Doctor Strange

Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange, best known under his alias Doctor Strange, is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963). A former doctor, Strange serves as the Sorcerer Supreme, the primary protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats. Debuting in the Silver Age of comics, the character has been featured in several eponymous comics series and adapted in a variety of media including video games, an animated television show, and films.

In 2012, Doctor Strange was ranked 33rd in IGN's list of "The Top 50 Avengers".^[1] A Marvel Studios live-action film adaptation starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role is set for a 2016 theatrical release.

Publication history

Creation

Artist Steve Ditko and scriptwriter Stan Lee have described the character as having been originally the idea of Ditko, who wrote in 2008, "On my own, I brought in to Lee a five-page, penciled story with a page/panel script of my idea of a new, different kind of character for variety in Marvel Comics. My character wound up being named Dr. Strange because he would appear in Strange Tales."^[2] In a 1963 letter to Jerry Bails, Lee called the character Ditko's idea, saying,

Well, we have a new character in the works for Strange Tales (just a 5-page filler named Dr. Strange) Steve Ditko is gonna draw him. It has sort of a black magic theme. The first story is nothing great, but perhaps we can make something of him-- 'twas Steve's idea and I figured we'd give it a chance, although again, we had to rush the first one too much. Little sidelight: Originally decided to call him Mr. Strange, but thought the "Mr." bit too similar to Mr. Fantastic -- now, however, I remember we had a villain called Dr. Strange just recently in one of our mags, hope it won't be too confusing!^[3]

Early years

Doctor Strange debuted in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963),^[4] a split book shared with the feature "The Human Torch". Doctor Strange appeared in issues #110–111 and #114 before the character's eight-page origin story in #115 (Dec. 1963). Scripter Lee's take on the character was inspired by the Chandu the Magician radio program that aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System in the 1930s.^[5] He had Doctor Strange accompany spells with elaborate incantations; though these often referenced established mythological figures, Lee has said he never had any idea what the incantations meant and used them simply because they sounded mystical and mysterious.^[6] Ditko showcased surrealistic mystical landscapes and increasingly vivid visuals that helped make the feature a favorite of college students at the time. Comics historian Mike Benton wrote,

The Dr. Strange stories of the 1960s constructed a cohesive cosmology that would have thrilled any self-respecting theosophist. College students, minds freshly opened by psychedelic experiences and Eastern mysticism, read Ditko and Lee's Dr. Strange stories with the belief of a recent Hare Krishna convert. Meaning was everywhere, and readers analyzed the Dr. Strange stories for their relationship to Egyptian myths, Sumerian gods, and Jungian archetypes.^[7]

Splash page for Dr. Strange Master of Black Magic! in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963), the character's first appearance. Art by Steve Ditko

"People who read Doctor Strange thought people at Marvel must be heads [i.e. drug users]," recalled then-associate editor and former Doctor Strange writer Roy Thomas in 1971, "because they had had similar experiences high on mushrooms. But I don't use hallucinogens, nor do I think any artists do."^[8] Originating in the early 1960s, the character was a predictor of counter-cultural trends in art prior to them becoming more established in the later 1960s, according to comic historian Bradford W. Wright: "Dr. Strange remarkably predicted the youth counterculture's fascination with Eastern mysticism and psychedelia."^[9]

As co-plotter and later sole plotter in the Marvel Method, Ditko took Strange into ever-more-abstract realms. In a 17-issue story arc in Strange Tales #130-146 (March 1965-July 1966), Ditko introduced the cosmic character Eternity, who personified the universe and was depicted as a silhouette filled with the cosmos.^[10] As historian Bradford W. Wright described,

Steve Ditko contributed some of his most surrealistic work to the comic book and gave it a disorienting, hallucinogenic quality. Dr. Strange's adventures take place in bizarre worlds and twisting dimensions that resembled Salvador Dalí paintings. Inspired by the pulp-fiction magicians of Stan Lee's childhood as well as by contemporary Beat culture, Dr. Strange remarkably predicted the youth counterculture's fascination with Eastern mysticism and psychedelia. Never among Marvel's more popular or accessible characters, Dr. Strange still found a niche among an audience seeking a challenging alternative to more conventional superhero fare.^[9]

