Stephen Strange (Earth-616)

From Marvel Database

History

Early Life

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

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early Life 1.2 Medical Life 1.3 Car Accident 1.4 Seeking the Ancient One 1.5 Mystic Consultant 1.6 Superhero Career 1.7 The Illuminati 1.8 Sorcery Supremacy 1.9 Avengers Disassembled 1.10 House of M 1.11 Civil War 1.12 New Avengers 1.13 World War Hulk 1.14 Secret Invasion 1.15 Dark Reign 2 Powers and Abilities 2.1 Powers 2.2 Abilities 2.3 Strength level 2.4 Weaknesses 3 Paraphernalia 3.1 Equipment 4 Artifacts 4.1 Transportation 4.2 Weapons 5 Notes 6 Spell manifestations 6.1 Sorcerous phrases 7 As deus ex machina 8 Appearances in other media 8.1 Film 8.2 Television 8.3 Video games 8.4 Other 9 Links 9.1 Discover and Discuss

Medical Life

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

Car Accident

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

Seeking the Ancient One

After hearing rumors of the mystical Ancient One, Strange pawned his last possessions for a ticket to the East. Strange found the Ancient One's Tibetan palace, but the aged sorcerer refused to cure him, instead offering to teach him in mysticism. Strange refused, but couldn't leave immediately due to a sudden blizzard. While staying for the duration of the storm, Strange witnessed the Ancient One's apprentice, Baron Mordo, secretly attack the teacher with mystically summoned skeletons, which the old man easily dispeled. Strange, his skepticism eroding, confronted Mordo about the treachery but Mordo responded with restraining spells that kept Strange from warning the Ancient One or attacking Mordo physically. Amazed by these displays of magic, Strange underwent a change of heart. Deciding that the only way to stop Mordo was to learn magic himself in order to challenge Mordo on his terms, Strange accepted the Ancient One's offer. Pleased by Strange's acceptance for unselfish reasons, the Ancient One removed the mystic restraints, explaining that he was well aware of Mordo's treachery but prefered to keep Mordo close by in order to control and possibly change him.

The Ancient One had known of Strange and his potential to serve as the Sorcerer Supreme prior to even Strange’s first encounter with him, regarding his hidden prowess so highly that he rejected Damien Hellstrom for Strange as his pupil. The Ancient One had planned to make Dr. Strange his successor.

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

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

Mystic Consultant

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

Superhero Career

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Illuminati

Following the Kree-Skrull War, a number of Earth's most powerful heroes -- Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, |Professor X, Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, and Namor -- traveled to Skrullos to confront the Skrull King, informing him that the Earth was strictly off-limits. While the meeting predictably turned violent, the experience would provide the basis for the later establishment of the Illuminati. The secretive group of Earth's most influential heroes would meet only a few times, and only to tackle events of extraordinary importance. While certain Illuminati members were unable to attend certain gatherings (such as Xavier and Iron Man), Strange attended all known meetings, adding the viewpoint and perspective his decades of battling mystic evil had brought him.

Sorcery Supremacy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Doctor Strange also continues to directly aid other superheroes of America with their own threats, usually mystical in nature, though has also not very uncommonly engaged in combat with non-magical foes. Strange assisted the X-Men (on the behest of fellow Illuminati member and longtime friend Professor X) when Margali Szardos, Sorceress Supreme and adoptive mother to Nightcrawler, believed Wagner had been guilty of cold-blooded murder and thus magically separated his soul from his body into her own dimension. Strange determines that Nightcrawler is actually human, that a hostile yet not malevolent mystic force was responsible for his body's "death" and is taken along with the X-Men to Margali's realm of "Hell" where Kurt's innocence is proved and they are allowed to return to Earth on good terms; however, Strange is shocked when the Eye of Agamotto is used by Margali, who told him engimatically that he had not been the Eye's first custodian, nor would he be the last, ending with Strange determined to find out more about the potent yet mysterious sorceress. ^[1]

However, attempts to claim Strange's position of Sorcerer Supreme were not to end, even years after he had attained, lost and again won back his station. Ian McNee attempted to challenge Strange for the role, having trained himself for ten years, and apparently killed Strange; however, further killings due to others challenging McNee in turn convinced him that killing was the curse of the Sorcerer Supreme. However, Strange had not been killed and no one had really died from the battles. Nicodemus, too, tried to seize Strange's title, winning it briefly, but the strain and pressure of such power and responsibility quickly overwhelmed him.

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

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

Doctor Strange was conscripted by various Principalities and mystical entities, especially the Vishanti, to participate in the War of the Seven Spheres. Strange, fearing his absence would be detrimental for his own dimension, declined, and when his superiors attempted to force him, Strange chanted the Emancipation Incantation to free him from any obligation to them, in exchange for their release of any obligation to him:

“Satannish, Watoomb and Raggadorr
Ikonn, the Seraphim and Cyttorak
Agamotto, Oshtur and Muniporr
Hoggoth, the Faltine, Valtorr and Denak!
Those whom I named plus other I've omitted
whose who threatened my cherished liberty
hark to this irrevocable decree:
such enslavement will not be permitted
your claims on my person I now reject
all demands of servitude I must deny
for your wisdom and might I've the utmost respect
but the price for its use is far too high
better the path I walk be mine alone
hear now these words: let my fate be my own!”’’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Afterwards, Strange recruited the mutant Dead Girl to help him investigate the Pathetic One's attempt to resurrect a number of hell-bound villains. During this time he came into conflict with the spirit of his old master, the Ancient One, who had apparently been relegated to a level of Hell for petty misuses of his power. However, later official information in the most recent edition of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Univese indicates the possibility that this was an impostor, just like the Mockingbird in "Hell" was later found out to be another's soul. Strange was able to neutralize the threat, and was merciful to his old master. While Strange enjoyed a brief flirtation with Dead Girl, Wong grew concerned over the Doctor's health, particularly his failing memory.

Avengers Disassembled

Doctor Strange used the Eye of Agamotto to present the Scarlet Witch with a memory so terrible she collapsed from it, and ended the chaos she was inadvertently causing during catastrophic mental break-down. The frail Wanda was taken by her father Magneto, to the mutant island nation of Genosha for many months. After a desperate and grieving Magneto enlisted the aid of his old friend and enemy, Professor Charles Xavier, to help his mentally unstable daughter. Xavier in turn summoned his fellow Illuminati and long-time friend Doctor Strange, but even their combined efforts were not enough to help her. They attempted to mend her shattered psyche and minimize the damage done by her reality-altering powers.

After the Illuminati discussed the the Sentry, all the Illuminati members, except for the handicapped Professor Xavier, arrived on the the Sentry's house to help him, joined by their teammates and allies, but the arrival of the Void forced them into fierce combat. Doctor Strange, attempting to shield Reed Richards, the Sentry and Emma Frost from harm, cast a protective spell in the form of a huge, red dome-shaped barrier to help impede the Void, and the strength of his defensive enchantment was augmented by the force field of the Invisible Woman and an energy shield from Iron Man, sufficient, if but barely, to stop the Void from destroying the heroes while it was being attacked by the combined forces of the X-Men, the Avengers, the Inhumans, the Fantastic Four, and the Atlanteans. Strange had previously worked with Richards and Reynolds to wipe the memory of the Sentry from everyone’s minds.

House of M

Strange told the Avengers and the X-Men he had done all he could for Wanda, and he did not believe anything in the mystic arts could help her, but he was still researching for a way to heal and free Wanda. Though Strange did not offer his own opinion when the gathered heroes at Avengers Tower discussed Wanda’s fate, despite a fair aversion for unnecessary violence as part of his nature, he claimed that together, he, Xavier and Emma Frost could shield the heroes from Wanda’s power and went with the Avengers and X-Men to Genosha, tracking down Wanda to an old building. Due to the interference of her brother, Quicksilver, they failed, resulting in the warping of reality known as "the House of M." Strange was unable to preserve his own memories, becoming a psychologist in this reality (a surprising desire of the heart, unless Strange was not one of Wanda’s friends, though it is revealed later to the New Avengers that Strange's true spiritual nature was indeed a medical life) who attended to Robert Reynolds, who claimed of the presence of a dark shadow dawning upon him (the Void). The position of Sorcerer Supreme was in the hands of another, more sinister man, who served as a powerful enemy of Ms. Marvel, by the name of Warren Traveler. Armed with the Eye of Watoomb, Traveler was a man whose magical abilities were extremely high, yet threatened to drive him insane. Even Strange was overwhelmed by his powers, when the latter emerged to the main reality after the events of the House of M.

