Doctor Strange #3 Waid/Saiz Review/SPOILERS!

[Prof. Warren]

Waid and Saiz's Doctor Strange run continues with another finely crafted installment.

The issue opens with a montage of Strange and his new partner/friend, Kanna, the alien arcanologist, as they roam space, having all sorts of adventures as they search for magic and magical artifacts.

They eventually come to Tarnax II, where Kanna says she has found a new teacher for Stephen - as she describes him, "the greatest sorcerer in Skrull history."

At the word Skrull, Stephen immediately wants to cut and run but Kanna has a different perspective on the Skrulls than humans and she assures Stephen that he'll be fine in her company. Also, she knows that Stephen can't help but be curious as to what a Skrull magician is like.

Using a cloak of invisibility, Stephen accompanies Kanna into this world that was settled by Skrull refugees. Along the way, Waid makes some very cool observations about how a society of shape changers would live.

As they start to approach the Skrull magician, Stephen sees a green stone floating in the air next to the Skrull and realizes that it's a recreation of the Time Stone. The Skrull magician is trying to determine how to amplify it's power at the request of Lord Kl'rt, the Super Skrull himself, who wants to use it to restore his empire.

Stephen realizes that he can't leave it in the hands of the Skrulls and determines to steal it from them. Kanna wants no part of it until Stephen promises that she can have the stone to herself if she helps him steal it.

This leads to a beautifully drawn battle between Stephen and the Super-Skrull.

The conclusion of the issue, with Stephen betraying Kanna for the greater good, ends the issue on a melancholy note. Stephen and Kanna have been forging a genuine friendship and it clearly saddens Stephen to risk harming that bond.

A tag scene brings back Bats as he confronts a mysterious intruder in the Sanctum Sanctorum. Even though the intruder's ID is hidden to us, Bats recognizes him and asks "How worried should I be?"

****

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite current books. Waid and Saiz are just killing it on this title.

You put Waid on a solo title with the right collaborator and chances are, no pun intended, magic is going to happen and so far that's definitely the case here.

I love Waid's characterization of Stephen (giving him the mature gravitas that he's been missing recently) and with the novelty of the space setting, the budding friendship between Stephen and Kanna, and the unfolding mystery of what's going on back on Earth, this volume feel like new territory and not just another too-familiar story of Stephen being de-powered.

And it was definitely nice to see Bats make a re-appearance. Some got the impression that Waid was ignoring Cates' run but that is clearly not that case.

And even though this is labelled as an Infinity Wars ti-in, you don't have to have been reading the Infinity Wars Countdown to follow what's happening in this issue. It's a very new reader friendly one and done.

[Tulku]

I enjoyed the issue, too, right up to the betrayal of Kanna. I really don't like it when my heroes decide that the ends can justify the means. Even though this is a Spoiler thread, I am going to hide the specifics in a spoiler box to save the casual viewer:spoilers:

So Doc does a mind-wipe of her to make her forget he has betrayed her. "For the greater good." But toying with a person's memories like that is very much like a form of rape (in fact, the early meaning of "rape" was to steal something--hence the poem "The Rape of the Lock"). Now, of course, memory wipes are a trope: you KNOW that the memory wipe will fail at some awkward point and then Doc is going to have to deal with it again. Memory wipes always fail. But even if it successfully stays in place, it is not the act of a hero. And Doc, of all people, should know better. The end does not justify THIS means. IMHO. Find another way. If you can't, then, in the words of the Movie Strange, "you lack imagination!"

end of spoilers
But the issue does give us the Time Stone, and since the ads for the next "Infinity Noun-of-the-Week" series states that all the Infinity Stones are on Earth, I guess we can figure that Doc's spacefaring adventures will be bringing him back to Earth soon, if only to drop off the Time Stone.

Very good to see Bats again, even if somebody seems to have forgotten to tell the colorist that he is a ghost. As for the mysterious figure in the Sanctum...Wong? Loki? Whoever it is seems familiar with Bats, which limits the choices a bit. It is not Spider-Man because Bats didn't go all excited fandog on him. Regardless, looking forward to the next issue.

[Prof. Warren]

I enjoyed the issue, too, right up to the betrayal of Kanna. I really don't like it when my heroes decide that the ends can justify the means.

I like it when my heroes are flawed, complicated people who sometimes make bad or questionable choices. For me, it makes them more interesting to follow than a character who never screws up. What Stephen does in this issue is definitely a betrayal but, to me, not to the extent that you believe it is. It's a violation of trust, yes, but it's not quite the horrendous violation of a person that you liken it to. It will come back to haunt him, though, surely.