Golden Age artist/writer Bill Everett succeeded Ditko as artist with issues #147-152, followed by Marie Severin through #160 and Dan Adkins through #168, the final issue before the Nick Fury feature moved to its own title and Strange Tales was renamed Doctor Strange.^[11] Expanded to 20 pages per issue, the Doctor Strange solo series ran 15 issues, #169-183 (June 1968-Nov. 1969), continuing the numbering of Strange Tales.^[11][12] Thomas wrote the run of new stories, joined after the first three issues by the art team of penciler Gene Colan and inker Tom Palmer through the end. Colan drastically altered the look of the series, as Thomas recounted: "…he had his own view of what these other worlds should look like. Everyone else sort of copied Ditko's versions of those extra dimensions, which were great and wonderful. When Gene came on, he didn't feel a real rapport with that, I guess, so his extra dimensions tended to be just blackness and smoke and things of that sort… Sometimes it was a little strange for a dimension Doc Strange had been to before to look different when drawn by Gene, but nobody complained."^[13] Thomas recalled in 2000 that he returned to work a day late from a weekend comic book convention to find that Marvel production manager Sol Brodsky had assigned Doctor Strange to writer Archie Goodwin, newly ensconced at Marvel and writing Iron Man. Thomas convinced Brodsky to allow him to continue writing the title. "I got very possessive about Doctor Strange," Thomas recalled. "It wasn't a huge seller, but [by the time it was canceled] we were selling the low 40 percent range of more than 400,000 print run, so it was actually selling a couple hundred thousand copies [but] at the time you needed to sell even more."^[14]

After plans were announced for a never-realized split book series featuring Doctor Strange and Iceman, each in solo adventures,^[15] Strange next appeared in the first three issues (December 1971-June 1972) of the quarterly showcase title Marvel Feature. He appeared in both the main story detailing the formation of superhero "non-team" the Defenders,^[16] and the related back-up story. The character then starred in a revival solo series in Marvel Premiere #3-14 (July 1972-March 1974).^[17] This arc marked the debut of another recurring foe, the entity Shuma-Gorath, created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Frank Brunner. In issues #8-10 (May–September 1973), Strange was forced to shut down the Ancient One's mind, causing his mentor's physical death. Strange then assumed the title of Sorcerer Supreme.^[18] Englehart and Brunner created another multi-issue storyline featuring sorcerer Sise-Neg ("Genesis" spelled backward) going back through history, collecting all magical energies, until he reaches the beginning of the universe, becomes all-powerful and creates it anew, leaving Strange to wonder whether this was, paradoxically, the original creation. Stan Lee, seeing the issue after publication, ordered Englehart and Brunner to print a retraction saying this was not God but a god, to avoid offending religious readers. The writer and artist concocted a fake letter from a fictitious minister praising the story, and mailed it to Marvel from Texas. Marvel unwittingly printed the letter and dropped the retraction.^[19]

Doctor Strange #177 (Feb. 1969), the debut of Strange's short-lived new look. Cover art by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer

The Marvel Premiere series segued to the character's second ongoing title, Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts, also known as Doctor Strange vol. 2, which ran 81 issues (June 1974-February 1987).^[20] Doctor Strange #14 featured a crossover story with The Tomb of Dracula #44, another series which was being drawn by Gene Colan at the time.^[21] In Englehart's final story, he sent Dr. Strange back in time to meet Benjamin Franklin.^[22] In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Englehart's work on Doctor Strange with artists Brunner and Colan ninth on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels."^[23]

1980s

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

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

1990s

Strange was returned to his own series, this time titled Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme, which ran 90 issues (November 1988-June 1996).^[24] The initial creative team was writer Peter B. Gillis and artists Richard Case and Randy Emberlin, with storylines often spanning multiple issues. Strange lost the title of "Sorcerer Supreme" in issues #48-49 (December 1992-January 1993) when he refused to fight a war on behalf of the Vishanti, the mystical entities that empower his spells. During this time the series became part of the "Midnight Sons" group of Marvel's supernatural comics,^[25][26] and Doctor Strange found new sources of magical strength in the form of chaos magic,^[27] as well as a magic construct he used as a proxy.^[28] He would form the Secret Defenders with a rotating roster of heroes,^[29] and reunite with the original Defenders. Strange regained his title in Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #80 (Aug. 1995).

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

The character was featured in several limited series. The first was Doctor Strange: The Flight of Bones #1-#4 (February–May 1999), with a series of spontaneous combustions by criminals instigated by old foe Dormammu. Strange was the catalyst for the creation of a trio of sorceresses in Witches #1-#4 (August–November 2004). The Strange limited series (November 2004-July 2005) by writers J. Michael Straczynski and Samm Barnes updated the character's origin.^[30] Another limited series, Doctor Strange: The Oath #1-5 (December 2006-April 2007), written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Marcos Martin, focused on Strange's responsibilities as sorcerer and doctor.

