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Doctor Strange
Textless cover of Doctor Strange #2 (January 2016)
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Strange Tales #110 (July 1963)
Created by	Steve Ditko
In-story information
Full name	Stephen Vincent Strange
Species	Human
Team affiliations	Avengers Defenders Illuminati Infinity Watch Midnight Sons New Avengers The Order
Partnerships	Clea Wong Ancient One
Notable aliases	Master of the Mystic Arts[1] Master of Black Magic[2] Sorcerer Supreme[3] Strange Stephen Sanders Captain Universe Vincent Stevens Void[4]
Abilities	Utilizes mystical artifacts, such as the Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamotto Mastery of magic Gifted physician and surgeon Genius-level intellect Skilled martial artist

Doctor Stephen Strange is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Strange Tales #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorcerer Supreme, the primary protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats. Strange was introduced during the Silver Age of Comic Books in an attempt to bring a different kind of character and themes of mysticism to Marvel Comics.

The character starts as a brilliant but egotistically arrogant neurosurgeon who is injured in a car accident. Because his hands have severe nerve damage from the accident, he is told that current medical therapy and rehabilitation would not be enough to enable him to practice again as a surgeon. Unable to accept this prognosis, he travels the world searching for alternative ways of healing, which leads him to the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme. Strange becomes his student and learns to be a master of both the mystical and the martial arts. He acquires an assortment of mystical objects, including the powerful Eye of Agamotto and Cloak of Levitation, and takes up residence in a mansion referred to as the Sanctum Sanctorum, located at 177A Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City. Strange assumes the title of Sorcerer Supreme and, with his friend and valet Wong, defends the world from mystical threats.

In live-action adaptations, the character was first portrayed by Peter Hooten in the 1978 television film Dr. Strange. Since 2016, Benedict Cumberbatch has portrayed the role of Stephen Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Publication history[edit]

Creation[edit]

Artist Steve Ditko and writer Stan Lee have described the character as having been originally the idea of Ditko, who wrote in 2008, «On my own, I brought in to Lee a five-page, penciled story with a page/panel script of my idea of a new, different kind of character for variety in Marvel Comics. My character wound up being named Dr. Strange because he would appear in Strange Tales.»^[5] In a 1963 letter to Jerry Bails, Lee called the character Ditko’s idea, saying:

Well, we have a new character in the works for Strange Tales (just a 5-page filler named Dr. Strange) Steve Ditko is gonna draw him. It has sort of a black magic theme. The first story is nothing great, but perhaps we can make something of him— ’twas Steve’s idea and I figured we’d give it a chance, although again, we had to rush the first one too much. Little sidelight: Originally decided to call him Mr. Strange, but thought the «Mr.» bit too similar to Mr. Fantastic — now, however, I remember we had a villain called Dr. Strange just recently in one of our mags, hope it won’t be too confusing!^[6]

Early years[edit]

Doctor Strange debuted in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963),^[7] a split book shared with the feature «The Human Torch». Doctor Strange appeared in issues #110–111 and #114 before the character’s eight-page origin story in #115 (December 1963). His origin was later retold in Doctor Strange #169 (February 1968). Scripter Lee’s take on the character was inspired by the Chandu the Magician radio program that aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System in the 1930s.^[8] He had Doctor Strange accompany spells with elaborate artifacts, such as the «Eye of Agamotto» and the «Wand of Watoomb», as well as mystical-sounding vocabulary such as «Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!».^[9] Although these often referenced the names of established mythological beings, Lee has said he never had any idea what the incantations meant and used them simply because they sounded mystical and mysterious.^[10] Ditko showcased surrealistic mystical landscapes and increasingly vivid visuals that helped make the feature a favorite of college students at the time. Comics historian Mike Benton wrote:

The Dr. Strange stories of the 1960s constructed a cohesive cosmology that would have thrilled any self-respecting theosophist. College students, minds freshly opened by psychedelic experiences and Eastern mysticism, read Ditko and Lee’s Dr. Strange stories with the belief of a recent Hare Krishna convert. Meaning was everywhere, and readers analyzed the Dr. Strange stories for their relationship to Egyptian myths, Sumerian gods, and Jungian archetypes.^[11]

«People who read Doctor Strange thought people at Marvel must be heads [i.e., drug users],» recalled then-associate editor and former Doctor Strange writer Roy Thomas in 1971, «because they had had similar experiences high on mushrooms. But I don’t use hallucinogens, nor do I think any artists do.»^[12]

Originating in the early 1960s, the character was a predictor of trends in art prior to them becoming more established in the later counterculture of the 1960s. As historian Bradford W. Wright described:

Steve Ditko contributed some of his most surrealistic work to the comic book and gave it a disorienting, hallucinogenic quality. Dr. Strange’s adventures take place in bizarre worlds and twisting dimensions that resembled Salvador Dalí paintings. Inspired by the pulp fiction magicians of Stan Lee’s childhood as well as by contemporary Beat culture, Dr. Strange remarkably predicted the youth counterculture’s fascination with Eastern mysticism and psychedelia. Never among Marvel’s more popular or accessible characters, Dr. Strange still found a niche among an audience seeking a challenging alternative to more conventional superhero fare.^[13]

As co-plotter and later sole plotter in the Marvel Method of scripting, Ditko took Strange into ever-more-abstract realms. In a 17-issue story arc in Strange Tales #130–146 (March 1965 – July 1966), Ditko introduced the cosmic character Eternity, who personified the universe and was depicted as a silhouette filled with the cosmos.^[14] Golden Age of Comic Books artist/writer Bill Everett succeeded Ditko as artist with issues #147–152, followed by Marie Severin through #160 and Dan Adkins through #168, the final issue before the Nick Fury feature moved to its own title and Strange Tales was renamed Doctor Strange.^[15] Expanded to 20 pages per issue, the Doctor Strange solo series ran 15 issues, #169–183 (June 1968 – November 1969), continuing the numbering of Strange Tales.^[15][16] Thomas wrote the run of new stories, joined after the first three issues by the art team of penciler Gene Colan and inker Tom Palmer through the end.

After plans were announced for a never-released split book series featuring Doctor Strange and Iceman, each in solo adventures.^[17] Strange next appeared in the first three issues (December 1971 – June 1972) of the quarterly showcase title Marvel Feature. He appeared in both the main story detailing the formation of superhero team the Defenders,^[18] and the related back-up story. The character then starred in a revival solo series in Marvel Premiere #3–14 (July 1972 – March 1974).^[19] This arc marked the debut of another recurring foe, the entity Shuma-Gorath, created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Frank Brunner, who took over as the regular creative team starting with Marvel Premiere #10. Englehart and Brunner collaborated closely on the stories, meeting over dinner every two months to discuss the series, and their run became known for its psychedelic visuals and plots.^[20] In issues #8–10 (May–September 1973), Strange is forced to shut down the Ancient One’s mind, causing his mentor’s physical death. Strange then assumes the title of Sorcerer Supreme.^[21] Englehart and Brunner created another multi-issue storyline featuring sorcerer Sise-Neg («Genesis» spelled backward) going back through history, collecting all magical energies, until he reaches the beginning of the universe, becomes all-powerful and creates it anew, leaving Strange to wonder whether this was, paradoxically, the original creation. Stan Lee, seeing the issue after publication, ordered Englehart and Brunner to print a retraction saying this was not God but a god, to avoid offending religious readers. According to Frank Brunner, he and Englehart concocted a fake letter from a fictitious minister praising the story, and mailed it to Marvel from Texas. Marvel unwittingly printed the letter in Doctor Strange #3 and dropped the retraction.^[22]

Due to the growing number of Doctor Strange readers,^[20] the Marvel Premiere series segued to the character’s second ongoing title, Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts, also known as Doctor Strange vol. 2, which ran 81 issues (June 1974 – Feb. 1987).^[23] Doctor Strange #14 featured a crossover story with The Tomb of Dracula #44, another series which was being drawn by Gene Colan at the time.^[24] In Englehart’s final story, he sent Dr. Strange back in time to meet Benjamin Franklin.^[25]

1980s[edit]

Strange met his allies Topaz in #75 (February 1986) and Rintrah in #80 (December 1986). The series ended with a cliffhanger as his home, the Sanctum Sanctorum, was heavily damaged during a battle. Among the losses was Doctor Strange’s entire collection of mystic books and other important artifacts. As a consequence, Strange was now considerably weaker and several spells designed to protect humanity from vampires and the evil serpent god Set expired.

The title was discontinued so that the character’s adventures could be transferred to another split book format series. Strange Tales vol. 2, #1–19 (April 1987 – Oct. 1988) was shared with street heroes Cloak and Dagger. This new Doctor Strange series resolved Strange’s quest to reclaim his power and missing artifacts, as well as resurrecting the Defenders, who had died in the last issue of that team’s title.

1990s[edit]

Strange was returned to his own series, this time titled Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme, which ran 90 issues (November 1988 – June 1996).^[26] The initial creative team was writer Peter B. Gillis and artists Richard Case and Randy Emberlin, with storylines often spanning multiple issues. Strange lost the title of «Sorcerer Supreme» in issues #48–49 (Dec. 1992 – Jan. 1993) when he refused to fight a war on behalf of the Vishanti, the mystical entities that empower his spells. During this time the series became part of the «Midnight Sons» group of Marvel’s supernatural comics.^[27][28] Doctor Strange found new sources of magical strength in the form of chaos magic,^[29] as well as a magic construct he used as a proxy.^[30] He would form the Secret Defenders with a rotating roster of heroes,^[31] and reunite with the original Defenders. Strange regained his title in Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #80 (August 1995).

Strange appeared with the Human Torch and the Thing in the one-shot publication Strange Tales vol. 3, #1 (Nov. 1994).^[32]

The character was featured in several limited series. The first was Doctor Strange: The Flight of Bones #1–4 (February–May 1999), with a series of spontaneous combustions by criminals instigated by old foe Dormammu. Strange was the catalyst for the creation of a trio of sorceresses in Witches #1–4 (August–November 2004). The Strange limited series (November 2004 – July 2005) by writers J. Michael Straczynski and Samm Barnes updated the character’s origin.^[33] Another limited series, Doctor Strange: The Oath #1–5 (December 2006 – April 2007), written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Marcos Martin, focused on Strange’s responsibilities as sorcerer and doctor.

Doctor Strange has appeared in four graphic novels: Doctor Strange: Into Shamballa (1986); Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment (1989); Spider-Man/Dr. Strange: The Way to Dusty Death (1992); and Dr. Strange: What Is It That Disturbs You, Stephen? (1997).^[34]

2000s[edit]

Strange appeared as a supporting character for the bulk of the 2000s. He appeared regularly in The Amazing Spider-Man under J. Michael Straczynski, before being cast into a time loop by Baron Mordo. He later appeared on and off in The New Avengers, where he was stated as being part of the secret group known as the Illuminati to deal with future threats to Earth. Ultimately Strange joined the team and allowed them to use his home as a base after the events of the 2006 «Civil War» storyline, which he sat out. Doctor Strange was critical of the federal Superhuman Registration Act and aided the anti-registration Avengers team led by Luke Cage.^[35]

During Brian Michael Bendis’ time as writer, Doctor Doom attacked the Avengers and manipulated the Scarlet Witch into eliminating most of the mutant population. Doctor Strange’s failure to recognize Doom’s hand in the former and to stop the latter caused him to start to doubt his abilities.^{[volume & issue needed]} After he was forced to use dark magic to confront an enraged Hulk,^[36] followed by further use of dark spells to save the New Avengers from the Hood’s supervillain army,^[37] Strange renounced his status as Sorcerer Supreme, as he felt that he was no longer worthy of it. The Eye of Agamotto passed the mantle on to Brother Voodoo.^[38]

He was also featured in The Order, which spun out of the 2001 Defenders revival, and the Indefensible Defenders mini-series.^{[volume & issue needed]}

2010s[edit]

Doctor Strange appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010-2013 The New Avengers series.^[39] Brother Voodoo, now newly appointed Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Voodoo, sacrifices himself to stop the powerful mystical entity Agamotto from reclaiming the Eye.^[40] A guilt-ridden Strange rejoins the New Avengers, and he offers the team his valet Wong to act as their housekeeper.^[41]

Strange eventually regains his position of Sorcerer Supreme,^[42] but is possessed by a demon^{[volume & issue needed]} and becomes leader of the Black Priests.^[43]

After the various Marvel universes merge into one, Doctor Strange acts as righthand man of Doctor Doom, who has become the ruler of this world after erasing all recollection of the previous separate realities that existed. Circumstances force Strange to open a pod that releases the surviving heroes of the original Marvel continuity, known as Earth-616. Doom kills Doctor Strange.^[44]

In 2015, Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo teamed up for the fourth volume of Doctor Strange.^[45] A new character, reluctant librarian Zelma Stanton, agrees to reorganize Strange’s magical library.^{[46][full citation needed]} Brother Voodoo returns, and the series and a spinoff, Dr. Strange: Last Days of Magic, sees such characters as Medico Mistico, Magik, Scarlet Witch, Mahatma Doom, Professor Xu, Monako, and Alice Gulliver.^{[47][full citation needed]} With the laws of magic fundamentally altered, and with the loss of his former resources, Doctor Strange is forced to depend on his own physical skills and inventive use of his few functional spells. He eventually no longer has access to most of his former spells or his levitating cape.^{[48][full citation needed]}

During the «Infinity Countdown» storyline, Doctor Strange goes on a space mission. He encounters Super-Skrull who has the Time Stone. After defeating Super-Skrull, Doctor Strange claims the Time Stone.^[49] Doctor Strange then tracks down the Mind Stone and finds it in Turk Barrett’s possession as Turk manages to evade him. When Black Widow’s clone arrives seeking out Doctor Strange where she wants to dispose of the Space Stone, he does not want to take it as he knows what would happen if they are in proximity. Using a magic spell, Doctor Strange speaks to the holders of the Infinity Stones and requests a parley to reform the Infinity Watch. He states to Adam Warlock, Black Widow’s clone, Captain Marvel, Star-Lord, and Turk Barrett that they need to safeguard them from such calamities even if one of them is Thanos.^[50]

Fictional character biography[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2020)

Stephen Vincent Strange, M.D., Ph.D., is a brilliant but highly egotistical fictional doctor. He was born in Philadelphia and raised in New York City.^[51] After high school, he went to New York College as a pre-med student and entered medical school at Columbia University and completed his residency at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where his success made him arrogant.^[52][53][54]

Despite his reputation for being able to handle even the most complicated surgical procedures, Strange is self-centered and greedy, and only treats patients who can afford to pay his exorbitant fees. One night, while speeding in his car, a terrible accident shatters the bones in his hands, leading to extensive nerve damage. He soon finds that his fingers tremble uncontrollably, rendering him unable to perform surgery. Too vain to accept a teaching job, Strange desperately searches for a way to fix his hands and subsequently wastes all of his money on expensive, but unsuccessful treatments.

Broke and ostracized from his colleagues, Strange becomes a drifter. He happens to overhear two sailors in a bar discussing a hermit called the Ancient One (who is actually the Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme) in the Himalayas, who can heal any ailment. Despite not personally believing in magic, Strange uses the last of his money to track down the aged mystic. The Ancient One refuses to help Strange due to his arrogance, but senses a good side that he attempts to bring to the surface. He fails, but Strange then commits a heroic act when he discovers the Ancient One’s disciple, Baron Mordo, attempting to kill his mentor and usurp his power. After a confrontation with Mordo leads to him being shackled with restraining spells preventing him from either attacking Mordo or warning the Ancient One, Strange desperately and selflessly accepts the Ancient One’s offer to become his apprentice to have some hope of helping the old man. The Ancient One, pleased at Strange’s sincere change of heart, accepts Strange as his new student and promptly frees him from the restraining spells while explaining he was aware of Mordo’s treachery all along. Strange soon becomes Mordo’s most enduring enemy,^[55] as the Ancient One trains the doctor in the mystic arts.^[56] After completing his training, Strange returns to New York City and takes up residence within the Sanctum Sanctorum, a townhouse located in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, accompanied by his personal assistant Wong.^[57]

As the Ancient One’s disciple, Strange encounters the entity Nightmare,^[57] and other mystical foes before meeting Dormammu, a warlord from an alternate dimension called the «Dark Dimension» who wishes to conquer Earth. Strange is aided by a nameless girl, later called Clea,^[58] who is eventually revealed to be Dormammu’s niece.^[59] When Strange helps a weakened Dormammu drive off the rampaging Mindless Ones and return them to their prison, he is allowed to leave the Dark Dimension unchallenged.^[60]

In The Unbelievable Gwenpool #3, Strange encounters Gwendolyn Poole, who explains herself to be from a reality where all Marvel characters are fictional characters in comic books. As Strange helps her locate her home reality to create a fake background for her in the Marvel Universe so that she can get a Social Security number, driver’s license and other essential documents, he discovers that Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast to play him in Gwen’s universe, remarking that he «could see that».^[61]

Powers and abilities[edit]

Powers and skills[edit]

Doctor Strange is a fictional practicing sorcerer who draws his powers from mystical entities such as Agamotto, Cyttorak, Ikonn, Oshtur, Raggadorr, and Watoomb, who lend their energies for spells.^[62] Strange also wields mystical artifacts including the Cloak of Levitation which enables him to fly;^{[note 1]} the Eye of Agamotto, an amulet whose light is used to negate evil magic;^[56] the Book of the Vishanti, a grimoire which contains vast knowledge of white magic;^{[63][64]: 26–27} and the Orb of Agamotto, a crystal ball which is used for clairvoyance.^{[64]: 24–27 [65]}

In addition to his magical abilities, Strange is trained in several martial arts disciplines,^[66] including judo,^[67] and has shown proficiency with numerous magically conjured weapons including swords and axes.^[68] Strange was a skilled neurosurgeon before nerve damage impaired his hands.^[56]

Doctor Strange is described as «the mightiest magician in the cosmos»^[69] and «more powerful by far than any of your fellow humanoids» by Eternity, the sentience of the Marvel Universe.^[70] He holds the title of Sorcerer Supreme beginning with the 1973 storyline in which the Ancient One dies,^[21] and retains the title thereafter, except during an interruption from 1992^[71] to 1995.^[72] He relinquishes the title once again in a 2009 storyline,^[38] but reclaims it in a 2012 story when he proves himself willing to protect the world even without the title.^[42]

Artifacts and technology[edit]

Book of the Vishanti[edit]

The Book of the Vishanti, portrayed as being written by unknown authors, is closely associated with Doctor Strange, and is the greatest known source of white magical knowledge on Earth.
The Book of the Vishanti contains spells of defensive magic and is indestructible. Its counterpart, the Darkhold, contains all the knowledge of black magic in the Marvel Universe, and is likewise indestructible. It is possible to destroy single pages of either book, but the balancing spell in the other book is destroyed as well to maintain a mystical balance. A collective of the three powerful magical beings – Agamotto, Oshtur and Hoggoth, known as the Vishanti – must allow the spell to be destroyed.

Even though the book is a tome of benevolent magic, the spells within can still be dangerous when used improperly. This is proven when a young, inexperienced Strange tried to use the Book of the Vishanti to resurrect his dead brother Victor, but the spell, known as the Vampire Verses, caused Victor to become the vampire Baron Blood years later.

The first known owner of the book was the Atlantean sorcerer Varnae from around 18,500 BC. The next known owner was the Babylonian god Marduk Kurios. Marduk set a griffin to guard the Book. The sorcerer known as the Ancient One traveled back in time to c. 4000 BC and defeated the griffin and returned to the 20th century. The Ancient One would remain the book’s owner, despite a brief loss when the dark wizard Kaluu returned the Book to the Griffin, until he deemed his student, Doctor Strange, worthy of taking it.

Doctor Strange keeps the book in his town house library in New York City’s Greenwich Village. He briefly lost the book when he destroyed his home to prevent the alien wizard Urthona from taking his magical artifacts, but the book was saved by Agamotto, who transported it to his realm and returned it to Strange some time later.

Cloak of Levitation[edit]

The Cloak of Levitation is depicted as a potent mystical cloak worn by Doctor Strange. The primary purpose of the cloak is to give its wearer the ability to levitate and fly. Additionally, the cloak is able to alter its shape, being often used to act as «another set of hands» to attack an opponent when Strange’s own body has been incapacitated.

There were two distinctly different cloaks worn by Doctor Strange bequeathed to him by his mentor, the Ancient One: a billowing, full-length blue cloak, that had minor abilities and spells woven into it, and the later, red cloak that Strange is usually seen wearing. The first appearance of the first (blue) cloak was in Strange Tales #114 (November 1963). The first appearance of the second (red) cloak was in Strange Tales #127 (December 1964).^[73] The Cloak of Levitation is seen in a great many battles where it often plays a very significant role. While it is extremely durable, there are a few occasions when it is damaged. Its repair requires that Strange engage an ally, Enitharmon the Weaver.^[74][75]

The item has been referred to as a «relic» in the live-action movie Doctor Strange (2016). In this film (and other MCU films), the cloak appears to be sentient; not only does it rescue falling people on its own accord, but when Strange reached for a weapon in the Sanctum to fight an intruder, the cloaked yanked him to where a harness was sitting.

Eye of Agamotto[edit]

Orb of Agamotto[edit]

Aside from the Eye of Agamotto, the Orb of Agamotto is the other occult object that Doctor Strange owns.^[76] It is a powerful scrying crystal ball powered by the Agamotto entity to detect the use of magic anywhere in the world, providing Strange with a location and visual. It can also be used to monitor the shields that protect the planets created by the three sanctums.^[77] If Agamotto is inside the Orb, it becomes Strange’s ultimate source of knowledge.^[78]

The Orb of Agamotto rests in Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum in a room called the Chamber of Shadows. It usually is inside a display case with three curved legs. When summoned, the glass covering rises and the ball levitates. While powerful, the Orb has been blocked by exceptionally powerful mystic forces (such as Umar) who do not want their exact location known. On at least one occasion, it has been used to open a dimensional portal to the realm of Agamotto. In the film Thor, the Orb is briefly shown in Odin’s Trophy Room in Asgard.^[79]

Enemies[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2020)

The following are a selection of enemies of Doctor Strange:

• Aggamon – The ruler of the Purple Dimension.^[80]
• Baron Mordo – An evil wizard and former student of the Ancient One.^[81]
• D’Spayre – A fear-eating demon who is a member of the Fear Lords.^[82]
• Dagoth – A sea demon who is the spawn of Dagon.^[83]
• Dormammu – A demon who is the ruler of the Dark Dimension.^[84]
• Dweller-in-Darkness – A fear-generating demon who is a member of the Fear Lords.^[85]
• Enchantress – An Asgardian sorceress. Doctor Strange first clashed with her during the «Acts of Vengeance» storyline.^[86]
• Kaecilius – An evil wizard who works for Baron Mordo.^[87]
• Kaluu – A 500-year-old wizard and a former classmate of the Ancient One.^[88]
• Mindless Ones – The inhabitants of the Dark Dimension that serve as Dormammu’s foot soldiers.^[89]
• Mister Rasputin – A sorcerer who is the alleged descendant of Grigori Rasputin.^[90]
• Necromancer – Counter-Earth’s version of Doctor Strange.^[91]
• Nightmare – The ruler of the Dream Dimension.^[92]
• Paradox – A creation of Doctor Strange that was originally used to fill in for him.^[93]
• Satannish – A very-powerful extra-dimensional demon.^[94]
• Shanzar – The Sorcerer Supreme of the Strange Matter Dimension. He once possessed Hulk, turning him into Dark Hulk.^[95]
• Shuma-Gorath – A many-angled one who existed during Earth’s pre-history.^[96]
• Silver Dagger – A religious sorcerer.^[97]
• Sons of Satannish – A cult that worships Satannish.^[98]
• Tiboro – A humanoid who claims to be from the Sixth Dimension.^[99]
• Umar – A resident of the Dark Dimension and the sister of Dormammu.^[100]
• Undying Ones – A race of demons from another dimension with a variety of magic and a variety of forms.^[101]
• Yandroth – A Scientist Supreme from the otherdimensional planet Yann.^[102]

Cultural impact and legacy[edit]

Accolades[edit]

• In 2008, Wizard ranked Doctor Strange 83rd in their «200 Greatest Comic Book Characters of All Time» list.^[103]
• In 2012, IGN ranked Doctor Strange 33rd in their «Top 50 Avengers» list.^[104]
• In 2017, IGN ranked Doctor Strange 38th «Top 100 Comic Book Heroes» list.^[105]
• In 2018, Vanity Fair included Doctor Strange in their «Stan Lee’s Most Iconic Characters» list.^[106]
• In 2018, GameSpot ranked Doctor Strange 27th in their «50 Most Important Superheroes» list.^[107]
• In 2021, Collider ranked Doctor Strange 14th in their «20 Most Powerful Marvel Characters» list.^[108]
• In 2022, The A.V. Club ranked Doctor Strange 47th in their «100 best Marvel characters» list.^[109]
• In 2022, Collider ranked Doctor Strange 1st in their «Most Powerful Original Marvel Illuminati Members» list.^[110]
• In 2022, Screen Rant included Doctor Strange in their «10 Most Powerful Comic Book Wizards» list^[111] and in their «10 Smartest Magic Users In Comic Books» list.^[112]
• In 2022, CBR.com ranked Doctor Strange 1st in their «10 Best Sorcerer Supremes» list^[113] and 5th in their «10 Scariest Avengers» list.^[114]

Impact[edit]

• Doctor Strange inspired the name of the psychedelic band, Dr. Strangely Strange.^[115]
• Doctor Strange is referenced in the 1971 song «Mambo Sun» by glam rock band T. Rex on their album Electric Warrior.^[116]
• Doctor Strange is referenced in the song «Cymbaline» by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd on their 1969 album More.^[117]
• Doctor Strange appears on the cover of Pink Floyd’s second studio album A Saucerful of Secrets, which contains a hidden image based on a panel from a 1967 Doctor Strange comic book story. The image used came from Marvels Strange Tales #158 which was illustrated by Marie Severin.^[118][119]

Other versions[edit]

Two months before the debut of the sorcerer-hero Doctor Strange, Stan Lee (editor and story-plotter), Robert Bernstein (scripter, under the pseudonym «R. Berns»), and Jack Kirby (artist) introduced a criminal scientist and Ph.D. with the same surname (called Carl Strange). Making his sole appearance in the Iron Man story «The Stronghold of Dr. Strange» in Tales of Suspense #41 (1963), the character gained mental powers in a freak lightning strike.^[120]

1602[edit]

Set in the Marvel 1602 universe. Sir Stephen Strange, both the court physician of Queen Elizabeth I and a magician, senses that there are unnatural forces at work. He is the replacement in the 1602 universe for John Dee and is married to a version of Clea. Here, he cannot use his ‘Astral Projection’ (which he refers to as a magic mirror) as well as the modern one could, lacking modern materials, and is often physically drained after it is finished, and lacks memory of what he saw in astral form. During this time, he makes indirect contact with Uatu, who warns him about the danger caused by the ‘Forerunner’s’ arrival in the past, but is placed under a compulsion not to speak or act on this knowledge. Eventually, when Elizabeth is dead, he allows himself to be executed for witchcraft and treason so that his head, kept alive by Clea for some time after his execution, can continue to be of help by sharing the information he has gained from Uatu with the other heroes so that they can prevent the destruction of reality.^{[volume & issue needed]}

2099[edit]

Set in the Marvel 2099 universe. The Sorceress Supreme of Earth is a young woman who calls herself «Strange». She secretly shares her body with a monstrous demon. She is very inexperienced in her powers and uses them recklessly. In one incident, she causes the death of her brother. Her main opponent is Garokk who wishes to use her past torments and inexperience to gain the title of Sorcerer Supreme for himself.^[121]

In a ‘reset’ 2099 timeline where the Maestro has conquered a decimated world, he apparently kept Strange contained in a mystical circle.^[122] When Miguel O’Hara emerged into this timeline and released Strange, she claimed that the demon possessing her protected her from major world-shifts, working with Miguel to repair an old time machine of Doctor Doom’s so that he could return to 2015 and avert this timeline. However, after Miguel’s departure, Strange revealed that she was working with the Maestro and was under the control of the demon within her.^[123]

Strange later appears on Battleworld as a member of the Defenders 2099.^[124]

When Miguel returns to a new variation of the 2099 timeline where having superpowers is illegal, he witnesses Moon Knight banishing Strange’s demon being from her body using a soul sword.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Age of X[edit]

