Stephen Strange: Doctor Strange Appreciation 2021

[Clea]

Actually she did. Sort of:

https://comicbookrealm.com/series/14...s-sylvia-faust

Ooh. How interesting! I will have to look up this book. Maybe Sophia Strange just changed her name to Sylvia Faust and moved from New Orleans to New York to be nearer to dear ol' dad.

[Xheight]

I don't get why they keep trying to erase her.

It goes to figuring if the character is better off as a roving bachelor or as committed relationship. Lot of characters breakdown on this divide. Interdimensional horndog or eternal flame keeper. Tony Stark, Matt Murdoch... carry a lot of male fans.
Personally I have always felt that there Clea and Strange were beyond convention and should have an open relationship.

[Albert1981]

Yes, unless she was raised on Earth in complete ignorance of her actual heritage, to keep her safe from Dormammu. That would somewhat parallel her origin in the comics, where she was raised with no magical training and didn't learn that Umar was her mother and therefore Dormammu was her uncle until she was an adult. It would be quite a stretch of course, but the MCU isn't bound by comics canon history. It's an A/U so they're free to do whatever they want. Personally I'd prefer it if they didn't opt for this route simply because I hate the notion that female characters could be so conveniently interchangeable. IMO they should be treated like separate people, not just smooshed together to fit the role of Strange's love interest.

It's kind of the same type of origin story that was used for the one-shot appearance of Sophia Strange, daughter of Clea and Stephen Strange, back in Epic Anthology #1. Clea hid Sophia on Earth (in New Orleans, where Strange Academy is now set) and kept her presence secret from both Dormammu and Stephen Strange to protect her. Poor Sophia appeared one time and was never seen again. I guess Clea hid her very, very well.

Holy cow! I mean, wow, I didn't know that. Yeah, I've got my concerns about actresses playing different characters, but I do think it's possible McAdams becomes Clea. I do like her acting...Particularly when she plays stuck up bitches. I find it very interesting that Clea and Strange had a daughter. I wasn't aware of this. Thanks for the newsflash. I can't really picture Clea as a mother though.

[GenericUsername]

It goes to figuring if the character is better off as a roving bachelor or as committed relationship. Lot of characters breakdown on this divide. Interdimensional horndog or eternal flame keeper. Tony Stark, Matt Murdoch... carry a lot of male fans.
Personally I have always felt that there Clea and Strange were beyond convention and should have an open relationship.

That'd be an interesting concept. Wonder if Marvel would even have the nerve.

[Clea]

It goes to figuring if the character is better off as a roving bachelor or as committed relationship. Lot of characters breakdown on this divide. Interdimensional horndog or eternal flame keeper. Tony Stark, Matt Murdoch... carry a lot of male fans.
Personally I have always felt that there Clea and Strange were beyond convention and should have an open relationship.

Classic Doctor Strange was portrayed as an 'eternal flame' oriented fellow once he became Master of the Mystic Arts/Sorcerer Supreme. His relationship with Clea was always borderline soap opera IMO. He loved her and considered her to be his one greatest love, but he also kept her at arms length because of his duties as Sorcerer Supreme. Clea's reactions to this over the years went from bafflement to sadness, to thinking that she was at fault because she wasn't human, to a period of happiness when they married, only to ultimately part with him once she realized that he was not being faithful to her while she was away in the Dark Dimension (Fearless Defenders). The FD story was so crazily out of character for Strange that I never viewed it as anything other than a convenient excuse for Marvel to break them up as a couple for good. Strange, for his part, nearly lost his mind from grief at one point when she left, but I personally always found the way that he would so often push her away emotionally while they were together to be troubling. Maybe the writers simply wanted to emphasize the gothic, brooding aspect of being Earth's mystical protector - It's Such A Burden That Strange Cannot Ever Truly Dare To Love!!OMG!! - but personally I thought it was weird.

As for them being in an open relationship...maybe once upon a time that might have been possible, but I genuinely can't see how post-memory wipe Clea would put up with Strange. That was such a horrible thing to do to her. Why would she ever take him back after that, even for casual hook-ups?

[GenericUsername]

Comics have an issue with doing that to characters without their consent. It's really terrible.

[Clea]

Comics have an issue with doing that to characters without their consent. It's really terrible.

IMO what Strange did to her was akin to fridging her. Sure, she's alive, but essentially she's been erased. It still bothers me (clearly - LOL). I was really enjoying that storyline right up to that moment, too. Ah well. It's comics. Another writer could come along in a while and reverse the the entire event and move on as if nothing meaningful happened. Who knows.