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

2000s

Strange appeared as a supporting character for the bulk of the 2000s. He appeared regularly in The Amazing Spider-Man under J. Michael Straczynski, before being cast into a time loop by Baron Mordu. He later appeared on and off in The New Avengers, where he was stated as being part of the secret group known as the Illuminati to deal with future threats to Earth. Ultimately Strange joined the team and allowed them to use his home as a base after the events of Civil War, which he sat out. Doctor Strange was critical of the federal Superhuman Registration Act and aided the anti-registration Avengers team led by Luke Cage.^[31]

During the Bendis run, Doctor Doom attacked the Avengers and manipulated the Scarlet Witch into decimating the mutant population; Doctor Strange's failure to stop the latter and his failure to realize Doom's hand in the former caused him to start to doubt his abilities. After he was forced to use dark magic to confront an enraged Hulk,^[32] followed by further use of dark spells to save the New Avengers from the Hood's supervillain army,^[33] Strange renounced his status as Sorcerer Supreme as he felt that he was no longer worthy of it, with the Eye of Agamotto passing the mantle to Brother Voodoo.^[34]

He was also featured in The Order, which spun out of the 2000 Defenders revival, and the Indefensible Defenders mini-series.

2010s

Doctor Strange appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010-2013 The New Avengers series, from issue #1 (August 2010) through the final issue #34 (Jan. 2013).^[35] Renamed Doctor Voodoo, the newly appointed Sorcerer Supreme sacrifices himself in order to stop the powerful mystical entity Agamotto from reclaiming the Eye.^[36] The following issue, a guilt-ridden Strange rejoins the New Avengers, and offers the team his servant Wong to act as their housekeeper. He and Wong are seen working with improvised teams of Avengers in later incidents.^[37]

Strange eventually regains his position of Sorcerer Supreme when the ghost of Doctor Voodoo's brother, Daniel Drumm, attempts to attack him by possessing various Avengers. He manages to defeat him with the use of dark magic without being corrupted by it. The spirit of the Ancient One appears to Strange to inform him that his willingness to fight for the world, even when not officially Sorcerer Supreme, coupled with his ability to use black magic when necessary and avoid its corruptive influence, has proven that he deserves the mantle.^[38]

He continues to appear in the pages of the 2013 incarnation of New Avengers, which focuses on the Illuminati as they deal with "Incursions", cases where two parallel Earths collide and cause the destruction of both universes. As such, the group have engaged in considerable acts of moral ambiguity in dealing with each impending incursion. In addition, Doctor Strange has become the host to a dangerous demon after offering himself up in order to save Princess Phan, a child who the demon was possessing. The demon ultimately possessed Strange when fighting a group of heroes from a world threatened by an incursion and kills most of those heroes, resulting in the Illuminati having to stop him.

Eight months into the future, it is revealed that Doctor Strange later becomes the leader of the Black Priests.^[39]

After the final incursion merges the remaining worlds into one, Doctor Strange acts as the right-hand man of Doctor Doom, who has become the ruler and god of this world after erasing all recollection of the separate realities that existed before this one, accepting the status quo as Doom is actually very good at his assigned job. However, when the Cabal emerge into this new world from a "life-pod" they used to escape the destruction and kill one of the Thor Corps who acted as Doom's security, Strange is forced to open a second pod and release the surviving heroes of Earth-616, with Black Panther and Mister Fantastic particularly shocked to learn of Strange's alliance with Doctor Doom. After he explains the situation to his former allies, Strange banishes the heroes of Earth-616 to distant corners of Battleworld when Doom finds them and kills a Phoenix Force-enhanced Cyclops. When Strange informs Doom that, regardless of his power, he will always fear Reed Richards, Doom kills Strange in an outrage.^[40] Although Doom attempts to claim that the heroes were the ones who killed Strange,^[41] the displaced heroes are eventually able to rally the various realms against Doom,^[42] culminating in Reed taking Doom's powers and restoring the multiverse, starting with recreating Earth-616,^[43] also restoring Doctor Strange to life.