In the Age of X timeline, Doctor Strange poses as a Mutant-hunter for hire, but is in reality a double agent working with Magneto, who teleports mutants to Fortress X for safety.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Amalgam Comics[edit]

Set in the Amalgam Comics universe, Dr. Strange was combined with Doctor Fate and Charles Xavier into Dr. Strangefate. As the only character aware of the nature of the Amalgam Universe, he was the chief opponent of Access, who was attempting to separate the DC and Marvel Universes. Originally numbered as Earth-962.^[125]

Bullet Points[edit]

In the mini-series Bullet Points, Dr. Strange chooses to work for S.H.I.E.L.D., rather than seek out the Ancient One, in exchange for them restoring his hands. Later he is seen possessing claws similar to Wolverine’s.^[126]

Duckworld[edit]

Set in Howard the Duck’s home-world and home dimension. This version of Doctor Strange is Ducktor Strange, an anthropomorphic Duck. In this reality, he is still a Sorcerer (the «Mallard of the Mystic Arts»), but is also a drunken derelict, who seems to live in alleys drinking «sorcerous sauce» (alcohol). He has appeared in Howard the Duck magazine #6 (July 1980), wherein he sends Howard and Beverly back to Earth; and in She-Hulk, vol. 4, #20 (Sept 2007), wherein he helps Stu the Intern return to Earth (since Stu’s extensive knowledge of Marvel Comics continuity reminded him that he could find the Ducktor and how he could be returned by the Mystic Mallard).^{[volume & issue needed]}

Earth-A/Earth-721[edit]

In She-Hulk (vol. 2) #21, a non-powered counterpart of Dr. Strange from Earth-A comes to Earth-616 (aka Earth-B) and impersonates the 616 Dr. Strange. The impostor is revealed when he cannot think of a rhyme for the word «Cyttorak».^{[volume & issue needed]}

Earth X[edit]

Set in the Earth X universe. Dr. Strange’s body is murdered by Clea (this Earth’s Sorceress Supreme) under the behest of Loki. His astral form aids Captain Marvel in his journey through Death’s Realm as one of the few inhabiting heroes aware of his death.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Exiles[edit]

An alternative Dr. Strange helped the Exiles briefly. This character was not a mystic, but instead was still a practicing physician who specialized in superhumans. This version of Doctor Strange was killed by an alternative version of Deadpool.^[127]

Fantastic Four: The End[edit]

In this series, Dr. Strange is now the Ancient One and had a daughter with Clea who is the new Dr. Strange.^[128]

Guardians of the Galaxy[edit]

In the alternative future of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr. Strange assumed the title of the Ancient One (previously held by his mentor) and took on a disciple of his own, a Lem named Krugarr. Strange/the Ancient One was eventually killed by Dormammu, who was defeated by the combined efforts of Krugarr, his disciple Talon, and the Guardians.^[129]

Marvel Zombies[edit]

In the Marvel Zombies universe, Dr. Strange is one of the last heroes in the alternative «zombie world» to be transformed into a zombie. He was last seen in living form as part of Nick Fury’s resistance to defeat the zombified Marvel superheroes in the spinoff Dead Days before he and the rest of the surviving superheroes are later overwhelmed by the zombie Fantastic Four and turned.^[130] He participates in the multi-zombie attack on Doctor Doom’s castle, in an effort to capture and devour the unaffected Latverian citizens inside.^[131] While part of a multi-zombie chase of Ultimate Reed Richards, he vanishes under a rain of cars launched by Magneto.^[132] However, he later resurfaces in Marvel Zombies 3 but with limited function as a result of Magneto’s wrath. He is part of Kingpin’s undead alliance and can only perform two spells, one of which allows viewers to see into other universes which becomes an essential tool to Kingpin’s plans. Ultron kills Zombie Dr. Strange.^[133]

MC2[edit]

Set in the MC2 universe. Dr. Strange is retired and the title of Sorcerer Supreme has been passed to the younger Doc Magus.^[134]

Mutant X[edit]

Set in the Mutant X universe. Dr. Strange was the Man-Thing.^[135] The title of Sorcerer Supreme had been taken by Mordo.^[136]

Spider-Ham[edit]

Set in the Larval zooniverse, the talking animal version of Doctor Strange is Croctor Strange, an anthropomorphic crocodile.^[137]

Thor: Vikings[edit]

Dr. Strange assists Thor in the MAX mini series Thor: Vikings, when zombified, evil Vikings massacre Manhattan by pillaging and killing its citizens. Strange helps Thor locate the descendants of a victim that the Vikings had slain, just after the victim, a village wiseman had placed a curse on the Vikings that caused them to become zombified. With Strange’s instruction, the battle-experienced descendants all fight the Vikings with Thor.^[138]

Ultimate Marvel[edit]

There are two versions of Doctor Strange that reside in the Ultimate Marvel Universe.

Stephen Strange Sr.[edit]

First appearing in flashbacks, Dr. Stephen Strange married his former student, Clea, and the two of them had a child, Stephen Jr. Strange Sr. later vanished, and Clea decided to raise Stephen Jr. away from magic.^[139] The title of «Sorcerer Supreme» was only self-proclaimed by the elder Strange as reported in the comics during a TV news broadcast.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Stephen Strange Jr.[edit]

As a college student, Stephen Jr. was approached by Wong, who told him about his father and took him on as a student. He supports himself as a new-age guru to the rich, powerful and famous, and is seen as a celebrity, appearing on television talk shows. He is known to the public as «Dr. Strange», although he does not hold a medical degree or doctorate. He has bemoaned his lack of knowledge in things mystical and usually, just barely saves the day with one last desperate, untried spell. Starting in Ultimate Spider-Man #107, this Doctor Strange is a member of Daredevil’s team fighting against the Kingpin, the Ultimate Knights.^[140]

In Ultimatum, Strange is gruesomely killed by Dormammu when Hulk rampages through his house. A mysterious person later found his body.^[141]

Venomverse[edit]

A Venomized version of Doctor Strange appears in Venomverse, who is responsible for gathering all of the different incarnations of Venom. His Earth was eradicated by the Poisons so he had gathered Venoms from across the multiverse to prevent the Poisons from consuming more of them. He is captured by the Poisons and he realizes that instead of bringing more Venoms to fight, he had brought the Poisons more Venoms to consume. In the climax he sends all of the surviving Venoms to their universes while the bomb built by Rocket Raccoon explodes. His fate is unknown.^[142]

What If?…[edit]

Dr. Strange also exists in several What If?… multiverses.

• In «What If….Doctor Strange Had Been Disciple of Dormammu?», Strange has his hands healed by Mordo and does not become a student of the Ancient One. Mordo later converts Strange into a disciple of Dormammu. When Strange is forced into a battle between Dormammu and the Ancient One, he decides in favor of good, and finally becomes a disciple of the Ancient One.^[143]
• In «What If…Dr. Strange Had Not Become Master of the Mystic Arts?», Dr. Strange never travels to Tibet, and Mordo becomes the Sorcerer Supreme.^[144]

In other media[edit]

Television[edit]

• Doctor Strange appeared in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode «7 Little Superheroes», voiced by John Stephenson.^[145]
• Doctor Strange makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode «The Dark Phoenix Saga (Part 3)».^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears in a self titled episode of Spider-Man: The Animated Series, voiced by John Vernon.^[145]
• Doctor Strange appears in The Incredible Hulk episode «Mind Over Anti-Matter», voiced by Maurice LaMarche.^[146]
• Doctor Strange appears in The Super Hero Squad Show, voiced by Roger Rose.^[147] First appearing in the episode «Enter: Dormammu!», he behaves irrationally due to an Infinity Fractal getting lodged inside the Eye of Agamotto until the Super Hero Squad cure him. In later episodes, he takes in the squad for a night at the Sanctum Sanctorum, fights the Enchantress, forms the Defenders, and aids Chthon in recovering his dimension from Doctor Doom.
• Doctor Strange appears in the Disney XD Marvel animated series Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.,^[148] voiced originally by Jack Coleman,^[149] and later by Liam O’Brien.^[150]
• Doctor Strange appears in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, voiced by Yasunori Masutani in the Japanese dub and Wally Wingert (episode 2) and Liam O’Brien (episode 46) in the English dub.^[151]
• Doctor Strange appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes — Black Panther: Trouble in Wakanda, voiced again by Liam O’Brien.^[152]
• Doctor Strange appears in Marvel Future Avengers, voiced again by Yasunori Masutani in the Japanese dub and Liam O’Brien in the English dub.^[153]
• Doctor Strange appears in the Spider-Man episode «Amazing Friends»,^[154] voiced again by Liam O’Brien.^[155] This version is a member of the Avengers.

Film[edit]

• Doctor Stephen Strange appears in a self-titled film (1978), portrayed by Peter Hooten. This version is a psychiatrist.^[156]
• Doctor Mordrid began development as a Doctor Strange adaptation, but the studio’s license expired before production began.^[157][158] As a result, the project was rewritten to change the main character’s name and slightly alter his origin.^[157] Additionally, the main character was originally going to be called «Doctor Mortalis» and Jack Kirby worked on the early concept art.^[159]
• Doctor Strange appears in Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme, voiced by Bryce Johnson.^[160]
• Doctor Strange makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Planet Hulk as a member of the Illuminati.
• Doctor Strange appears in Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell, voiced again by Liam O’Brien.^[161]

Marvel Cinematic Universe[edit]

Doctor Stephen Strange appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch. First appearing in a self-titled live-action film (2016), this version is a successful, wealthy neurosurgeon who becomes severely injured following a car accident, leading him to travel the world for answers to heal his injuries, eventually landing in Kamar-Taj and becoming a Master of the Mystic Arts. He makes further appearances in the live-action films Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Additionally, alternate timeline versions of Strange also appear in the Disney+ animated series What If… ? and Spider-Man: Freshman Year^[162] as well as Multiverse of Madness.

Video games[edit]

• Doctor Strange appears as a non-player character (NPC) in The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin. This version serves as Spider-Man’s advisor.
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by James Horan.^[163]
• Doctor Strange appears in Hsien-Ko’s ending in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.^[164] He later appears as a playable character in the updated version, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3,^[165] voiced by Rick Pasqualone.^[166]
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, voiced by Charlie Adler.^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth, voiced by Chris Cox.^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Heroes,^[167] voiced by Nick Jameson.^[168]
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes,^[169] voiced again by James Horan.^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions.
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel’s Avengers, voiced by Wally Wingert while Jack Coleman voices the version that appears in the «All-New, All-Different Doctor Strange» DLC.^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Future Fight.^[170]
• Two versions of Doctor Strange, «Stephen Strange» and the «Sorcerer Supreme», appear as playable characters in Marvel Puzzle Quest.^[171]
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, voiced again by Liam O’Brien.^[172]
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Powers United VR, voiced by Liam O’Brien once again.^[151]
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, voiced again by Liam O’Brien.^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Future Revolution, voiced again by Liam O’Brien.^[173]
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel’s Midnight Suns, voiced again by Rick Pasqualone.^[174][175] This version displays a rivalry with Iron Man.

Novels[edit]

• In 1979, Pocket Books published Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts: Nightmare, by William Rotsler.^[176][177]
• In the 1968 book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfe writes about Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters’ interest in comics and specifically refers to Doctor Strange.^[178]
• In the 2006 novel Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours, by author Jim Butcher, Strange appears briefly as a fellow superhero that Spider-Man seeks immediate assistance from amidst a battle with Morlun’s vengeful siblings.

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Doctor Strange at Marvel.com
• Doctor Strange at Don Markstein’s Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016.

Doctor Strange
Textless cover of Doctor Strange #2 (January 2016)
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Strange Tales #110 (July 1963)
Created by	Steve Ditko
In-story information
Full name	Stephen Vincent Strange
Species	Human
Team affiliations	Avengers Defenders Illuminati Infinity Watch Midnight Sons New Avengers The Order
Partnerships	Clea Wong Ancient One
Notable aliases	Master of the Mystic Arts[1] Master of Black Magic[2] Sorcerer Supreme[3] Strange Stephen Sanders Captain Universe Vincent Stevens Void[4]
Abilities	Utilizes mystical artifacts, such as the Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamotto Mastery of magic Gifted physician and surgeon Genius-level intellect Skilled martial artist

Doctor Stephen Strange is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Strange Tales #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorcerer Supreme, the primary protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats. Strange was introduced during the Silver Age of Comic Books in an attempt to bring a different kind of character and themes of mysticism to Marvel Comics.

The character starts as a brilliant but egotistically arrogant neurosurgeon who is injured in a car accident. Because his hands have severe nerve damage from the accident, he is told that current medical therapy and rehabilitation would not be enough to enable him to practice again as a surgeon. Unable to accept this prognosis, he travels the world searching for alternative ways of healing, which leads him to the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme. Strange becomes his student and learns to be a master of both the mystical and the martial arts. He acquires an assortment of mystical objects, including the powerful Eye of Agamotto and Cloak of Levitation, and takes up residence in a mansion referred to as the Sanctum Sanctorum, located at 177A Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City. Strange assumes the title of Sorcerer Supreme and, with his friend and valet Wong, defends the world from mystical threats.

In live-action adaptations, the character was first portrayed by Peter Hooten in the 1978 television film Dr. Strange. Since 2016, Benedict Cumberbatch has portrayed the role of Stephen Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Publication history[edit]

Creation[edit]

Artist Steve Ditko and writer Stan Lee have described the character as having been originally the idea of Ditko, who wrote in 2008, «On my own, I brought in to Lee a five-page, penciled story with a page/panel script of my idea of a new, different kind of character for variety in Marvel Comics. My character wound up being named Dr. Strange because he would appear in Strange Tales.»^[5] In a 1963 letter to Jerry Bails, Lee called the character Ditko’s idea, saying:

Well, we have a new character in the works for Strange Tales (just a 5-page filler named Dr. Strange) Steve Ditko is gonna draw him. It has sort of a black magic theme. The first story is nothing great, but perhaps we can make something of him— ’twas Steve’s idea and I figured we’d give it a chance, although again, we had to rush the first one too much. Little sidelight: Originally decided to call him Mr. Strange, but thought the «Mr.» bit too similar to Mr. Fantastic — now, however, I remember we had a villain called Dr. Strange just recently in one of our mags, hope it won’t be too confusing!^[6]

Early years[edit]

Doctor Strange debuted in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963),^[7] a split book shared with the feature «The Human Torch». Doctor Strange appeared in issues #110–111 and #114 before the character’s eight-page origin story in #115 (December 1963). His origin was later retold in Doctor Strange #169 (February 1968). Scripter Lee’s take on the character was inspired by the Chandu the Magician radio program that aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System in the 1930s.^[8] He had Doctor Strange accompany spells with elaborate artifacts, such as the «Eye of Agamotto» and the «Wand of Watoomb», as well as mystical-sounding vocabulary such as «Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!».^[9] Although these often referenced the names of established mythological beings, Lee has said he never had any idea what the incantations meant and used them simply because they sounded mystical and mysterious.^[10] Ditko showcased surrealistic mystical landscapes and increasingly vivid visuals that helped make the feature a favorite of college students at the time. Comics historian Mike Benton wrote:

The Dr. Strange stories of the 1960s constructed a cohesive cosmology that would have thrilled any self-respecting theosophist. College students, minds freshly opened by psychedelic experiences and Eastern mysticism, read Ditko and Lee’s Dr. Strange stories with the belief of a recent Hare Krishna convert. Meaning was everywhere, and readers analyzed the Dr. Strange stories for their relationship to Egyptian myths, Sumerian gods, and Jungian archetypes.^[11]

«People who read Doctor Strange thought people at Marvel must be heads [i.e., drug users],» recalled then-associate editor and former Doctor Strange writer Roy Thomas in 1971, «because they had had similar experiences high on mushrooms. But I don’t use hallucinogens, nor do I think any artists do.»^[12]

Originating in the early 1960s, the character was a predictor of trends in art prior to them becoming more established in the later counterculture of the 1960s. As historian Bradford W. Wright described:

Steve Ditko contributed some of his most surrealistic work to the comic book and gave it a disorienting, hallucinogenic quality. Dr. Strange’s adventures take place in bizarre worlds and twisting dimensions that resembled Salvador Dalí paintings. Inspired by the pulp fiction magicians of Stan Lee’s childhood as well as by contemporary Beat culture, Dr. Strange remarkably predicted the youth counterculture’s fascination with Eastern mysticism and psychedelia. Never among Marvel’s more popular or accessible characters, Dr. Strange still found a niche among an audience seeking a challenging alternative to more conventional superhero fare.^[13]

As co-plotter and later sole plotter in the Marvel Method of scripting, Ditko took Strange into ever-more-abstract realms. In a 17-issue story arc in Strange Tales #130–146 (March 1965 – July 1966), Ditko introduced the cosmic character Eternity, who personified the universe and was depicted as a silhouette filled with the cosmos.^[14] Golden Age of Comic Books artist/writer Bill Everett succeeded Ditko as artist with issues #147–152, followed by Marie Severin through #160 and Dan Adkins through #168, the final issue before the Nick Fury feature moved to its own title and Strange Tales was renamed Doctor Strange.^[15] Expanded to 20 pages per issue, the Doctor Strange solo series ran 15 issues, #169–183 (June 1968 – November 1969), continuing the numbering of Strange Tales.^[15][16] Thomas wrote the run of new stories, joined after the first three issues by the art team of penciler Gene Colan and inker Tom Palmer through the end.

After plans were announced for a never-released split book series featuring Doctor Strange and Iceman, each in solo adventures.^[17] Strange next appeared in the first three issues (December 1971 – June 1972) of the quarterly showcase title Marvel Feature. He appeared in both the main story detailing the formation of superhero team the Defenders,^[18] and the related back-up story. The character then starred in a revival solo series in Marvel Premiere #3–14 (July 1972 – March 1974).^[19] This arc marked the debut of another recurring foe, the entity Shuma-Gorath, created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Frank Brunner, who took over as the regular creative team starting with Marvel Premiere #10. Englehart and Brunner collaborated closely on the stories, meeting over dinner every two months to discuss the series, and their run became known for its psychedelic visuals and plots.^[20] In issues #8–10 (May–September 1973), Strange is forced to shut down the Ancient One’s mind, causing his mentor’s physical death. Strange then assumes the title of Sorcerer Supreme.^[21] Englehart and Brunner created another multi-issue storyline featuring sorcerer Sise-Neg («Genesis» spelled backward) going back through history, collecting all magical energies, until he reaches the beginning of the universe, becomes all-powerful and creates it anew, leaving Strange to wonder whether this was, paradoxically, the original creation. Stan Lee, seeing the issue after publication, ordered Englehart and Brunner to print a retraction saying this was not God but a god, to avoid offending religious readers. According to Frank Brunner, he and Englehart concocted a fake letter from a fictitious minister praising the story, and mailed it to Marvel from Texas. Marvel unwittingly printed the letter in Doctor Strange #3 and dropped the retraction.^[22]

Due to the growing number of Doctor Strange readers,^[20] the Marvel Premiere series segued to the character’s second ongoing title, Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts, also known as Doctor Strange vol. 2, which ran 81 issues (June 1974 – Feb. 1987).^[23] Doctor Strange #14 featured a crossover story with The Tomb of Dracula #44, another series which was being drawn by Gene Colan at the time.^[24] In Englehart’s final story, he sent Dr. Strange back in time to meet Benjamin Franklin.^[25]

1980s[edit]

Strange met his allies Topaz in #75 (February 1986) and Rintrah in #80 (December 1986). The series ended with a cliffhanger as his home, the Sanctum Sanctorum, was heavily damaged during a battle. Among the losses was Doctor Strange’s entire collection of mystic books and other important artifacts. As a consequence, Strange was now considerably weaker and several spells designed to protect humanity from vampires and the evil serpent god Set expired.

The title was discontinued so that the character’s adventures could be transferred to another split book format series. Strange Tales vol. 2, #1–19 (April 1987 – Oct. 1988) was shared with street heroes Cloak and Dagger. This new Doctor Strange series resolved Strange’s quest to reclaim his power and missing artifacts, as well as resurrecting the Defenders, who had died in the last issue of that team’s title.

1990s[edit]

Strange was returned to his own series, this time titled Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme, which ran 90 issues (November 1988 – June 1996).^[26] The initial creative team was writer Peter B. Gillis and artists Richard Case and Randy Emberlin, with storylines often spanning multiple issues. Strange lost the title of «Sorcerer Supreme» in issues #48–49 (Dec. 1992 – Jan. 1993) when he refused to fight a war on behalf of the Vishanti, the mystical entities that empower his spells. During this time the series became part of the «Midnight Sons» group of Marvel’s supernatural comics.^[27][28] Doctor Strange found new sources of magical strength in the form of chaos magic,^[29] as well as a magic construct he used as a proxy.^[30] He would form the Secret Defenders with a rotating roster of heroes,^[31] and reunite with the original Defenders. Strange regained his title in Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #80 (August 1995).

Strange appeared with the Human Torch and the Thing in the one-shot publication Strange Tales vol. 3, #1 (Nov. 1994).^[32]

The character was featured in several limited series. The first was Doctor Strange: The Flight of Bones #1–4 (February–May 1999), with a series of spontaneous combustions by criminals instigated by old foe Dormammu. Strange was the catalyst for the creation of a trio of sorceresses in Witches #1–4 (August–November 2004). The Strange limited series (November 2004 – July 2005) by writers J. Michael Straczynski and Samm Barnes updated the character’s origin.^[33] Another limited series, Doctor Strange: The Oath #1–5 (December 2006 – April 2007), written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Marcos Martin, focused on Strange’s responsibilities as sorcerer and doctor.

Doctor Strange has appeared in four graphic novels: Doctor Strange: Into Shamballa (1986); Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment (1989); Spider-Man/Dr. Strange: The Way to Dusty Death (1992); and Dr. Strange: What Is It That Disturbs You, Stephen? (1997).^[34]

2000s[edit]

Strange appeared as a supporting character for the bulk of the 2000s. He appeared regularly in The Amazing Spider-Man under J. Michael Straczynski, before being cast into a time loop by Baron Mordo. He later appeared on and off in The New Avengers, where he was stated as being part of the secret group known as the Illuminati to deal with future threats to Earth. Ultimately Strange joined the team and allowed them to use his home as a base after the events of the 2006 «Civil War» storyline, which he sat out. Doctor Strange was critical of the federal Superhuman Registration Act and aided the anti-registration Avengers team led by Luke Cage.^[35]

During Brian Michael Bendis’ time as writer, Doctor Doom attacked the Avengers and manipulated the Scarlet Witch into eliminating most of the mutant population. Doctor Strange’s failure to recognize Doom’s hand in the former and to stop the latter caused him to start to doubt his abilities.^{[volume & issue needed]} After he was forced to use dark magic to confront an enraged Hulk,^[36] followed by further use of dark spells to save the New Avengers from the Hood’s supervillain army,^[37] Strange renounced his status as Sorcerer Supreme, as he felt that he was no longer worthy of it. The Eye of Agamotto passed the mantle on to Brother Voodoo.^[38]

He was also featured in The Order, which spun out of the 2001 Defenders revival, and the Indefensible Defenders mini-series.^{[volume & issue needed]}

2010s[edit]

Doctor Strange appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010-2013 The New Avengers series.^[39] Brother Voodoo, now newly appointed Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Voodoo, sacrifices himself to stop the powerful mystical entity Agamotto from reclaiming the Eye.^[40] A guilt-ridden Strange rejoins the New Avengers, and he offers the team his valet Wong to act as their housekeeper.^[41]

Strange eventually regains his position of Sorcerer Supreme,^[42] but is possessed by a demon^{[volume & issue needed]} and becomes leader of the Black Priests.^[43]

After the various Marvel universes merge into one, Doctor Strange acts as righthand man of Doctor Doom, who has become the ruler of this world after erasing all recollection of the previous separate realities that existed. Circumstances force Strange to open a pod that releases the surviving heroes of the original Marvel continuity, known as Earth-616. Doom kills Doctor Strange.^[44]

In 2015, Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo teamed up for the fourth volume of Doctor Strange.^[45] A new character, reluctant librarian Zelma Stanton, agrees to reorganize Strange’s magical library.^{[46][full citation needed]} Brother Voodoo returns, and the series and a spinoff, Dr. Strange: Last Days of Magic, sees such characters as Medico Mistico, Magik, Scarlet Witch, Mahatma Doom, Professor Xu, Monako, and Alice Gulliver.^{[47][full citation needed]} With the laws of magic fundamentally altered, and with the loss of his former resources, Doctor Strange is forced to depend on his own physical skills and inventive use of his few functional spells. He eventually no longer has access to most of his former spells or his levitating cape.^{[48][full citation needed]}

During the «Infinity Countdown» storyline, Doctor Strange goes on a space mission. He encounters Super-Skrull who has the Time Stone. After defeating Super-Skrull, Doctor Strange claims the Time Stone.^[49] Doctor Strange then tracks down the Mind Stone and finds it in Turk Barrett’s possession as Turk manages to evade him. When Black Widow’s clone arrives seeking out Doctor Strange where she wants to dispose of the Space Stone, he does not want to take it as he knows what would happen if they are in proximity. Using a magic spell, Doctor Strange speaks to the holders of the Infinity Stones and requests a parley to reform the Infinity Watch. He states to Adam Warlock, Black Widow’s clone, Captain Marvel, Star-Lord, and Turk Barrett that they need to safeguard them from such calamities even if one of them is Thanos.^[50]

Fictional character biography[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2020)

Stephen Vincent Strange, M.D., Ph.D., is a brilliant but highly egotistical fictional doctor. He was born in Philadelphia and raised in New York City.^[51] After high school, he went to New York College as a pre-med student and entered medical school at Columbia University and completed his residency at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where his success made him arrogant.^[52][53][54]

Despite his reputation for being able to handle even the most complicated surgical procedures, Strange is self-centered and greedy, and only treats patients who can afford to pay his exorbitant fees. One night, while speeding in his car, a terrible accident shatters the bones in his hands, leading to extensive nerve damage. He soon finds that his fingers tremble uncontrollably, rendering him unable to perform surgery. Too vain to accept a teaching job, Strange desperately searches for a way to fix his hands and subsequently wastes all of his money on expensive, but unsuccessful treatments.

Broke and ostracized from his colleagues, Strange becomes a drifter. He happens to overhear two sailors in a bar discussing a hermit called the Ancient One (who is actually the Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme) in the Himalayas, who can heal any ailment. Despite not personally believing in magic, Strange uses the last of his money to track down the aged mystic. The Ancient One refuses to help Strange due to his arrogance, but senses a good side that he attempts to bring to the surface. He fails, but Strange then commits a heroic act when he discovers the Ancient One’s disciple, Baron Mordo, attempting to kill his mentor and usurp his power. After a confrontation with Mordo leads to him being shackled with restraining spells preventing him from either attacking Mordo or warning the Ancient One, Strange desperately and selflessly accepts the Ancient One’s offer to become his apprentice to have some hope of helping the old man. The Ancient One, pleased at Strange’s sincere change of heart, accepts Strange as his new student and promptly frees him from the restraining spells while explaining he was aware of Mordo’s treachery all along. Strange soon becomes Mordo’s most enduring enemy,^[55] as the Ancient One trains the doctor in the mystic arts.^[56] After completing his training, Strange returns to New York City and takes up residence within the Sanctum Sanctorum, a townhouse located in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, accompanied by his personal assistant Wong.^[57]

As the Ancient One’s disciple, Strange encounters the entity Nightmare,^[57] and other mystical foes before meeting Dormammu, a warlord from an alternate dimension called the «Dark Dimension» who wishes to conquer Earth. Strange is aided by a nameless girl, later called Clea,^[58] who is eventually revealed to be Dormammu’s niece.^[59] When Strange helps a weakened Dormammu drive off the rampaging Mindless Ones and return them to their prison, he is allowed to leave the Dark Dimension unchallenged.^[60]

In The Unbelievable Gwenpool #3, Strange encounters Gwendolyn Poole, who explains herself to be from a reality where all Marvel characters are fictional characters in comic books. As Strange helps her locate her home reality to create a fake background for her in the Marvel Universe so that she can get a Social Security number, driver’s license and other essential documents, he discovers that Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast to play him in Gwen’s universe, remarking that he «could see that».^[61]

Powers and abilities[edit]

Powers and skills[edit]

Doctor Strange is a fictional practicing sorcerer who draws his powers from mystical entities such as Agamotto, Cyttorak, Ikonn, Oshtur, Raggadorr, and Watoomb, who lend their energies for spells.^[62] Strange also wields mystical artifacts including the Cloak of Levitation which enables him to fly;^{[note 1]} the Eye of Agamotto, an amulet whose light is used to negate evil magic;^[56] the Book of the Vishanti, a grimoire which contains vast knowledge of white magic;^{[63][64]: 26–27} and the Orb of Agamotto, a crystal ball which is used for clairvoyance.^{[64]: 24–27 [65]}

In addition to his magical abilities, Strange is trained in several martial arts disciplines,^[66] including judo,^[67] and has shown proficiency with numerous magically conjured weapons including swords and axes.^[68] Strange was a skilled neurosurgeon before nerve damage impaired his hands.^[56]

Doctor Strange is described as «the mightiest magician in the cosmos»^[69] and «more powerful by far than any of your fellow humanoids» by Eternity, the sentience of the Marvel Universe.^[70] He holds the title of Sorcerer Supreme beginning with the 1973 storyline in which the Ancient One dies,^[21] and retains the title thereafter, except during an interruption from 1992^[71] to 1995.^[72] He relinquishes the title once again in a 2009 storyline,^[38] but reclaims it in a 2012 story when he proves himself willing to protect the world even without the title.^[42]

Artifacts and technology[edit]

Book of the Vishanti[edit]

The Book of the Vishanti, portrayed as being written by unknown authors, is closely associated with Doctor Strange, and is the greatest known source of white magical knowledge on Earth.
The Book of the Vishanti contains spells of defensive magic and is indestructible. Its counterpart, the Darkhold, contains all the knowledge of black magic in the Marvel Universe, and is likewise indestructible. It is possible to destroy single pages of either book, but the balancing spell in the other book is destroyed as well to maintain a mystical balance. A collective of the three powerful magical beings – Agamotto, Oshtur and Hoggoth, known as the Vishanti – must allow the spell to be destroyed.