Very good to see Bats again, even if somebody seems to have forgotten to tell the colorist that he is a ghost. As for the mysterious figure in the Sanctum...Wong? Loki? Whoever it is seems familiar with Bats, which limits the choices a bit. It is not Spider-Man because Bats didn't go all excited fandog on him. Regardless, looking forward to the next issue.

Definitely happy to see Bats again. And I'm very intrigued by the teases that have ended the last two issues. Waid is setting up something but I can't guess what it might be.

[Tony Stark]

I like it when my heroes are flawed, complicated people who sometimes make bad or questionable choices. For me, it makes them more interesting to follow than a character who never screws up. What Stephen does in this issue is definitely a betrayal but, to me, not to the extent that you believe it is. It's a violation of trust, yes, but it's not quite the horrendous violation of a person that you liken it to. It will come back to haunt him, though, surely.

I feel the exact same way. Like you stated I like my heroes the same way. Stephen felt he had to make her forget, but it will probably come back and bite him in the ass.
https://www.cbr.com/doctor-strange-i...-memory-erase/

[The BaRoN]

Really enjoying this, great art and a nice change for strange.

I'll pick up infinity wars if strange is getting involved.

[kilderkin]

I'm behind on this run so a little help if possible

Saw a review which suggest strange has lost his link to magic coz he's getting older?

is he still sorcerer supreme?



Appreciate any answers

[Strangefan]

I was happy to see Bats as well. I don't really fault Stephen, he isn't being the best friend, but he is being a protector of the universe. The stones are just unimaginable power, and someone might just be tempted to try to stop something some happening in the past, and cause destruction through ignorance. He wasn't doing it to keep the power for himself, just to keep the power safe. That is essentially his job, to my thinking.

[Prof. Warren]

I'm behind on this run so a little help if possible

Saw a review which suggest strange has lost his link to magic coz he's getting older?

is he still sorcerer supreme?

Appreciate any answers

The how and why of Stephen's disconnect with magic is a mystery that's still unfolding.

The last couple of issues have ended with tag scenes that point towards something that's been going on outside of Stephen's knowledge.

[comicscollector]

This was a great issue.
I think it says a lot when a comic book story is tied to a event,but can be read quite well without having to read the event itself.
As me that i have not been Reading the Infinity Wars series but this was so well writen that the narrative of the story did not lose anything by being tied to that event.
I liked the first issue a lot,but this one is another of my favorites current stories that i have read recently.
Because the potential of Doctor Strange in space is well explored in this story.Skrull magicians,Doctor Strange with a alien partner and him finding Super Skrull in this Skrull planet are exactly the reasons why i was so intrigued by this concept the first time i read the new Doctor Strange comic book would be writen with him in the space.

[Tulku]

I think it says a lot when a comic book story is tied to a event,but can be read quite well without having to read the event itself.
As me that i have not been Reading the Infinity Wars series but this was so well writen that the narrative of the story did not lose anything by being tied to that event.

I agree completely! I have grown weary of cross-overs and tie-ins (I don't see why it is so unreasonable for me to demand that, if I am buying a series, you tell the story within that series rather than try to make me buy a lot of other issues from other series to get the story). But this one worked perfectly well. Even if there was no Infinity Wars, this story would have unfolded exactly the same way--even without the tie-in, Doc would have wanted to keep the Time Stone away from the Super Skrull. Tie-ins like this I can live with. It was very well done by Waid.

[kilderkin]

The how and why of Stephen's disconnect with magic is a mystery that's still unfolding.

The last couple of issues have ended with tag scenes that point towards something that's been going on outside of Stephen's knowledge.

Ok thanks

I heard he was ageing and that was the why for a loss of his magic, but I thought the sorcerer supreme was effectively immortal as a power from eternity so was a bit confused

I was thinking of this as a trade read, it seems well received so far

[comicscollector]

I agree completely! I have grown weary of cross-overs and tie-ins (I don't see why it is so unreasonable for me to demand that, if I am buying a series, you tell the story within that series rather than try to make me buy a lot of other issues from other series to get the story). But this one worked perfectly well. Even if there was no Infinity Wars, this story would have unfolded exactly the same way--even without the tie-in, Doc would have wanted to keep the Time Stone away from the Super Skrull. Tie-ins like this I can live with. It was very well done by Waid.

Absolutely.
Due my budget limit for comic books i am not reading Infinity Wars,so i was a bit concerned when i realized that this issue of Doctor Strange was a te in to that event.So i was quite happy after reading this story that it can be read without reading the Infinity Wars event.