Stephen Strange: Doctor Strange Appreciation 2021

[Stormy]

Clea's magic is most powerful when she is in the Dark Dimension, and especially so when she's crowned with the Flames of Regency. While in the Dark Dimension, she's defeated Umar and fought a long resistance war against Dormammu, so I expect that she could put up a good fight against these other characters if she was there...though why she'd want to fight them is beyond me. She's been shown to be more versatile and powerful than Wanda in at least one instance when they fought together in the past, but that was 'mutant hex power' Wanda, not 'uber-powerful, Nexus being, sometimes crazy, reality altering Wanda'. Poor Wanda is a character who's been written so erratically and with such drastically shifting power levels and abilities over the years that you'd have to define which version of Wanda you're talking about. Even so, she and Clea have been allies so I don't know why Clea would want to fight her. Off the top of my head, I can only recall her actually fighting against Doombots (not Doom himself) but she held her own quite well. On Earth, I suspect Clea would end up in a draw and retreat (if she was lucky) or else lose a protracted fight against Strange, Doom, or Wanda.

Edit to add: Another writer could come along at any time and change the scope and level of any character's powers, including Clea's. That's one of the interesting, but also unfortunate aspects of writing superhero type comics. Over the years in Strange's various series, she experienced a long term, natural growth in her skill level and magical knowledge because she spent years as Strange's disciple. He taught her everything he knew. A new writer could come along and give her a power boost or knock her power and abilities down to suit a story. That's why it's always hard to answer 'who could fight who' questions. Edit to add again: Aside from sheer power levels, when it comes to magic users fighting each other, strategy and just being able to out-maneuver or out-think your opponent matters as much simple force. That's why Strange spends so much time studying magic and spells, as well as learning how to wield amulets/etc. that have stored the power of major supernatural beings. When it comes to 'going toe to toe' in a fight with a magical opponent, being able to outwit them is often more important than merely being able to out-power them.

Oh yes I get it, thanks for enlightening me, Clea has been one of my favorite Marvel sorceresses, however I've just started reading more about her now, although she has cameos and most are in a supporting role, I think very interesting, a pity that Marvel just treat her as "Doctor Strange's Lover", I hope her arrival at the MCU will increase her popularity, at the same time, I'm afraid she's treated worse than in the comics.

[DigiCom]

While Magik probably has more canon support, I'd rather see Wiccan earn the mantle. He's fun, and I can identify with his anxiety issue.

[Clea]

While Magik probably has more canon support, I'd rather see Wiccan earn the mantle. He's fun, and I can identify with his anxiety issue.

I don't even want Wanda to be Sorceress Supreme unless it'd be an alt reality thing. Because I see her more as an equal to Strange. And it wouldn't really be a promotion. Plus he's had people go to her for help when he couldn't help, so her being in that role really wouldn't change much. It'd just remove him, which isn't fair to his fans.

Wiccan would be an interesting choice, but I'm not sure he's had enough training as of yet. As for Wanda, I agree that she's an equal to Strange and she has more than enough to do in her own storylines right now to add on being Sorceress Supreme. Being Sorcerer Supreme isn't about being the most powerful or fan favorite magic user. The Sorcerer Supreme is the protector of the Earth dimension who guards the dimension against other dimensional magical threats. In theory, Doom might be a good Sorcerer Supreme though maybe not at this point in time, given his actions in the Last Annihilation event. I dunno. I'm so very tired of Marvel taking the title away from Strange and then giving it back over and over. If they take the title away from Strange yet again, it'll just end up back with him eventually so why bother? The character is so popular in the comics and in the MCU right now that I have a hard time imagining Marvel doing anything to damage his status or take him off the page for a long time. I can see the possibility that they could let ST-era Strange hang around for a while as a way to bridge the MCU fans over to the comics (though that's not at all guaranteed), but I fully expect them to restore current Strange back to life and back to his title soon enough.