After Emma Frost and Layla Miller joined forces to unlock his memories, Strange went with the heroes to Genosha, able to connect with magic once more, but apparently powerless to restore reality and reverse Wanda’s spell. In his astral form, he found and reached out to a presently-sane Wanda playing with her created children. Strange discovered that Pietro was the one who was truly responsible for the House of M, and telepathically informed Emma of this. A level Emma, having failed to find Xavier’s body with the help of Cloak, told Strange to ask Wanda where Xavier was, but, against Strange's pleas that now would not be a suitable time for his presence, Hawkeye shot Wanda in the back with an arrow, angrily blaming her for his death and the House of M while saying he had deeply cared for her.

After this, and the second death of Clint Barton, inflicted by the unharmed Witch herself, through her children as power conduits, albeit accidentally, a shaken and alarmed Doctor Strange told her to put the world back, and Wanda flew outside to resurrect her slain brother and confront Magneto himself. Strange cautioned the remaining heroes not to attack her while in such an unstable state, and quickly tried to counter Wanda’s spell of No More Mutants with his own spell-casting while assisted by Emma Frost, but was sadly able to only shield several hundred mutants out of millions formerly.

Strange explained to the confused Avengers that only those his magic and Emma’s telepathy were able to protect retained their memories, while others forgot of the entire event. Spider-Man demanded Strange use his magic to take his memories of the illusory reality from his mind, but Strange refused, saying that was not how the magics worked. A troubled Strange claimed that, as his job was to prevent something exactly like the House of M and its aftermath, he had "failed completely".

Some time after the Civil War and his joining the New Avengers, Strange was unable to break the successfully wrought spell or even find Wanda with his powers afterward, and, after the joining of the New Avengers, explained to Beast, who was searching desperately for a way to reverse Decimation, that her magic had affected much of the entire Multiverse (and all of magic) itself, and even a mere attempt on reversing it could wipe them all from existence by imploding reality itself; Uatu appears to both, yet offers no guidance or advice and is enigmatic, refusing to clearly respond when the desperate McCoy asked the Watcher if he had seen a way.

Civil War

In the final known meeting of the Illuminati, Strange vehemently opposed the proposed Superhuman Registration Act, calling the actions it entailed "disgusting" and informed Iron Man and Mister Fantastic that they were never to call on him again before magically departing. Some time later,^[2] Strange went into seclusion in the Arctic, fasting and meditating nonstop for forty days, absent from the Sanctum Sanctorum when the Skrull Yellowjacket and the Wasp visited the house, to be informed of this by Wong. The government declared Dr. Strange exempt from registration.^[3] He later regreted his lack of involvement in the Civil War. Black Panther and Storm invited him along with nearly the entire superhuman community to attend their wedding; Strange consented to come forth from the Arctic to comply, and the Eye of Agamotto revealed the presence of Uatu to the gathered crowd; Doctor Strange later magically detected the hostile presence of one inhabiting the body of another and raised the alert.

When Uatu later appeared to Strange and conversed with the meditating mystic at the Arctic, on the eve of the final battle between the two sides of the war, he asked Doctor Strange why he would not use his immense power to end the conflict with a whisper or a gesture. Strange answered that a Sorcerer Supreme could not take sides in this matter, for his given duties did not include influencing the evolution of the superhuman role in society, especially since there was no clear right or wrong. He claimed it was based merely upon perspective, but he would pray for an outcome that would benefit mankind and spill the least amount of blood. Though Captain America attempted to reach Strange as he struggled to gather allies to his side, the Sorcerer Supreme appeared "out of reach." Uatu reflected that this was much like his own situation.

In his files published after the conclusion to the War and the death of Steve Rogers, Iron Man believed that Strange did not use his magic to negate the Superhuman Registration Act because Strange knew such an action would merely delay or exacerbate the consequences, and that since magic was poorly understood in the government and his duties stretched well beyond that of America, to the entire Earth dimension. A compromise was proposed, yet the immunity did not extend to him openly breaking the Act with others. While Strange had friends on both sides of the war, the real reason he had not participated was because he was not truly a superhero, but a sorcerer dedicated to defending his world through and from magic, and would thus continue to serve his duties while maintaining neutrality.

New Avengers

Following the Civil War, Doctor Strange joined the renegade Avengers team,^[4] and housed the team in his Sanctum Sanctorum under the guise of a Starbucks under construction. He aided the team on their first missions, being key to their continued success at avoiding loss, such as disabling the Mighty Avengers with mental illusions, teleporting them away from Elektra to the Silver Samurai while in Japan, freeing Maya from the Hand's magic and defeating the ninjas, saving their Ultron-virus infected plane, casting a series of spells helping to calm the panicking symbiote-infected people to return to their homes, and enabling the New Avengers to best the Hood, at least temporarily.^[5]

Strange was still consulted by other superheroes even after the Civil War and his joining the New Avengers, such as when Hank McCoy sought him for aid concerning Decimation and Wanda's spell (to which he replied he could not break without destroying all reality, and that Wanda's magic had permeated perhaps billions of other realities and alternate dimensions). When Spider-Man came to seek his magical expertise in healing Aunt May, Strange tried to help Peter Parker by using the Hands of Death to send him around the entire world to consult others, but told Peter that even his magic couldn't help May now, or at least he was unable to use it to help her. He also continues to fulfill his duties as Sorcerer Supreme, such as aiding the new roster of the Fantastic Four from preventing Eternity's death.

World War Hulk

Dr. Strange was among the members of the Illuminati who, alarmed at the continuing destruction caused by the Hulk, agreed to exile the Hulk into space, despite Namor's fury that Strange, having "known him the longest" consented to such an unprecedented plan; Strange told Namor that he merely sought to aid the Hulk, having failed to cure Bruce Banner, despite all his magic.^[6] When the Hulk returned to Earth seeking vengeance, Strange flew to outer space in his astral form and declined Iron Man's request to use magic to again banish the Hulk, arguing the Hulk would simply return again. He insteading offered Iron Man the aid of the New Avengers to evacuate and help defend New York, which Stark gladly accepted.^[7]

Doctor Strange, after astral-projecting himself to the “entire superhuman community,” and conscripting all those who were not already summoned, such as Spider-Man and She-Hulk, to the defense of New York, remained in his Sanctum Sanctorum. Observing the battle of the Hulk against the Ghost Rider, Strange established contact with Reed Richards. He told that it would be possible for the Ghost Rider to defeat the Hulk, explaining that the Rider’s power was “boundless” and “godlike,” and also informing him when Johnny Rider lost control of the Ghost Rider, for the Rider only defended the innocent, which none of the Iluminati were.

Strange continued to remain in his mansion several miles away from the battle scene with Iron Fist, Ronin and Echo, while the other New Avengers aided the Mighty Avengers and other heroes, such as She-Hulk and Doc Samson, with evacuation. Strange told his friends that the Hulk was “never a killer,” despite some doubt from the others. Despite Echo’s suggestion of quickly ending the World War Hulk by permanently removing the Hulk, destroying his life, Strange refused, asking her coldly, “And lose my soul forever, Echo?” in response. Strange next cast a spell to seek the person who could both defeat and redeem the Hulk, apparently meaning Bruce Banner himself, and entered the Hulk’s mind when Rick Jones stirred enough emotion and memory, combined with the vicious attack of General Ross, to create an opening for Strange’s astral form. Within the mind of the Hulk, Strange saw the inside of Banner’s mind, and attempted to calm and reason with him, reminding them of their history and friendship, as well as insisting the bomb was not planted by the Illuminati. Just as the Hulk reverted to his Bruce Banner form, and a sympathetic Strange presented himself in a physical form, he turned back and crushed Strange’s hands. Strange’s illusions and protective spells on the Sanctum Sanctorum were quickly broken by Hiroim the Shadow Priest, and he was unable to sustain his new, flawed defense spells for long, unable to access resources in his mansion to heal them sufficiently in the time he had. He and Wong, through the use of a magical handcuff-like object, tried to do so, or at least alleviate his suffering and stop the flow of blood.

Strange's crushed hands limited his magic abilities. Strange invoked the power of Zom to battle the Hulk, drinking Zom's soul to become a semi-demonic version of himself with spiked maces for hands, and defeated Hiroim, the Shadow Priest.

Strange chanted the incantation: In the name of the Eternal, By the Rings of Raggadorr, Though his spirit be infernal, Zom must live once more. And may he who dies...die well.