Even though the book is a tome of benevolent magic, the spells within can still be dangerous when used improperly. This is proven when a young, inexperienced Strange tried to use the Book of the Vishanti to resurrect his dead brother Victor, but the spell, known as the Vampire Verses, caused Victor to become the vampire Baron Blood years later.

The first known owner of the book was the Atlantean sorcerer Varnae from around 18,500 BC. The next known owner was the Babylonian god Marduk Kurios. Marduk set a griffin to guard the Book. The sorcerer known as the Ancient One traveled back in time to c. 4000 BC and defeated the griffin and returned to the 20th century. The Ancient One would remain the book’s owner, despite a brief loss when the dark wizard Kaluu returned the Book to the Griffin, until he deemed his student, Doctor Strange, worthy of taking it.

Doctor Strange keeps the book in his town house library in New York City’s Greenwich Village. He briefly lost the book when he destroyed his home to prevent the alien wizard Urthona from taking his magical artifacts, but the book was saved by Agamotto, who transported it to his realm and returned it to Strange some time later.

Cloak of Levitation[edit]

The Cloak of Levitation is depicted as a potent mystical cloak worn by Doctor Strange. The primary purpose of the cloak is to give its wearer the ability to levitate and fly. Additionally, the cloak is able to alter its shape, being often used to act as «another set of hands» to attack an opponent when Strange’s own body has been incapacitated.

There were two distinctly different cloaks worn by Doctor Strange bequeathed to him by his mentor, the Ancient One: a billowing, full-length blue cloak, that had minor abilities and spells woven into it, and the later, red cloak that Strange is usually seen wearing. The first appearance of the first (blue) cloak was in Strange Tales #114 (November 1963). The first appearance of the second (red) cloak was in Strange Tales #127 (December 1964).^[73] The Cloak of Levitation is seen in a great many battles where it often plays a very significant role. While it is extremely durable, there are a few occasions when it is damaged. Its repair requires that Strange engage an ally, Enitharmon the Weaver.^[74][75]

The item has been referred to as a «relic» in the live-action movie Doctor Strange (2016). In this film (and other MCU films), the cloak appears to be sentient; not only does it rescue falling people on its own accord, but when Strange reached for a weapon in the Sanctum to fight an intruder, the cloaked yanked him to where a harness was sitting.

Eye of Agamotto[edit]

Orb of Agamotto[edit]

Aside from the Eye of Agamotto, the Orb of Agamotto is the other occult object that Doctor Strange owns.^[76] It is a powerful scrying crystal ball powered by the Agamotto entity to detect the use of magic anywhere in the world, providing Strange with a location and visual. It can also be used to monitor the shields that protect the planets created by the three sanctums.^[77] If Agamotto is inside the Orb, it becomes Strange’s ultimate source of knowledge.^[78]

The Orb of Agamotto rests in Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum in a room called the Chamber of Shadows. It usually is inside a display case with three curved legs. When summoned, the glass covering rises and the ball levitates. While powerful, the Orb has been blocked by exceptionally powerful mystic forces (such as Umar) who do not want their exact location known. On at least one occasion, it has been used to open a dimensional portal to the realm of Agamotto. In the film Thor, the Orb is briefly shown in Odin’s Trophy Room in Asgard.^[79]

Enemies[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2020)

The following are a selection of enemies of Doctor Strange:

• Aggamon – The ruler of the Purple Dimension.^[80]
• Baron Mordo – An evil wizard and former student of the Ancient One.^[81]
• D’Spayre – A fear-eating demon who is a member of the Fear Lords.^[82]
• Dagoth – A sea demon who is the spawn of Dagon.^[83]
• Dormammu – A demon who is the ruler of the Dark Dimension.^[84]
• Dweller-in-Darkness – A fear-generating demon who is a member of the Fear Lords.^[85]
• Enchantress – An Asgardian sorceress. Doctor Strange first clashed with her during the «Acts of Vengeance» storyline.^[86]
• Kaecilius – An evil wizard who works for Baron Mordo.^[87]
• Kaluu – A 500-year-old wizard and a former classmate of the Ancient One.^[88]
• Mindless Ones – The inhabitants of the Dark Dimension that serve as Dormammu’s foot soldiers.^[89]
• Mister Rasputin – A sorcerer who is the alleged descendant of Grigori Rasputin.^[90]
• Necromancer – Counter-Earth’s version of Doctor Strange.^[91]
• Nightmare – The ruler of the Dream Dimension.^[92]
• Paradox – A creation of Doctor Strange that was originally used to fill in for him.^[93]
• Satannish – A very-powerful extra-dimensional demon.^[94]
• Shanzar – The Sorcerer Supreme of the Strange Matter Dimension. He once possessed Hulk, turning him into Dark Hulk.^[95]
• Shuma-Gorath – A many-angled one who existed during Earth’s pre-history.^[96]
• Silver Dagger – A religious sorcerer.^[97]
• Sons of Satannish – A cult that worships Satannish.^[98]
• Tiboro – A humanoid who claims to be from the Sixth Dimension.^[99]
• Umar – A resident of the Dark Dimension and the sister of Dormammu.^[100]
• Undying Ones – A race of demons from another dimension with a variety of magic and a variety of forms.^[101]
• Yandroth – A Scientist Supreme from the otherdimensional planet Yann.^[102]

Cultural impact and legacy[edit]

Accolades[edit]

• In 2008, Wizard ranked Doctor Strange 83rd in their «200 Greatest Comic Book Characters of All Time» list.^[103]
• In 2012, IGN ranked Doctor Strange 33rd in their «Top 50 Avengers» list.^[104]
• In 2017, IGN ranked Doctor Strange 38th «Top 100 Comic Book Heroes» list.^[105]
• In 2018, Vanity Fair included Doctor Strange in their «Stan Lee’s Most Iconic Characters» list.^[106]
• In 2018, GameSpot ranked Doctor Strange 27th in their «50 Most Important Superheroes» list.^[107]
• In 2021, Collider ranked Doctor Strange 14th in their «20 Most Powerful Marvel Characters» list.^[108]
• In 2022, The A.V. Club ranked Doctor Strange 47th in their «100 best Marvel characters» list.^[109]
• In 2022, Collider ranked Doctor Strange 1st in their «Most Powerful Original Marvel Illuminati Members» list.^[110]
• In 2022, Screen Rant included Doctor Strange in their «10 Most Powerful Comic Book Wizards» list^[111] and in their «10 Smartest Magic Users In Comic Books» list.^[112]
• In 2022, CBR.com ranked Doctor Strange 1st in their «10 Best Sorcerer Supremes» list^[113] and 5th in their «10 Scariest Avengers» list.^[114]

Impact[edit]

• Doctor Strange inspired the name of the psychedelic band, Dr. Strangely Strange.^[115]
• Doctor Strange is referenced in the 1971 song «Mambo Sun» by glam rock band T. Rex on their album Electric Warrior.^[116]
• Doctor Strange is referenced in the song «Cymbaline» by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd on their 1969 album More.^[117]
• Doctor Strange appears on the cover of Pink Floyd’s second studio album A Saucerful of Secrets, which contains a hidden image based on a panel from a 1967 Doctor Strange comic book story. The image used came from Marvels Strange Tales #158 which was illustrated by Marie Severin.^[118][119]

Other versions[edit]

Two months before the debut of the sorcerer-hero Doctor Strange, Stan Lee (editor and story-plotter), Robert Bernstein (scripter, under the pseudonym «R. Berns»), and Jack Kirby (artist) introduced a criminal scientist and Ph.D. with the same surname (called Carl Strange). Making his sole appearance in the Iron Man story «The Stronghold of Dr. Strange» in Tales of Suspense #41 (1963), the character gained mental powers in a freak lightning strike.^[120]

1602[edit]

Set in the Marvel 1602 universe. Sir Stephen Strange, both the court physician of Queen Elizabeth I and a magician, senses that there are unnatural forces at work. He is the replacement in the 1602 universe for John Dee and is married to a version of Clea. Here, he cannot use his ‘Astral Projection’ (which he refers to as a magic mirror) as well as the modern one could, lacking modern materials, and is often physically drained after it is finished, and lacks memory of what he saw in astral form. During this time, he makes indirect contact with Uatu, who warns him about the danger caused by the ‘Forerunner’s’ arrival in the past, but is placed under a compulsion not to speak or act on this knowledge. Eventually, when Elizabeth is dead, he allows himself to be executed for witchcraft and treason so that his head, kept alive by Clea for some time after his execution, can continue to be of help by sharing the information he has gained from Uatu with the other heroes so that they can prevent the destruction of reality.^{[volume & issue needed]}

2099[edit]

Set in the Marvel 2099 universe. The Sorceress Supreme of Earth is a young woman who calls herself «Strange». She secretly shares her body with a monstrous demon. She is very inexperienced in her powers and uses them recklessly. In one incident, she causes the death of her brother. Her main opponent is Garokk who wishes to use her past torments and inexperience to gain the title of Sorcerer Supreme for himself.^[121]

In a ‘reset’ 2099 timeline where the Maestro has conquered a decimated world, he apparently kept Strange contained in a mystical circle.^[122] When Miguel O’Hara emerged into this timeline and released Strange, she claimed that the demon possessing her protected her from major world-shifts, working with Miguel to repair an old time machine of Doctor Doom’s so that he could return to 2015 and avert this timeline. However, after Miguel’s departure, Strange revealed that she was working with the Maestro and was under the control of the demon within her.^[123]

Strange later appears on Battleworld as a member of the Defenders 2099.^[124]

When Miguel returns to a new variation of the 2099 timeline where having superpowers is illegal, he witnesses Moon Knight banishing Strange’s demon being from her body using a soul sword.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Age of X[edit]

In the Age of X timeline, Doctor Strange poses as a Mutant-hunter for hire, but is in reality a double agent working with Magneto, who teleports mutants to Fortress X for safety.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Amalgam Comics[edit]

Set in the Amalgam Comics universe, Dr. Strange was combined with Doctor Fate and Charles Xavier into Dr. Strangefate. As the only character aware of the nature of the Amalgam Universe, he was the chief opponent of Access, who was attempting to separate the DC and Marvel Universes. Originally numbered as Earth-962.^[125]

Bullet Points[edit]

In the mini-series Bullet Points, Dr. Strange chooses to work for S.H.I.E.L.D., rather than seek out the Ancient One, in exchange for them restoring his hands. Later he is seen possessing claws similar to Wolverine’s.^[126]

Duckworld[edit]

Set in Howard the Duck’s home-world and home dimension. This version of Doctor Strange is Ducktor Strange, an anthropomorphic Duck. In this reality, he is still a Sorcerer (the «Mallard of the Mystic Arts»), but is also a drunken derelict, who seems to live in alleys drinking «sorcerous sauce» (alcohol). He has appeared in Howard the Duck magazine #6 (July 1980), wherein he sends Howard and Beverly back to Earth; and in She-Hulk, vol. 4, #20 (Sept 2007), wherein he helps Stu the Intern return to Earth (since Stu’s extensive knowledge of Marvel Comics continuity reminded him that he could find the Ducktor and how he could be returned by the Mystic Mallard).^{[volume & issue needed]}

Earth-A/Earth-721[edit]

In She-Hulk (vol. 2) #21, a non-powered counterpart of Dr. Strange from Earth-A comes to Earth-616 (aka Earth-B) and impersonates the 616 Dr. Strange. The impostor is revealed when he cannot think of a rhyme for the word «Cyttorak».^{[volume & issue needed]}

Earth X[edit]

Set in the Earth X universe. Dr. Strange’s body is murdered by Clea (this Earth’s Sorceress Supreme) under the behest of Loki. His astral form aids Captain Marvel in his journey through Death’s Realm as one of the few inhabiting heroes aware of his death.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Exiles[edit]

An alternative Dr. Strange helped the Exiles briefly. This character was not a mystic, but instead was still a practicing physician who specialized in superhumans. This version of Doctor Strange was killed by an alternative version of Deadpool.^[127]

Fantastic Four: The End[edit]

In this series, Dr. Strange is now the Ancient One and had a daughter with Clea who is the new Dr. Strange.^[128]

Guardians of the Galaxy[edit]

In the alternative future of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr. Strange assumed the title of the Ancient One (previously held by his mentor) and took on a disciple of his own, a Lem named Krugarr. Strange/the Ancient One was eventually killed by Dormammu, who was defeated by the combined efforts of Krugarr, his disciple Talon, and the Guardians.^[129]

Marvel Zombies[edit]

In the Marvel Zombies universe, Dr. Strange is one of the last heroes in the alternative «zombie world» to be transformed into a zombie. He was last seen in living form as part of Nick Fury’s resistance to defeat the zombified Marvel superheroes in the spinoff Dead Days before he and the rest of the surviving superheroes are later overwhelmed by the zombie Fantastic Four and turned.^[130] He participates in the multi-zombie attack on Doctor Doom’s castle, in an effort to capture and devour the unaffected Latverian citizens inside.^[131] While part of a multi-zombie chase of Ultimate Reed Richards, he vanishes under a rain of cars launched by Magneto.^[132] However, he later resurfaces in Marvel Zombies 3 but with limited function as a result of Magneto’s wrath. He is part of Kingpin’s undead alliance and can only perform two spells, one of which allows viewers to see into other universes which becomes an essential tool to Kingpin’s plans. Ultron kills Zombie Dr. Strange.^[133]

MC2[edit]

Set in the MC2 universe. Dr. Strange is retired and the title of Sorcerer Supreme has been passed to the younger Doc Magus.^[134]

Mutant X[edit]

Set in the Mutant X universe. Dr. Strange was the Man-Thing.^[135] The title of Sorcerer Supreme had been taken by Mordo.^[136]

Spider-Ham[edit]

Set in the Larval zooniverse, the talking animal version of Doctor Strange is Croctor Strange, an anthropomorphic crocodile.^[137]

Thor: Vikings[edit]

Dr. Strange assists Thor in the MAX mini series Thor: Vikings, when zombified, evil Vikings massacre Manhattan by pillaging and killing its citizens. Strange helps Thor locate the descendants of a victim that the Vikings had slain, just after the victim, a village wiseman had placed a curse on the Vikings that caused them to become zombified. With Strange’s instruction, the battle-experienced descendants all fight the Vikings with Thor.^[138]

Ultimate Marvel[edit]

There are two versions of Doctor Strange that reside in the Ultimate Marvel Universe.

Stephen Strange Sr.[edit]

First appearing in flashbacks, Dr. Stephen Strange married his former student, Clea, and the two of them had a child, Stephen Jr. Strange Sr. later vanished, and Clea decided to raise Stephen Jr. away from magic.^[139] The title of «Sorcerer Supreme» was only self-proclaimed by the elder Strange as reported in the comics during a TV news broadcast.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Stephen Strange Jr.[edit]

As a college student, Stephen Jr. was approached by Wong, who told him about his father and took him on as a student. He supports himself as a new-age guru to the rich, powerful and famous, and is seen as a celebrity, appearing on television talk shows. He is known to the public as «Dr. Strange», although he does not hold a medical degree or doctorate. He has bemoaned his lack of knowledge in things mystical and usually, just barely saves the day with one last desperate, untried spell. Starting in Ultimate Spider-Man #107, this Doctor Strange is a member of Daredevil’s team fighting against the Kingpin, the Ultimate Knights.^[140]

In Ultimatum, Strange is gruesomely killed by Dormammu when Hulk rampages through his house. A mysterious person later found his body.^[141]

Venomverse[edit]

A Venomized version of Doctor Strange appears in Venomverse, who is responsible for gathering all of the different incarnations of Venom. His Earth was eradicated by the Poisons so he had gathered Venoms from across the multiverse to prevent the Poisons from consuming more of them. He is captured by the Poisons and he realizes that instead of bringing more Venoms to fight, he had brought the Poisons more Venoms to consume. In the climax he sends all of the surviving Venoms to their universes while the bomb built by Rocket Raccoon explodes. His fate is unknown.^[142]

What If?…[edit]

Dr. Strange also exists in several What If?… multiverses.

• In «What If….Doctor Strange Had Been Disciple of Dormammu?», Strange has his hands healed by Mordo and does not become a student of the Ancient One. Mordo later converts Strange into a disciple of Dormammu. When Strange is forced into a battle between Dormammu and the Ancient One, he decides in favor of good, and finally becomes a disciple of the Ancient One.^[143]
• In «What If…Dr. Strange Had Not Become Master of the Mystic Arts?», Dr. Strange never travels to Tibet, and Mordo becomes the Sorcerer Supreme.^[144]

In other media[edit]

Television[edit]

• Doctor Strange appeared in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode «7 Little Superheroes», voiced by John Stephenson.^[145]
• Doctor Strange makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode «The Dark Phoenix Saga (Part 3)».^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears in a self titled episode of Spider-Man: The Animated Series, voiced by John Vernon.^[145]
• Doctor Strange appears in The Incredible Hulk episode «Mind Over Anti-Matter», voiced by Maurice LaMarche.^[146]
• Doctor Strange appears in The Super Hero Squad Show, voiced by Roger Rose.^[147] First appearing in the episode «Enter: Dormammu!», he behaves irrationally due to an Infinity Fractal getting lodged inside the Eye of Agamotto until the Super Hero Squad cure him. In later episodes, he takes in the squad for a night at the Sanctum Sanctorum, fights the Enchantress, forms the Defenders, and aids Chthon in recovering his dimension from Doctor Doom.
• Doctor Strange appears in the Disney XD Marvel animated series Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.,^[148] voiced originally by Jack Coleman,^[149] and later by Liam O’Brien.^[150]
• Doctor Strange appears in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, voiced by Yasunori Masutani in the Japanese dub and Wally Wingert (episode 2) and Liam O’Brien (episode 46) in the English dub.^[151]
• Doctor Strange appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes — Black Panther: Trouble in Wakanda, voiced again by Liam O’Brien.^[152]
• Doctor Strange appears in Marvel Future Avengers, voiced again by Yasunori Masutani in the Japanese dub and Liam O’Brien in the English dub.^[153]
• Doctor Strange appears in the Spider-Man episode «Amazing Friends»,^[154] voiced again by Liam O’Brien.^[155] This version is a member of the Avengers.

Film[edit]

• Doctor Stephen Strange appears in a self-titled film (1978), portrayed by Peter Hooten. This version is a psychiatrist.^[156]
• Doctor Mordrid began development as a Doctor Strange adaptation, but the studio’s license expired before production began.^[157][158] As a result, the project was rewritten to change the main character’s name and slightly alter his origin.^[157] Additionally, the main character was originally going to be called «Doctor Mortalis» and Jack Kirby worked on the early concept art.^[159]
• Doctor Strange appears in Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme, voiced by Bryce Johnson.^[160]
• Doctor Strange makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Planet Hulk as a member of the Illuminati.
• Doctor Strange appears in Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell, voiced again by Liam O’Brien.^[161]

Marvel Cinematic Universe[edit]

Doctor Stephen Strange appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch. First appearing in a self-titled live-action film (2016), this version is a successful, wealthy neurosurgeon who becomes severely injured following a car accident, leading him to travel the world for answers to heal his injuries, eventually landing in Kamar-Taj and becoming a Master of the Mystic Arts. He makes further appearances in the live-action films Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Additionally, alternate timeline versions of Strange also appear in the Disney+ animated series What If… ? and Spider-Man: Freshman Year^[162] as well as Multiverse of Madness.

Video games[edit]

• Doctor Strange appears as a non-player character (NPC) in The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin. This version serves as Spider-Man’s advisor.
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by James Horan.^[163]
• Doctor Strange appears in Hsien-Ko’s ending in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.^[164] He later appears as a playable character in the updated version, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3,^[165] voiced by Rick Pasqualone.^[166]
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, voiced by Charlie Adler.^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth, voiced by Chris Cox.^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Heroes,^[167] voiced by Nick Jameson.^[168]
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes,^[169] voiced again by James Horan.^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions.
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel’s Avengers, voiced by Wally Wingert while Jack Coleman voices the version that appears in the «All-New, All-Different Doctor Strange» DLC.^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Future Fight.^[170]
• Two versions of Doctor Strange, «Stephen Strange» and the «Sorcerer Supreme», appear as playable characters in Marvel Puzzle Quest.^[171]
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, voiced again by Liam O’Brien.^[172]
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Powers United VR, voiced by Liam O’Brien once again.^[151]
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, voiced again by Liam O’Brien.^{[citation needed]}
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel Future Revolution, voiced again by Liam O’Brien.^[173]
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel’s Midnight Suns, voiced again by Rick Pasqualone.^[174][175] This version displays a rivalry with Iron Man.

Novels[edit]

• In 1979, Pocket Books published Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts: Nightmare, by William Rotsler.^[176][177]
• In the 1968 book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfe writes about Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters’ interest in comics and specifically refers to Doctor Strange.^[178]
• In the 2006 novel Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours, by author Jim Butcher, Strange appears briefly as a fellow superhero that Spider-Man seeks immediate assistance from amidst a battle with Morlun’s vengeful siblings.

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Doctor Strange at Marvel.com
• Doctor Strange at Don Markstein’s Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016.

Морфемный разбор слова:

Однокоренные слова к слову:

Доктор Стивен Винсент Стрэндж (англ?

Доктор Стивен Винсент Стрэндж (англ.

Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange более известный как Доктор Стрэндж (англ.

Doctor Strange) — персонаж комиксов издательства Marvel Comics ; супергерой, обладающий магическими силами.

Бывший нейрохирург Стрэндж является Верховным магом Земли, основным защитником планеты от мистических угроз.

Дебютировав в Серебряном веке комиксов, персонаж был задействован в собственной одноимённой серии, а также других товарах Marvel Comics.

После этого Стрэндж начал появляться в различных мультсериалах, основанных на Marvel Comics.

В одноимённом фильме 2016 года в рамках Кинематографической вселенной MarveI роль Стивена Стрэнджа исполнил британский актёр Бенедикт Камбербэтч[1].

А где сам вопрос то?

Doctor Stephen Vincent strange (eng.

Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange known as Doctor strange (eng.

Doctor Strange) is a character from the comics

publisher Marvel Comics ; superhero with magical powers.

A former neurosurgeon, strange is the sorcerer Supreme of Earth, the main defender of the planet from mystical threats.

Debuting in the Silver age of comics, the character was involved in his own eponymous series, as well as other products by Marvel Comics.

I please give 40 points not in the translator

First appearance of Dr.

Strange outside of comics took place in the television film «Doctor strange, » which I do not understand fans of the comics and was negatively received by critics, causing all the plans to create a full series about the character was never implemented.

Then strange began to appear in various animated series based on Marvel Comics.

In the film by 2016 in the framework of the Cinematic universe MarveI the role of Stephen Strange played by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch[1].

Источник

Доктор Стрэндж

The character was first portrayed in live-action by Peter Hooten in the 1978 television film Dr. Strange. Benedict Cumberbatch portrays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Doctor Strange (2016), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Cumberbatch will reprise his role in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).

Contents

История публикации [ править ]

Создание [ править ]

Художник Стив Дитко и писатель Стэн Ли описали, что персонаж изначально был идеей Дитко, написавшего в 2008 году: «Самостоятельно я принес Ли пятистраничный рассказ, написанный карандашом со сценарием страницы / панели моего идея нового, другого типа персонажа для разнообразия в Marvel Comics. Моего персонажа назвали Доктором Стрэнджем, потому что он появится в Strange Tales ». [6] В письме 1963 года Джерри Бейлсу Ли назвал идею персонажа Дитко, сказав:

Early years [ edit ]

Доктор Стрэндж дебютировал в Strange Tales # 110 (июль 1963 г.) [8], разделенной книге, разделенной с функцией « Человек-факел ». Доктор Стрэндж появился в выпусках № 110–111 и № 114 до восьмистраничного рассказа о происхождении персонажа в № 115 (декабрь 1963 г.). Взгляд сценариста Ли на персонажа был вдохновлен радиопрограммой Чанду-Волшебник, которая транслировалась по Mutual Broadcasting System в 1930-х годах. [9] Доктор Стрэндж сопровождал заклинания искусными артефактами, такими как « Глаз Агамотто » и « Жезл Ватумба », а также мистически звучащей лексикой, такой как «Седые воинства Хоггота!». [5] Хотя в них часто упоминаются имена известных мифологических существ, Ли сказал, что никогда не имел представления, что означают заклинания, и использовал их просто потому, что они звучали мистически и загадочно. [10] Дитко продемонстрировал сюрреалистические мистические пейзажи и все более яркие визуальные эффекты, которые помогли сделать эту функцию фаворитом студентов колледжа в то время. Историк комиксов Майк Бентон писал:

1980-е [ править ]

1990-е [ править ]

Стрэндж появился с Человеком-факелом и Вещью в одноразовой публикации Strange Tales vol. 3, # 1 (ноябрь 1994 г.). [32]

Доктор Стрэндж появился в четырех графических романах : Доктор Стрэндж: В Шамбалу (1986); Доктор Стрэндж и Доктор Дум: Триумф и Мучение (1989); Человек-паук / доктор. Стрэндж: Путь к пыльной смерти (1992); и доктор Стрэндж: Что вас беспокоит, Стивен? (1997). [34]

2000-е [ править ]

During Brian Michael Bendis’ time as writer, Doctor Doom attacked the Avengers and manipulated the Scarlet Witch into eliminating most of the mutant population. Doctor Strange’s failure to recognize Doom’s hand in the former and to stop the latter caused him to start to doubt his abilities. [volume & issue needed] After he was forced to use dark magic to confront an enraged Hulk, [36] followed by further use of dark spells to save the New Avengers from the Hood’s supervillain army, [37] Strange renounced his status as Sorcerer Supreme, as he felt that he was no longer worthy of it. The Eye of Agamotto passed the mantle on to Brother Voodoo. [38]

He was also featured in The Order, which spun out of the 2001 Defenders revival, and the Indefensible Defenders mini-series. [volume & issue needed]

2010s [ edit ]

Doctor Strange appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010-2013 The New Avengers series. [39] Brother Voodoo, now newly appointed Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Voodoo, sacrifices himself in order to stop the powerful mystical entity Agamotto from reclaiming the Eye. [40] A guilt-ridden Strange rejoins the New Avengers, and offers the team his valet Wong to act as their housekeeper. [41]

Strange eventually regains his position of Sorcerer Supreme, [42] but is possessed by a demon [volume & issue needed] and becomes leader of the Black Priests. [43]

After the various Marvel universes merge into one, Doctor Strange acts as righthand man of Doctor Doom, who has become the ruler of this world after erasing all recollection of the previous separate realities that existed. Circumstances force Strange to open a pod that releases the surviving heroes of the original Marvel continuity, known as Earth-616. Doom kills Doctor Strange. [44]

In 2015, Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo teamed up for the fourth volume of Doctor Strange. [45] A new character, reluctant librarian Zelma Stanton, agrees to reorganize Strange’s magical library. [46] [full citation needed] Brother Voodoo returns, and the series and a spinoff, Dr. Strange: Last Days of Magic, sees such characters as Medico Mistico, Magik, Scarlet Witch, Mahatma Doom, Professor Xu, Monako, and Alice Gulliver. [47] [full citation needed] В связи с фундаментальным изменением законов магии и потерей своих прежних ресурсов Доктор Стрэндж вынужден полагаться на свои собственные физические навыки и изобретательное использование своих немногих функциональных заклинаний. В конце концов, у него больше нет доступа к большинству своих прежних заклинаний или левитирующей накидке. [48] [ требуется полная ссылка ]

During the «Infinity Countdown» storyline, Doctor Strange goes on a space mission. He encounters Super-Skrull who has the Time Gem. After defeating Super-Skrull, Doctor Strange claims the Time Gem. [49] Doctor Strange then tracks down the Mind Gem and finds it in Turk Barrett’s possession as Turk managed to evade him. When Black Widow’s clone arrives seeking out Doctor Strange where she wants to dispose of the Space Stone, he did not want to take it as he knows what would happen if they are in the same proximity. Using a magic spell, Doctor Strange spoke to the holders of the Infinity Gems and requested a parley to reform the Infinity Watch. He states to Adam Warlock, Black Widow’s clone, Captain Marvel, Star-Lord, and Turk Barrett that they need to safeguard them from such calamities even if one of them is Thanos. [50]

Fictional character biography [ edit ]

Стивен Стрэндж, доктор медицины, доктор философии, эгоистичный врач, который заботится о богатстве только из своей карьеры. Кости в его руках сломаны в автокатастрофе, что привело к обширному повреждению нервов. Его руки неконтролируемо дрожат, что делает невозможным операцию. Слишком тщеславный, чтобы соглашаться на преподавательскую работу, Стрэндж отчаянно ищет способ восстановить двигательную функцию в своих руках.