[GenericUsername]

Wiccan would be an interesting choice, but I'm not sure he's had enough training as of yet. As for Wanda, I agree that she's an equal to Strange and she has more than enough to do in her own storylines right now to add on being Sorceress Supreme. Being Sorcerer Supreme isn't about being the most powerful or fan favorite magic user. The Sorcerer Supreme is the protector of the Earth dimension who guards the dimension against other dimensional magical threats. In theory, Doom might be a good Sorcerer Supreme though maybe not at this point in time, given his actions in the Last Annihilation event. I dunno. I'm so very tired of Marvel taking the title away from Strange and then giving it back over and over. If they take the title away from Strange yet again, it'll just end up back with him eventually so why bother? The character is so popular in the comics and in the MCU right now that I have a hard time imagining Marvel doing anything to damage his status or take him off the page for a long time. I can see the possibility that they could let ST-era Strange hang around for a while as a way to bridge the MCU fans over to the comics (though that's not at all guaranteed), but I fully expect them to restore current Strange back to life and back to his title soon enough.

It should definitely be Strange's and have his friends in the magic community help him when needed. Not take his role.

[Reviresco]

I'm pretty sure the "new" Sorcerer Supreme is going to be young Dr Strange.

https://www.marvel.com/articles/comi...n-announcement

MacKay, now signed as an exclusive writer for Marvel Comics, promises that this final chapter will open the door to an exciting future for Doctor Strange and Marvel’s magical heroes.

Fills in the cover from "Who will be the new Sorcerer Supreme?" article

Who has the skills and command over the mystic arts to save the Marvel Universe? Find out in December’s DEATH OF DOCTOR STRANGE #4 when a hero steps up to resume the duties of the Sorcerer Supreme!

https://www.marvel.com/articles/comi...ctor-strange-4


Resume, meaning they were once the Sorcerer Supreme.

[DigiCom]

They either spoiled the reveal or are pulling a swerve. Either way, I'm not all that interested now.

[Clea]

I'm pretty sure the "new" Sorcerer Supreme is going to be young Dr Strange. ...

They either spoiled the reveal or are pulling a swerve. Either way, I'm not all that interested now.

I've been assuming they would do this on a temporary, short term basis before restoring contemporary Strange with all of his history intact. If they mean to simply erase Strange permanently and reboot him back to his earliest appearances...yikes. Wiping him out and start over again essentially from scratch is too drastic.

[Clea]

The preview for Death of Doctor Strange #2 is out. https://previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG211077?Prevue=1

Looks good! Regardless of how this series ends, I'm looking forward to reading each issue of this story.

Spoiler: spoilers:

Bats sniffs an important clue!

end of spoilers

[Reviresco]

The preview for Death of Doctor Strange #2 is out. https://previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG211077?Prevue=1

Looks good! Regardless of how this series ends, I'm looking forward to reading each issue of this story.

Spoiler: spoilers:

Bats sniffs an important clue!

end of spoilers

LOL! Bats is stealing this show!

I'm amazed at how well Garbett is capturing Ditko Strange.

[Frontier]

The preview for Death of Doctor Strange #2 is out. https://previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG211077?Prevue=1

Looks good! Regardless of how this series ends, I'm looking forward to reading each issue of this story.

Spoiler: spoilers:

Bats sniffs an important clue!

end of spoilers

Well, people wanted a more classic Strange back .

[Clea]

Well, people wanted a more classic Strange back .

I like Classic Strange so I'm totally on board with having ST-era Strange strolling around for a while. I do expect current Strange to be restored eventually but for now I'm fascinated to see how this death mini is going to unfold issue-by-issue.

In the meantime of course, Strange is still alive, bopping through time having adventures and saving the universe over in the fab Defenders mini-series. It's such a great time to be a Doctor Strange fan. We have these two very different but entertaining mini-series in the comics, some interesting animated appearances in the What If series on Disney, and new MCU films on the horizon. It's all good.

[GenericUsername]

Yeah I hope he gets his memories back. It's gonna be pretty weird if he, Wanda and Spidey all come back but are made younger and don't remember anything. They'll have to get their memories restored somehow.

[Clea]

LOL! Bats is stealing this show!

I'm amazed at how well Garbett is capturing Ditko Strange.

I love Bats so much. I hope he's in every issue. And I am really loving Garbett's version of Ditko's Strange. We are so lucky to have such a talented creative team working on this book.