However, the unfamiliar use of such vast dark magic weakened his control over his new powers, which caused Strange to almost kill civilians. The shaken Strange was overpowered by the Hulk, implanted with an Obedience Disk, and forced to first fight a giant, tentacled monster in an arena. He was then forced to battle the other Illuminati members, facing off against Black Bolt (actually a Skrull impostor) and attempted but failed to use what remained of his magic to stop him. The Sentry arrived in time to save the Illuminati, and Strange was freed, though his mind, body and soul were all evidently scarred by this incident.^[8]

Secret Invasion

In their early activities, the Illuminati inadvertently precipitated a Secret Invasion of Earth by the shapeshifting, alien Skrull race by attacking the homeworld after delivering a warning not to endanger their planet again. This led to their capture, experimentation and analysis, which enabled the Skrulls to perform enough reverse biological engineering and cloning to gather the resources required to launch a covert invasion.

Doctor Strange, saying that his powers were no longer sufficient to magically bring the New Avengers to Japan, instead teleported the seven of them on board a Rand Corporate Jet owned by Iron Fist to retrieve Maya Lopez. The New Avengers, after succeeding in doing so, were teleported by Strange to the Silver Samurai, and were found yet again by the Hand and Elektra. Strange's astral form freed Maya, who in turn slew Elektra, revealing her to be a Skrull. On the ride home, Strange was silent and pensive, not participating in the discussion of the Skrull and the invasion, even though he was among those who started it. Strange only gave in to agitation when the plane began to fall, and cast a spell (Vistanti Lununani Steenani). It was unclear what precise effect was had, though it evidently failed to stop the plane from crashing. Strange was knocked out cold, but eventually returned to the Sanctum Sanctorum with the Avengers.

The disturbed Iron Man, having received the Skrull corpse from Spider-Woman (secretly the Skrulls' queen, Veranke), summoned the other five Illuminati members to discuss the threat. In astral form, Strange was the first to arrive, asking Stark whose body was before them. While expressing his initial reluctance to attend and his surprise at Stark calling them back together explained, "curiosity...got the best of me." When asked how the New Avengers were by Iron Man, a cool Strange informed Stark he was not to have the "Why are you doing this?" kind of conversation with Stark, to which the latter replied he did not care for "any of that" any more. Strange after giving his congratulations to Professor X for his healed legs, explained to the Illuminati that the New Avengers had found the Skrull impersonating Elektra in Japan, and Spider-Man's senses, Wolverine's mutant power, and his own magic was unable to detect it. When the Illuminati were caught by surprise when the Black Bolt at the meeting revealed himself to be a Skrull. Doctor Strange's astral form withstood the massive explosion unscathed and conjured a magical binding spell (Cytorrak's Crimson Bands) on it, only for the Skrull, possessing mystical powers of its own, to break free of it and temporarily dispel Strange's astral form. Strange returned in a physical form and teleported the four of them out of there. A small nuclear bomb was detonated to destroy the two other Super-Skrulls attacking. The five Illuminati members then each went his own separate way, realizing that they had lost far more than just a world: they have lost each other's trust, and their ability to trust. The Illuminati was essentially no more.^[9]

Before the invasion was fully underway, Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum had been invaded by the crime syndicate of the super-villain the Hood, prompting Strange to use of darker magic than normal. This lapse prompted him to temporarily depart this plane to heal himself and to reflect on his worthiness to be Earth's Sorcerer Supreme.^[10] Strange had lost both his mastery of the Mystic Arts and the Sanctum Sanctorum: "The attack at the Sanctum Sanctorum was fierce, and though the Avengers won the day, they did so at the cost of Doctor Strange, who lost both his mastery of the mystic arts and his home."

A Skrull scientist described to Veranke that Doctor Strange was “one of the masters of this dimension’s mystic arts,” and at the relatively early stage of the invasion, before the reformation of the Avengers, Veranke told the other disguised Skrulls that they were to “start at the top of the list, taking them out one at a time,” and named Strange the first of the “bigger guns,” along with Doctor Doom, Namor, the Scarlet Witch, and Hercules. However, after M-Day, and after the reemergence of the Sentry, the Skrull Jarvis told his fellow Skrulls, “The humans are doing our work for us. Thor is gone. The Witch is gone. Doctor Strange will buckle…” Another Skrull cut in, “You’re wrong about Strange,” but the Skrull Jarvis said, “You’ll see. He’s an arrogant magician who could be pushed to any--” in response, causing a third Skrull to claim, “He’s a practiced sorcerer--” Jarvis merely said, “You’ll see.” While Veranke was disguised as Spider-Woman, she did not seem to take any special interest in Strange, nor did she appear to attempt to do harm to him. The Skrulls either failed to replace Strange, or they believed Strange would collapse himself or was an insufficient threat, even though he was one of those whom struck their empire years ago. The Skrull Jarvis was indeed correct in his prediction of Strange falling. Strange was the one who teleported the Illuminati into and out of the emperor Dorrek's throne room. When Strange was studied by the Skrulls, the scientists were confounded by his mystical abilities, instead calling in the priests from their Vovco Islands, yet were able to contain him in an energy field after stripping him of his Cloak and Eye. Though Strange was unable to sufficiently cloak the Illuminati ship, he was able to, after reclaiming his artifacts, perform a short spell that kept Iron Man's heart valves pumping until they returned. Strange then cast The Images of Ikonn and succeeded in fooling the Skrull armada (with the aid of Professor X's psychic powers) that Galactus was attacking.^[11]

The Hood and his syndicate of criminals assailed the Sanctum Sanctorum, tearing through Strange's illusions and defense spells, as well as shooting Strange himself. Wong managed to force the Hood away, and Strange summoned Zom's dark magic in one ferocious mystical conflagration to defeat all his friends and enemies. Wong used a reversal spell to undo the recent defense spell, and the Avengers felt major agony. Strange told the Avengers, “Our struggles of late. I have had to call upon darker forces than I would normally use….Forces I thought I could control, but I can’t. It was arrogance. The same arrogance that led me down the path I’m on in the first place. My hands are useless again. And I tried to disguise it. All these years, and I have learned nothing. There’s—I’ve had no time to deal with what I’ve done, and the forces are overpowering me. I wanted to help you, my friends. I wanted so much to help my old friend Bruce Banner. But I failed. And I have failed at my task as Sorcerer Supreme of this dimension. I—I don’t think I can help you anymore. I need to atone for what I have done. I need to relearn all that I have lost. And put back magics which I had no business using in the first place. I can’t help you anymore. You need to leave here. We all do. I’m so sorry, my friends.” With a final word of, "Peesananbnaoo," Strange departed for parts unknown, having lost everything that meant to him, and having fallen from power and grace, the Master of the Mystic Arts no more. ^[12]

After Strange lost both his magic and home due to his use of destructive and uncontrollable dark power,^[13] Danny Rand brought the New Avengers to their new headquarters, and, as he explained their new situation, he said, "Doctor Strange is out walking the Earth like Caine in Kung Fu...so we have no magic or hocus-pocus...". Later, Sebastian Druid, the grandson of the skilled but late mystic Doctor Druid comes to Greenwich Village to seek the aid and guidance of Doctor Strange over his newfound abilities and the book his grandfather left him, but Daisy Johnson, under the orders of Nick Fury, confronts and recruits him instead to combat the Skrull invasion. The Sanctum Sanctorum is clearly designated as "the former home" of Doctor Strange in this issue. ^[14]

Doctor Strange returned to Greenwich Village once more to combat a stampede from the Dream Realm, though he himself admited he was in no shape to do battle with the beasts unleashed, his hands still broken and his mystical energies at an all-time low. Daimon Hellstrom used hellfire to destroy Nightmare’s beasts, and greeted Strange, saying he looked like hell. Strange told Daimon that he had heard of Kyle Richmond’s New Defenders team, and stated he was not interested, claiming he was "destined for a decidedly solitary existence" and that he should not have returned. Upon Daimon’s insistence that it was Strange who founded the Defenders in the first place, Strange questioned this, saying that, "I’ve often wondered if I was following a true path with my participation in that collective. Despite my best intentions, it never quite gelled. However…" Strange sensed the Son of Satan’s destiny was intertwined with that of Nighthawk’s, saying he saw a cracked mirror image when he looks at Daimon.^[15]

Dark Reign

Into the Dark Reign of Earth, Doctor Strange was still unavailable to confront the universal threat of the destructive Elder God Chthon, and, in his place, Loki, in the guise of Wanda Maximoff, projected her astral form to gather a motley crew of "Mighty Avengers."^[16]

Doctor Strange, with his Eye of Agamotto, along with the other five Illuminati, gazed at a projected image of the globe while floating, with Reed Richards having desperatly reassembled the secret organization in an effort to fix that which has been broken. The reality-bending machine of Reed Richards, which he had dubbed the Bridge, had been tampered with by H.A.M.M.E.R. agents and now the other three members of the Fantastic Four were stuck in another time period. ^[17]