Recalled issue

Jackson Guice's cover for Doctor Strange #15 (1990) used Christian music singer Amy Grant's likeness without her permission,^[44] leading to a complaint saying that the cover gave the appearance that she was associating with witchcraft. A US District Court sealed an out-of-court settlement between Grant and Marvel in early 1991, with a consent decree in which Marvel did not admit to liability or wrongdoing.^[45][46][47]

Fictional character biography

Dr. Stephen Strange is a brilliant but egotistical doctor who only cares about wealth from his career. However, a car accident shatters the bones in his hands. The damage effectively ends his ability to conduct surgery, since his hands now tremble uncontrollably. Too proud to take on a teaching job, Strange desperately searches for a way to restore his hands, consulting doctors, homeopathic treatments, and traveling around the world to remote regions for exotic cures, to no avail.

After he exhausts his funds, he becomes homeless, forcing him to perform "back alley" medical procedures for cash. Depressed and still searching, Strange locates a hermit called the Ancient One (who is actually the Earth's Sorcerer Supreme) in the Himalayas. The Ancient One refuses to help Strange because of his selfishness, but senses a good side that he attempts to bring to the surface. He fails, but Strange's goodness appears when he discovers the Ancient One's disciple, Baron Mordo, attempting to kill the old man. After a confrontation with Mordo leads to him being shackled with restraining spells preventing him from either attacking Mordo or warning the Ancient One, Strange desperately and selflessly accepts the Ancient One's offer to become his apprentice to have some hope of helping the old man. The Ancient One, pleased at Strange's profound change of heart, accepts the westerner and promptly frees him from the restraining spells while explaining he was aware of Mordo's treachery all along. Strange soon becomes Mordo's most enduring enemy,^[48] as the Ancient One teaches the doctor the mystic arts.^[49] After completing his training, Strange returns to New York and takes up residence within the Sanctum Sanctorum, a townhouse located in Greenwich Village which is guarded by Strange's personal servant Wong.^[50]

As the Ancient One's disciple, Strange encounters the entity Nightmare,^[50] and other mystical foes before meeting Dormammu, a warlord from an alternate dimension called the "Dark Dimension". Strange is aided by a nameless girl, later called Clea,^[51] who is eventually revealed to be Dormammu's niece.^[52] When Strange helps a weakened Dormammu drive off the rampaging Mindless Ones and return them to their prison, he is allowed to leave unchallenged.^[53]

Powers and abilities

Strange is a practicing magician who draws his powers from mystical entities such as Agamotto, Cyttorak, Ikonn, Oshtur, Raggadorr, and Watoomb, who lend their energies for spells. Strange also wields mystical artifacts including the Cloak of Levitation which enables him to fly,^{[note 1]} the Eye of Agamotto whose light is used to negate evil magic,^[49] the Book of the Vishanti which contains knowledge of white magic,^[54] and the Orb of Agamotto which is used as a crystal ball.^[55]

In addition to his magical abilities, he is trained in several martial arts disciplines, and has shown proficiency with numerous magically conjured weapons including swords and axes. Strange was a skilled neurosurgeon before nerve damage impaired his hands.^[49]

Doctor Strange is described as "the mightiest magician in the cosmos"^[56] and "more powerful by far than any of your fellow humanoids" by Eternity, the sentience of the Marvel Universe.^[57] He holds the title of Sorcerer Supreme from 1973 (with the death of the Ancient One)^[18] to the present, except during an interruption from 1992^[58] to 1995.^[59] He relinquishes the title once again in 2009,^[34] but reclaims it in 2012 when he proves himself willing to protect the world even without the title.^[38]

Other versions

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

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

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

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

Two months before the debut of the sorcerer-hero Doctor Strange, Stan Lee (editor and story-plotter), Robert Bernstein (scripter, under the pseudonym "R. Berns"), and Jack Kirby (artist) introduced a criminal scientist and Ph.D. with the same surname (called "Carl Strange"). Making his sole appearance in the Iron Man story "The Stronghold of Dr. Strange" in Tales of Suspense #41 (1963), the character gained mental powers in a freak lightning strike.^[60]

Collected editions

Doctor Strange stories have been collected into separate volumes.