In The Unbelievable Gwenpool #3, Strange encounters Gwendolyn Poole, who explains herself to be from a reality where all Marvel characters are fictional characters in comic books. As Strange helps her locate her home reality in order to create a fake background for her in the Marvel Universe so that she can get a Social Security number, driver’s license and other essential documents, he discovers that Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast to play him in Gwen’s universe, remarking that he «could see that». [57]

Powers and abilities [ edit ]

Powers and skills [ edit ]

In addition to his magical abilities, Strange is trained in several martial arts disciplines, [62] including judo, [63] and has shown proficiency with numerous magically conjured weapons including swords and axes. [64] Strange was a skilled neurosurgeon before nerve damage impaired his hands. [52]

Doctor Strange is described as «the mightiest magician in the cosmos» [65] and «more powerful by far than any of your fellow humanoids» by Eternity, the sentience of the Marvel Universe. [66] He holds the title of Sorcerer Supreme beginning with the 1973 storyline in which the Ancient One dies, [21] and retains the title thereafter, except during an interruption from 1992 [67] to 1995. [68] He relinquishes the title once again in a 2009 storyline, [38] but reclaims it in a 2012 story when he proves himself willing to protect the world even without the title. [42]

Артефакты и технологии [ править ]

Книга Вишанти [ править ]

The Book of the Vishanti is portrayed as being written by unknown authors, is closely associated with Doctor Strange, and is the greatest known source of white magical knowledge on Earth. The Book of the Vishanti contains spells of defensive magic and is indestructible. Its counterpart, the Darkhold, contains all the knowledge of black magic in the Marvel Universe, and is likewise indestructible. It is possible to destroy single pages of either book, but the balancing spell in the other book is destroyed as well to maintain a mystical balance. A collective of the three powerful magical beings – Agamotto, Oshtur and Hoggoth, known as the Vishanti – must allow the spell to be destroyed.

Помимо заклинаний и мистических знаний, книга также содержит информацию о людях и событиях. Неизвестно, как книга может содержать самую свежую информацию, хотя она была написана тысячи лет назад.

The first known owner of the book was the Atlantean sorcerer Varnae from around 18,500 BC. The next known owner was the Babylonian god Marduk Kurios. Marduk set a griffin to guard the Book. The sorcerer known as the Ancient One traveled back in time to c. 4000 BC and defeated the griffin and returned to the 20th century. The Ancient One would remain the book’s owner, despite a brief loss when the dark wizard Kaluu returned the Book to the Griffin, until he deemed his student, Doctor Strange, worthy of taking it.

Плащ левитации [ править ]

Внешний вид [ править ]

There were two distinctly different cloaks worn by Doctor Strange bequeathed to him by his mentor, the Ancient One: a billowing, full-length blue cloak, that had minor abilities and spells woven into it, and the later, red cloak that Strange is usually seen wearing. The first appearance of the first (blue) cloak was in Strange Tales #114 (November 1963). The first appearance of the second (red) cloak was in Strange Tales #127 (December 1964). [69] The Cloak of Levitation is seen in a great many battles where it often plays a very significant role. While it is extremely durable, there are a few occasions when it is damaged. Its repair requires that Strange engage an ally, Enitharmon the Weaver. [70] [71]

Глаз Агамотто [ править ]

Сфера Агамотто [ править ]

The Orb of Agamotto rests in Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum in a room called the Chamber of Shadows. It usually is inside a display case with three curved legs. When summoned, the glass covering rises and the ball levitates. While powerful, the Orb has been blocked by exceptionally powerful mystic forces (such as Umar) who do not want their exact location known. On at least one occasion, it has been used to open a dimensional portal to the realm of Agamotto. In the film Thor, the Orb is briefly shown in Odin’s Trophy Room in Asgard. [75]

Enemies [ edit ]

The following are the enemies of Doctor Strange:

Другие версии [ править ]

The character has starred in several alternate universe titles. In the miniseries Marvel 1602 #1-#8 (Nov. 2003 – June 2004), Sir Stephen Strange is both the court physician and magician to Queen Elizabeth I. The title Spider-Man 2099 introduced a female version of Strange who shares her body with a demon in issue #33 (1995). The miniseries Strange #1-#6 (Nov, 2004 – April 2005), written by J. Michael Straczynski and Samm Barnes, with artwork by Brandon Peterson, reimagined the character’s origin, allies and enemies in a contemporary setting.

In the miniseries Marvel Zombies #1-#5 (Feb.–June 2006), Strange is infected with a zombie virus along with many other heroes. He reappears in the second sequel, Marvel Zombies 3 #1-#4 (Dec. 2008 – March 2009)

In the alternate future universe of the Marvel imprint MC2, Doctor Strange is no longer the Sorcerer Supreme, the title there held by Doc Magnus. Doctor Strange uses his remaining power to reform the superhero team the Defenders in A-Next #3 (1998) and to fight the Norse god of mischief, Loki, Last Hero Standing #4 (Feb. 2005).

The Ultimate Marvel title Ultimate Marvel Team-Up introduced a version of the character called «Stephen Strange, Jr.», the son of the original Doctor Strange, in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #12 (July 2002). The character was killed in battle by the Ultimate Marvel version of Dormammu in the miniseries Ultimatum #1-#5 (Jan.–Sept. 2009).

1602 [ edit ]

Set in the Marvel 1602 universe. Sir Stephen Strange, both the court physician of Queen Elizabeth I and a magician, senses that there are unnatural forces at work. He is the replacement in the 1602 universe for John Dee and is married to a version of Clea. Here, he cannot use his ‘Astral Projection’ (which he refers to as a magic mirror) as well as the modern one could, lacking modern materials, and is often physically drained after it is finished, and lacks memory of what he saw in astral form. During this time, he makes indirect contact with Uatu, который предупреждает его об опасности, вызванной появлением «Предтечи» в прошлом, но вынужден не говорить и не действовать на основании этого знания. В конце концов, когда Элизабет мертва, он позволяет казнить себя за колдовство и измену, чтобы его голова, которую Клеа сохраняла в живых в течение некоторого времени после казни, могла продолжать помогать, делясь информацией, полученной от Уату, с другие герои, чтобы они могли предотвратить разрушение реальности. [ требуется том и выпуск ]

2099 [ править ]

Set in the Marvel 2099 universe. The Sorceress Supreme of Earth is a young woman who calls herself «Strange». She secretly shares her body with a monstrous demon. She is very inexperienced in her powers and uses them recklessly. In one incident, she causes the death of her brother. Her main opponent is Garokk who wishes to use her past torments and inexperience to gain the title of Sorcerer Supreme for himself. [98]

In a ‘reset’ 2099 timeline where the Maestro has conquered a decimated world, he apparently kept Strange contained in a mystical circle. [99] When Miguel O’Hara emerged into this timeline and released Strange, she claimed that the demon possessing her protected her from major world-shifts, working with Miguel to repair an old time machine of Doctor Doom’s so that he could return to 2015 and avert this timeline. However, after Miguel’s departure, Strange revealed that she was working with the Maestro and was under the control of the demon within her. [100]

Strange later appears on Battleworld as a member of the Defenders 2099. [101]

When Miguel returns to a new variation of the 2099 timeline where having superpowers is illegal, he witnesses Strange’s demon being banished from her body with Moon Knight using a soul sword. [volume & issue needed]

Age of X [ edit ]

In the Age of X timeline, Doctor Strange poses as a Mutant-hunter for hire, but is in reality a double agent working with Magneto, who teleports mutants to Fortress X for safety. [volume & issue needed]

Amalgam Comics [ edit ]

Bullet Points [ править ]

Duckworld [ править ]

Set in Howard the Duck’s home-world and home dimension. This version of Doctor Strange is Ducktor Strange, an anthropomorphic Duck. In this reality, he is still a Sorcerer (the «Mallard of the Mystic Arts»), but is also a drunken derelict, who seems to live in alleys drinking «sorcerous sauce» (alcohol). He has appeared in Howard the Duck magazine #6 (July 1980), wherein he sends Howard and Beverly back to Earth; and in She-Hulk, vol. 4, #20 (Sept 2007), wherein he helps Stu the Intern return to Earth (since Stu’s extensive knowledge of Marvel Comics continuity reminded him that he could find the Ducktor and how he could be returned by the Mystic Mallard). [volume & issue needed]

Earth-A/Earth-721 [ edit ]

In She-Hulk (vol. 2) #21, a non-powered counterpart of Dr. Strange from Earth-A comes to Earth-616 (aka Earth-B) and impersonates the 616 Dr. Strange. The impostor is revealed when he can’t think of a rhyme for the word «Cyttorak». [volume & issue needed]

Earth X [ edit ]

Set in the Earth X universe. Dr. Strange’s body is murdered by Clea (this Earth’s Sorceress Supreme) under the behest of Loki. His astral form aids Captain Marvel in his journey through Death’s Realm as one of the few inhabiting heroes aware of his death. [volume & issue needed]

Exiles [ edit ]

An alternative Dr. Strange helped the Exiles briefly. This character was not a mystic, but instead was still a practicing physician who specialized in superhumans. This version of Doctor Strange was killed by an alternative version of Deadpool. [104]

Fantastic Four: The End [ edit ]

В этом сериале доктор Стрэндж теперь является Древним, и у него была дочь от Клио, которая стала новым доктором Стрэнджем. [105]

Стражи Галактики [ править ]

Marvel Zombies [ править ]

In the Marvel Zombies universe, Dr. Strange is one of the last heroes in the alternative «zombie world» to be transformed into a zombie. He was last seen in living form as part of Nick Fury’s resistance to defeat the zombified Marvel superheroes in the spinoff Dead Days before he and the rest of the surviving superheroes are later overwhelmed by the zombie Fantastic Four and turned. [107] He participates in the multi-zombie attack on Doctor Doom’s castle, in an effort to capture and devour the unaffected Latverian citizens inside. [108] While part of a multi-zombie chase of Ultimate Reed Richards, he vanishes under a rain of cars launched by Magneto. [109] However, he later resurfaces in Marvel Zombies 3 but with limited function as a result of Magneto’s wrath. He is part of Kingpin’s undead alliance and can only perform two spells, one of which allows viewers to see into other universes which becomes an essential tool to Kingpin’s plans. Ultron kills Zombie Dr. Strange. [110]

MC2 [ edit ]

Set in the MC2 universe. Dr. Strange is retired and the title of Sorcerer Supreme has been passed to the younger Doc Magus. [111]

Mutant X [ edit ]

Ветчина-паук [ править ]

Тор: Викинги [ править ]

Dr. Strange assists Thor in the MAX mini series Thor: Vikings, when zombified, evil Vikings massacre Manhattan by pillaging and killing its citizens. Strange helps Thor locate the descendants of a victim that the Vikings had slain, just after the victim, a village wiseman had placed a curse on the Vikings that caused them to become zombified. With Strange’s instruction, the battle-experienced descendants all fight the Vikings with Thor. [115]

Ultimate Marvel [ edit ]

Set in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. First appearing in flashbacks, Dr. Stephen Strange married his former student, Clea, and the two of them had a child, Stephen Jr. Strange Sr. later vanished, and Clea decided to raise Stephen Jr. away from magic. [volume & issue needed]

As a college student, Stephen Jr. was approached by Wong, who told him about his father and took him on as a student. He supports himself as a new-age guru to the rich, powerful and famous, and is seen as a celebrity, appearing on television talk shows. He is known to the public as «Dr. Strange», although he does not hold a medical degree or doctorate. He has bemoaned his lack of knowledge in things mystical and usually, just barely saves the day with one last desperate, untried spell. Starting in Ultimate Spider-Man #107, this Doctor Strange is a member of Daredevil’s team fighting against the Kingpin, the Ultimate Knights. In Ultimatum, Strange is gruesomely killed by Dormammu when Ultimate Hulk rampages through his house. [116]

The title of «Sorcerer Supreme» was only self-proclaimed by the elder Strange as reported in the comics during a TV news broadcast. [volume & issue needed]

Venomverse [ edit ]

В других СМИ [ править ]

Телевидение [ править ]

Фильм [ править ]

Video games [ edit ]

Novels [ edit ]

Music [ edit ]

Прием [ править ]

In 2008, Doctor Strange was ranked 83rd in Wizard ‘ s «200 Greatest Comic Book Characters of All Time» list, [158] and in 2012 was ranked 33rd in IGN’s list of «The Top 50 Avengers». [159] He was also ranked 38th on IGN’s list of «Top 100 Comic Book Heroes». [160]

Notes [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Writer Roy Thomas and penciller Andre Coates created this new series that ran until 1995.

Scribes J. Michael Straczynski and Samm Barnes, with artist Brandon Peterson, retold Dr. Strange’s mystical origin for a new generation of fans in this six-issue limited series.

Dr. Strange’s archenemy, Baron Mordo, was introduced in Strange Tales #111.

Clea, Dr. Strange’s longtime girlfriend from the Dark Dimension, debuted in Strange Tales #126.

Источник

Наверняка стало известно об участии в картине Доктора Осьминога, а также были сделаны жирнейшие намеки на возвращение Электро с Зеленым гоблином. При этом до сих пор неясна диспозиция всех противников на импровизированном поле боя, поэтому в фанатском сообществе назрела очередная безумная теория.

Согласно ей, вышеперечисленные суперзлодеи вкупе с Ящером и Песочным Человеком на поверку могут оказаться вполне приличными гражданами, что при желании, натянув хорошенечко метафорическую сову на глобус, можно логически увязать с трилогией Сэма Рэйми и дилогией Марка Уэбба.

А вот настоящим аспидом, душегубом и ультимативным злом может выступить не кто иной, как доктор Стрэндж, или же одна из его версий из альтернативных реальностей. В самом трейлере на это указывают как минимум две сцены: поездка на крыше поездка, где Паук противопоставляется верховного магу, и эпизод с вышибанием астрального тела Паркера.

Способов подвести к тому, что старина Стивен не такой уж и лапочка, несколько.

Версия первая. Стрэндж, которого показывают в трейлере, на самом деле замаскировавшийся Мефисто, появления коего фанаты ждут еще со времен «Ванды/Вижна».

В пользу этого домысла говорит то, что уж слишком просто волшебник, призванный защищать земное измерение, решился на эксперименты с пространственно-временным континуумом из-за хотелок какого-то тинейджера, пусть даже и помогшего в свое время в спасении половины Вселенной. Кроме того, сам Стрэндж после потери Камня времени в «Войне бесконечности» должен был стать значительно слабее, поэтому местный Дьявол запросто мог отправить душу колдуна в какой-нибудь специально припасенный для этого случая котел. При этом сам Глаз Агамотто, который раньше вмещал в себя камень времени, почему-то до сих пор всегда присутствует в кадре.

Кроме того, до сих пор неясно, что же на самом деле послужило причиной создания мультивселенной: опыты Ванды с книгой Даркхолд в «Ванде/Вижне», убийство Сильвией Канга в «Локи» или ритуал Стрэнджа в помощь Питеру Паркеру.

Возможно, что все три события происходили одновременно, что и послужило причиной столь масштабных коллапсов.

Вышеперечисленные теории хоть и выглядят стройно и достаточно занятно, на практике могут запросто не найти подтверждения, хоть и сюжетный поворот со сменой амплуа героя Камбербэтча выглядел бы очень интересно.

Теперь стоит дождаться выхода самого фильма, премьера которого назначена на декабрь текущего года.

Рецензии

В Фокусе

Новости

Рубрики

Источник

For other uses, see Doctor Strange (disambiguation).

Doctor Strange}}

Stephen Vincent Strange M.D., Ph.D is a powerful sorcerer and a leading member of the Masters of the Mystic Arts. Originally a brilliant yet arrogant neurosurgeon, Strange suffered a car accident that had resulted in his hands being crippled. When Western medicine failed to restore his hands, Strange embarked on a journey that led him to the Masters of the Mystic Arts as well as the discovery of magic and alternate dimensions, being trained by the Ancient One and Karl Mordo. Though his focus was healing his hands, Strange learned more about the mystic arts and soon helped the Masters prevent Kaecilius and the Zealots from merging Earth with the Dark Dimension, but not before witnessing the death of the Ancient One. With the demise of his mentor, Strange then became the protector of the Sanctum Sanctorum in New York City as well as Earth’s protector from inter-dimensional threats.

Biography

Early life

Stephen Strange was born in New York City . He had a sister named Donna, who eventually died due to unknown reasons. He went to medical school and eventually graduated with an MD-PhD in four years.

Career as a Neurosurgeon

Stephen Vincent Strange was a physician-scientist who specialized in neurological surgery and his research focused on stimulation neurogenesis, which is the formation of new nerve cells. As his medical career progressed, his popularity increased to the point where he was labeled by Project Insight as a threat to HYDRA.^[3] By 2016, he was one of the top surgeons in New York City and was exclusively interviewed by WHiH World News about new life-saving techniques he had been investigating in his field.^[4]

Strange eventually became attracted to Christine Palmer, a fellow surgeon who worked alongside him in the ER department of Metro-General Hospital. The two later began a relationship; one that did not last due to Strange’s arrogance and his focus on his career.^[5]

On Top of the World

File:Doctor Strange Teaser 10.png

After completing a successful surgery, Strange was asked by Palmer to help with a patient who had been injured in a firefight. Despite the objections of fellow surgeon Nicodemus West, who wanted to start recovering the patient’s organs, Strange found an initially missed bullet lodged in the patient’s brain, which caused him to have a complete Nervous System shutdown, causing West to pronounce him dead and saved his life.

File:DS P 05.jpg

Immediately following the surgery, Strange asked Palmer if she and West were sleeping together. Palmer denied the accusation, stating it was against the «Strange Policy,» a policy against dating coworkers that she named after him.

Strange proceeded to tell Palmer that he was set to speak at a American Neurological Association dinner later that night and invited her to accompany him. Palmer declined, stating that she never enjoyed going to speaking engagements and that the only reason he went was because it boosted his already absurdly large ego.^[5]

Fall From Grace

File:Doctor Strange Teaser 7.png

Later that night, while en route to the dinner, Strange received a phone call from his colleague Billy, who had come across three potential surgeries. After turning down the first two options, he eventually showed interest in a female schizophrenic.

File:Doctor Strange 26.jpg

Strange took his eyes off the road so he could look at the patient’s records only to collide with another car and fly off the road before crashing into a nearby river bank.

File:Doctor Strange Teaser 5.png

He was immediately rushed to Metro-General and underwent a surgery that lasted eleven hours. When Strange woke up the following day, he learned from Palmer that both of his hands, which were crushed by the dashboard of his car, had been subjected to severe nerve damage and rendered inoperable.^[5]

Searching For A Cure

After being released from Metro-General Hospital, Strange spent most of his money on seven different operations and numerous rehabilitation techniques, but all proved to be unsuccessful. With each new attempt, he was forced to sell his lavish lifestyle and belongings to fund the operations, leaving him with very little left to his name.One day he was on a video call with a doctor who stated that he cannot help him and turned him down , upsetting him, Christine came to his apartement trying to convince him to stop wasting all his money on fixing his hands and telling him to move on by assuring him that there were other ways to save lives, Strange however did not want to move on but find a way to restore his hands, he then lashed out at Christine by stating that she is only pitying him because she loves a sob story which Strange saw himself as , this hurt Palmer who then demanded him to apologise and when he refused , stating that she should leave. She left him and walked out of his life ,later during one physical rehabilitation session his instructor mentioned Jonathan Pangborn, a paraplegic who had regained the ability to walk when Strange wanted to know how to heal his hands.

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When the instructor sent him Pangborn’s file, Strange tracked him down. Despite his initial reluctance due to Strange having refused to take him as a patient before, Pangborn agreed to help when Strange revealed his damaged hands. Pangborn told revealed Strange the source of his healing, leading him to Kamar-Taj and the Ancient One.^[5]

Trained in Magic

Meeting the Ancient One

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Spending the rest of his money on a ticket to Nepal, Strange began his search for Kamar-Taj. Without any knowledge of where it was located or even what Kamar-Taj was, Strange resorted to simply asking any person he passed if they could give him the information.^[5] While walking through the back streets, Strange encountered a hurt dog and decided to stop and give it a make shift bandage for his leg, joking he would be charging the dog for the treatment.^[6]

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He was then cornered in an alley by three thugs who attempted to rob him, despite Strange insisting that he did not have any money. The thugs demanded his expensive watch, which Strange refused as it was a gift from Christine Palmer, so Strange tried to defend himself only to be beaten up by all of the thugs. However Strange was then rescued by Karl Mordo, a student of the Ancient One who promised to bring him to Kamar-Taj as Strange had wanted.

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Mordo led Strange into Kamar-Taj, which was not the mystic location he was expected as he joked about it. Mordo warned him not to be disrespectful and to forget everything he thought he knew. Inside, Strange initially mistook an elderly man for the Ancient One before he is introduced to the true Sorcerer Supreme, who presented him with team and welcomed him to their world. Strange began asking how she helped Jonathan Pangborn to heal his broken body.

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At first Strange believed that they were researching cell regeneration, but quickly became skeptical of her methods of curing Pangborn as she claimed she and the Masters of the Mystic Arts had healed him through his spirit. Strange became angry, declaring that she was now wasting his time, noting that he had spent all his money to find her and cure his hands, claiming that he saw through her lies, before she then pushed his Astral Form out his body to present him with his first experience of the Astral Dimension, much to Strange’s horror.

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Strange was shocked but denied what just happened, thinking he had been drugged, although the Ancient One insisted all she gave him was tea with a little honey, which Strange doubted. Seeking to show him more of what she could offer, the Ancient One then sent Strange through the Multiverse, showing him the various realities before dragging him back when Mordo claimed that his heart rate was spiking, although the Ancient One said he was fine.

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Strange was sent back through the Multiverse where he was told that the reality he knew was simply one of many. The Ancient One spoke to him while he was still being flung across all the different realities, challenging him to open his eyes to these possibilities while he had visions of the Quantum Realm as well as the Dark Dimension, seeing a glance of the terrifying Dormammu. The Ancient One made Strange question who he was within this multiverse, while he encountered sights and senses beyond his wildest imaginations.

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Having experienced something was unexplainable, Strange was then back into the room within Kamar-Taj where he fell to the feet of the Ancient One, to questioned if he had ever had an experience like that in a gift shop. Barely recovering from the revelations shown to him, Strange remained on his knees and begged her to teach him how to do this, but she refused and then had him cast out because of his previous disrespect towards her and their ways.^[5]

Beginning Training

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Strange stayed on the doorstep for over five hours having nowhere else to go before he was finally let back inside and shown to his room by Karl Mordo. The next morning Strange sat down with the Ancient One who explained how the Masters of the Mystic Arts drew their power from other dimensions which allowed them to shape reality, how Pangborn uses Magic to move his body, and that she plans for Strange to learn how to do the same with his hands. When Strange asked how he could possibly gain the same kind of skill with his damaged hands, the Ancient One compared learning it to the same studies Strange underwent to become a world-renowned doctor.

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Seeking to better his understanding, Strange went to the library to take out several books on the concept of Magic. There he met the Librarian Wong, who Strange began mocking for his single name and his refusal to smile. Strange questioned how Kamar-Taj worked in terms of knowledge, asking if he could read the Book of Cagliostro, to which Wong said that while no knowledge was off limits in Kamar-Taj, some was too dangerous for a new student like he currently was. Strange noted how the book was missing a page, Wong explained that the previous Librarian had been killed and threatened Strange not to take books without permission.

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Strange began his training under the watchful eye of Mordo but struggled initially, finding himself disappointingly unable to create a portal using the Sling Ring which the other trainees appeared to have no issue using. Becoming more frustrated as he continued to fail, Strange told the Ancient One that he believed that the shaking in his hands to be the cause. Not excepting this excuse, the Ancient One invited Hamir to demonstrate his own skill, revealing that Hamir was missing a hand but was still able to use his power regardless, indicating that Strange could do the same thing if given more practice and confidence in his own abilities as a sorcerer.

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Deciding that Strange needed more pressure to improve his skills, the Ancient One created her own portal and then abandoned him on the top of Mount Everest, wearing only thin clothing and telling him that the only way he would be able to return to Kamar-Taj before he froze to death was to successfully use his Sling Ring. Despite struggling at first, eventually Strange created a portal and landed back at Kamar-Taj, much to the Ancient One and Mordo’s amusement.

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With this achievement, Strange gained the confidence that he could have the skills to become a sorcerer. Borrowing more books from Wong, Strange studied in his sleep using Astral Dimension and progressed rapidly over the following months, also emailing Christine Palmer whenever he could. Strange also began using his Sling Ring to take books from the library behind Wong’s back, though he quickly found out. As his studies were becoming even more impressive, the Ancient One invited him to use the Mirror Dimension to study were he could not affect the real world.

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Stepping back into the courtyard, Strange began his fight training with Mordo, who explained the concept of relics which held their power in objects rather than in the Masters themselves. Strange laughed at the complex names as Mordo introduced him to the Staff of the Living Tribunal and Vaulting Boots of Valtorr. Mordo beat him into submission to prove a point before they discussed the Ancient One and how she had been able to live for so long.

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One day Strange walked into the library only to find Wong wasn’t there. He took the chance read the Book of Cagliostro and use Eye of Agamotto Using the Eye’s power, Strange experimented with it’s power by making an apple regrow and then rot, discovering the Eye gave him control over time itself. He also recreated the missing page on the book which made him realize how The Ancient One remained young. Wong and Mordo stumbled into Strange’s experiment and both warned him not to bend fundamental natural laws so haphazardly, noting that misuse of items of such incredible power, like the Eye, could cause Strange to become trapped in a time loop forever as a result. Strange pointed out that the books should mention those kinds of warnings before actually showing the spells.

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This only increased Strange’s wish to understand them so Wong and Mordo explained how they protect the world from mystical threats in much the same way that the Avengers protect it from physical ones. Strange initially refused to fight in a «mystic war» before the London Sanctum was attacked by Kaecilius, with the corpse of the Sanctum’s protector, Sol Rama, dropping at their feet. The Sanctum was then destroyed and the explosion ripped through the Kamar-Taj and knocked everybody off their feet, trapping Strange in the Sanctum Sanctorum based within New York City as he became separated from his allies and unable to return to Kamar-Taj.^[5]

Battle at the Sanctum Sanctorum

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Finding himself in a new location in New York City, Strange walked throughout the Sanctum Sanctorum looking for people and soon discovered the Rotunda of Gateways as well as the Cloak of Levitation. However Strange soon heard some commotion and discovered Kaecilius and his Zealots attacking the building. Strange witnessed the guardian of the Sanctum, Daniel Drumm, being murdered by Kaecilius and made his presence known to the attackers.