A Doctor Strange from an earlier time period appeared (wearing the dark masked costume he had worn long ago to conceal his identity, during the period just prior to the first known gathering of the anti-team the Defenders) with the other three original Defenders to engage his longtime rival Mordo, allied with Terrax, Tiger Shark and Red Hulk. Two of the Elders of the Universe, the Grandmaster and the Collector have made a bet involving the teams of the original Defenders, for the Grandmaster, clashing with the newly formed team of Offenders, for the Collector. Strange had to work with his allies to fend off the sinister foursome if he is to the save the life of Clea at the exact moment when he lost her. Though Strange was eventually slain along with Psycho Man, Terrax the Tamer, Silver Surfer, Tiger Shark, Namor, and Baron Mordo by the Red Hulk following the death of the Hulk (thus temporarily cancelling out the present Strange's existence), Galactus defeated the Red Hulk and the Collector decided to undo the deaths brought about. ^[18]

Strange, wearing black clothing without his Eye of Agamotto or the Cloak of Levitation, contacted Wiccan, after observing him stop a thief being pursued by the police. Strange attempted to find out if he was the one destined to be the next Sorcerer Supreme, mentioning that he had previously met with Jennifer Kale, only to find that she was not the one. He expressed his hopes that Doctor Doom would not be the one who would ascend to the position, despite the growing likelihood. Doctor Strange offered to make Wiccan his apprentice, with Clea still occupied in the Dark Dimension and having possibly exceeded even him. After sighting the Hood's demonic form approaching where they were, Strange confronted Parker, urging Wiccan to leave as the two confronted one another. The Hood was acting on the orders of the Dread Dormammu to slay Strange, thus claiming Strange's former role of Sorcerer Supreme. Dormammu bestowed upon him the ability to locate Strange if Strange utilized his magic, having retained some control of it despite his losses. Strange teleported outside the New Avengers' doorstep, magically wounded and pleading for help.^[19]

Doctor Strange, after sufficiently healing, recounted to the New Avengers exactly what had transversed after the Hood had found him and Wiccan. The Hood, having found Doctor Strange by using his powers to detect Strange's use of magic, as instructed by Dormammu, appeared as a far more demonic version of himself. Strange, having met to discuss his failures and the possibilities of less honorable mystics assuming the position with Billy Kaplan of the Young Avengers, sighted the Hood approaching and pled Wiccan to leave through the back door at once, ignoring Wiccan's panic and his offers to find aid in the Young Avengers or any others. Strange evenly told Parker that he sought to aid him against the treacherous Dormammu, claiming the demon would betray and trick him, but the an enraged Hood engaged the former Sorcerer Supreme in direct magical combat, Strange having refused to hand over his Eye of Agamotto, Strange telling the New Avengers that the Hood now possessed more power than even he did.

The Hood summoned zombies and fired his gun at Strange, and, despite Strange's initial belief that his remaining powers would be sufficient for defense, was almost immediately overwhelmed, despite his attempts to cast demon-banishment spells and his own protective mystical arts. Wiccan intervened and summoned forth a lightning bolt to strike at the Hood, and Strange used this diversion to temporarily stun Parker, though he recovered at once to fire again. Strange teleported himself and Wiccan away, later reaching the New Avengers and pleading for their aid. Strange and the New Avengers joined forces to combat the Hood and Dormammu, reaching New Orleans to contact Daimon Hellstrom before the Hood, seeking to destroy all candidates for the role of Sorcerer Supreme, attacked him. The Hood returned to his home, with his dark master outraged that he had failed to eliminate Strange and Wiccan, and turned to Madame Masque for consolation when he faced his own problems. The Hood attempted to slay Daimon Hellstrom to prevent him from possibly rising to Strange's lost role. Doctor Strange had fallen to the forces of the Dark Dimension, the eight New Avengers gathered to rescue the threatened mystic, and the Hood was a probable candidate for Strange's lost role. ^[20]"

As Strange and the New Avengers journey to New Orleans in a Quinjet to seek out the new Sorcerer Supreme, following the Eye of Agamotto, which leaves Strange and breaks their psychic bond after magically displaying to them thirty-five images of possible candidates for Strange's former station, appearing to each one simultaneously. As the Hood duels against Son of Satan, Strange and the New Avengers, following the strategy of the new Captain America, subdue Madame Masque and struggle against the might of Dormammu, until Brother Voodoo, having been granted the power and gifts of the office of Sorcerer Supreme ten minutes earlier by the Eye of Agamotto and the Ancient One's spirit (thus preventing Parker or Dormammu from holding the title), intervenes and confronts Dormammu himself, passing the initiation and dispelling him, to be aided by Spider-Man in learning how to learn more mysticism. ^[21] Though Strange does not escape the battle entirely unscathed, the former Sorcerer Supreme does survive and retains the power to manipulate magic (though to a far lesser extent) while he is apparently redeemed in his own eyes somewhat to observe the new Doctor Voodoo battle supernatural menaces, to aid and be aided by the New Avengers. ^[22]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Mastery of Sorcery (Formerly): Dr. Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth's Universe; he has unparalleled mastery of the mystic arts, which he uses to defend his reality from otherworldly threats; his primary magical patrons are a group of entities known as "the Vishanti." The Vishanti are a trinity of godly beings comprised of Agamotto, Hoggoth, and Oshtur. Although he has, on rare occasions, called upon the power of demons such as Dormammu; Strange more frequently did so before he realized Dormammu's true dark nature in the earlier issues. Doctor Strange is the most powerful being on Earth and one of the most powerful beings in the Universe, but as of late, from his severe hand injuries, he is unable to control his magic properly and is only a shadow of his former power because of the lack of control. Strange is no longer the Sorcerer Supreme, having lost his station by performing too much destructive and dark magic.

Doctor Strange is one of the most powerful sorcerers in existence, with a greater knowledge and mastery of the arts of magic than anyone else on Earth, and than many others in the Marvel Universe's reality. Like most sorcerers, he draws his power from three primary sources:

Personal Powers: As a result of his mystic training, Stephen is capable of a great many abilities, stemming from the innate resources of his body/mind/soul, such as:

• Astral Projection
• Telepathy
• Hypnotism
• Other Psychic Abilities
• Longevity: Dr. Strange's lifespan has been extended in a manner similar to that of his mentor the Ancient One due to a successful contest against Death, though he can still be killed and even physically wounded.

These are put in a separate category because he seems to perform these functions as a telepath would, not needing to manipulate magic to do it. These abilities can be amplified by mystic energy (as against Moondragon) and/or the Eye of Agamotto (done countless times) to afford Stephen incredibly powerful psychic abilities.

Universal Sources: By manipulating the ambient mystical energy of the universe, along with local magical energy, Dr. Strange can perform a great many functions. Commonly this is seen as:

• Mystic Bolts
• Transmutation
• Telekinesis
• Teleportation
• Standard Shields
• Dimensional Travel
• Conjuring of objects
• Various other spells: He can also use this mystical energy to cast spells of a near infinite variety. These spells seem to be quicker to perform but lesser in power than spells using divine energy. Strange has used his magics altogether to become intangible, invisible, fly, alter his clothing through minor molecular control, absorb nearly all forms of energy, control and manipulate elements, and more.

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

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

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

Strange holds an M.D. in neurosurgery, although his ability to perform such delicate tasks has been compromised due to his accident. He is also an accomplished martial artist, learning martial arts as part of his training to be a mystic, able to dodge a kung fu chop by Mantis, something "only three others have ever done", and possesses considerable strategic skills, which he has employed as leader of the Defenders, all of which, combined with his level of intellect rivaling that of Reed Richards, Tony Stark, and the other great minds of the Marvel Universe and surpassing even those of amazingly gifted intelligence such as Peter Parker, makes Strange a most formidable being indeed.