[Clea]

The Death of Doctor Strange #2 is out. Non-spoilery review: The issue is quite entertaining. It has action and also funny bits, and it sets the scene for the next issue and the overall story arc. For me, reading it feels like watching an old fashioned movie serial adventure. You can almost hear the breathless narrator at the end: "Zounds!!! Who the heck are all these people!!??!! Will our hero, Strange-Tales-Strange defeat these monstrous villains and still have time to solve his own murder before his time on earth runs out!!??!! Will Strange-Tales-Strange pet Ghost-Dog-and-Best-Good-Boy Bats before the mini-series ends!!??!! Stay tuned for the next exciting installment of The Death of Doctor Strange!!!!!!

Spoilery comments:
spoilers:

Magic using 'warlords' from other dimensions are showing up on earth, not to invade the earth dimension, but because they are fleeing from 'The Three Mothers,' described as the mothers of all mystical threats. They hunt and kill magic users across all dimensions to feed 'the child' (not yet seen). They arrive on Earth in pursuit of Clea, who fled the Dark Dimension to get assistance from Doctor Strange. She almost immediately realizes that this is not actually Doctor Strange. The Avengers (Iron Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Thor) show up to help defend the Sanctum, but they all get thoroughly beaten by the Mothers and are left in a heap. The Mothers sense even bigger and better magical prey nearby and so they depart the Sanctum temporarily, with a quippy 'we'll be right back to finish you off, muwahaha!' leaving everyone dumbfounded in their wake. The issue sets up the storyline for the whole mini-series very well but still leaves the core mystery underlying Strange's murder unsolved. Is the bigger/better magical morsel The Three Mothers sensed the same person who murdered Doctor Strange or someone/something else? It's made clear that ST-era Strange does not have the same abilities or memories as contemporary Strange. Clea immediately recognizes that it isn't Doctor Strange at all. Speaking of Clea, I loved her entrance. Strange calls her 'the girl from the Dark Dimension' which is a nice call back to the fact that he didn't know her name for the longest time. He's surprised when Captain America tells him that Clea is his wife. For the moment it appears that MacKay is either ignoring or glossing over the last time we saw Clea in Doctor Strange #17, when Strange seemingly wiped her memories. I'm interested to see if this will come into play in this series, or if MacKay is just going to ignore it. (I'm all for ignoring it or retconning it.) There was another nice call back when Strange declares that he is Master of Black Magic!!! and Mordo laughs in the background at how dorky Strange's original title was. I think the issue used humor effectively to emphasize how different this manifestation of Strange is from the contemporary Sorcerer Supreme that we all know and love. He's amazed that Captain America(!) is calling him. He offers his condolences to Rogers on the death of his friend, Doctor Strange. He tells everyone that they must summon this timeline's Sorcerer Supreme immediately to protect them - and everyone just stares at him like, 'Oh heck. We are so doomed.' LOL. Mordo sulks like a baby because he didn't get to kill Doctor Strange, so now he has to settle for second best and murder whoever murdered Doctor Strange instead. (Imagine having that as one of your life goals. Today: wake up, have some coffee, murder the heck out of Doctor Strange, go see the latest exhibit at the Met, have a nice lunch somewhere, plot to take over the world, hang out with my evil acolytes for a while, hit the sack early to get my evil beauty sleep so I can arise refreshed in the morning and continue to plot to take over the dimension, etc. Mordo is so predictable.) The Avengers show up with a classic badass AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!!!OMG!!We Are So Superhero-y!!! panel but then promptly get their butts kicked. The sequence was hilarious (to me anyway - I have a seriously bent sense of humor) but also served to emphasize just how powerful and dangerous The Three Mothers are. These new baddies just flattened four powerhouse Avengers in mere moments. The Three Mothers stand around and gloat as all Marvel supervillains tend to, and then they flounce off with a 'C'ya later, losers!' farewell. We're not one step closer to solving the mystery of who murdered Doctor Strange, and we still don't know how Strange-Not-Strange intends to wrap up that mess. I'm eagerly awaiting the next issue.

end of spoilers

[DigiCom]

I would be more impressed by this storyline if spoilers:

it didn't feel like a retread of the Aaron run. 1. Start with Stephen doing a minor bit of sorcery work. 2. Turn the Cloak into a scarf for a few panels to make Stephen look stylish. 3. Introduce a never-before-seen mystical threat that wants to eliminate magic. 4. Have sorcerers flee to Earth to let them know. 5. Gather a bunch of heroes together to talk, but ultimately be ineffective. 6. Nerf Strange so he can't handle the situation. 7. Profit?

end of spoilers