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Kaecilius initially mistook Strange’s name for Mr. Doctor as they awkwardly greeted each other, but soon forgot this and attacked him in order to complete his plan to bring Dormammu to Earth. Strange fought back against the Zealots, using his Sling Ring to create whips that stopped their attacks and beat them back while creating shields for himself, although he had trouble controlling them. Using the Rotunda of Gateways he had found earlier, Strange managed to trap one disciple in the desert and the other, Lucian, in the jungle, leaving only himself and Kaecilius to continue fighting throughout the Sanctum Sanctorum.

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As they continued to fight throughout the Sanctum, the desperate Strange attempted to intimidate Kaecilius with the Brazier of Bom’Galiath, only to have to eventually admit that he did not know how to use it as a weapon and instead threw it at Kaecilius’ head. Strange was soon knocked into the Cloak of Levitation’s container, which then wrapped itself around his shoulders and helped him by deflecting the Space Shards that Kaecilus continued to attack him with. Strange then used the cloak to fight Kaecilius and trapped him with the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, ending the fight.

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With Kaecilius now incapable of defending himself, Strange explained that his name was Doctor Strange, not Mister Doctor. Kaecilius then told Strange that the Ancient One dabbled in magic from the Dark Dimension, which is what gave her long lasting life. As Strange began to take note of these warnings, Kaecilius noted his Sling Ring was missing. Lucian made it back through and stabbed him with a Space Shard, almost killing Strange as he attempted to escape.^[5]

Duel on the Astral Plane

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Strange tried to get away but was hunted by Lucian who planned to kill Strange. The Cloak of Levitation attacked Lucian and Strange used the Sling Ring to transport himself to the Metro-General Hospital to find Christine Palmer, and then asking her to operate on him alone. Palmer began the surgery and Strange used his Astral Form to help shocking her and leaving her bewildered. Lucian used his Astral Form and attacks Strange, disturbing several objects in the physical world in the process while Christine continued performing the surgery, but Strange was able to kill him after being charged with a defibrillator.

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Returning to his body as Palmer finished her work on his wound, Strange explained that he had been to Kamar-Taj to heal his wounds and learned magic which had allowed him to do what he could now do, although Palmer claimed this meant that he had likely joined a cult, which Strange claimed was untrue despite being amused by the idea. With his wound from the Space Shard now mostly dealt with, Strange decided to return to the Sanctum Sanctorum and to continue his fight against the Zealots. Strange then showed Palmer the portal he had made with his Sling Ring when he had arrived to confirm once and for all that what he had been saying was completely true.

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Returning to the Sanctum Sanctorum, Strange discovered that Karl Mordo and the Ancient One had arrived, while Kaecilius had escaped from the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak while he had been gone. The Ancient One was impressed by Strange defending the Sanctrum and declared him «Master Strange» as the new protector. Stephen refused as he was supposed to save lives, not end them and couldn’t bear killing anyone else.

Strange then furiously confronted the Ancient One over dabbling in the Dark Dimension to keep herself alive for centuries. Although Mordo outright denied this, she did not and instead left, leaving Strange and Mordo to defend the Sanctum since Daniel Drumm had been murdered by Kaecilius during the attack a few hours earlier.^[5]

Battle of the Mirror Dimension

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Kaecilius returned to attack the Sanctum Sanctorum and Strange dragged them all into the Mirror Dimension where they couldn’t harm the Physical World. This turned out to be a mistake as Kaecilius affected the gravity in the Dimension almost killing Strange and Karl Mordo, who desperately attempted to escape. The Ancient One arrived, revealing to Mordo that her dabbling in the Dark Dimension was true, and battled the Zealots until she was fatally stabbed and fell hundreds of stories.

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Strange rushed her to Metro-General Hospital and called upon the help of Christine Palmer and Nicodemus West to try and save her, as he was unable to perform surgery due to his shaking hands. He notices the Ancient One’s Astral leave the room and followed in Astral Form. She told him about the Dark Dimension and why she had drawn her power from there before her Form vanished and she died. She also told him, like Jonathan Pangborn, he can use his magic to heal his hands and return to being a brain surgeon, which would come at a great loss to the earth, or become a sorcerer and fight for the earth. Strange chose to give up his old life and become a sorcerer. Strange mourned her death before speaking with Palmer.^[5]

Battle at the Hong Kong Sanctum

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Strange and Karl Mordo headed to the Hong Kong Sanctum only to discover it has already been destroyed and Dormammu is coming to Earth. Using the Eye of Agamotto and breaking the Natural Laws of Time, Strange reversed what had happened, returning Wong and many others from the dead despite Mordo’s protests. He was then interrupted mid-spell, resulting in time being frozen around the fighting. Kaecillius returned and declared that Dormammu’s arrival couldn’t be stopped anymore and once again mentioned that the Dark Dimension is «beyond time». Hearing this, Strange figured out a way to defeat Dormammu and headed to the Dark Dimension where time was irrelevant.

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Strange confronted Dormammu declaring that he had come to bargain. Dormammu ignored Strange’s offer and swiftly killed him. Suddenly, Strange appeared again repeating the exact same words as before. Slightly confused but undaunted, Dormammu killed Strange again, only for him to reappear and repeat his challenge yet again.

Perplexed, Dormammu demanded to know what was happening. Strange explained that he had used the Eye of Agamotto to create an endless time loop, and would keep both him and Dormammu trapped repeating the loop forever until the latter relented and listened to his bargain. Enraged, Dormammu killed Strange over and over again but was unable to stop the cycle repeating itself endlessly; unlike Strange, Dormammu had no power over time since the Dark Dimension was a place beyond time. Eventually, Dormammu surrendered and asked what Strange wanted. Strange demanded he never return to Earth and take Kaecilius’ gang with him. He returned to Hong Kong to complete the Time Spell, and watched as Dormammu took Kaecillius and his followers away. Having witnessed Strange and the Ancient One’s liberal use of magic to break their own rules, Mordo left the Masters of the Mystic Arts due to having become disillusioned by their questionable and dangerous use of magic.^[5]

The New Protector

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Realizing he was not yet worthy of wielding the Eye of Agamotto due to his potential to change the fabric of both reality and time, Strange decided it would be best to return the relic into Kamar-Taj. Joining Strange there, Wong agreed with his choice, claiming that overusing an Infinity Stone was highly dangerous. Strange made it clear that he did not know about the Stones; a fact that did not surprise Wong.

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Wong went on to note that the Sanctum Sanctorum currently needed a new protector ever since Daniel Drumm had recently been killed by Kaecilius while defending it. Strange accepted the offer and placed the Cloak of Levitation back over his own shoulders before following Wong through a portal to the Sanctum. Once there, Strange put on the watch Christine Palmer had given him and then looked out the window.^[5] Immediately following his duel with Dormammu, Strange created a list of extraterrestrial and inter-dimensional beings who posed a threat to the people of Earth. One of those beings was Loki of Asgard, who led the Chitauri Invasion five years prior.^[7]

Search for Odin

Drinking with Thor

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Several months into his time as the Sanctum Sanctorum‘s guardian, Strange received a visit from Thor, Loki’s adoptive brother who had brought him back to New York City. When Strange confronted him, Thor explained they were searching for their father Odin.

Strange offered to help him on the condition that they all would then return straight to Asgard as soon as the mission had been completed, which Thor agreed to.^[7]

Personality

Prior to his accident, Strange had a massive ego that fueled his career, very much like Tony Stark in the latter’s early years prior to becoming Iron Man. Strange only took on patients that he believed would help benefit his status, even refusing to heal a US Army Colonel’s back, albeit it was because this injury was a simple one any neurosurgeon can fix. His work was also driven by a desire to control death and time, which led him to refuse even looking into any patient he perceived to have little chance of recovery so as to not ruin his track record. However, if he also perceived the chance a patient could survive, he would help them recover even if it would not benefit his public image, showing that at his core, he does care about saving people. In addition, he seems to prioritize his research over his physician work as he stated his work would save thousands for years to come whereas a physician will only save a handful of patients they directly interact with. This, however, changed after his accident, which left Strange a broken man, and constantly frustrated due to being incapable of returning to the life he knew. Upon visiting Kamar-Taj, Strange initially maintained his narrow-minded arrogance and stubbornly refused to believe that the Ancient One was telling the truth until she forcibly demonstrated astral projection and sent him across multiple dimensions to prove her point.

Strange has shown extreme determination, a useful trait in a doctor as he would never give up on his patients even when one was called dead with a bullet in his brain, Strange was able to determine the patient was still alive to successfully save him. He spent most of his remaining money in seven different surgeries to attempt to heal his hands to the point of near bankruptcy, remained outside of Kamar-Taj‘s front door for five hours after being initially thrown out, then spent most of his time at Kamar-Taj studying and improving his abilities, even going as far as studying while sleeping through Astral projection. He even allowed himself to be killed by Dormammu countless times until Dormammu gave into his demands.

Through his training with the Ancient One, Strange gained a newfound appreciation for the natural order of things due to his studies of the Mystic Arts and became more humble. However, this was not to say he was a completely changed man; he retained a cocky attitude when dealing with people and things, as seen in how he behaved when he went to borrow books from Wong. This, coupled with his inquisitiveness and willingness to break rules, made him an odd one in Kamar-Taj and constantly an eyesore to many of his peers. However, due to this nature of his, he was also more willing to compromise and be somewhat flexible with his principles, quickly accepting that the Ancient One broke her own rules to do what was deemed necessary to protect the world, and he had to be willing to do so himself, which, when combined with his natural talent in the Mystic Arts, had the Ancient One name him as the Master of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, despite his relative lack of training and inexperience.  

Having trained as a doctor, Strange is a pacifist and tries to avoid hurting people, as it goes against the Hippocratic oath. He was disgusted by his actions in killing Lucian, stating he became a doctor to save lives, not take them. However, neither the Ancient One nor Karl Mordo were especially sympathetic towards this, with the former stating he became a doctor to save one life (his own) and the latter calling him a coward for lacking the spine to do what has to be done, which in times, proves to be somewhat true. Nevertheless, Strange accused Mordo of lacking imagination and claimed it was possible to take other options, a claim he ultimately proved correct by defeating both Kaecillius and Dormammu without killing either of them.  

Ultimately, Strange has always had good intentions, despite coming off as arrogant and selfish. After his talk with Kaecillius, Strange began to see his own failings reflected in Kaecillius and started showing signs of self-improvement. He repeatedly and genuinely apologized for his past treatment of Christine Palmer and showed a newfound trust in former rival Nicodemus West. During his talk with the Ancient One before her death, he admitted that his fear of failure is what pushed him to be a successful neurosurgeon. However, the Ancient One stated that his fear is exactly what kept him from greatness, as well as learning the simplest and most important lesson of all; it’s not all about him. Strange took this very much to heart, and when he faced Dormammu, he showed strong selflessness, allowing himself to be killed over and over in order to keep Dormammu trapped in the time loop so mankind could live and came to stop fearing failure.  

Despite his tremendous maturity, Strange maintains some of his old habits such as making sarcastic comments and jokes when talking to others, similar to Tony Stark and Peter Quill. Whilst he compensates his lack of experience by further using the powerful magical relics at his disposal and his intelligence allows him to imagine unorthodox solutions to problems, Strange has also learnt to comprehend his limits and despite his success at the hands of Dormammu’s defeat, he has begun to realise the natural order should not be entirely disturbed, the same reason why Mordo left the Mystic Arts and vows to never use the Eye of Agamotto until he is fully prepared. This was his second greatest lesson to learn — that time is beyond even his control. He also retains his meticulous and diligence by forming a watchlist of individuals that might pose a threat to Earth. However, his flexibility is his greatest strength in this regard as, even though he wants to be rid of these individuals, he was willing to help Thor locate Odin so he and Loki would return to Asgard.

Strange’s imagination and intellect has given him a vastly flexible personality, so much so the Ancient One could never see exactly what his future would be, only possible paths he would take.

Strange is noted to have a strong inquisitiveness about him. Once he started to get the hang of his sorcery studies, he began to teach himself and was able to learn at an accelerated rate.

Strange is noted to have a severe case of misophonia, meaning he is greatly distracted by even the slightest sound when he requires absolute focus. This was shown when he was operating on a patient and asked Nicodemus West to cover his watch as the ticking was distracting him.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Master Sorcerer: As the present guardian of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, Strange, despite his relative inexperience, is one of the most powerful Masters of the Mystic Arts, possessing a extremely high level of mastery of the mystic arts, which he uses to defend his native reality. Indeed, despite his inexperience, an impressed Karl Mordo claimed that Strange’s prodigious skills meant that he was «born for the mystic arts», and the Ancient One herself noted that Strange has tremendous potential as a sorcerer. With the help of numerous mystical artifacts and relics, in addition to his astral powers, Strange is able to gain access to a multitude of mystical powers. Strange makes up for his lack of experience with his gifted intellect and ingenuity, as he defeated Kaecillius by outsmarting Dormammu and forcing him to leave and take Kaecillius with him.
  • Eldritch Magic Manipulation: Strange is able to create, shape and manipulate Eldritch Magic. He demonstrated the ability to form Eldritch Whips, and Tao Mandalas.
  • Levitation: Using the Cloak of Levitation, Strange is able to levitate, hover, and fly. The Cloak can greatly lessen the impact of falling from great heights by effortlessly reducing his speed.
  • Teleportation: Using a Sling Ring, Strange is able to open portals that lead to different locations, gaining the ability to move across both the physical world and other parts of the Multiverse. He can also make portals small enough to reach through and grab things, such as several books from Wong’s library.
  • Interdimensional Travel: Using the same Sling Ring, Strange can travel between different dimensions and universes, crossing over different planes of existence or traveling across various forms of reality. However, Strange was able to access the Mirror Dimension and transport himself and the Zealots there without the Sling Ring.
  • Astral Projection: Strange is capable of separating his astral spirit from his body, gaining access to the Astral Dimension, with him thus notably managing to assist Christine Palmer in operating on his physical body, while also demonstrating being able to make himself visible to her at will. He used it again to speak to the Ancient One’s spirit before her clinical death. Notably, Strange found his that when Christine defibrillate his real body, his Astral form would send out a blast of energy, which he used offensively while grappling with Lucian’s Astral form, ultimately destroying it and killing him.
  • Chronokinesis: Using the Eye of Agamotto, Strange is able to control the flow of time, be it on a small or massive scale, notably to turn back something to a previous state, to accelerate its time in order to apply changes that have not happened yet, or to lock in a time loop, with time resetting over and over until he stops its effect. He first tested the ability on an apple, rewinding time on it to make it whole and then forwarding time to make it rot, despite not actually eating it to that point before hand. If interrupted while using this ability, time freezes until he resumes the spell. He even used it to make a reconstruction of the stolen pages of the Book of Cagliostro and read from it, though he seemed to be unable to make the page real and only could reveal what had been their before. He notably used this ability to trap even Dormammu himself in the same moment, which would reset each time Dormammu killed Strange, and keep Dormammu from leaving his dimension to invade Earth until Dormammu agreed to leave Earth for good. Strange concluded that he isn’t ready to wield the Eye of Agamotto’s powers yet and decided to return it until he’s ready to use it again.
  • Transmutation: During his meeting with Thor, Strange was able to turn a cup of tea into a large mug of beer that was also able to magically refill itself, much to Thor’s pleasant surprise.

Abilities

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• Master Physician: Strange was one of the world’s most renowned neurosurgeons. His genius surgical skill allowed him to perform nearly complicated and difficult surgeries with little to no mechanical assistance flawlessly. His skills sometimes rivaled or were found to be superior to that of his colleagues Palmer and West as he was able to notice a cause of injury in a patient while Palmer could not and thus prevent West from killing the patient. His perfect record and reputation with the craft reached such a point that ultimately, he developed a penchant for undertaking only the most challenging but still viable of operations, in order to boost his huge ego. He lost the ability to perform surgeries after his hands were damaged beyond repair in a catastrophic car accident, but he kept his profound knowledge on subjects related to modern medicine.
• Multilingualism: Strange is fluent in his native English, and becomes proficient with Sanskrit enough during his months in Kamar-Taj to enable him to study advanced books Wong deem him not ready for, including the Book of Cagliostro.
• Eidetic Memory: Strange’s photographic memory and perfect recall had originally greatly aided him in medical school, helping him to earn both his MD and PhD simultaneously. During his mystic arts studies in Kamar-Taj, Strange managed to master entering the Astral Dimension, despite Wong not believing him to be ready.
• Master Tactician: Strange’s tremendous intellect contribute to his incredible insight, a highly ingenious strategist, Strange rely on pure wits to stop Dormammu due to his to his lack of experience in fighting supernatural forces, using the Eye of Agamotto to trap the primordial entity in a endless time loop, using tactics of psychological warfare to mentally torment Dormammu instead of stopping him with magic, and Strange succeded in forcing Dormammu to return back to the Dark Dimension, taking Kaecilius with him, further proving Strange’s capability to defeat both immensely powerful enemies with tactical genius alone.

• Martial Artist: After being trained by both the Ancient One and Karl Mordo, Strange gained some skill in martial arts, having been able to ultimately defeat and kill the Zealot Lucian, and to even hold his own relatively well against the far more experienced Master Kaecilius. However, Strange’s hands still suffer from severe nerve and bone damage as a result of his accident, further exacerbated by the unsuccessful surgeries made towards restoring his dexterity, meaning his hands are delicate and prone to intense pain should he attempt to punch something or someone.

Equipment

• Cloak of Levitation: A mantle that enables Doctor Strange to levitate and hover in the air. It appears to be sentient and can move on its own power, causing it to move and flap in the air without the presence of wind. Offensively, the cloak’s ability to move and fly with or without a wearer allows it to grab, lift, tackle or send opponents flying through the air. The cloak often assists Strange in combat by protecting him from enemy attacks, preventing enemies from blindsiding him, as well as attacking enemies on its own whenever possible, and doing maneuvers that are difficult, if not impossible for most humans to do.
• Eye of Agamotto: An ancient relic with a number of mystical properties, especially time manipulation in the user’s immediate vicinity and on specific areas or targets. It is able to do so since it contains the Time Stone.
• Sling Ring: A mystical object which enables the wearer to open a portal to another location.

Relationships

Family

• Donna Strange † — Sister

Allies

• Masters of the Mystic Arts
  • Ancient One † — Mentor
  • Wong
  • Hamir
  • Daniel Drumm †
  • Grem
  • B’sso
• Karl Mordo — Former Fellow Master and Trainer
• Metro-General Hospital — Former Employers
  • Nicodemus West — Former Colleague and Work Rival
  • Christine Palmer — Former Colleague, Ex-Girlfriend, Love Interest and Saviour
  • Billy — Former Co-Worker and Assistant
• Etienne — Former Colleague
• Jonathan Pangborn
• Thor

Enemies

• HYDRA — Attempted Killers (Project Insight)
• Dormammu — Killer (Multiple times)
• Zealots
  • Kaecilius — Attempted Killer
  • Lucian † — Attempted Killer turned Victim
  • Blonde Zealot
  • Brunette Zealot
  • Tall Zealot †
• Loki — Potential Target
• Hela — Potential Target

Appearances

Appearances for Stephen Strange
In chronological order: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (mentioned) WHiH Newsfront May 3, 2016 (mentioned) Doctor Strange: Episode 0 Doctor Strange Doctor Strange: Mystic Apprentice (concurrent events) Spider-Man: Homecoming (photograph) (unreleased) Thor: Ragnarok (unreleased) Avengers: Infinity War (unreleased) Untitled Doctor Strange Sequel (unreleased)

Trivia

• In the comics, Stephen Strange was the founder and long-time leader of the Defenders, and also a member of the New Avengers.
• As a result of his confrontation with Dormammu in the Dark Dimension, Strange has officially died more times than any other character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Behind the Scenes

• Stephen Strange is mentioned in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This marks the first time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that a superhero character is mentioned by name before making their first appearance.
• Kevin Feige revealed that Strange did not have any powers yet during the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as Project Insight was designed to anticipate future threats, not just catalogue current ones. He said that at this point Strange is «probably not… the sorcerer supreme,» but is an «unbelievably talented neurosurgeon who’s opinionated and kind of arrogant… [which] might put him on the list.»^[8]
• Aaron Lazar was a body double for Benedict Cumberbatch in Avengers: Infinity War due to the latter having scheduling conflicts with The Current War.^[9]

References

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External links

For other uses, see Doctor Strange (disambiguation).

Doctor Strange}}

Stephen Vincent Strange M.D., Ph.D is a powerful sorcerer and a leading member of the Masters of the Mystic Arts. Originally a brilliant yet arrogant neurosurgeon, Strange suffered a car accident that had resulted in his hands being crippled. When Western medicine failed to restore his hands, Strange embarked on a journey that led him to the Masters of the Mystic Arts as well as the discovery of magic and alternate dimensions, being trained by the Ancient One and Karl Mordo. Though his focus was healing his hands, Strange learned more about the mystic arts and soon helped the Masters prevent Kaecilius and the Zealots from merging Earth with the Dark Dimension, but not before witnessing the death of the Ancient One. With the demise of his mentor, Strange then became the protector of the Sanctum Sanctorum in New York City as well as Earth’s protector from inter-dimensional threats.

Biography

Early life

Stephen Strange was born in New York City . He had a sister named Donna, who eventually died due to unknown reasons. He went to medical school and eventually graduated with an MD-PhD in four years.

Career as a Neurosurgeon

Stephen Vincent Strange was a physician-scientist who specialized in neurological surgery and his research focused on stimulation neurogenesis, which is the formation of new nerve cells. As his medical career progressed, his popularity increased to the point where he was labeled by Project Insight as a threat to HYDRA.^[3] By 2016, he was one of the top surgeons in New York City and was exclusively interviewed by WHiH World News about new life-saving techniques he had been investigating in his field.^[4]

Strange eventually became attracted to Christine Palmer, a fellow surgeon who worked alongside him in the ER department of Metro-General Hospital. The two later began a relationship; one that did not last due to Strange’s arrogance and his focus on his career.^[5]

On Top of the World

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After completing a successful surgery, Strange was asked by Palmer to help with a patient who had been injured in a firefight. Despite the objections of fellow surgeon Nicodemus West, who wanted to start recovering the patient’s organs, Strange found an initially missed bullet lodged in the patient’s brain, which caused him to have a complete Nervous System shutdown, causing West to pronounce him dead and saved his life.

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Immediately following the surgery, Strange asked Palmer if she and West were sleeping together. Palmer denied the accusation, stating it was against the «Strange Policy,» a policy against dating coworkers that she named after him.

Strange proceeded to tell Palmer that he was set to speak at a American Neurological Association dinner later that night and invited her to accompany him. Palmer declined, stating that she never enjoyed going to speaking engagements and that the only reason he went was because it boosted his already absurdly large ego.^[5]

Fall From Grace

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Later that night, while en route to the dinner, Strange received a phone call from his colleague Billy, who had come across three potential surgeries. After turning down the first two options, he eventually showed interest in a female schizophrenic.

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Strange took his eyes off the road so he could look at the patient’s records only to collide with another car and fly off the road before crashing into a nearby river bank.

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He was immediately rushed to Metro-General and underwent a surgery that lasted eleven hours. When Strange woke up the following day, he learned from Palmer that both of his hands, which were crushed by the dashboard of his car, had been subjected to severe nerve damage and rendered inoperable.^[5]

Searching For A Cure

After being released from Metro-General Hospital, Strange spent most of his money on seven different operations and numerous rehabilitation techniques, but all proved to be unsuccessful. With each new attempt, he was forced to sell his lavish lifestyle and belongings to fund the operations, leaving him with very little left to his name.One day he was on a video call with a doctor who stated that he cannot help him and turned him down , upsetting him, Christine came to his apartement trying to convince him to stop wasting all his money on fixing his hands and telling him to move on by assuring him that there were other ways to save lives, Strange however did not want to move on but find a way to restore his hands, he then lashed out at Christine by stating that she is only pitying him because she loves a sob story which Strange saw himself as , this hurt Palmer who then demanded him to apologise and when he refused , stating that she should leave. She left him and walked out of his life ,later during one physical rehabilitation session his instructor mentioned Jonathan Pangborn, a paraplegic who had regained the ability to walk when Strange wanted to know how to heal his hands.

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When the instructor sent him Pangborn’s file, Strange tracked him down. Despite his initial reluctance due to Strange having refused to take him as a patient before, Pangborn agreed to help when Strange revealed his damaged hands. Pangborn told revealed Strange the source of his healing, leading him to Kamar-Taj and the Ancient One.^[5]

Trained in Magic

Meeting the Ancient One

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Spending the rest of his money on a ticket to Nepal, Strange began his search for Kamar-Taj. Without any knowledge of where it was located or even what Kamar-Taj was, Strange resorted to simply asking any person he passed if they could give him the information.^[5] While walking through the back streets, Strange encountered a hurt dog and decided to stop and give it a make shift bandage for his leg, joking he would be charging the dog for the treatment.^[6]

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He was then cornered in an alley by three thugs who attempted to rob him, despite Strange insisting that he did not have any money. The thugs demanded his expensive watch, which Strange refused as it was a gift from Christine Palmer, so Strange tried to defend himself only to be beaten up by all of the thugs. However Strange was then rescued by Karl Mordo, a student of the Ancient One who promised to bring him to Kamar-Taj as Strange had wanted.

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Mordo led Strange into Kamar-Taj, which was not the mystic location he was expected as he joked about it. Mordo warned him not to be disrespectful and to forget everything he thought he knew. Inside, Strange initially mistook an elderly man for the Ancient One before he is introduced to the true Sorcerer Supreme, who presented him with team and welcomed him to their world. Strange began asking how she helped Jonathan Pangborn to heal his broken body.

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At first Strange believed that they were researching cell regeneration, but quickly became skeptical of her methods of curing Pangborn as she claimed she and the Masters of the Mystic Arts had healed him through his spirit. Strange became angry, declaring that she was now wasting his time, noting that he had spent all his money to find her and cure his hands, claiming that he saw through her lies, before she then pushed his Astral Form out his body to present him with his first experience of the Astral Dimension, much to Strange’s horror.

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Strange was shocked but denied what just happened, thinking he had been drugged, although the Ancient One insisted all she gave him was tea with a little honey, which Strange doubted. Seeking to show him more of what she could offer, the Ancient One then sent Strange through the Multiverse, showing him the various realities before dragging him back when Mordo claimed that his heart rate was spiking, although the Ancient One said he was fine.

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Strange was sent back through the Multiverse where he was told that the reality he knew was simply one of many. The Ancient One spoke to him while he was still being flung across all the different realities, challenging him to open his eyes to these possibilities while he had visions of the Quantum Realm as well as the Dark Dimension, seeing a glance of the terrifying Dormammu. The Ancient One made Strange question who he was within this multiverse, while he encountered sights and senses beyond his wildest imaginations.

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Having experienced something was unexplainable, Strange was then back into the room within Kamar-Taj where he fell to the feet of the Ancient One, to questioned if he had ever had an experience like that in a gift shop. Barely recovering from the revelations shown to him, Strange remained on his knees and begged her to teach him how to do this, but she refused and then had him cast out because of his previous disrespect towards her and their ways.^[5]

Beginning Training

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Strange stayed on the doorstep for over five hours having nowhere else to go before he was finally let back inside and shown to his room by Karl Mordo. The next morning Strange sat down with the Ancient One who explained how the Masters of the Mystic Arts drew their power from other dimensions which allowed them to shape reality, how Pangborn uses Magic to move his body, and that she plans for Strange to learn how to do the same with his hands. When Strange asked how he could possibly gain the same kind of skill with his damaged hands, the Ancient One compared learning it to the same studies Strange underwent to become a world-renowned doctor.

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Seeking to better his understanding, Strange went to the library to take out several books on the concept of Magic. There he met the Librarian Wong, who Strange began mocking for his single name and his refusal to smile. Strange questioned how Kamar-Taj worked in terms of knowledge, asking if he could read the Book of Cagliostro, to which Wong said that while no knowledge was off limits in Kamar-Taj, some was too dangerous for a new student like he currently was. Strange noted how the book was missing a page, Wong explained that the previous Librarian had been killed and threatened Strange not to take books without permission.