Dr. Strange's powers are all mystical but take several forms. Main manifestations include:

• Personal abilities — As a result of his mystic training, Dr. Strange is capable of manipulating the forces of magic as well as reality for a great many abilities such as astral projection, telepathy, hypnotism or mesmerism, thought-casting, illusion-casting, and several others. These are put in a separate category because he seems to perform these functions as a telepath would, not needing to manipulate magic to do it. These abilities can be exhausted through over-use but can be amplified by mystic energy (as against Moondragon) or the Eye of Agamotto (done countless times) to afford Strange powerful psychic abilities. Doctor Strange uses astral projection more frequently than any of his other abilties, as it is among his own personal abilties and he has mastered it for many decades. In his astral form, Doctor Strange does not need to breathe, eat, drink or sleep, is unrestricted by physical laws (for example, Strange has flown beyond Earth’s atmosphere, defying gravity with ease to speak with Iron Man), is invisible (though can be seen by any if he wished it so), intangible, and incapable of being harmed by all but the most powerful and rigorous of mystic means. As no physical laws are meaningless on the astral plane, Strange is able to use it to traverse at virtually any speed desirable (Strange has reached Saint Missouri, Missouri from his Sanctum Sanctorum in Greenwich Village, New York in "a few brief seconds" thus ^[23], as well as traveling at the "speed of thought" through outer space ^[24]). Such is the skill and mastery of Doctor Strange that he is capable of spending up to 24 hours upon the astral plane before he must rejoin his ethereal form with his physical one, lest succumb to corporeal deterioration leading to bodily death and eternal suspension as a spirit. The physical form remains in an inert, death-like trance, vulnerable to both physical and magical forms of harm while the astral form is absent. If harm were to befall his physical form while he was in his astral form, he would be stranded in his wraith-like state. Though Strange has only his personal abilities in his astral form, the Ring of the Ancient One/Ring (of Full Power) can grant him access to the same resources he possesses in his physical body; however, certain writers and editors appear to have portrayed Strange in an astral form capable of feats beyond his personal abilities even without the Ring.
• Universal sources — By manipulating the ambient mystical energy of this universe, Dr. Strange can perform a great many functions. Commonly this is seen as energy bolts that range from low power to planet destroying, transmutation, telekinesis, teleportation, protective shields, etc. He uses this mystical energy to cast spells of a near infinite variety. Dr. Strange has also been shown to amass as much wealth/gold as he desires using magic, as he has done to pay debts.
• Divine sources — Dr. Strange can channel the virtually unlimited extra-dimensional energy of nigh-omnipotent mystical and non-mystical beings in multiple dimensions (known as Principalities) to empower his spells, as many other sorcerers do. This can take the form of standard spells ("Crimson Bands of Cyttorak") or just stating what he wants to occur and channeling some being to make it happen. This ability to be a conduit to multiversal power sources has given rise to the phrase "Dr. Strange is as powerful as the god he invokes."

Doctor Strange's powers typically come from one of three divine sources: The Vishanti (a trinity formed of Hoggoth, Oshtur, and Agamotto), the Octessence (a group of eight beings, consisting of Balthakk, Cyttorak, Farallah, Ikonn, Krakkan, Raggadorr, Valtorr, and Watoomb) and other beings who owe him a debt (this includes Satannish and even Dormammu). However, certain abilties of his stem from more obscure sources, such as the Faltine, the Seraphim, Cinnibus, Sheol, Ikthalon, Denak, Cyndriarr, Munnopor, Morpheus, Dyzakk, the Olympian deities (such as Poseidon and Hades) and others.

• In the miniseries "The Oath", it is said that he cannot use magic that can replicate anything discovered by human science.
• By force of will, Dr. Strange can "take" the power of another entity. This does not require the use of a spell. He uses this ability against Captain Universe as well as against Arioch and Shuma-Gorath in Strange Tales Volume 2. Strange also uses this to drain the Wrecking Crew of the Asgardian magic they had been infused by Karnilla, though this causes him great mental agony and takes a long time. This is considered black magic and as such, he rarely employs this. Also, when taking the powers of omnipotent entities, he can absorb their mind and assume their duties and roles in the dimension in which they exist. But, if his will falters, he can lose all sense of self.
• In the Black Magic saga in Strange Tales (vol. 2), Dr. Strange also became proficient in Black Magic under the tutelage of Kaluu, including using the necromantic energy released in death for various effects. After he purged Shuma-Gorath from himself, he has since stopped using black magic.
• At a certain period, Dr. Strange became a receptacle of Earth's Gaia magic through the use of a forge built with the support of all his magical artifacts. This energy was exhausted in the War of Seven Spheres.
• For a brief period, research from the Vishanti library led Strange to tap into "catastrophe magic" by invoking a mystical alignment of all the planets, but this source of magic was limited and he ceased using it specifically as a source of his power.
• Strange's magical powers at their greatest peak exceeds that of even the Watcher Uatu and rivals that of other great beings, such as the Heralds of Galactus or Ronan the Accuser. Strange has been shown to be able to destroy the Hulk with a twitch of his finger.

In the Marvel canon, virtually any human (and indeed, virtually any being within the Marvel Universe) is capable of learning and harnessing magic — considered simply another form of energy within continuity, one which apparently stems from stars — through training; however, each person has a different potential.

Dr. Strange is functionally immortal, having the immortality conferred upon him by the Ancient One after Strange assumed the title of Sorcerer Supreme. He does not age nor succumb to medical diseases, though he can be killed. His physical appearance is usually a man in his 40's even though he is chronologically in his 80's, though this is more likely attributed to the Marvel concept of a floating timeline. He also survived five thousand years in the War of Seven Spheres but his memory of this period has magically faded so it may not count towards his chronological age.

Doctor Strange has certain weaknesses, however, exploitable by adversaries and opponents: It has been said Strange's power is weaker against strictly science-based opponents, though this is illogical, as many times it has been stated magic is superior to science in the Marvel Universe. Strange also depends on spoken incantations, mystical gesturing, and his arcane artifacts in his duties; likely these can be counted as weaknesses, as Strange was incapacitated various times by being gagged and bound, preventing him from uttering arcane invocations or performing mystic gestures. Another weakness is that Strange, despite all his spells and magical training, is only "human physically." Hence, if not taking proper care or defense, Strange can be overpowered by mere blows, energy attacks, or gas.

The mansion where Dr. Strange lives, his Sanctum Sanctorum, is located at 177A Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, New York City, New York, which in this universe was the actual address of the apartment building in which the series writer at that time actually lived. Strange has imbued the mansion with several spells (mostly protective, some proactive, other based upon concealment and disguise). In the comic, "Steven Sanders" was shown reading a telegram addressed to him there.

Abilities

Expert Occultist

Expert Magical Knowledge

Expert Surgeon: Though an expert surgeon, Strange's nerve-damaged hands prevent him from performing surgery except when supplemented by magic. However, even without magic, Strange has shown himself capable of providing reasonable guidance to other less skilled, yet unmaimed surgeons through intense effort and strain. Strange is still capable of serving as a consultant.

Skilled Martial Artist Dr. Strange is a skilled athlete and was trained in the martial arts used by Tibetan monks in Kamar Taj, sufficient in talent to pass down such training to others, such as Clea. These talents have assisted him time-to-time when incapable of using his sorcery. Strange is a formidable opponent to any skilled attacker and continues to train regularly with Wong. He has in some cases, been known to occasionally spar with other heroes; in one case, Strange was able to evade a kung fu hand-chop by Mantis (the future mother of the Dreaming Celestial and who has been able to subdue Thor in sheer physical combat, despite his strength nearly hundreds of times superior to her own), something "only three others have ever done."

Strength level

Normal human male with intensive regular exercise.

Weaknesses

It has been said Strange's power is weaker against strictly science-based opponents, though this is illogical, as many times it has been stated magic is superior to science in the Marvel Universe. Strange also depends on spoken incantations, mystical gesturing, and his arcane artifacts in his duties; likely these can be counted as weaknesses.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Normally wears the Cloak of Levitation, the Eye of Agamotto, and the Orb of Agamotto. He possesses a wide array of arcane texts, artifacts, and relics.

Artifacts

Strange's own power is often amplified by the numerous magical artifacts that are in his possession or by artifacts that he uses in the course of his adventures. The three artifacts he carries with him at all times are the Eye of Agamotto, the Cloak of Levitation, and the yellow sash tied around his waist. However, due to his evoking Zom's dark power, he has deemed himself no longer worthy of the office of Sorcerer Supreme and passed the responsibility of choosing the next one to the spirit of the Ancient One; Strange loses at least his principal magical items and old costume to Brother Voodoo, the new Sorcerer Supreme of the Earth dimension and prime reality.

• The Eye of Agamotto (which resides within the Amulet of Agamotto worn at Dr. Strange's throat) is a powerful and valued artifact that has many functions. Using the Eye, Strange can see through any lie, deception or illusion, send the eye out at light speed to intercept and absorb massive amounts of any type of energy and free others who are trapped in their own illusions. It is often used to amplify his mind's eye, giving psychic abilities that rival the most powerful of telepaths. It is also often used to play back an area's past events, lift beings weighing thousands of pounds into the air telekinetically, and open dimensional portals, as well as placing beings in suspended animation. The Eye can track beings by their psychic or magical emissions. The light given off by the Eye also weakens a variety of evil mystical beings, such as demons, devils, undead beings, dark extradimensional entities, and even sufficiently corrupt human practitioners of dark magic. When used offensively, no being can withstand its light for long; due to its lethal effect, it is often used as a weapon of last resort. The Eye appears to be dimensionally linked to the Orb of Agamotto, and is presented to the current Sorcerer or Sorceress Supreme to aid them in their great duties. The amulet can only be used by a being with a pure heart and a clean soul. Strange's psychic bond with the Eye has been shattered, and the Eye has now passed onto the new Sorcerer Supreme, Brother Voodoo.

