities such as:
  • Astral Projection
  • Telepathy
  • Hypnotism
  • Other Psychic Abilities
  • Longevity: Dr. Strange's lifespan has been extended in a manner similar to that of his mentor the Ancient One.
These are put in a separate category because he seems to perform these functions as a telepath would, not needing to manipulate magic to do it. These abilities can be amplified by mystic energy (as against Moondragon) and/or the Eye of Agamotto (done countless times) to afford Stephen incredibly powerful psychic abilities.
Universal Sources: By manipulating the ambient mystical energy of the universe, Dr. Strange can perform a great many functions. Commonly this is seen as:
  • Mystic Bolts
  • Transmutation
  • Telekinesis
  • Standard Shields
  • Conjuring of objects
  • Various other spells
He can also use this mystical energy to cast spells of a near infinite variety. These spells seem to be quicker to perform but lesser in power than spells using divine energy.

Divine Sources: Dr. Strange can channel energy from countless mystical beings in countless dimensions to empower his spells. This can take the form of standard spells ("Crimson Bands of Cyttorak") or just stating what he wants to occur and channeling some being to make it happen. It is unknown at this time what debt, if any, he incurs by invoking the powers that be. There is no quid pro quo, though some entities will feel he is obliged to heed their call when they need help in their conflicts as did the Vishanti.

Darkness of the Divine Conduit (Black Magic): By sheer force of will "take" the power of another entity. This does not require the use of a spell. He used this ability against Arioch and Shuma-Gorath. The fact that Stephen can do this is a testament to his incredible will-power and strength of mind. This is considered black magic and as such he rarely employs this. Also when taking the powers of celestial entities he absorbs the mind and assumes their duties and roles in the dimension in which they exist. If his will falters, he can lose all sense of self.

Although Dr. Strange primarily uses spells that are considered 'white magic', he will use spells from other disciplines such as black magic, elemental magic, and catastrophe magic when necessary.

Abilities

Doctor Strange is a skilled athlete and martial artist with substantial medical and magical knowledge.

Expert Occultist

Expert Surgeon: Though an expert surgeon, Strange's nerve-damaged hands prevent him from performing surgery except when supplemented by magic.

Martial Artist: Dr. Strange was trained in the martial arts used by Tibetan monks in Kamar Taj. He trains regularly with Wong and has been known to occasionally spar with other heroes.

Strength level

Normal human male with intensive regular exercise.

Weaknesses

None known.


Paraphernalia

Equipment: Normally wears the Cloak of Levitation, the Eye of Agamotto, and the Orb of Agamotto. He possesses a wide array of arcane texts, artifacts, and relics.
Transportation: Dimensional teleportation using spells.
Weapons: When necessary, Dr. Strange will use magical weapons that he has collected.


Notes

Sorcerous phrases

Co-creator and longtime original scripter Stan Lee wrote many alliterative exclamations and incantations that Dr. Strange would utter. Lee and later writers often created characters and storylines based on these casually created phrases.

Appearances in other media

Film

  • Doctor Mordrid (1992), a film starring Jeffrey Combs as the titular hero, was originally developed as a feature film by Full Moon Entertainment about Dr. Strange. However, rights to the character and name were lost, and the movie was reworked -- though fans of the comics character can easily see the similarities.
  • In Spider-Man 2, J. Jonah Jameson tries to find a nickname for Otto Octavius, and considers "Doctor Strange" but then comments that there is already someone going by that name.

Television

  • A made-for-TV movie version of Dr. Strange ran on CBS in 1978. It was directed by Phil DeGuere and starred Peter Hooten as Dr. Strange. In many ways more faithful to the original character than the other Marvel Comics adaptations of the period, the movie nonetheless changed some of the supporting characters.
  • In 1997 Doctor Strange made a guest-appearance in the cartoon series The Incredible Hulk (1996 TV series). The episode was titled Mind Over Anti-Matter in which Doctor Strange and She-Hulk went into the mind of Bruce Banner when he is possessed by an evil outside force.
  • Dr. Strange is to be the fourth direct-to-DVD movie project from Marvel to be released early 2007 (the first three are Ultimate Avengers, Ultimate Avengers 2 and Iron Man). There is a 2 minute preview of the Dr. Strange movie on the Ultimate Avengers 2 DVD.

Video games

  • Doctor Strange is in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance as a playable character. In his simulator disk, Doctor Strange travels to Mephisto's Realm to find Clea and protect her from Baron Mordo.

Other

  • Dr. Strange and the Fantastic Four are mentioned in the song "Superbird" on the album "Electric Music for the Mind and Body", by Country Joe and the Fish (Vanguard VSD 79244; released January 1967).
  • Strange is also mentioned in Pink Floyd's song "Cymbaline" on the album More (released July 27, 1968), and in T. Rex song "Mambo Sun" on the album Electric Warrior (released September 1971).
  • Dr. Strange appears on the cover of Pink Floyd's album A Saucerful of Secrets (released June 29, 1968), and on the covers of the Al Stewart albums Past Present and Future (levitating into a dimensional portal) and Modern Times.
  • Allusions to Dr. Strange appear in Tom Wolfe's non-fiction book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968). Wolfe himself made a cameo appearance in Dr. Strange Vol 1, #180 (May 1969).
  • In Jean-Luc Godard's film Sympathy for the Devil (1968), the camera pans across a Dr. Strange comic in the leftist bookstore.
  • Doctor Strange (1978), a TV-movie pilot for a possible television series, aired on the CBS network. Peter Hooten played the title role.


Trivia

  • No trivia.



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Retrieved from "http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Stephen_Strange_%28Earth-616%29"
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