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Strange began his training under the watchful eye of Mordo but struggled initially, finding himself disappointingly unable to create a portal using the Sling Ring which the other trainees appeared to have no issue using. Becoming more frustrated as he continued to fail, Strange told the Ancient One that he believed that the shaking in his hands to be the cause. Not excepting this excuse, the Ancient One invited Hamir to demonstrate his own skill, revealing that Hamir was missing a hand but was still able to use his power regardless, indicating that Strange could do the same thing if given more practice and confidence in his own abilities as a sorcerer.

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Deciding that Strange needed more pressure to improve his skills, the Ancient One created her own portal and then abandoned him on the top of Mount Everest, wearing only thin clothing and telling him that the only way he would be able to return to Kamar-Taj before he froze to death was to successfully use his Sling Ring. Despite struggling at first, eventually Strange created a portal and landed back at Kamar-Taj, much to the Ancient One and Mordo’s amusement.

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With this achievement, Strange gained the confidence that he could have the skills to become a sorcerer. Borrowing more books from Wong, Strange studied in his sleep using Astral Dimension and progressed rapidly over the following months, also emailing Christine Palmer whenever he could. Strange also began using his Sling Ring to take books from the library behind Wong’s back, though he quickly found out. As his studies were becoming even more impressive, the Ancient One invited him to use the Mirror Dimension to study were he could not affect the real world.

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Stepping back into the courtyard, Strange began his fight training with Mordo, who explained the concept of relics which held their power in objects rather than in the Masters themselves. Strange laughed at the complex names as Mordo introduced him to the Staff of the Living Tribunal and Vaulting Boots of Valtorr. Mordo beat him into submission to prove a point before they discussed the Ancient One and how she had been able to live for so long.

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One day Strange walked into the library only to find Wong wasn’t there. He took the chance read the Book of Cagliostro and use Eye of Agamotto Using the Eye’s power, Strange experimented with it’s power by making an apple regrow and then rot, discovering the Eye gave him control over time itself. He also recreated the missing page on the book which made him realize how The Ancient One remained young. Wong and Mordo stumbled into Strange’s experiment and both warned him not to bend fundamental natural laws so haphazardly, noting that misuse of items of such incredible power, like the Eye, could cause Strange to become trapped in a time loop forever as a result. Strange pointed out that the books should mention those kinds of warnings before actually showing the spells.

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This only increased Strange’s wish to understand them so Wong and Mordo explained how they protect the world from mystical threats in much the same way that the Avengers protect it from physical ones. Strange initially refused to fight in a «mystic war» before the London Sanctum was attacked by Kaecilius, with the corpse of the Sanctum’s protector, Sol Rama, dropping at their feet. The Sanctum was then destroyed and the explosion ripped through the Kamar-Taj and knocked everybody off their feet, trapping Strange in the Sanctum Sanctorum based within New York City as he became separated from his allies and unable to return to Kamar-Taj.^[5]

Battle at the Sanctum Sanctorum

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Finding himself in a new location in New York City, Strange walked throughout the Sanctum Sanctorum looking for people and soon discovered the Rotunda of Gateways as well as the Cloak of Levitation. However Strange soon heard some commotion and discovered Kaecilius and his Zealots attacking the building. Strange witnessed the guardian of the Sanctum, Daniel Drumm, being murdered by Kaecilius and made his presence known to the attackers.

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Kaecilius initially mistook Strange’s name for Mr. Doctor as they awkwardly greeted each other, but soon forgot this and attacked him in order to complete his plan to bring Dormammu to Earth. Strange fought back against the Zealots, using his Sling Ring to create whips that stopped their attacks and beat them back while creating shields for himself, although he had trouble controlling them. Using the Rotunda of Gateways he had found earlier, Strange managed to trap one disciple in the desert and the other, Lucian, in the jungle, leaving only himself and Kaecilius to continue fighting throughout the Sanctum Sanctorum.

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As they continued to fight throughout the Sanctum, the desperate Strange attempted to intimidate Kaecilius with the Brazier of Bom’Galiath, only to have to eventually admit that he did not know how to use it as a weapon and instead threw it at Kaecilius’ head. Strange was soon knocked into the Cloak of Levitation’s container, which then wrapped itself around his shoulders and helped him by deflecting the Space Shards that Kaecilus continued to attack him with. Strange then used the cloak to fight Kaecilius and trapped him with the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, ending the fight.

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With Kaecilius now incapable of defending himself, Strange explained that his name was Doctor Strange, not Mister Doctor. Kaecilius then told Strange that the Ancient One dabbled in magic from the Dark Dimension, which is what gave her long lasting life. As Strange began to take note of these warnings, Kaecilius noted his Sling Ring was missing. Lucian made it back through and stabbed him with a Space Shard, almost killing Strange as he attempted to escape.^[5]

Duel on the Astral Plane

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Strange tried to get away but was hunted by Lucian who planned to kill Strange. The Cloak of Levitation attacked Lucian and Strange used the Sling Ring to transport himself to the Metro-General Hospital to find Christine Palmer, and then asking her to operate on him alone. Palmer began the surgery and Strange used his Astral Form to help shocking her and leaving her bewildered. Lucian used his Astral Form and attacks Strange, disturbing several objects in the physical world in the process while Christine continued performing the surgery, but Strange was able to kill him after being charged with a defibrillator.

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Returning to his body as Palmer finished her work on his wound, Strange explained that he had been to Kamar-Taj to heal his wounds and learned magic which had allowed him to do what he could now do, although Palmer claimed this meant that he had likely joined a cult, which Strange claimed was untrue despite being amused by the idea. With his wound from the Space Shard now mostly dealt with, Strange decided to return to the Sanctum Sanctorum and to continue his fight against the Zealots. Strange then showed Palmer the portal he had made with his Sling Ring when he had arrived to confirm once and for all that what he had been saying was completely true.

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Returning to the Sanctum Sanctorum, Strange discovered that Karl Mordo and the Ancient One had arrived, while Kaecilius had escaped from the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak while he had been gone. The Ancient One was impressed by Strange defending the Sanctrum and declared him «Master Strange» as the new protector. Stephen refused as he was supposed to save lives, not end them and couldn’t bear killing anyone else.

Strange then furiously confronted the Ancient One over dabbling in the Dark Dimension to keep herself alive for centuries. Although Mordo outright denied this, she did not and instead left, leaving Strange and Mordo to defend the Sanctum since Daniel Drumm had been murdered by Kaecilius during the attack a few hours earlier.^[5]

Battle of the Mirror Dimension

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Kaecilius returned to attack the Sanctum Sanctorum and Strange dragged them all into the Mirror Dimension where they couldn’t harm the Physical World. This turned out to be a mistake as Kaecilius affected the gravity in the Dimension almost killing Strange and Karl Mordo, who desperately attempted to escape. The Ancient One arrived, revealing to Mordo that her dabbling in the Dark Dimension was true, and battled the Zealots until she was fatally stabbed and fell hundreds of stories.

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Strange rushed her to Metro-General Hospital and called upon the help of Christine Palmer and Nicodemus West to try and save her, as he was unable to perform surgery due to his shaking hands. He notices the Ancient One’s Astral leave the room and followed in Astral Form. She told him about the Dark Dimension and why she had drawn her power from there before her Form vanished and she died. She also told him, like Jonathan Pangborn, he can use his magic to heal his hands and return to being a brain surgeon, which would come at a great loss to the earth, or become a sorcerer and fight for the earth. Strange chose to give up his old life and become a sorcerer. Strange mourned her death before speaking with Palmer.^[5]

Battle at the Hong Kong Sanctum

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Strange and Karl Mordo headed to the Hong Kong Sanctum only to discover it has already been destroyed and Dormammu is coming to Earth. Using the Eye of Agamotto and breaking the Natural Laws of Time, Strange reversed what had happened, returning Wong and many others from the dead despite Mordo’s protests. He was then interrupted mid-spell, resulting in time being frozen around the fighting. Kaecillius returned and declared that Dormammu’s arrival couldn’t be stopped anymore and once again mentioned that the Dark Dimension is «beyond time». Hearing this, Strange figured out a way to defeat Dormammu and headed to the Dark Dimension where time was irrelevant.

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Strange confronted Dormammu declaring that he had come to bargain. Dormammu ignored Strange’s offer and swiftly killed him. Suddenly, Strange appeared again repeating the exact same words as before. Slightly confused but undaunted, Dormammu killed Strange again, only for him to reappear and repeat his challenge yet again.

Perplexed, Dormammu demanded to know what was happening. Strange explained that he had used the Eye of Agamotto to create an endless time loop, and would keep both him and Dormammu trapped repeating the loop forever until the latter relented and listened to his bargain. Enraged, Dormammu killed Strange over and over again but was unable to stop the cycle repeating itself endlessly; unlike Strange, Dormammu had no power over time since the Dark Dimension was a place beyond time. Eventually, Dormammu surrendered and asked what Strange wanted. Strange demanded he never return to Earth and take Kaecilius’ gang with him. He returned to Hong Kong to complete the Time Spell, and watched as Dormammu took Kaecillius and his followers away. Having witnessed Strange and the Ancient One’s liberal use of magic to break their own rules, Mordo left the Masters of the Mystic Arts due to having become disillusioned by their questionable and dangerous use of magic.^[5]

The New Protector

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Realizing he was not yet worthy of wielding the Eye of Agamotto due to his potential to change the fabric of both reality and time, Strange decided it would be best to return the relic into Kamar-Taj. Joining Strange there, Wong agreed with his choice, claiming that overusing an Infinity Stone was highly dangerous. Strange made it clear that he did not know about the Stones; a fact that did not surprise Wong.

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Wong went on to note that the Sanctum Sanctorum currently needed a new protector ever since Daniel Drumm had recently been killed by Kaecilius while defending it. Strange accepted the offer and placed the Cloak of Levitation back over his own shoulders before following Wong through a portal to the Sanctum. Once there, Strange put on the watch Christine Palmer had given him and then looked out the window.^[5] Immediately following his duel with Dormammu, Strange created a list of extraterrestrial and inter-dimensional beings who posed a threat to the people of Earth. One of those beings was Loki of Asgard, who led the Chitauri Invasion five years prior.^[7]

Search for Odin

Drinking with Thor

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Several months into his time as the Sanctum Sanctorum‘s guardian, Strange received a visit from Thor, Loki’s adoptive brother who had brought him back to New York City. When Strange confronted him, Thor explained they were searching for their father Odin.

Strange offered to help him on the condition that they all would then return straight to Asgard as soon as the mission had been completed, which Thor agreed to.^[7]

Personality

Prior to his accident, Strange had a massive ego that fueled his career, very much like Tony Stark in the latter’s early years prior to becoming Iron Man. Strange only took on patients that he believed would help benefit his status, even refusing to heal a US Army Colonel’s back, albeit it was because this injury was a simple one any neurosurgeon can fix. His work was also driven by a desire to control death and time, which led him to refuse even looking into any patient he perceived to have little chance of recovery so as to not ruin his track record. However, if he also perceived the chance a patient could survive, he would help them recover even if it would not benefit his public image, showing that at his core, he does care about saving people. In addition, he seems to prioritize his research over his physician work as he stated his work would save thousands for years to come whereas a physician will only save a handful of patients they directly interact with. This, however, changed after his accident, which left Strange a broken man, and constantly frustrated due to being incapable of returning to the life he knew. Upon visiting Kamar-Taj, Strange initially maintained his narrow-minded arrogance and stubbornly refused to believe that the Ancient One was telling the truth until she forcibly demonstrated astral projection and sent him across multiple dimensions to prove her point.

Strange has shown extreme determination, a useful trait in a doctor as he would never give up on his patients even when one was called dead with a bullet in his brain, Strange was able to determine the patient was still alive to successfully save him. He spent most of his remaining money in seven different surgeries to attempt to heal his hands to the point of near bankruptcy, remained outside of Kamar-Taj‘s front door for five hours after being initially thrown out, then spent most of his time at Kamar-Taj studying and improving his abilities, even going as far as studying while sleeping through Astral projection. He even allowed himself to be killed by Dormammu countless times until Dormammu gave into his demands.

Through his training with the Ancient One, Strange gained a newfound appreciation for the natural order of things due to his studies of the Mystic Arts and became more humble. However, this was not to say he was a completely changed man; he retained a cocky attitude when dealing with people and things, as seen in how he behaved when he went to borrow books from Wong. This, coupled with his inquisitiveness and willingness to break rules, made him an odd one in Kamar-Taj and constantly an eyesore to many of his peers. However, due to this nature of his, he was also more willing to compromise and be somewhat flexible with his principles, quickly accepting that the Ancient One broke her own rules to do what was deemed necessary to protect the world, and he had to be willing to do so himself, which, when combined with his natural talent in the Mystic Arts, had the Ancient One name him as the Master of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, despite his relative lack of training and inexperience.  

Having trained as a doctor, Strange is a pacifist and tries to avoid hurting people, as it goes against the Hippocratic oath. He was disgusted by his actions in killing Lucian, stating he became a doctor to save lives, not take them. However, neither the Ancient One nor Karl Mordo were especially sympathetic towards this, with the former stating he became a doctor to save one life (his own) and the latter calling him a coward for lacking the spine to do what has to be done, which in times, proves to be somewhat true. Nevertheless, Strange accused Mordo of lacking imagination and claimed it was possible to take other options, a claim he ultimately proved correct by defeating both Kaecillius and Dormammu without killing either of them.  

Ultimately, Strange has always had good intentions, despite coming off as arrogant and selfish. After his talk with Kaecillius, Strange began to see his own failings reflected in Kaecillius and started showing signs of self-improvement. He repeatedly and genuinely apologized for his past treatment of Christine Palmer and showed a newfound trust in former rival Nicodemus West. During his talk with the Ancient One before her death, he admitted that his fear of failure is what pushed him to be a successful neurosurgeon. However, the Ancient One stated that his fear is exactly what kept him from greatness, as well as learning the simplest and most important lesson of all; it’s not all about him. Strange took this very much to heart, and when he faced Dormammu, he showed strong selflessness, allowing himself to be killed over and over in order to keep Dormammu trapped in the time loop so mankind could live and came to stop fearing failure.  

Despite his tremendous maturity, Strange maintains some of his old habits such as making sarcastic comments and jokes when talking to others, similar to Tony Stark and Peter Quill. Whilst he compensates his lack of experience by further using the powerful magical relics at his disposal and his intelligence allows him to imagine unorthodox solutions to problems, Strange has also learnt to comprehend his limits and despite his success at the hands of Dormammu’s defeat, he has begun to realise the natural order should not be entirely disturbed, the same reason why Mordo left the Mystic Arts and vows to never use the Eye of Agamotto until he is fully prepared. This was his second greatest lesson to learn — that time is beyond even his control. He also retains his meticulous and diligence by forming a watchlist of individuals that might pose a threat to Earth. However, his flexibility is his greatest strength in this regard as, even though he wants to be rid of these individuals, he was willing to help Thor locate Odin so he and Loki would return to Asgard.

Strange’s imagination and intellect has given him a vastly flexible personality, so much so the Ancient One could never see exactly what his future would be, only possible paths he would take.

Strange is noted to have a strong inquisitiveness about him. Once he started to get the hang of his sorcery studies, he began to teach himself and was able to learn at an accelerated rate.

Strange is noted to have a severe case of misophonia, meaning he is greatly distracted by even the slightest sound when he requires absolute focus. This was shown when he was operating on a patient and asked Nicodemus West to cover his watch as the ticking was distracting him.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Master Sorcerer: As the present guardian of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, Strange, despite his relative inexperience, is one of the most powerful Masters of the Mystic Arts, possessing a extremely high level of mastery of the mystic arts, which he uses to defend his native reality. Indeed, despite his inexperience, an impressed Karl Mordo claimed that Strange’s prodigious skills meant that he was «born for the mystic arts», and the Ancient One herself noted that Strange has tremendous potential as a sorcerer. With the help of numerous mystical artifacts and relics, in addition to his astral powers, Strange is able to gain access to a multitude of mystical powers. Strange makes up for his lack of experience with his gifted intellect and ingenuity, as he defeated Kaecillius by outsmarting Dormammu and forcing him to leave and take Kaecillius with him.
  • Eldritch Magic Manipulation: Strange is able to create, shape and manipulate Eldritch Magic. He demonstrated the ability to form Eldritch Whips, and Tao Mandalas.
  • Levitation: Using the Cloak of Levitation, Strange is able to levitate, hover, and fly. The Cloak can greatly lessen the impact of falling from great heights by effortlessly reducing his speed.
  • Teleportation: Using a Sling Ring, Strange is able to open portals that lead to different locations, gaining the ability to move across both the physical world and other parts of the Multiverse. He can also make portals small enough to reach through and grab things, such as several books from Wong’s library.
  • Interdimensional Travel: Using the same Sling Ring, Strange can travel between different dimensions and universes, crossing over different planes of existence or traveling across various forms of reality. However, Strange was able to access the Mirror Dimension and transport himself and the Zealots there without the Sling Ring.
  • Astral Projection: Strange is capable of separating his astral spirit from his body, gaining access to the Astral Dimension, with him thus notably managing to assist Christine Palmer in operating on his physical body, while also demonstrating being able to make himself visible to her at will. He used it again to speak to the Ancient One’s spirit before her clinical death. Notably, Strange found his that when Christine defibrillate his real body, his Astral form would send out a blast of energy, which he used offensively while grappling with Lucian’s Astral form, ultimately destroying it and killing him.
  • Chronokinesis: Using the Eye of Agamotto, Strange is able to control the flow of time, be it on a small or massive scale, notably to turn back something to a previous state, to accelerate its time in order to apply changes that have not happened yet, or to lock in a time loop, with time resetting over and over until he stops its effect. He first tested the ability on an apple, rewinding time on it to make it whole and then forwarding time to make it rot, despite not actually eating it to that point before hand. If interrupted while using this ability, time freezes until he resumes the spell. He even used it to make a reconstruction of the stolen pages of the Book of Cagliostro and read from it, though he seemed to be unable to make the page real and only could reveal what had been their before. He notably used this ability to trap even Dormammu himself in the same moment, which would reset each time Dormammu killed Strange, and keep Dormammu from leaving his dimension to invade Earth until Dormammu agreed to leave Earth for good. Strange concluded that he isn’t ready to wield the Eye of Agamotto’s powers yet and decided to return it until he’s ready to use it again.
  • Transmutation: During his meeting with Thor, Strange was able to turn a cup of tea into a large mug of beer that was also able to magically refill itself, much to Thor’s pleasant surprise.

Abilities

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• Master Physician: Strange was one of the world’s most renowned neurosurgeons. His genius surgical skill allowed him to perform nearly complicated and difficult surgeries with little to no mechanical assistance flawlessly. His skills sometimes rivaled or were found to be superior to that of his colleagues Palmer and West as he was able to notice a cause of injury in a patient while Palmer could not and thus prevent West from killing the patient. His perfect record and reputation with the craft reached such a point that ultimately, he developed a penchant for undertaking only the most challenging but still viable of operations, in order to boost his huge ego. He lost the ability to perform surgeries after his hands were damaged beyond repair in a catastrophic car accident, but he kept his profound knowledge on subjects related to modern medicine.
• Multilingualism: Strange is fluent in his native English, and becomes proficient with Sanskrit enough during his months in Kamar-Taj to enable him to study advanced books Wong deem him not ready for, including the Book of Cagliostro.
• Eidetic Memory: Strange’s photographic memory and perfect recall had originally greatly aided him in medical school, helping him to earn both his MD and PhD simultaneously. During his mystic arts studies in Kamar-Taj, Strange managed to master entering the Astral Dimension, despite Wong not believing him to be ready.
• Master Tactician: Strange’s tremendous intellect contribute to his incredible insight, a highly ingenious strategist, Strange rely on pure wits to stop Dormammu due to his to his lack of experience in fighting supernatural forces, using the Eye of Agamotto to trap the primordial entity in a endless time loop, using tactics of psychological warfare to mentally torment Dormammu instead of stopping him with magic, and Strange succeded in forcing Dormammu to return back to the Dark Dimension, taking Kaecilius with him, further proving Strange’s capability to defeat both immensely powerful enemies with tactical genius alone.

• Martial Artist: After being trained by both the Ancient One and Karl Mordo, Strange gained some skill in martial arts, having been able to ultimately defeat and kill the Zealot Lucian, and to even hold his own relatively well against the far more experienced Master Kaecilius. However, Strange’s hands still suffer from severe nerve and bone damage as a result of his accident, further exacerbated by the unsuccessful surgeries made towards restoring his dexterity, meaning his hands are delicate and prone to intense pain should he attempt to punch something or someone.

Equipment

• Cloak of Levitation: A mantle that enables Doctor Strange to levitate and hover in the air. It appears to be sentient and can move on its own power, causing it to move and flap in the air without the presence of wind. Offensively, the cloak’s ability to move and fly with or without a wearer allows it to grab, lift, tackle or send opponents flying through the air. The cloak often assists Strange in combat by protecting him from enemy attacks, preventing enemies from blindsiding him, as well as attacking enemies on its own whenever possible, and doing maneuvers that are difficult, if not impossible for most humans to do.
• Eye of Agamotto: An ancient relic with a number of mystical properties, especially time manipulation in the user’s immediate vicinity and on specific areas or targets. It is able to do so since it contains the Time Stone.
• Sling Ring: A mystical object which enables the wearer to open a portal to another location.

Relationships

Family

• Donna Strange † — Sister

Allies

• Masters of the Mystic Arts
  • Ancient One † — Mentor
  • Wong
  • Hamir
  • Daniel Drumm †
  • Grem
  • B’sso
• Karl Mordo — Former Fellow Master and Trainer
• Metro-General Hospital — Former Employers
  • Nicodemus West — Former Colleague and Work Rival
  • Christine Palmer — Former Colleague, Ex-Girlfriend, Love Interest and Saviour
  • Billy — Former Co-Worker and Assistant
• Etienne — Former Colleague
• Jonathan Pangborn
• Thor

Enemies

• HYDRA — Attempted Killers (Project Insight)
• Dormammu — Killer (Multiple times)
• Zealots
  • Kaecilius — Attempted Killer
  • Lucian † — Attempted Killer turned Victim
  • Blonde Zealot
  • Brunette Zealot
  • Tall Zealot †
• Loki — Potential Target
• Hela — Potential Target

Appearances

Appearances for Stephen Strange
In chronological order: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (mentioned) WHiH Newsfront May 3, 2016 (mentioned) Doctor Strange: Episode 0 Doctor Strange Doctor Strange: Mystic Apprentice (concurrent events) Spider-Man: Homecoming (photograph) (unreleased) Thor: Ragnarok (unreleased) Avengers: Infinity War (unreleased) Untitled Doctor Strange Sequel (unreleased)

Trivia

• In the comics, Stephen Strange was the founder and long-time leader of the Defenders, and also a member of the New Avengers.
• As a result of his confrontation with Dormammu in the Dark Dimension, Strange has officially died more times than any other character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Behind the Scenes

• Stephen Strange is mentioned in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This marks the first time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that a superhero character is mentioned by name before making their first appearance.
• Kevin Feige revealed that Strange did not have any powers yet during the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as Project Insight was designed to anticipate future threats, not just catalogue current ones. He said that at this point Strange is «probably not… the sorcerer supreme,» but is an «unbelievably talented neurosurgeon who’s opinionated and kind of arrogant… [which] might put him on the list.»^[8]
• Aaron Lazar was a body double for Benedict Cumberbatch in Avengers: Infinity War due to the latter having scheduling conflicts with The Current War.^[9]

References

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External links

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«	Я Доктор Стрэндж, Верховный Маг!	»

Доктор Стефан Винсент Стрэндж (англ. Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange), также известный как Доктор Стрэндж  (англ. Doctor Strange) — Верховный Маг Земли, защищающий её от мистических угроз.

Биография

Ранняя жизнь

О ранней жизни Стрэнджа мало что известно. Однако, можно предположить, что его история в целом схожа с историей Доктор Стрэнджа из Земли-616.

Появление Кошмара в Нью-Йорке

Демон известный как Кошмар использовал сонное заклинание над Нью-Йорком. Доктор Стрэндж заручился помощью Железного кулака. Он поставил под сомнение выбор Железного кулака в результате чего Человек-паук с ним. Доктор Стрэндж объяснил им, что это была работа Кошмара и утверждал, что вера привела Человека-паука, чтобы быть с ними.

Раздел биографии пуст. Вы можете помочь вики, написав или дополнив биографию.

Характер и отношения с окружающими

Этот раздел пуст.
Вы можете помочь вики, написав или дополнив его.

Силы и способности

Доктор Стрэндж имеет те же способности, что и его альтернативная версия из основной вселенной.

Снаряжение

• Око Агамотто: Артефакт с рядом мистических свойств.
• Мантия Левитации: Мантия, которая позволяет Доктору Стрэнджу летать.

Doctor Strange
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Scott Derrickson
Written by	Jon Spaihts Scott Derrickson C. Robert Cargill
Based on	Doctor Strange by Stan Lee Steve Ditko
Produced by	Kevin Feige
Starring	Benedict Cumberbatch Chiwetel Ejiofor Rachel McAdams Benedict Wong Michael Stuhlbarg Benjamin Bratt Scott Adkins Mads Mikkelsen Tilda Swinton
Cinematography	Ben Davis
Edited by	Wyatt Smith[1] Sabrina Plisco[2]
Music by	Michael Giacchino
Production company	Marvel Studios
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release dates	October 13, 2016 (Hong Kong) November 4, 2016 (United States)
Running time	115 minutes[3]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$165–236.6 million[4][5]
Box office	$677.8 million[6]

Doctor Strange is a 2016 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 14th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Scott Derrickson from a screenplay he wrote with Jon Spaihts and C. Robert Cargill, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as neurosurgeon Stephen Strange along with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins, Mads Mikkelsen, and Tilda Swinton. In the film, Strange learns the mystic arts after a career-ending car crash.

Various incarnations of a Doctor Strange film adaptation had been in development since the mid-1980s, until Paramount Pictures acquired the film rights in April 2005 on behalf of Marvel Studios. Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer were brought on board in June 2010 to write a screenplay. In June 2014, Derrickson was hired to direct, with Spaihts re-writing the script. Cumberbatch was chosen for the eponymous role in December 2014, necessitating a schedule change to work around his other commitments. This gave Derrickson time to work on the script himself, for which he brought Cargill on to help. Principal photography on the film began in November 2015 in Nepal, before moving to England and Hong Kong, and wrapping up in New York City in April 2016.

Doctor Strange had its world premiere in Hong Kong on October 13, 2016, and was released in the United States on November 4, as part of Phase Three of the MCU. The film grossed over $677 million worldwide and was met with praise for its cast, visual effects, and musical score. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects. A sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, was released in May 2022.

Plot[edit]

In Kathmandu, the sorcerer Kaecilius and his zealots enter the secret compound Kamar-Taj and behead its librarian. They steal several pages from a book belonging to the Ancient One, a long-lived sorcerer who has taught every student at Kamar-Taj, including Kaecilius, in the mystic arts. The Ancient One pursues the traitors, but Kaecilius and his followers escape.

In New York City, Dr. Stephen Strange, a wealthy and acclaimed, yet arrogant neurosurgeon, severely injures his hands in a car crash while en route to a speaking conference, leaving him permanently unable to operate. Fellow surgeon Christine Palmer tries to help him move on, but Strange vainly pursues experimental surgeries to heal his hands. Strange learns about Jonathan Pangborn, a paraplegic who mysteriously regained use of his legs. Pangborn directs Strange to Kamar-Taj, where he is taken in by Mordo, a sorcerer under the Ancient One. The Ancient One demonstrates her power to Strange, revealing the astral plane and other dimensions such as the Mirror Dimension. She reluctantly agrees to train Strange, whose arrogance and ambition remind her of Kaecilius.

Strange studies under the Ancient One and Mordo, and from ancient texts in the library that are now guarded by Master Wong. Strange learns that Earth is protected from threats from other dimensions by a shield generated from three Sanctums in New York City, London, and Hong Kong, which are all directly accessible from Kamar-Taj. The sorcerers’ task is to protect the Sanctums, though Pangborn instead chose to channel mystical energy only to heal his paralysis. Strange progresses quickly, and secretly reads the book from which Kaecilius stole pages, learning to bend time with the Eye of Agamotto. Mordo and Wong warn Strange against breaking the laws of nature, drawing a comparison to Kaecilius’ desire for eternal life.