• The Cloak of Levitation allows him to fly (at roughly 25 miles per hour for indeterminate lengths of time), and responds to his thoughts. Strange has used it many times as a "third set of hands" to attack a foe when his own body has been incapacitated. The Cloak is nearly indestructible, often escaping damage during even the most violent confrontations. The cloak has acted independently from Strange as though it has a will of its own, as well as being quasi-sentient to some degree. The cloak has been nearly destroyed on at least three occasions:

1. Strange Tales (vol. 1) #157 — During a battle with Zom at Stonehenge. Strange was able to reconstruct it in a display of power to prove to The Living Tribunal that Strange was worthy to set right the cosmic events recently unleashed
2. Doctor Strange vol. 2, #77 — During a battle with the demon Khat while Strange was in the slow decline of his white-magical powers. The cloak was repaired by Enitharmon the Weaver, the former master of Strange's second apprentice, Rintrah. While the damage to the Cloak on this occasion was not as severe as previously, Strange was unable to repair it himself
3. The third instance is convoluted. During his attempt to garner a new power-base for himself, after foregoing the powers and protections of the Vishanti, Strange went underground to create his new power forge, and when he was finished he was rejuvenated, younger-looking and wearing a new costume (including a mystical black body suit) and he had transformed the Cloak into something more resembling a Kimono or robe^[25] however, soon he was drafted into the War of the Seven Spheres by the Vishanti. After battling for five thousand years in another dimension, Strange was returned to Earth (at a time mere months from when he was spirited away) a tattered shambles.^[26] His magical abilities depleted and his new Robe/Cloak shredded. He soon incorporated elements of the cloak into what would be called the "Overcoat of Levitation"; a red trench coat with the Cloak's gold trim along the collar. He soon returned, however, to his traditional Cloak.

• The Sash of Dr. Strange, worn around Strange's waist, this enchanted yellow sash can be extended ten times its normal length ^[27]
• The Orb of Agamotto, a large crystal ball which he uses daily to monitor the surrounding dimensions and his own world for trouble;
• The Wand of Watoomb, which amplifies his power and absorbs mystical energy that can be utilized for a variety of effects, such as reopening dimensional portals and firing mystic bolts; near-omnipotent power-item that can be divided into two seperate, though powerless, parts, and can restructure reality itself when combined with other mystical objects (Currently lost in another reality due to the meddling of Warren Traveler of the House of M)
• The Book of the Vishanti, which contains some of the multiverse's most powerful and secret spells and counter-spells for white magic, opposed to the dark arts of the Darkhold

He owns countless other artifacts he can bring out in times of need. Among them include:

• The Hands of the Dead, a highly powerful item created fifteen centuries ago, that allows Strange and others to "enter the tides of time and space, travel the world in the blink of an eye, even be in several places at the same time" though can be damaging to one's non-material self if unused to such travel; used for Peter Parker in One More Day
• The Atlantean Dreamwave, used by Strange to explore the nightmares of John Blaze
• The Book of Demonicus, used by Strange to gain information on Avarrish.
• The Book of Eibon, during the days of Hyperborea, about 750,200 years ago, it was the time of the wizard Eibon, greatest wizard of Hyperborea. He wrote his knowledge down in what became known to mankind as 'the Book of Eibon'. Over the millenia the Book of Eibon was owned by many sorcerers and collectors. It came into the hands of the Ancient One at one time, who passed the book on to his disciple Dr. Stephen Strange, who considers it one of his most treasured artifacts, though stolen by Urthona, yet was restored by Agamotto
• The Brazier of Bom'galiath, used by Strange to enable Eric Masterson to travel to Mephisto's Hell
• The Tome of Oshtur, an ancient book of long-lost spells written by the omnipotent Oshtur
• The Serum of the Seraphim, an all-purpose elixir capable of curing both mystic and non-mystic ailments, described as "the most potent medicine known to the occult"; the serum is so powerful that only a few ounces are needed. It is usually kept in tiny ornale containers holding just a few ounces. Any being drinking this serum is instantly returned to his full health and has all of his wounds healed. Any magical fungus, physical curses (like blindness), or diseases are held in check, then slowly cured over a few days time; either Strange has run out of the Serum recently or its powers have limits: it could not be used apparently to heal Wong's brain cancer or mend Strange's shattered hands
• The Scrolls of Watoomb, a precious source of magical knowledge written by Watoomb in an unidentified past, giving their user quicker and safer control over the Winds of Watoomb, as well as a greater power to the Winds; the Scrolls also increased the power of the sorcerer wielding them
• The Ring of the Ancient One, which can be used to allow Doctor Strange to do anything he is capable of in physical form while astrally projecting, as well as to take on the form of the Ancient One himself
• The Crystal of Kadavus - The Crystal is a fist-sized, diamond-like gemstone that is cut to resemble a skull. When using the proper incantation and exposing it to the light of a full moon, it focuses dimensional forces. When this focused beam is aimed at a magical item it is completely restored to fulI power, even if the item had previously been drained of its magic powers or “destroyed”. This procedure must be repeated for at least two nights of the full moon before the item is restored to full power. The Crystal has been used to restore or contain the power of the Wand of Watoomb.
• The Eye of Zartra, an enchanted "eldritch gem" plucked by Prince Namor from the Sword of Kamuu (thus halving its power) and given as a token of friendship to Strange; enhances the power of the ancient Atlantean Sword of Kammu and provides the Sword's user with immunity to magic
• The Cauldron of the Cosmos, kept in the Meditation Chamber and allowing Strange to "dwell upon the immutable mysteries of the universe" for hours, used basically for consultation and scrying
• The Oculus Oroboros - The Oculus Oroboros is one of the most powerful, maybe 'the' most powerful conduit for elemental magick ever; gathers elemental magical energy and stores it to be used again at will. For centuries it was hidden for the senes of magicians by a cloaking spell, till the day that archeologist disturbed it, and it was resurfaced again. The Oculus was collected by Strange's ethereal construct Strange during the time that he was searching for amulets of Earthbound magick to fuel his new power source; depicts a snake eating its own tail.
• The Gaea shard, a crystal containing a sliver of the essence of the Elder Goddess Gaea, wielded by Dr. Strange against the Undying Ones ^[28]
• The Hand of the Vishanti, capable of locating others by helping them expel their ethereal form and given to Peter Parker in order for him to track down Shade through Peter entering the Astral Plane; this amulet has the appearance of a simple stone carving resembling a hand; the hand makes it easier to transfer towards the astral plane, and holds a link so the wielder can find its way back.^[29]
• The Jewel of Transhypnosis, owned by the Ancient One, can teleport its wielder into another dimension by focusing their concentration upon it and has the power to transform matter into imagination.
• The Kartkuthi, a book held by Dr. Strange, one passage was read by Wong to liberate Strange's astral self when it had been trapped by a mystic sword of the Hand with which he had been impaled; Strange finished the spell to release his astral form and help the Avengers win the day by freeing Maya. ^[30]
• The Iris of the All-Seeing Oracle, a summoning tool kept in the Sanctum Sanctorum used to scry upon specific locations and persons; This 8 foot diameter, circular device, with what looks like a mirror in the middle, hangs in Doctor Strange’s mansion. It is a secondary scrying device that Strange or his friends use when the Orb of Agamotto is inaccessible; the Iris allows two-way audio-visual communications with another mage of the user’s choosing anywhere on Earth. One must know the proper incantation to use it.
• The Oracle of Agamotto, a back-up device used by Doctor Strange after the Orb was broken and before Clea mended it
• The Orb of Snnnr, used by Dr. Strange to communicate with the Pitiful One. ^[31]
• Oktid's Elixir, an immensely powerful potion able to cure all diseases on Earth that "has the power to erase what troubles the mind of man"; stolen from Oktid by Dr. Strange, destroyed by Nicodemus West; one drop was saved and used by Strange to cure Wong of brain cancer. ^[32]
• The Scroll of Eternity, kept for ages by the Aged Geghis (who gave it to Strange), it holds a spell that opens a gate to a mystic realm close to Eternity; it holds the name of Eternity and it can assume that the spell, when used properly, will indeed transport the caster to Eternity, but when only the slightest mistake is made, this spell will open a gate to a world ruled by a demon who is come to be known as the Demon in the Mask, the Realm of Eternal Madness
• The Sword of the Ultimate Shadow, a magical sword that is able to inflict great physical pain through the astral body, pain that cannot be stopped by mystical energies, even those as potent as the Shield of the Seraphim; once used by Strange's evil double from the Infinity War and is now again stored, protected by spells in his Sanctum Sanctorum.
• The Star of Capistan, a ruby larger than any other existent, its sentience and wicked will of its own corrupted Strange, yet the Sorcerer Supreme, with a Eye of Agamotto having failed him, and his participation in the Order weakening his own sanity, used the Star as his amulet instead; the Star was sensitive to human brainwaves on a global and possibly even cosmic scale; Strange reverted to the Eye shortly, with the Star's current whereabouts unknown, though is likely hidden, in the Sanctum Sanctorum or elsewhere due to its lethal and sinister nature
• The Purple Gem, one of the many enchanted gems of power from the Purple Dimension of Aggamon passed down to Strange through the late Ancient One; a device to bridge the dimensions, it provides a means to enter (or become trapped in) the Purple Dimension, can amplify and focus the Eye of Agamotto's power, entrap an opponent, though ancient and cunning masters of Asgardian magic such as the god Loki resisted being sent to the Purple Dimension (or if he was actually sent there, he was able to return instaneously under his own power) and the conjured portal was shattered by one gesture; said by Strange to have even greater hidden potential, and unlocks more of its vast power when used with a Dimensional Energy incantation that calls on Aggamon's strength.
• The Staff of David, used by Doctor Strange in battle with Wandor.
• The Talisman of Abraxas, an amulet Doctor Strange gave to Namor the Sub-Mariner to palliate his personality shifts
• The Wands of Satannish, objects kept by Strange within the Nisanti cabinet
• The Diary of Kenneth Ward (who told Doctor Strange of his encounter with traces of the Undying Ones in a hidden Himalayan valley), kept by Strange in his Sanctum Sanctorum’s library, containing the location of the valley ^[33]
• Two mirrors, needed for a "radical spell" used to renew the enchanted barrier around the Sanctum Sanctorum
• A magic amulet given to him by the Ancient One in Strange's very first issue, Strange Tales #110, used to call upon his master even in spirit form to prevent a man from shooting him; the Ancient One placed a hypnotic spell on the man to stop him
• An enchanted deck of tarot cards known as the First Tarot Deck utilized by Doctor Strange with his subconscious mind after the original Defenders had disbanded, to choose the best heroes to handle the problem for the Secret Defenders; the heroes would go each their separate ways after the problem was solved; the Deck was used by Ian McNee to profile magic and its users in the Marvel Tarot
• An magical amulet given to Eric Masterson by Strange to shield him from detection from the demons in Mephisto's Hell; lost in Hell
• Mystic ruby crystals given to Valkyrie by Doctor Strange to be used to “point the way” to the Hulk and Namor; the crystals appear to flash with bright light when they are in proximity to either one, as well as spinning around in such a fashion its pointed edge points to whichever direction the Hulk and Namor is currently at
• Two Gems That are One, magical jewels stolen from Dr. Strange by Urthona ^[34]