[Clea]

Check out this 'top secret' picture of Bats that Donny Cates posted on his Twitter a couple days ago. His Twitter said, "Don’t tell anyone I showed you this." LOL. It's a mystery! What could it mean? Think it's going to be part of Marvel Clue (The Death of Doctor Strange) or a Thor story?




https://twitter.com/Doncates/status/1436211318399381505

BTW, he also posted September 14th is Bats' birthday (as well as his own). I think that Marvel should give Bats his own Twitter emoji in honor of his pending birthday. He might be a ghost now but he still deserves to have a good boi birthday party, IMO.

[GenericUsername]

IMO what Strange did to her was akin to fridging her. Sure, she's alive, but essentially she's been erased. It still bothers me (clearly - LOL). I was really enjoying that storyline right up to that moment, too. Ah well. It's comics. Another writer could come along in a while and reverse the the entire event and move on as if nothing meaningful happened. Who knows.

I agree. With characters like her and Sharon, when they are disregarded from love interest, they are usually treated terribly. Completely eliminated from the story altogether. I could see if they wanted to give her something of her own. But it just did not happen. Them leaving her as a shell is a sin.

[GenericUsername]

Check out this 'top secret' picture of Bats that Donny Cates posted on his Twitter a couple days ago. His Twitter said, "Don’t tell anyone I showed you this." LOL. It's a mystery! What could it mean? Think it's going to be part of Marvel Clue (The Death of Doctor Strange) or a Thor story?




https://twitter.com/Doncates/status/1436211318399381505

BTW, he also posted September 14th is Bats' birthday (as well as his own). I think that Marvel should give Bats his own Twitter emoji in honor of his pending birthday. He might be a ghost now but he still deserves to have a good boi birthday party, IMO.

Bats is so darn cute! I'm glad they have him planned in more stuff.

[Vic Vega]

I think them not having chemistry was the whole point. They were two characters going in completely different directions. And there was a strain in their relationship.

I don't know about Christine being turned into Clea. These are both very different women. And I don't want them to do the women are interchangeable thing.

I just wish they'd have had Clea as an important part of Stephen's life in the MCU.

You really didn't have room for Clea in the first Doctor Strange movie unless you do what that JMS revamp did and retool Clea as a disciple of the Ancient One.

If she is going to show up it might be as either a minor character in Multiverse or in a 3rd movie where Umar is the big bad.

[GenericUsername]

You really didn't have room for Clea in the first Doctor Strange movie unless you do what that JMS revamp did and retool Clea as a disciple of the Ancient One.

If she is going to show up it might be as either a minor character in Multiverse or in a 3rd movie where Umar is the big bad.

Well of course after they write it, there's no room for her. But there were definite ways they could have had her instead of Christine. Especially with Dormammu there.

[Albert1981]

I really liked this old article about magic systems. Rules, limitations and costs on magic can make stories SO much fun:

https://www.eastidahonews.com/2016/0...-magic-system/

[Xheight]

Classic Doctor Strange was portrayed as an 'eternal flame' oriented fellow once he became Master of the Mystic Arts/Sorcerer Supreme. His relationship with Clea was always borderline soap opera IMO. He loved her and considered her to be his one greatest love, but he also kept her at arms length because of his duties as Sorcerer Supreme. Clea's reactions to this over the years went from bafflement to sadness, to thinking that she was at fault because she wasn't human, to a period of happiness when they married, only to ultimately part with him once she realized that he was not being faithful to her while she was away in the Dark Dimension (Fearless Defenders). The FD story was so crazily out of character for Strange that I never viewed it as anything other than a convenient excuse for Marvel to break them up as a couple for good. Strange, for his part, nearly lost his mind from grief at one point when she left, but I personally always found the way that he would so often push her away emotionally while they were together to be troubling. Maybe the writers simply wanted to emphasize the gothic, brooding aspect of being Earth's mystical protector - It's Such A Burden That Strange Cannot Ever Truly Dare To Love!!OMG!! - but personally I thought it was weird.

As for them being in an open relationship...maybe once upon a time that might have been possible, but I genuinely can't see how post-memory wipe Clea would put up with Strange. That was such a horrible thing to do to her. Why would she ever take him back after that, even for casual hook-ups?

Interesting interpretation and I am with you (thinking Batman style single) up to the mind wipe you refer to. Sorry my reading must have lapsed but I don't remember when that happened? can you fill me and us in?

[John Venus]

You really didn't have room for Clea in the first Doctor Strange movie unless you do what that JMS revamp did and retool Clea as a disciple of the Ancient One.

If she is going to show up it might be as either a minor character in Multiverse or in a 3rd movie where Umar is the big bad.

I thought that was the direction they were going to go in the movie back when they were still in pre production. When Tilda Swinton was first announced to be in the movie I thought she was going to be either Clea, Agatha or one of the abstract beings from the MU. Would have made more sense to have Clea mentor Strange if they were reluctant to include the Ancient One in the movie.