Kaecilius uses the stolen pages to contact Dormammu of the Dark Dimension, where time is non-existent and destroys the London Sanctum to weaken Earth’s protection. The zealots then attack the New York Sanctum, killing its guardian, but Strange holds them off with the help of the Cloak of Levitation, only to be critically injured during a skirmish. He teleports himself back to the hospital where Palmer saves him. Upon returning to the Sanctum, Strange reveals to Mordo that the Ancient One has been drawing power from the Dark Dimension to sustain long life, and Mordo becomes disillusioned with her. After a fight in the Mirror Dimension of New York, Kaecilius mortally wounds the Ancient One and escapes to Hong Kong. Before dying, she tells Strange that he and Mordo will have to work together to defeat Kaecilius, balancing Mordo’s steadfast nature against Strange’s willingness to bend the rules. Strange and Mordo arrive in Hong Kong to find Wong dead, the Sanctum destroyed, and the Dark Dimension engulfing Earth. Strange uses the Eye to reverse time and save Wong, then enters the Dark Dimension and creates an endless time loop around himself and Dormammu. After repeatedly killing Strange to no avail, Dormammu finally accepts his bargain, leaving Earth permanently and taking Kaecilius and the zealots with him in exchange for Strange breaking the loop.

Disgusted by Strange and the Ancient One defying nature’s laws, Mordo renounces his sorcerer career and departs. Strange returns the Eye, which is revealed to hold an Infinity Stone, back to Kamar-Taj and takes up residence in the New York Sanctum to continue his studies with Wong. In a mid-credits scene, Strange decides to help Thor, who has brought his brother Loki to Earth to search for their father, Odin.^[a] In a post-credits scene, Mordo confronts Pangborn and steals the mystical energy he uses, telling him that Earth has «too many sorcerers».

Cast[edit]

• Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange:
  A neurosurgeon who, after a car crash that led to a journey of healing, discovers the hidden world of magic and alternate dimensions.^[7][8] Cumberbatch described Strange as arrogant, with the film «about him going from a place where he thinks he knows it all to realizing he knows nothing.»^[9] He compared the character to the version of Sherlock Holmes that he portrays in Sherlock, calling both characters «intelligent» and having «smatterings of the same colors».^[10] The film’s mysticism resonated with Cumberbatch, for whom spirituality has been important since he spent his gap year teaching English at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Darjeeling, India.^[11][12] Strange’s abilities in the film include casting spells with «tongue-twisty fun names», creating mandalas of light for shields and weapons, and creating portals for quick travel around the world. Strange is also aided by a Cloak of Levitation for flight, and the Eye of Agamotto, a relic containing an Infinity Stone that can manipulate time.^[13][14] Cumberbatch took great care in defining the physical movements and gestures for the spells, knowing that they would be noted and studied by fans.^[15] He described these gestures as «balletic» and «very dynamic»,^[16] and received help with finger-tutting movements from dancer JayFunk.^[17]
• Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo:
  A Master of the Mystic Arts, close to the Ancient One and a mentor to Strange. This version of Mordo is a combination of different characters from the Doctor Strange mythos, and unlike in the comics is not introduced as villainous.^[18][19] Ejiofor noted this, calling Mordo «a very complex character that, really, I don’t think can be nailed down either way».^[20][21] Director Scott Derrickson added that the change in character stemmed from casting Ejiofor and conversations the director had with him.^[20] Ejiofor described Mordo’s relationship with the Ancient One as «long and intense»,^[21] while noting a «growing respect» between the character and Strange, until «things get complicated».^[20] Derrickson felt Mordo was a fundamentalist, saying «When someone gives themselves over to an extraordinarily strict moral code, the process of breaking out of that is a violent one. He becomes disillusioned with the Ancient One’s [moral contradictions]. The difference is Strange can accept that contradiction. Mordo cannot cope with it,»^[22] which leads to the «antagonism between Mordo and Strange» to explore in future films.^[20] Discussing the diversity of the film’s cast when addressing the controversial casting of the characters the Ancient One and Wong, Derrickson was confident that the decision to cast Ejiofor as Mordo, and thus changing the character «from white to black», was the right one to make.^[23]
• Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer:
  An emergency surgeon^[24][25] initially written as a love interest for Strange, but shortly before filming, Derrickson suggested that this trope be subverted by making the two characters lovers as part of their backstory and coming «out the other side of it as friends». McAdams described this dynamic by saying, «The love is between them no matter what stage they’re at in the actual relationship.»^[26] With this change in characterization, producer Kevin Feige described Palmer as a «lynchpin to [Strange’s] old life, once he steps into the role of a sorcerer. She is someone he connects with at the beginning, and reconnects with, and helps anchor his humanity.»^[27] He explained that having this character be a «connection to Strange’s life in New York City, in the normal world» after his journey was important to the studio, which is why Palmer was chosen for the character over the more prominent, but more fantastical character Clea.^[28] Palmer is also known as the hero Night Nurse in the comics, a storyline that does not play into the film, but that Feige hinted could be explored in future films. Rosario Dawson portrays another Night Nurse character, Claire Temple, in Marvel’s Netflix television series.^[29]
• Benedict Wong as Wong:^[30]
  A Master of the Mystic Arts, tasked with protecting some of Kamar-Taj’s most valuable relics and books.^[31][32] The character is depicted in the comics as Strange’s Asian, «tea-making manservant», a racial stereotype that Derrickson did not want in the film,^[33][34] and so the character was not included in the film’s script. After the non-Asian actress Tilda Swinton was cast as the other significant Asian character from the Doctor Strange comics, the Ancient One—which was also done to avoid the comics’ racial stereotypes—Derrickson felt obligated to find a way to include Wong in the film. The character as he ultimately appears is «completely subverted as a character and reworked into something that didn’t fall into any of the stereotypes of the comics»,^[33] which Derrickson was pleased gave an Asian character «a strong presence in the movie».^[23] Actor Wong was also pleased with the changes made to the character, and described him as «a drill sergeant to Kamar-Taj» rather than a manservant. He does not practice martial arts in the film, avoiding another racial stereotype.^[34] Derrickson added that Wong will have «a strong presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe» moving forward.^[23]
• Michael Stuhlbarg as Nicodemus West: A rival surgeon to Strange.^[2][35]
• Benjamin Bratt as Jonathan Pangborn: A paraplegic who learned from the Ancient One how to heal himself through the mystic arts.^[36][37][38]
• Scott Adkins as Lucian: One of Kaecilius’ followers.^[39][40]
• Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecilius:
  A Master of the Mystic Arts who broke away from the Ancient One.^[2][31][41] A combination of several antagonists from the comics, Kaecilius was used in the film to drive the introduction and development of bigger villains for the future, including «certain individuals who live in other dimensions». Derrickson compared this dynamic to that of Saruman and Sauron in The Lord of the Rings, giving the film a «huge and fantastical» villain like Sauron, but also having «human relateability» with Kaecilius, like Saruman, for Strange to face throughout the film.^[20][42] Derrickson admitted that Marvel’s villains are often criticized, and noted that MCU films dedicate little time to developing antagonists. For Doctor Strange, he just hoped to show «Kaecilius’s point of view and what makes him tick» in the time that he could,^[43] feeling that the character is a «man of ideas» with «watertight logic» like John Doe from Seven and the Joker from The Dark Knight.^[42] On these motivations, Feige explained that Kaecilius believes the Ancient One is a hypocrite, protecting her own power base, and that the world may be better off «if we were to allow some of these other things through.»^[44] Mikkelsen’s makeup took between 2–3 hours to apply.^[45]
• Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One:
  A Celtic mystic^[46] who becomes Strange’s mentor.^[18] The character is a Tibetan man in the comics, and co-writer C. Robert Cargill said adapting the character as the comics portrayed him would be realizing the major Asian Fu Manchu stereotype while involving the film with the Tibetan sovereignty debate. However, not giving one of few significant Asian roles to an Asian actor would also be received negatively; Cargill compared this situation to the Kobayashi Maru, an unwinnable training exercise from Star Trek.^[47][23] Derrickson wanted to change the character to an Asian woman, but felt an older Asian woman would invoke the Dragon Lady stereotype, while a younger Asian woman would be perceived as exploiting Asian fetish and be a «fanboy’s dream girl». He also wanted to avoid the stereotype of a «Western character coming to Asia to learn about being Asian»,^[23] and decided to cast a non-Asian actor in the role. Derrickson still wanted to take the opportunity to cast an actress in the previously male role,^[47] and wrote the character with Swinton in mind as he felt she was the obvious choice to play «domineering, secretive, ethereal, enigmatic, [and] mystical».^[48] Additionally, though the film uses the terms «her» and «she», Swinton chose to portray the character as androgynous, while Feige explained that the Ancient One and Sorcerer Supreme are mantles in the film held by multiple characters through time, so a more comic-accurate Ancient One could still exist within the MCU.^[49][50] Despite this, Swinton’s casting was widely criticized as whitewashing.^[51] Derrickson said he was pleased with the diversity of the film’s cast, in terms of both gender and ethnicity, but acknowledged that «Asians have been whitewashed and stereotyped in American cinema for over a century and people should be mad or nothing will change. What I did was the lesser of two evils, but it is still an evil.»^[23] Looking back at the casting in May 2021, Feige said the studio thought they were being «so smart and so cutting-edge» when they avoided the wise old Asian man stereotype, but the criticism of the casting was a wake-up call that made them realize they could have cast an Asian actor in the role without falling into stereotypes.^[52]

Cumberbatch also portrays, uncredited, the villainous entity Dormammu. The actor suggested he take on the role to Derrickson, feeling that having the character be a «horrific» reflection of Strange would work better than just «being a big ghoulish monster». The director agreed, elaborating that the casting implies that Dormammu does not have a normal physical form in his own dimension, and so is simply imitating Strange for their confrontation. To create the character, Cumberbatch provided motion-capture reference for the visual effects team, and his voice was blended with that of another uncredited British actor, whom Derrickson described as having «a very deep voice».^[14][53] The producers also had Tony Todd record voice over for Dormammu as an alternative to Cumberbatch, but ultimately decided on using Cumberbatch for the voice.^[54]

Chris Hemsworth reprises his role of Thor from previous MCU films in the film’s mid-credits scene.^[55] Additionally, Linda Louise Duan appears, unnamed, as Tina Minoru,^[56][57] Mark Anthony Brighton portrays Daniel Drumm,^[55] and Topo Wresniwiro portrays Hamir,^[58] all Masters of the Mystic Arts under the Ancient One. The latter is based on Hamir the Hermit, Wong’s father in the comics, who was the Ancient One’s personal manservant. The character is neither a manservant nor Wong’s father in the film.^[14] Zara Phythian, Alaa Safi, and Katrina Durden portray zealots under Kaecilius,^[38][58][59] and Pat Kiernan appears as himself.^[60] Doctor Strange co-creator Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance as a bus rider reading Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception.^[61][62] Amy Landecker was cast as anesthesiologist Bruner, but the majority of her role was cut from the finished film.^[58][63]

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

A film based on the Marvel Comics character Doctor Strange was initially listed as being in development at New World Pictures,^[64] with a script dated January 21, 1986, by Bob Gale, which never went further into production.^[65] By 1989, Alex Cox had co-written a script with Doctor Strange co-creator Stan Lee. The script had the character traveling to the Fourth Dimension before facing the villain Dormammu on Easter Island, Chile. A film using this script was almost made by Regency, but the company’s films were distributed by Warner Bros. at the time, which was in a dispute with Marvel over merchandising.^[66] Around this time, producer Charles Band optioned the property from Marvel and began developing a film at his studio Full Moon Entertainment. However, the option expired before production could begin and the project was reworked into the 1992 film Doctor Mordrid, whose titular character bore similarities to Doctor Strange.^[67] By December 1992, Wes Craven had signed to write and direct Doctor Strange for release in either 1994 or 1995, with Savoy Pictures distributing.^[68][69] In 1995, David S. Goyer had completed a script for the film.^[70] By April 1997, Columbia Pictures had purchased the film rights and Jeff Welch was working on a new screenplay, with Bernie Brillstein and Brad Grey producing.^[71]

By April 2000, Columbia dropped Doctor Strange, which then had Michael France attached to write a script and interest from Chuck Russell and Stephen Norrington to direct.^[72] By June 2001, Dimension Films acquired the film rights, with Goyer back on board as writer and director. Goyer hinted scheduling conflicts might ensue with a film adaptation of Murder Mysteries,^[73] and promised not to be highly dependent on computer-generated imagery.^[70] However, by August 2001, Miramax acquired the film rights from Dimension,^[74] and by March 2002, Goyer had dropped out of the project.^[75] A 2005 release date was announced the next March,^[76] while in June 2004, a script still had yet to be written. Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad stated, «We are nowhere with that. That’s a tough one to write, but we are working on it. We are trying to find the real Jerry Garcia of the writing community.»^[77] In April 2005, Paramount Pictures acquired Doctor Strange from Miramax, as part of Marvel Studios’ attempt to independently produce their own films. At the time, the film was projected to have a budget of no more than $165 million.^[78] In 2007, Guillermo del Toro and Neil Gaiman pitched a version of the film to Marvel, with Gaiman writing and del Toro directing.^[79] Their version would have seen the character be alcoholic and a disbarred physician in the late 1920s or early 1930s, and he would have been living in Greenwich Village for 90 years without aging. It would have also been heavily inspired by the art of Steve Ditko.^[80] Gaiman was especially interested in including the character Clea, but the studio was not interested.^[79]

In March 2009, Marvel hired writers to help come up with creative ways to launch its lesser-known properties, including Doctor Strange.^[81] In June 2010, Marvel Studios hired Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer to write Doctor Strange.^[82] While promoting Transformers: Dark of the Moon in April 2011, actor Patrick Dempsey indicated he was lobbying to play the title character.^[83] In January 2013, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed that Doctor Strange would appear in some capacity as part of Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.^[84] Feige then reiterated that a Doctor Strange feature film was in development at Marvel Studios that May,^[85][86] and again in November.^[87] In February 2014, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Marvel was considering Mark Andrews, Jonathan Levine, Nikolaj Arcel and Dean Israelite to direct the film, and was considering Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger to rewrite the film’s script.^[88] Feige denied this report, but confirmed that Marvel was considering prospective candidates.^[89] By March, Marvel was considering Andrews, Levine, and Scott Derrickson to direct the film.^[90]

Pre-production[edit]

In June 2014, Derrickson was chosen to direct the film.^[92] He had written a 12-page scene for the film featuring Strange and an assailant fighting in the astral plane while a doctor attempts to save Strange’s physical body in a hospital, based on a sequence from the comic Doctor Strange: The Oath. Derrickson illustrated the sequence with his own concept art, alongside storyboards from professional artists and an animatic, which he presented in a 90-minute pitch to the studio. This cost Derrickson an «obnoxious amount» of his own money, but he felt it necessary to prove «that I wanted [the job] more than anyone», especially after Marvel told him that more people had lobbied to direct Doctor Strange than any of their other films.^[93][94] Derrickson ultimately had eight meetings with Marvel for the film.^[95] After he was hired, Marvel bought the 12-page scene from Derrickson, and it became one of the film’s main set pieces.^[93][94]

On transitioning from horror films to a superhero film, Derrickson said, «It was nice to work on something more positive. And not have my headspace in something so dark for so long. But it was also weirdly similar because of the fantastical nature of the movie». In his horror films, Derrickson tried to use «real characters and real character drama played by good actors … [to] encounter the fantastical», and so he wanted actors of the same high caliber for Doctor Strange through which he could introduce the more fantastical elements to the MCU.^[96]

Derrickson and Marvel had originally discussed him writing the film alongside his Sinister co-writer C. Robert Cargill, with Derrickson also directing, but Marvel felt that they would not be able to reach their intended release date of July 2016 if Derrickson filled both roles. When Derrickson was chosen as director, Marvel passed on Cargill as an individual writer,^[47] with Jon Spaihts hired to rewrite the script instead.^[7][97] Spaihts, a big fan of Doctor Strange as a child, had started «pestering» Marvel as soon as he read reports of the company searching for a director for the film. This eventually led to him meeting with the studio, before they actually began looking for writers for the film. Spaihts said that they talked «all afternoon, and the fit was right»,^[98] but he received a call from Marvel several days later saying that they were not completely sure they wanted to take the film in the same direction as Spaihts, and were going to look at other writers. Spaihts told his agent to not «take that answer. Call them back, tell them there’s a lot of right answers, and get me back in the room», and after talking with Marvel for «another three or four hours» he was given the job. Marvel never seriously looked at any other writer for the film.^[95]

Derrickson was already hired when Spaihts joined, and the pair spent several months working on the film’s story with Feige and executive producer Stephen Broussard. They started writing the film from the beginning, and initially were unsure whether it would be an origin story, or if it would begin with Strange already as a «fully-formed» sorcerer. Spaihts ultimately felt that «the origin story of this character, as depicted in the comics, is so operatic and beautiful, and so tragic and epic in its sweep, that it was unavoidable. We had to tell that story, and tell our best version of it.» Elements from Spaihts’ early drafts that he later stated were still in the final film include many of the film’s set pieces, such as the climactic battle, which came straight from Derrickson, as well as «little things» from Spaihts, «like a bandaged hand running down a row of prayer bells in a Nepalese temple.»^[98] Derrickson wanted Nightmare to be the film’s antagonist, along with the concept of «nightmares themselves as being a dimension»,^[22][99] but Feige felt «getting across the idea of the Dream Dimension as another dimension» would have been challenging alongside everything else that the film introduces. Dormammu, «the most present villain in the comics», became the film’s main villain.^[22]

During the early development process, Marvel, Derrickson, and Spaihts all envisioned Benedict Cumberbatch playing the title role.^[98] By the end of June, Marvel had reportedly been looking at Tom Hardy and Jared Leto for the film’s lead as well,^[97][100] while Édgar Ramírez, who worked with Derrickson on 2014’s Deliver Us from Evil, had discussed a possible role with the director.^[101] In July, after fans and the media had also championed Cumberbatch for the role of Doctor Strange, the actor explained at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International that he would be unable to accept the role due to commitments to other projects.^[102] Feige stated that a lead actor would be announced «relatively quickly»,^[103] and by the end of that month Joaquin Phoenix entered talks to play the character.^[104][105]

Marvel Studios was in negotiations by September 2014 to shoot Doctor Strange at Pinewood-Shepperton in England, with crews being assembled for a move into Shepperton Studios in late 2014/early 2015, for filming in May 2015.^[106] Negotiations with Phoenix ended in October 2014,^[107] as the actor felt that blockbuster films would never be «fulfilling», with «too many requirements that went against [his] instincts for character.»^[108] Marvel then placed Leto, Ethan Hawke, Oscar Isaac, Ewan McGregor, Matthew McConaughey, Jake Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, and Keanu Reeves on their shortlist for the character.^[109][110] Ryan Gosling also had discussions to play the character,^[111] while Reeves was not approached about the role,^[112] and Cumberbatch was still considered to be in contention.^[109][110] In October, Cumberbatch entered negotiations to play the character,^[113] and was officially cast in December.^[7] Feige explained that Marvel had kept returning to him for the role while considering other actors,^[114] with Derrickson noting that even during discussions with Phoenix, he and Marvel still wanted to cast Cumberbatch in the role.^[94] The company eventually decided to change the film’s production schedule to fit around Cumberbatch’s commitments, allowing him to join the project.^[114]

With the film’s new production schedule, its intended release date was pushed back to November 2016,^[115] and Derrickson was able to do some work on the script himself. He brought Cargill in to work with him on this as was originally planned. Describing the film, Cargill called it both a superhero film and a fantasy film, saying «it’s a very magical fantasy universe, but at the same time it plays by some of the superhero tropes that people enjoy.»^[47] Spaihts returned later in the process to «do some more writing and help bring the movie home», and said he was «delighted» by the work that Derrickson and Cargill had done in the interim.^[95] Feige and Derrickson have noted that, in addition to The Oath and Steve Ditko’s original work on Doctor Strange, an influence on all the film’s writers was the Doctor Strange comic book Into Shamballa.^{[32][42][116]}

In January 2015, Chiwetel Ejiofor entered preliminary talks with Marvel for a role in the film,^[117] later revealed to be Karl Mordo.^[18] Ejiofor’s role was confirmed during the 2015 D23 Expo.^[19] In April, Derrickson and members of the production team visited New York City to scout potential filming locations, while Feige revealed that filming would begin that November.^[118] A month later, Tilda Swinton was in talks to play the Ancient One.^[119] In June 2015, Derrickson announced that he was going to London to begin work on the film,^[120] and Feige confirmed that Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum would appear, located on Bleecker Street in New York City’s Greenwich Village, as in the comics.^[50] Swinton confirmed her role in the film in July,^[121] when Rachel McAdams was being considered for the female lead. McAdams cautioned that «it’s still super-early, and I don’t know where that’s gonna go, if it’s gonna go anywhere at all»,^[122] but she ultimately confirmed her role during the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.^[24] Jessica Chastain had been approached for the role before McAdams, but turned down the opportunity because she felt she was «only going to get one shot at being in a Marvel film» and wanted to be a lead character.^[123] Mads Mikkelsen entered into early negotiations to play a villain in August,^[124] «one of a number of actors being considered for the unspecified villainous role.»^[125]

In September 2015, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn stated that many of the crew that worked on that film were unable to return for its sequel, because they had committed to Doctor Strange.^[126] Derrickson also revealed that Gunn had provided notes on the script, beyond the general conversing the MCU directors have between themselves for their films.^[127] At the end of the month, Feige stated that additional casting announcements would be made «before the end of the year»,^[128] and by early November, Michael Stuhlbarg entered negotiations to appear in the film as Nicodemus West, a rival of Strange.^[35] Derrickson had offered the role to Stuhlbarg because he was interested in working with the actor, and he agreed to join the cast after reading some Doctor Strange comics and being drawn to the character’s «guilt-ridden arc» where West «blames himself for ruining the surgery on Strange’s hands and robbing him of his ability to operate».^[129]

Feige felt that the visuals of the film needed «to be a Ditko/Kubrick/Miyazaki/The Matrix mind-trip»,^[130] and said that «You don’t get into it in Harry Potter, but if a scientist went to Hogwarts he’d find out how some of that stuff is happening! We’re not going to spend a lot of time on that, but there will be some of that. And particularly for a character like Strange, who goes from a man of science to a man of faith and who traverses both worlds.»^[130] In developing the film’s magic, Derrickson felt a responsibility to not repeat the representation of magic from previous films, like Fantasia and Harry Potter, wanting «to find a new way to make it feel more tactical and real and surreal. And to root it in gestures as opposed to spoken incantations and things like that.»^[96] Feige called Doctor Strange the «doorway» into the supernatural side of the MCU,^[131] a role that Derrickson noted was also served by the character in the early comics, when the Doctor Strange comics «broke open the Marvel comic book universe into the Marvel multiverse».^[132] Discussing the portrayal of other dimensions in the film, Feige stated that it would not explore parallel realities like the comics’ «Earth-616 and Earth 617», but would instead feature «dimensions that are so mind-bending that you can barely perceive them»,^[133] like the Astral plane, Dark Dimension, and Mirror Dimension.^{[134][135][136]}

Astrophysicist Adam Frank served as a scientific consultant on the film, having already known Derrickson and been a Marvel fan since childhood.^[137] Frank advised on «the human experience of space and time», helping Marvel conceive ideas for their cinematic multiverse, and suggesting dialogue for characters based on their beliefs, whether they were materialist, rationalist, reductionist, or «had this enlarged perspective.»^[138] He noted that modern movie goers may not necessarily understand these complex scientific ideas, but do appear to appreciate that «amazing things happen from science. So by grounding your stories enough in science to not so much make them plausible, but to allow that science to open up new possibilities—people are used to that in their lives. So I think it makes sense to them, and it’s exciting to them». This was an aspect of previous MCU films that Frank called a «great thing … speaking as a scientist», saying that «they build a coherent and consistent universe that respects the scientific process and that uses enough of real science to make things plausible or build off them.»^[137]

Filming[edit]

Principal photography began in Nepal on November 4, 2015, under the working title Checkmate.^[139][140] Ben Davis, serving as cinematographer for the film after doing the same on Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron, described Doctor Strange as Marvel’s Fantasia, and noted that a lot of previsualization was required to figure out how to shoot the «psychedelic», M. C. Escher-inspired imagery.^[141] Davis used the Arri Alexa 65 camera for the film,^[142] along with the Arri Alexa XT Plus. Vision Research Phantom Flex 4Ks, which shoot up to 1000 fps, were used for high-speed sequences like Strange’s car crash.^[143]

Derrickson chose Nepal as a location to feature an «Eastern city» that would not be familiar to most audiences. After scouting and deciding on locations in the country, many of those areas were destroyed by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. Rather than choosing another country, Derrickson and Cumberbatch felt that bringing attention and tourism to Nepal following the event «was all the more reason to shoot there». Cargill said that the location of Kamar-Taj was shifted from Tibet to Nepal to prevent censorship by the Chinese government.^[145][146] Cumberbatch said that shooting in Nepal was «absolutely vital to this film, I think not least because it’s so based in something that is exotic. It was a magical way to start the shoot. It’s important to a film like this—which has a profound gearshift into a spiritual and otherworldly dimension—that the portal for that be in a place that actually happens in itself to be incredibly spiritual and marvelous.»^[147] The eventual filming locations around the Kathmandu Valley included the Pashupatinath and Swayambhunath Temples;^[148] Thamel and New Road in Kathmandu;^[149] and the Patan Durbar Square in Patan.^[150][151]

Production moved to Longcross Studios in Surrey, England on November 11,^[152] and was scheduled to stay there until March 2016.^[153] The real Kathmandu street that led into the fictional Kamar-Taj courtyard was replicated at Longcross, which production designer Charles Wood described as «very hard because Kathmandu is a most beautiful city and it’s steeped in history. To transition from that level of detail and history, with the shape of the streets, the warping of the buildings, these ancient bricks and these ancient tiles, was a real challenge.» For authenticity, the set was dressed with real food, and populated with dogs, pigeons, and Nepalese extras, many of whom were relatives of people who live on the real Kathmandu street.^[147] The inside of Kamar-Taj was also constructed at Longcross, with «sculptors creating beautiful columns and wall decorations and craftsmen building screens and doors to evoke the exotic feel of the ancient sanctuary.» Wood’s goal was to make the set feel like the Ancient One and her disciples actually lived there, and give it a «truly spiritual, truly magical» feel, while integrating it into a real building that the production filmed in Kathmandu. This and the Kathmandu street were two of twenty-one sets that the crew built at Longcross. Others included Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, and a Hong Kong street «complete with over 80 neon signs and a giant roof to keep the rain out.»^[147] Citypoint on Ropemaker Street, London, doubled as the New York City building where the Ancient One falls to her death.^[154]

Filming also took place in Hong Kong,^[2][155] and in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.^[139] Additional New York City-set scenes were shot at Shepperton Studios,^[106][156] and later in London.^[157] By the end of November, the casting of Mikkelsen and Stuhlbarg was confirmed,^[2] alongside Amy Landecker and Scott Adkins in unspecified roles.^[39][158] Additionally, Benedict Wong heard about the film from his friend Ejiofor, and sought a role in it himself.^[159] He was cast as Wong in January,^[30] and immediately joined the production for filming.^[159] Lamborghini provided six Huracán LP 610-4s for use in the film, one of which the production wrecked during filming.^[143][160] Lamborghini said that they felt «there are a lot of characteristics of Doctor Strange that are connected with the Lamborghini philosophy.»^[160] The Lamborghini crash scene was filmed at Northfleet, Kent by the River Thames.^[161] Also in January 2016, filming took place at Exeter College, Oxford.^[140][155] The next month, Feige revealed that the film originally had a prologue that took place in CERN, due to the real world research being done at the facility on alternate dimensions and parallel universes.^[32] Production moved to New York City’s Flatiron District in April,^[156] where set photos revealed that Zara Phythian had joined the cast.^[59] Principal photography wrapped in New York City on April 3, 2016.^[162]

Post-production[edit]