As a result of being a member of the Illuminati, he has also come into possession of the Soul Gem of the Infinity Gauntlet, though he has sworn not to ever use it or to reveal its location, having lost since lost his soul to it, despite its hunger for such ethereal forces. Strange also once kept the Book of the Darkhold in his library of the Sanctum Sanctorum, using it to invoke the Motensi Formula and destroy all vampires in the Marvel Universe, as well as using it among his other items in an attempt to defeat Adam Warlock but it has since been removed. Strange was also in possession of the virtually indestructible sword Dragonfang, capable of destroying certain mystic barriers as well as absorbing magic when in contact with blood; Dragonfang was carved from the tusk of an extradimensional dragon by an Oriental wizard named Kahji-Da and fallen into the possession of the Ancient One, who in turn passed it down to his disciple, Dr. Strange. Dr. Strange then passed it onto Valkyrie; during the events of Ragnarok, she fell in battle and the sword got picked up by Lady Sif, lover of Thor, though Sif, too, eventually fell before Asgard's demise. Valyrie has not yet been revived, as shown in Mystic Arcana.

A desperate Strange was forced to use a spell to destroy all his magical artifacts to prevent the wicked Urthona from obtaining them, even his Orb of Agamotto (though the Darkhold was unable to be destroyed even by Strange's magic). However, it is later revealed that Agamotto himself had teleported the artifacts to his own realm, and Strange later retrieved them from him, months later.

Dr. Strange shrunk his talismans and hid them behind the Eye of Agamotto. He restored them to their size when he was forced to confront the Infinity Gauntlet God-made Adam Warlock. The Scrolls of Watoomb were really useful to cancel the effects of the Gem of Space, the Winds of Watoomb recalled reading the Scrolls enabled Strange, Pip and Gamora to cover a distance of light-years in few seconds. Shortly later, Strange had to use all the talismans to increase his own powers and match, even if only for a few moments, the power of Adam Warlock. After the fight, Strange went back home and put the scrolls and the other talismans in their right place in his room. ^[35]

Finally, his Sanctum Sanctorum, due to the magic imbued within it, can be thought of as an artifact itself. The Sanctum consistently has a circular window with three swooping lines; this design has stayed with the building despite the window's destruction on many occasions. The design is actually the Seal of the Vishanti found in the window of Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum; it protects the Sanctorum from most supernatural (and even most non-mystical) invaders, also called "Window of the Worlds," or the Anomaly Rue.^[36] This seal has failed in barring out Hiroim the Shadow Priest, when he utilized the ancient power of the Shadow Elders (though Hiroim was not truly evil, but grieving and angered). Certain members of the New Avengers appear to acknowledge this, and Chemistro of the Hood's army, though possessing no such power to directly break that of the Vishanti's, was able to change the chemical composition of the wood that held the seal to break it.

It should be noted that many of the stated artifacts are either lost to Strange currently, or have passed on to the possession of the new Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel Universe, Brother Voodoo.

Transportation

Dimensional teleportation, both within a dimension and between them (the former deemed more consuming in terms of magical energy, oddly enough), using spells using the Marvel Universe's ambient mystical energy or the powers of specific arcane beings, such as Watoomb, Valtorr or the Vishanti's; Strange has also resorted to more conventional means, such as by car, plane or train, and even manual walking alone is not beneath him

Weapons

When necessary, Dr. Strange will use magical weapons that he has collected.

Notes

• In New Avengers #51, it says that Doctor Strange is no longer Sorcerer Supreme. Previews on its covers show heirs apparent (ranging from Brother Voodoo, Doctor Doom, Hood, Magik's human form, to Scarlet Witch) who will all serve as candidates for the vacant role of Sorcerer Supreme. This is resolved at last when the Eye of Agamotto leaves Strange and, through the Ancient One's spirit, reach Brother Voodoo and grant him the power and mantle of the new Sorcerer Supreme, along with many of Strange's former artifacts and abilities.

Spell manifestations

Dr. Strange often conjures specific magical effects for specific purposes. Among them are:

• Bolts of Bedevilment/Balthakk (as an offensive weapon)
• A Conjurer's Cone (to transport an enemy away to another realm)
• The Crimson Bands of Cyttorak (to bind someone)
• The Crystals of Cyndriarr (a mystical energy blast composed of yellow rectangular crystals, with the touch of "certain death")
• The Demons of Denak (summons what mainfests as numerous invisible claws, used for attack or to rip suitable objects apart)
• The Flames of the Faltine (as an offensive weapon)
• The Images of Ikonn (to create duplicate images of himself or others to confuse an enemy)
• The Icy Tendrils of Ikthalon (entraps the target in a freezing coating of ice)
• The Seven Rings of Raggadorr (Seven blue energy rings that surround him and deflect attacks)
• The Light of the All-Seeing Eye of Agamotto (to disperse an assailant's spell, to reveal the truth or to destroy an enemy's actual soul)
• The Shackles of Sheol (magenta bands which enwrap a being's legs and cross at the chest, used to trap and transport an opponent)
• The Shield of the Seraphim (as a protective barrier)
• The Vapors of Valtorr (as an obscuring fog)
• The Winds of Watoomb (as an offensive weapon or transportation)
• Chains of Krakkan (constricts an enemy in strong chains)
• The Mists of Morpheus (standard sleep spell)
• The Mists of Munnopor (summons a bluish gas which covers the face of the opponent and suffocates him)
• Seven Suns of Cinnibus (an energy blast that is as hot as seven suns)
• A Sorcerer's Sphere (a black-colored bubble that protects the Sorcerer inside, but absorbs all the mystical energy in the surrounding area. This absorbing-process normally takes one hour, but an adept sorcerer can make time go by faster so that it seems only minutes have elapsed)

Sorcerous phrases

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

• "By the Flames of the Faltine!"
• "By the Sons of Satannish!"
• "By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!"
• "By the Ruby Rings of Raggadorr!"
• "By the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak!"
• "By the Deathless Vishanti!"
• "By the Vapors of the Vishanti!"
• "By the Eye of Agamotto!"
• "By the Vapors of Valtorr!"
• "By the Images of Ikonn!"
• "By the Demons of Denak!"
• "By the Fangs of Farallah!"
• "By the Mystic Moons of Munnopor!"
• "By the Shades of the Seraphim!"
• "By the Omnipotent Oshtur!"
• "By the fires of Ikthalon!"
• "By the Wondrous Winds of Watoomb!" [and] "By the Wondrous Wand of Watoomb!"

As deus ex machina

In the Marvel canon, there are no clearly defined limits of what Dr. Strange can or cannot do. The stories themselves contradict one another: Dr. Strange is shown easily altering memories, or having complete mastery over time by either stopping it all together and rewinding it or traveling into the past in one story, then stating that his magic cannot do so in another instance. Once, Strange commented his powers of teleportation are "too meager" for him to enable the Defenders to follow suit Magneto and his Brotherhood with Alpha (who had teleported them to the United Nations headquarters from the Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico) ^[37], yet, after helping the Guardians of the Galaxy return to their own time, enabling their ship to function sufficiently, engaging in extensive and long-distance astral projection across the cosmos, magically paralyzing a human, teleporting Valkyrie and Vance Astro from one planet to another in his astral form and in space, Strange was capable of teleporting both himself and Jack Norriss to Earth and across the globe to thousands of various points to free fifty million prisoners, Strange was capable of teleporting himself, Norriss and the other three Defenders back to their own time, all without incantation, Sanctum Sanctorum mystical resources, or apparent power-object, and without visible exertion afterwards ^[38]. In some appearances he can stand against something as powerful as the Infinity Gauntlet, and in others he appears defenseless against simple physical attack by another person. Strange's ability to project energy surpasses that of even Uatu and roughly rivals that of the Silver Surfer.

Some writers have ignored canonical evidence that Dr. Strange has enchantments that shield his body from physical harm, and that he virtually does not age and can not die unless under his own terms (having made a deal with the omnipotent being Eternity which grants Stephen life as long as he wishes it so), with his predecessor as Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, having lived several centuries.

Dr. Strange is often used as a deus ex machina to stop, prevent or undo many world-altering events that occur in other characters' comic books. Examples include:

• In Uncanny X-Men #190-191 (Feb.-March 1985), the wizard Kulan Gath magically transformed New York City into an approximation of his own ancient time. Everyone, save for Strange and a handful of others, forgot who they were and assumed roles appropriate to such a reality. Strange was held prisoner by Kulan Gath, his flesh warped to prevent him speaking aloud or making mystical gestures. Despite numerous characters dying, the spell was eventually broken and reality was restored by Dr. Strange and Magik.
• In Micronauts #35 (Nov. 1981)^{[citation needed]}, Dr. Strange was instrumental in helping the Micronauts defeat ancient demons from Earth's past. As he kept the demons at bay, Commander Arcturus Rann rushed the Keys to the Enigma Force to the tomb of Prince Wayfinder, the creator of the Microverse. After opening the Tomb, Strange and Rann encountered the Sword in the Star, who merged them into a single entity, Captain Universe, in order to save the rapidly deteriorating Space Wall between Earth and the Microverse.
• In the Infinity Gauntlet six-issue limited series, Dr. Strange recruited the heroes to stop Thanos, as the latter attempted to destroy all of reality itself. He was one of the few heroes to survive Thanos' destruction of his opposition and was responsible for rescuing the few survivors in the final battle against Thanos and Nebula. Strange was one of the few people to remember that these events had occurred, the others being the Infinity Watch, the Silver Surfer and Thor, Strange and the latter two having witnessed Warlock's soul during the crisis and Warlock being unable to erase such knowledge.
• In Guardians of the Galaxy #31-33, Dr. Strange aided the titular, time-traveling team against an alien Badoon named L'Matto that had been granted the Uni-Power, transforming him into Captain Universe. A duel between the Badoon and the Guardian Charlie-27, which was appearing to be in L'Matto's favor, was turned in Charlie's favor with the intervention of Strange and fellow Guardians Vance Astro and Aleta Ogord, the latter of whom had just become the new Starhawk. With Dr. Strange's help, Aleta defeated the Captain Universe-empowered L'Matto and then exorcised the Uni-Power from L'Matto's body; the Badoon was left with his people to recover, while Strange returned to his studies, the Guardians returned to their home in the 31st century, and the Uni-Power headed off to find a new host.
• In House of M #7-8 (Nov.-Dec. 2005), Dr. Strange and Emma Frost prevented the Scarlet Witch from imposing her will on the entire world. Driven insane by her powers, Scarlet Witch reverted to the alternate reality she had created but stripped the majority of the world's mutants of their powers. Only a few who were shielded by Dr. Strange's spell and Frost's psychic powers retained their memories of the House of M reality and of what had transpired.
• In The Amazing Spider-Man #500, Dr. Strange appeared during an invasion by Dormammu and the Mindless Ones on New York City. Reed Richards of The Fantastic Four inadvertently released Dormammu from his "prison" by making a gun to send the Mindless Ones back to their dimension. Doctor Strange appeared in time to fight Dormammu and, with the help of Spider-Man, Cyclops and other heroes, Dormammu and the Mindless Ones were sent back to their dimension. As a result of the dimensional tampering, Baron Mordo was resurrected and after the battle he kidnapped Strange; what happened between this event and Strange's reappearance in the Marvel Universe is thus far unrevealed.
• In The Avengers #503, he defeats the Scarlet Witch whose powers had been causing widespread chaos throughout the Marvel Universe.

Appearances in other media

Film

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

Television

• A made-for-TV movie version of Dr. Strange ran on CBS in 1978. It was directed by Phil DeGuere and starred Peter Hooten as Dr. Strange. In many ways more faithful to the original character than the other Marvel Comics adaptations of the period, the movie nonetheless changed some of the supporting characters.

• Dr. Strange appeared in a 1996 episode of the Fox network's Spider-Man: The Animated Series and in the sixth episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, "7 Little Superheroes".

• In 1997 Doctor Strange made a guest-appearance in the cartoon series The Incredible Hulk (1996 TV series). The episode was titled Mind Over Anti-Matter in which Doctor Strange and She-Hulk went into the mind of Bruce Banner when he is possessed by an evil outside force.

• Dr. Strange is to be the fourth direct-to-DVD movie project from Marvel to be released early 2007 (the first three are Ultimate Avengers, Ultimate Avengers 2 and Iron Man). There is a 2 minute preview of the Dr. Strange movie on the Ultimate Avengers 2 DVD.

Video games

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

Other

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

Links

• Appearances of Stephen Strange (Earth-616)
• Character Gallery: Stephen Strange (Earth-616)
• Images that feature Stephen Strange (Earth-616)
• Fan-Art Gallery: Stephen Strange (Earth-616)
• Quotations by Stephen Strange (Earth-616) 
• Ancient One
• Clea
• Dormammu
• Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum in 3D: http://www.marvel.com/videos/Dr._Strange%27s_Sanctum_San

• The Lesser Book of the Vishanti, a companion to Dr. Strange comics compiled by Catherine and Nagasiva Yronwode
• Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Marvel Knights, 2005
• The Doctor Strange FAQ at NeilAlien.com.
• Doc Strange.com
• The Grand Comics Database
• Marvel.com's extensive Dr. Strange Bio
• Youngquist, Jeff, & Grünwald, Jennifer, eds., Marvel Legacy: The 1960s Handbook (Marvel Publishing, 2006), p. 18 (unnumbered)
• Gallery of Dr. Strange Original Art
• Dr. Strange Gallery (Photon Torpedoes)
• Dr Strange: Curriculum Vitae of a Mad Scientist
• 1990 Marvel Universe Cards #34
• 1991 Marvel Universe Cards #44
• 1992 Marvel Universe Cards #9
• 1992 Marvel Masterpieces #24
• 1993 Marvel Universe Cards #46
• 1993 Marvel Masterpieces #8
• 1994 Marvel Universe Cards #140

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