In June 2016, a Diamond Select Toys press release for Doctor Strange toys, in their Marvel Minimates line, named Mikkelsen’s character Kaecilius and McAdams’ character Christine Palmer.^[41] Mikkelsen’s role was confirmed in an official tie-in comic for the film,^[31] while McAdams’ was confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con 2016.^[25] Additionally, Benjamin Bratt was revealed to have been cast^[36] as Jonathan Pangborn;^[37] Adkins’ role was revealed to be Lucian, a follower of Kaecilius;^[58] and Landecker’s role was later revealed to be anesthesiologist Dr. Bruner.^[58] The latter was mostly cut from the film,^[58][63] with Landecker explaining that she had been cast in the small role, for two scenes at the beginning of the film, because Derrickson was a fan of her performance in A Serious Man, which also starred Stuhlbarg. After filming her first scene, in which she assists Strange with a surgery, Landecker asked not to be involved in the other scene because she had no lines for it and was only seen from behind, and instead wished to attend a special premiere at the White House for her series Transparent. The actress believed she was later cut from the first scene, but she is still credited for a brief appearance.^[63] Also, Derrickson revealed that Lulu Wilson had been cast as Strange’s sister, for a scene depicting her drowning at a young age. The scene had been shot, and Derrickson thought it was «great [as a] self-contained scene», but it «didn’t work» with the rest of the film, and was cut.^[94]

Also at San Diego Comic-Con, Derrickson noted that there were still «a couple pickup shoots» to do for the film to «clarify the logic».^[163] Further content for the film’s training sequence was also shot during these reshoots, as early test audiences «loved [the training portion of the film] and wanted more». Wong indicated that the reshoots had been completed in August.^[164] Dan Harmon wrote material for these additional scenes,^[165] which Derrickson described as «script analysis and dialogue work», not enough to receive credit in the film.^[166] Feige said that in addition to any humor that Harmon could add to the film, he was brought on to «give us his opinions on the sci-fi concepts.»^[167] Before the film’s sets were demolished, Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi took advantage by writing and filming a scene featuring Strange meeting Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. The scene was for Ragnarok and shot before that film began production. Derrickson and Marvel felt the scene was «kind of perfect» to show Strange joining the wider MCU after his stand alone introduction, and so added it to Doctor Strange as a mid-credits scene.^[55][168] A post-credits scene, directed by Derrickson, teases Mordo’s role as an antagonist to Strange in a potential Doctor Strange sequel.^[169]

Stan Lee’s cameo in the film was directed by Gunn on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This was alongside several other Lee cameos, to limit the amount of travel he had to do for the next four MCU films. Gunn contacted Derrickson during the shoot to ensure that the shot matched up with the respective Doctor Strange scene, and «kept throwing lines at» Lee on the day to give Derrickson and Marvel plenty of options to choose from for the film.^[170] Additional options Gunn filmed included Lee reading a book and asking a gentleman next to him if he knew what the word excelsior meant; Lee laughing really hard and stating he was laughing for no reason, being «totally crazy»; and Lee laughing hysterically at a Garfield book, noting how the character «HATES Mondays but he LOVES lasagna!». Gunn felt the Garfield option was originally meant to appear in the final version of the film, but ended up being too long for the scene.^[171] By October 10, 2016, Derrickson had completed the film.^[62]

Feige described the film’s use of 3D as serving the storytelling, saying, «hopefully it helps bend people’s minds even more than with just the flat screen.»^[172] He said that «there are sequences of the film that 3D is actually necessary to tell the dimensional story that is happening through visuals». However, he noted that during visual effects reviews for the film it became apparent that these sequences were adversely affecting the story when viewed in 2D, which necessitated adjustments so the sequences would work in all formats.^[173] Over one hour of footage in the film was «specially formatted» for IMAX.^[174]

Visual effects[edit]

Visual effects for Doctor Strange were provided by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Method Studios, Framestore, Lola VFX, Luma Pictures, Rise FX, Crafty Apes, and SPOV,^[143][175] contributing to 1450 effects shots. Previsualization was handled by The Third Floor. All vendors worked on the common magical elements (mandalas, magical runes shields, whips, stalks and aerial ‘lily pads’, and portals).^[143] Visual effects supervisor Stephane Ceretti, who also worked on Guardians of the Galaxy, explained the similarities and differences between the two films, saying, «there’s some resemblance in some of the things that we’ve done. In the same way, it’s a totally different world. In [Guardians], it’s more sci-fi oriented and crazy colors. More of a comedy kind of take on things as well. This one is a little bit more serious. It’s also a little bit more trippy. We use very different techniques, actually. Guardians was also for us a huge animation film. This one was less of it. This one was more about the environments and effects».^[176]

Further discussing the film’s visuals, Derrickson described influences as «the Steve Ditko, Stan Lee comics [which] were all about these weird visuals»,^[163] as well as «a fair amount of surrealist art and photography and M. C. Escher».^[177] Additional inspiration for the film’s visuals came from «a bunch of experimental, fractal videos from YouTube» that Derrickson found, and the mobile video game Monument Valley.^[178] Derrickson’s «ambition was to use cutting-edge visual effects to do things that are fresh and new—to not just blow things up.»^[177] Feige explained that one of the more difficult areas to be inventive was the action sequences, as Derrickson did not want them «to simply be: someone shoots a bolt of lightning, and someone blocks a ball of lightning, so someone throws another bolt of lightning…» Instead, they tried to incorporate the use of different dimensions into the action «in the interest of creating a visual tapestry that is totally different in terms of an action scene we’ve seen in any other movies.»^[133] On the film’s set pieces, Derrickson reiterated that the film’s astral fight scene was based on The Oath comic, while adding that the end fight was «an attempt to capture the quality of that artwork» from the original comics, and the mirror dimension chase was an attempt to take Inception «to the Nth degree and take it way more surreal and way farther. But I certainly owe something to that movie.»^[96] Specifically for the climax of the film, Derrickson wanted to play on the superhero trope of «a big fight scene where they’re tearing up a city, and there’s a portal opening up and they have to close it», subverting it by having the villain defeated with an intelligent use of power rather than showing «which CGI thing can hit the other CGI thing harder».^[168]

ILM worked on the folding Manhattan mirror sequence (chosen because of their work creating a digital New York in The Avengers) and the time fight sequence in Hong Kong, which consisted of 200 and 150 shots, respectively. They began work on the film 10 months before filming began to plan out the Manhattan sequence; it was mainly CGI, though some New York location shots were used. The sequence was mainly handled by ILM’s San Francisco and Vancouver offices. The Hong Kong time sequence was done mainly by ILM’s London office. ILM also created digital doubles for many of the actors, which were shared with the other vendors. Method Studios, who worked on the Quantum Realm in Ant-Man, worked on the «magical mystery tour» sequence, with Strange hurtling through various dimensions. The sequence was handled by Method’s Los Angeles studio, with their Vancouver studio contributing the opening shot of the sequence. The only shot Method did not work on in the sequence was the one that linked to Dormammu, as Luma Pictures assisted in his creation (they handled his other appearances in the film). Method created 7 dimensions for the sequence: the initial wormhole to the «Speaker Cone»; the Bioluminesce world; the fractals of «soft solid» world; a version of the Quantum Realm; Strange falling through his own eye and Cosmic Scream; the Dark Dimension; and the Shape Shifting realm. The Shape Shifting realm originally had Strange morphing and changing shape, but that was ultimately removed as Derrickson felt the audience needed to see Cumberbatch. Method’s Vancouver studio created Strange’s car crash, the rooftop training, and the sequence in which Strange experiments with time on an apple in the Kamar-Taj library. The car crash blended the high-speed photography and some green screen sequences, with digital assets for both Cumberbatch and the car. In total, Method worked on 270 effects shots.^[143]

Framestore was chosen to work on the Cloak of Levitation, due to their work creating Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy. Ceretti called Cloak’s actions «kind of scripted but not as deeply» as the result, and said that during the pre-visualization process «we had a big discussion about the arc of the story of the Cloak in the film».^[176] Framestore also worked on environment shots, the Mandelbrot set sequences, high resolution digital doubles, the astral form, and the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak restraint for Kaecilius, totaling over 365 shots. Alexis Wajsbrot, Framestore’s CG Supervisor, called the astral form «one of the hardest effects we’ve had to deal with at Framestore; finding the right balance of a look that was subtle but also beautiful.» Lola VFX worked on the Zealots’ eyes, supplementing the make-up work with effects based on a geode. They also created digital tears for Kaecilius when he is in the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. In addition to Dormammu and the Dark Dimension, Luma Pictures also created the first mirror sequence at the beginning of the film.^[143]

In creating Dormammu, Ceretti stated that they wanted to avoid the fiery head look from the comics as «it had been done before. The whole idea is he’s a character that lives in-between dimensions. He can also take whatever shapes he wants to take. [When he is talking to Strange] you can feel all these ripples in his face and all that stuff… these kind of opening windows to other dimensions, and all the reflective qualities of it. We really wanted to add the evocation of that fire, but we didn’t want to do fire so we went for [a] multicolored approach to try and keep the psychedelic [look] of the entire space.» On the Dark Dimension, Ceretti said, «We tried to make it alive all the time—the whole idea of the Dark Dimension is that it’s a dynamic environment,» with the Luma team referencing the Ditko art and a poster that when lit «with a blacklight it becomes very saturated [with] colors, crazy blacklight colors.» He continued, «It was all about finding the right balance between all these elements to pay homage to and to tribute the work of Steve Ditko, but to make it more current to the 21st century. If you look at the detail of the shapes that we have in the Dark Dimension, you can almost point to things in the comic books [that] we really tried to be faithful to.»^[179]

Music[edit]

In May 2016, Michael Giacchino revealed that he would score the film.^[180] Derrickson called the score «magic in the literal sense of the word,» adding Giacchino «is doing what good scorers do, which is he is not just creating music that supports the images, he’s adding a third thing to the movie. It becomes something new with his music in there that it didn’t have with temp music.»^[163] The score was recorded at Abbey Road Studios.^[181] During a recording session, Paul McCartney heard one of Giacchino’s cues being recorded and likened it to the Beatles song «I Am the Walrus».^[182] Derrickson, a Bob Dylan fan, looked for a place in the film to include one of his songs, but could not find one. However, he was able to include the song «Interstellar Overdrive» by Pink Floyd.^[183][184] Derrickson had hoped to use either «Interstellar Overdrive» or The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s «Are You Experienced?» for the film’s credits, but the royalties to use either in the credits were too expensive, resulting in Giacchino creating the track «The Master of the Mystic End Credits».^[22] A soundtrack album from Hollywood Records was released digitally on October 21, 2016, with a physical release on November 18, 2016.^[185][186]

Marketing[edit]

In August 2015, a concept art trailer narrated by Derrickson was shown at the D23 Expo. The images showed artwork of Cumberbatch in a traditional Doctor Strange outfit from the comics, as well as a rough sequence of the plot, highlighting points such as Strange’s car crash, his journey for healing, and fighting Ejiofor as Mordo (before the character was moved away from a villainous role in the film per discussions between Derrickson and the actor).^[20][187] The trailer was met with «a very big reaction from the gathered crowd.»^[187]

On April 12, 2016, the first teaser trailer for the film debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.^[188][189] Clark Collis of Entertainment Weekly compared the «series of kaleidoscopic, world-bending scenes» featured in the trailer to the film Inception,^[189] as did Scott Mendelson of Forbes. Forbes added that the structure of the trailer resembled early marketing for the film Batman Begins.^[190] The Hollywood Reporter‘s Graeme McMillian criticized these similarities, as well as similarities to The Matrix and between Cumberbatch’s American accent and that of Hugh Laurie’s Gregory House from House, calling them not «necessarily a real problem, of course … [but] there’s nothing there outside the derivative aspects: due to the nature of the trailer, there’s no story beyond the ‘white man finds enlightenment in Asia’ trope and barely any dialogue to let audiences decide that maybe the performances will elevate the material.» McMillian did enjoy the visual effects and the visual of «Tilda Swinton literally knock[ing] Benedict Cumberbatch’s soul out of his body,» but concluded, «as an introduction to not only a brand new franchise for Marvel, but a potential new genre, this feels far less bold and assured» than the first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy.^[191]

In July 2016, Marvel Comics released a prelude tie-in comic written by Will Corona Pilgrim, with art by Jorge Fornés.^[192] The issue sees four Masters of the Mystic Arts–Kaecilius, Wong, Tina Minoru and Daniel Drumm–pursue a woman who has stolen a mystical relic.^[31] A second issue, centered on the Ancient One training apprentices in the magical arts at Kamar-Taj, was released a month later.^[193] Derrickson, Cumberbatch, Swinton, Ejiofor, McAdams, Mikkelsen, and Wong attended San Diego Comic-Con 2016, where they debuted an exclusive clip and the second trailer for the film.^[194] The next month, the same Comic-Con clip was screened at the Asia Pop Comic Convention Manila.^[195] In September 2016, an additional prelude comic was released, centered on Kaecilius,^[196] while behind the scenes footage was released as a special feature on the Captain America: Civil War Blu-ray.^[197] Also in September, Marvel, in partnership with Dolby Laboratories, Broadcom, Synchrony Bank, and Society for Science & the Public, announced «The Magic of STEM Challenge», aimed at females aged 15 through 18 in STEM fields. The challenge was for contestants to submit videos of them finding mentors to explore ideas once thought to only be possible with magic. Five winners would attend the world premiere of the film, and receive a tour of Walt Disney Studios, as well as a $1,000 saving account from Synchrony Bank, with one grand prize winner receiving a mentorship with Walt Disney Studio’s Digital Team.^[198]

On October 10, 2016, approximately 15 minutes of footage was screened at 115 IMAX 3D locations in North America, and select 3D and IMAX 3D locations worldwide. Fans attending the event received an exclusive IMAX poster for the film.^[174] Umberto Gonzales of TheWrap called the footage «stunning to behold». He added that a sequence shown in which the Ancient One sends Strange «on his first trippy tour through the multiverse» was «where the IMAX 3D really shines. The audience is given an incredible visual tour of the multiverse which features other dimensions and other realities. It really is something to behold in IMAX 3D,» concluding that «after being shown only 15 minutes of incredible preview footage, IMAX 3D is the definitive format to see the film.»^[199] Britt Hayes for Screen Crush felt the footage was «dizzying» and «far weirder and wilder than [the] trailers are letting on,» though felt it was a bit difficult «to judge some of what was shown out of context (especially earlier scenes)». Regarding the same sequence where the Ancient One sends Strange through the multiverse, Hayes said, «Seth Rogen’s comedic drug trip sequences have nothing on the psychedelic visuals employed here. It’s astounding, elaborate stuff, and easily provides the most entertaining moments in the footage.»^[200] IGN’s Terri Schwartz said the sequences shown were where «Derrickson’s horror aesthetics shine through».^[136]

Marvel provided Twitter stickers, Giphy content, Facebook Live, Snapchat lenses and filter, Tumblr stunts, and Instagram special content related to the film. Additionally, Microsoft Surface had a promotional sponsorship of the film, due to the use of the device in the filmmaking process. A partnership with Google’s Tilt Brush app featured a «Mixed Reality» «stunt with artists across Los Angeles, London, and Hong Kong, inspired by different dimensions in Doctor Strange and recreating the worlds in VR for an immersive visual experience.^[201]

Release[edit]

Theatrical[edit]

Doctor Strange held its world premiere in Hong Kong on October 13, 2016,^[48] and had its premiere in Hollywood at the TCL Chinese Theatre and El Capitan Theatre on October 20, 2016.^[202][203] The film was released in the United Kingdom on October 25, 2016,^[204] alongside a total of 33 markets in its first weekend, with 213 IMAX screens in 32 of those markets.^[205] It was screened at the EW PopFest on October 28, 2016, in Los Angeles.^[206] Doctor Strange‘s North America release on November 4 took place in 3,882 venues, of which 3,530 were in 3D, along with 379 IMAX theaters, 516 premium large-format (Disney’s biggest release in that format to date), and 189 D-Box locations.^[207] Overall, Doctor Strange had the widest IMAX release ever globally, along with being the first film to release on more than 1,000 IMAX screens.^[205] It was previously reported to have been scheduled for a July 8, 2016, release,^[105][208] before the production schedule shifted to accommodate Cumberbatch’s other commitments.^[47][114] Doctor Strange is part of Phase Three of the MCU.^[209]

Home media[edit]

Doctor Strange was released on digital download by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on February 14, 2017, and on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD on February 28, 2017. The digital and Blu-ray releases include behind-the-scenes featurettes; audio commentary; deleted scenes; a blooper reel; an exclusive preview of the Phase Three films Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, and Avengers: Infinity War; and Team Thor: Part 2, a continuation of the «mockumentary» short film Team Thor, that was directed by Waititi. Best Buy released an exclusive collector’s edition steelbook case for the regular and 3D Blu-ray release, featuring art based on the Book of Cagliostro and the Eye of Agamotto. Target’s Blu-ray versions have an additional exclusive featurette, while the digital version also features an exclusive featurette.^[210] The IMAX Enhanced version of the film was made available on Disney+ beginning on November 12, 2021.^[211]

Reception[edit]

Box office[edit]

Doctor Strange grossed $232.6 million in the United States and Canada and $445.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $677.8 million.^[6] The film became the biggest IMAX opening in November domestically ($12.2 million), internationally ($24 million), and globally ($24.2 million), overtaking Interstellar‘s records.^[212] By November 27, 2016, the film had become the biggest single-character introduction film in the MCU.^[213] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film’s net profit as $122.65 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it 11th on their list of 2016’s «Most Valuable Blockbusters».^[214]

Doctor Strange earned $32.6 million on its opening day in the United States and Canada, including Thursday previews, with a total weekend gross of $85.1 million; IMAX contributed $12.2 million to the opening weekend gross, with 3D contributing $24 million. The film was the number one film for the weekend, and became the second largest opening in November for Disney.^[201] Initial projections for the film in late August 2016 had it earning as low as $50 million to as high as $88 million in its opening weekend,^{[215][216][217]} with projections revised to $65–75 million closer to the film’s release.^[207] Doctor Strange remained the top film in its second weekend,^[218] and fell to second in its third, behind Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.^[219] In its fourth weekend, Doctor Strange was the third highest-grossing film, behind Fantastic Beasts and Moana.^[220] It fell to fifth in its fifth and sixth weekends,^[221][222] and by its seventh weekend had fallen to the ninth-highest-grossing place.^[223] It was projected to earn $255 million for its total domestic gross.^[216]

Outside the United States and Canada, Doctor Strange earned $87.7 million in its first weekend from 33 markets, becoming the top film in all markets except Lithuania and Finland. South Korea was the top market overall with $18.1 million, locally the biggest opening weekend ever for an original Marvel release, along with an all-time best opening for an IMAX film. IMAX garnered a record $7.8 million, the best international IMAX debut for a film in the month of October, with Russia seeing its biggest Saturday IMAX gross for a Marvel film. Additionally, Hong Kong ($3.2 million), Thailand ($2.5 million), Malaysia ($2.4 million), and Singapore ($2.2 million) also had the biggest opening weekend ever for an original Marvel film.^[205] In its second weekend, the film opened in 22 additional markets, becoming the top film in China with $44.4 million, the highest 3-day opening weekend for a first installment superhero film there. China’s opening was also the third highest for an MCU film, behind Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War, as well as the best 3-day opening for an IMAX film in November with $6.3 million. IMAX also set November opening records in India, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. Brazil was also a top market, earning $7.9 million.^[212]

Doctor Strange remained the number one film in its third weekend for the third consecutive week in Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore, and number one for the second week in China and Russia. It also became the highest-grossing original MCU release in India, Hong Kong, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.^[224] Its fourth weekend saw China’s total gross surpass $100 million, «an increasingly rare feat in 2016.»^[225] The next weekend, Doctor Strange opened in Argentina, where it was the number one film and earned $1 million.^[213] The film’s fourteenth weekend saw it open in Japan, where it was number one with $4.5 million.^[226] As of December 4, 2016, the film’s largest markets were China ($110.3 million), South Korea ($41.3 million), and the United Kingdom and Ireland ($27.9 million).^[227]

Critical response[edit]

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 89%, with an average score of 7.3/10, based on 387 reviews. The website’s critical consensus reads, «Doctor Strange artfully balances its outré source material against the blockbuster constraints of the MCU, delivering a thoroughly entertaining superhero origin story in the bargain.»^[228] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 72 out of 100, based on reviews from 49 critics, indicating «generally favorable reviews».^[229] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of «A» on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 91% overall positive score and a 73% «definite recommend».^[201]

The Hollywood Reporter‘s Todd McCarthy called Doctor Strange «an engaging, smartly cast and sporadically eye-popping addition» to the franchise, adding «this action movie ostensibly rooted in the mind-expanding tenets of Eastern mysticism is different enough to establish a solid niche alongside the blockbuster combine’s established money machines.» McCarthy, in addition to praising the acting, felt that there were certain sequences that «go far beyond [Inception] in visual spectacle» and that the time manipulation sequences, «seen to outstanding advantage in 3D, [were what] mind-trip-seeking audiences back in Doctor Strange’s origin days would have called ‘far-out’ but today’s fans will simply deem ‘amazing’.»^[230] Peter Debruge of Variety called the film «Marvel’s most satisfying entry since Spider-Man 2,» and wrote that despite having «the same look, feel, and fancy corporate sheen» as the other MCU films, it «boasts an underlying originality and freshness missing from the increasingly cookie-cutter comic-book realm of late.» Debruge also praised the casting along with the multitude of visual effects the film was able to achieve.^[38]

Alonso Duralde, reviewing for TheWrap said, «True, Doctor Strange is an origin story, and occasionally hemmed in by the genre’s narrative requirements, but it’s smart enough to bring in great British actors to make the predictable paces and life lessons feel fresh and fascinating.» Regarding the film’s visuals, Duralde praised them, exclaiming, «In a year where bloated, empty spectacles have induced a crushing level of CG fatigue, this funny, freaky adventure reminds us of how effective VFX can be when they’ve got some imagination behind them.»^[231] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said, «The giddily enjoyable Doctor Strange … is part of Marvel’s strategy for world domination, yet it’s also so visually transfixing, so beautiful and nimble that you may even briefly forget the brand.»^[232] Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times said, «Within the familiar narrative contours of the origin story, writer-director Scott Derrickson crams in enough out-of-body experiences, spatial-temporal shenanigans and dazzlingly kaleidoscopic visuals to make you wonder if he and his co-writers … were dropping acid behind the scenes.»^[233]

Conversely, Angelica Jade Bastién, writing for RogerEbert.com, said, «For all of its wondrous world-building and trippy effects, Doctor Strange isn’t the evolutionary step forward for Marvel that it needs to be storytelling-wise. Underneath all of its improvements, the core narrative is something we’ve seen countless times.»^[234] Mara Reinstein of US Weekly called the film «joyless» and wrote, «Despite [Benedict Cumberbatch’s] alluring powers, he can’t save an overly convoluted film that relies on a galaxy of derivative 3-D special-effect tricks… Nobody is having much fun here – save for the doctor’s Cloak of Levitation that has its own devilish personality and can whisk him out of scary situations.»^[235] Rex Reed of The New York Observer called Doctor Strange «an awkwardly cliché-riddled mix of hamstrung imagination and bizarro reality» and said, «None of it makes any sense… For characterization, dialogue, narrative arc, acceptable acting and coherence, go elsewhere.»^[236] Adam Graham of The Detroit News said, «Cumberbatch is wildly charismatic in the lead role… But that’s the thing: He’s a better party guest than he is a host. Doctor Strange is a fine introduction, but by the end, you’re not sad to be headed for the door.»^[237]

Accolades[edit]

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref(s)
2016	Evening Standard British Film Awards	Best Actor	Benedict Cumberbatch	Nominated	[238]
Best Supporting Actor	Chiwetel Ejiofor	Nominated
Hollywood Film Awards	Hollywood Visual Effects Award	Stephane Ceretti and Richard Bluff	Won	[239]
Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Score – Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film	Michael Giacchino	Nominated	[240]
Critics’ Choice Awards	Best Hair and Makeup	Doctor Strange	Nominated	[241]
Best Visual Effects	Doctor Strange	Nominated
Best Action Movie	Doctor Strange	Nominated
Best Actor in an Action Movie	Benedict Cumberbatch	Nominated
Best Actress in an Action Movie	Tilda Swinton	Nominated
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie	Doctor Strange	Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society	Best Visual Effects	Doctor Strange	Nominated	[242]
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association	Best Action Film	Doctor Strange	Nominated	[243]
Best Horror / Science-Fiction Film	Doctor Strange	Nominated
Best Visual Effects	Doctor Strange	Nominated
Florida Film Critics’ Circle	Best Visual Effects	Doctor Strange	Nominated	[244]
2017	Houston Film Critics Society	Technical Achievement	Doctor Strange	Nominated	[245][246]
People’s Choice Awards	Favorite Year End Blockbuster	Doctor Strange	Nominated	[247]
Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture	Doctor Strange	Nominated	[248]
Annie Awards	Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in a Live Action Production	Georg Kaltenbrunner, Michael Marcuzzi, Thomas Bevan, Andrew Graham and Jihyun Yoon	Won	[249]
Visual Effects Society Awards	Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature	Stephane Ceretti, Susan Pickett, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli, Paul Corbould	Nominated	[250]
Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature	London – Brendan Seals, Raphael A. Pimentel, Andrew Zink, Gregory Ng	Nominated
New York City – Adam Watkins, Martijn van Herk, Tim Belsher, Jon Mitchell	Won
Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project	New York Mirror Dimension – Landis Fields, Mathew Cowie, Frederic Medioni, Faraz Hameed	Nominated
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature	Hong Kong Reverse Destruction – Florian Witzel, Georges Nakhle, Azhul Mohamed, David Kirchner	Nominated
Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Feature	New York City – Matthew Lane, Jose Fernandez, Ziad Shureih, Amy Shepard	Nominated
Art Directors Guild Awards	Excellence in Production Design for a Fantasy Film	Charles Wood	Nominated	[251]
British Academy Film Awards	Best Makeup and Hair	Jeremy Woodhead	Nominated	[252]
Best Production Design	Charles Wood and John Bush	Nominated
Best Special Visual Effects	Richard Bluff, Stephane Ceretti, Paul Corbould, and Jonathan Fawkner	Nominated
Cinema Audio Society Awards	Motion Picture – Live Action	Doctor Strange	Nominated	[253]
Costume Designers Guild Awards	Excellence in Fantasy Film	Alexandra Byrne	Won	[254]
Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild	Feature-Length Motion Picture – Best Period and/or Character Make-Up	Jeremy Woodhead	Nominated	[255]
Feature-Length Motion Picture – Best Special Make-Up Effects	Jeremy Woodhead	Nominated
Satellite Awards	Best Visual Effects	Doctor Strange	Nominated	[256]
Best Costume Design	Alexandra Byrne	Nominated
Academy Awards	Best Visual Effects	Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould	Nominated	[257]
Empire Awards	Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy	Doctor Strange	Nominated	[258]
Best Actor	Benedict Cumberbatch	Nominated
Best Costume Design	Doctor Strange	Nominated
Best Visual Effects	Doctor Strange	Won
Best Production Design	Doctor Strange	Nominated
Nebula Awards	Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation	Doctor Strange	Nominated	[259]
Saturn Awards	Best Comic-to-Film Motion Picture	Doctor Strange	Won	[260]
Best Director	Scott Derrickson	Nominated
Best Actor	Benedict Cumberbatch	Nominated
Best Supporting Actress	Tilda Swinton	Won
Best Film Screenplay	Jon Spaihts, Scott Derrickson, and C. Robert Cargill	Nominated
Best Production Design	Charles Wood	Nominated
Best Music	Michael Giacchino	Nominated
Best Costume Design	Alexander Byrne	Nominated
Best Make-Up	Jeremy Whitewood	Nominated
Best Special / Visual Effects	Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli, and Paul Corbould	Nominated
Teen Choice Awards	Choice Fantasy Movie	Doctor Strange	Nominated	[261]
Choice Fantasy Actor	Benedict Cumberbatch	Nominated
Choice Fantasy Actress	Rachel McAdams	Nominated
Dragon Awards	Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie	Doctor Strange	Nominated	[262]
AACTA Awards	Best Visual Effects or Animation	Brendan Seals, Steven Swanson, Raphael A. Pimentel, Andrew Zink	Nominated	[263]

Sequel[edit]

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was released on May 6, 2022.^[264] Sam Raimi replaced Derrickson as director,^[265] with a script written by Michael Waldron.^[266] Cumberbatch, Wong, Ejiofor, and McAdams reprised their roles, with Elizabeth Olsen also reprising her role of Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch from other MCU media.^[267]

See also[edit]

• Whitewashing in film
• «What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?», an episode of the MCU television series What If…? that reimagines the events of this film

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Doctor Strange at IMDb