• Essential Doctor Strange
  • Vol. 1 collects Strange Tales #110-111, #114-168; 608 pages, December 2001, ISBN 0-7851-2316-4
  • Vol. 2 collects Doctor Strange #169-178, #180-183; The Avengers #61; Sub-Mariner #22; The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #126; Marvel Feature #1; Marvel Premiere #3-10, #12-14, 608 pages, March 2005, ISBN 0-7851-1668-0
  • Vol. 3 collects Doctor Strange vol. 2, #1-29, Doctor Strange Annual #1; and The Tomb of Dracula #44-45, 616 pages, December 2007, ISBN 978-0-7851-2733-8
  • Vol. 4 collects Doctor Strange vol. 2, #30-56; Chamber of Chills #4; Man-Thing #4, 564 pages, June 2009, ISBN 978-0-7851-3062-8
• Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange
  • Vol. 1, collects Strange Tales #110-111, #114-141, 272 pages, September 2003, ISBN 0-7851-1180-8
  • Vol. 2 collects Strange Tales #142-168, 304 pages, September 2005, ISBN 0-7851-1737-7
  • Vol. 3 collects Doctor Strange #169-179, 256 pages, The Avengers #61; March 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2410-1
  • Vol. 4 collects Doctor Strange #180-183; Sub-Mariner #22; The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #126; Marvel Feature #1; Marvel Premiere #3-8, 272 pages, January 2010, ISBN 978-0-7851-3495-4
  • Vol. 5 collects Marvel Premiere #9-14; Doctor Strange vol. 2 #1-9, 272 pages, April 2011, ISBN 978-0-7851-5022-0
  • Vol. 6 collects Doctor Strange vol. 2 #10-22; Annual #1; The Tomb of Dracula #44, 288 pages, July 2013, ISBN 978-0-7851-6786-0
• Lee, Stan (September 1974). Origins of Marvel Comics. Marvel Comics. ISBN 978-0-7851-5615-4.  includes Doctor Strange stories from Strange Tales #110, 115, and 155, 254 pages.
• Stan Lee Presents Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts. Pocket Books. May 1978. ISBN 978-0-671-81447-2.  collects Doctor Strange stories from Strange Tales #111, 116, 119–120, 123, 131–133, 132 pages.
• Lee, Stan. Bring on the Bad Guys: Origins of Marvel Villains. Marvel Comics. ISBN 978-0-7851-0597-8.  includes Doctor Strange stories from Strange Tales #126–127, 253 pages, October 1976, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 978-0671223557
• Lee, Stan (November 1978). Marvel's Greatest Superhero Battles. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-24544-3.  includes Doctor Strange stories from Strange Tales #139–141, 253 pages.
• Englehart, Steve (2002). Doctor Strange: A Separate Reality. Marvel Comics. ISBN 978-0-7851-0836-8.  collects Marvel Premiere #9-10, 12-14; Doctor Strange vol. 2, #1–2, 4–5, 176 pages.
• Dr. Strange Vs. Dracula: The Montesi Formula. Marvel Comics. October 2006. ISBN 978-0-7851-2244-9. , collects Doctor Strange vol. 2 #14, 58–62; The Tomb of Dracula #44, 160 pages, October 2006
• Dr. Strange & Dr. Doom: Triumph and Torment. Marvel Comics. September 3, 2013. ISBN 978-0785184546. , collects Doctor Strange vol. 2 #57; Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment GN, 168 pages
• Dr. Strange: Into the Dark Dimension HC. Marvel Comics. July 2011. ISBN 978-0785155058. , collects Doctor Strange vol. 2 #68-74, 168 pages,
• Dr. Strange: Don't Pay the Ferryman. Marvel Comics. October 2015. ISBN 978-0785193258. , collects Doctor Strange vol. 2 #75–81, 167 pages, October 2015
• Infinity Gauntlet Aftermath includes Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #36, 352 pages, September 2013, ISBN 978-0785184867
• Doctor Strange: The Oath. Marvel Comics. June 6, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7851-2211-1.  collects Doctor Strange: The Oath #1–5,
• Dr. Strange: Strange Tales. Marvel Comics. October 26, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7851-5549-2.  collects Strange Tales vol. 2, #1–19, 240 pages, ISBN 978-0-7851-5549-2
• Waid, Mark (2010). Doctor is Out!. Marvel Comics. ISBN 978-0-7851-4425-0. 

In other media

Television

Doctor Strange as seen in Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994).

• Dr. Strange appears in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "7 Little Superheroes".
• Doctor Strange makes a cameo in the 1990s X-Men animated series episode "The Dark Phoenix Saga (Part 3)".
• Doctor Strange appears in the Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994) episode "Doctor Strange", voiced by John Vernon. Doctor Strange and Wong help Spider-Man rescue Mary Jane Watson from Baron Mordo and Dormammu, and retrieve the Wand of Watoomb. After Spider-Man leaves, Doctor Strange detects the presence of Madame Web. Baron Mordo and Dormammu reappear in the "Sins of the Father" arc where Dormammu brings the Venom symbiote back to Earth and guides Venom and its offspring, Carnage, to their respective hosts.
• Doctor Strange appears in The Incredible Hulk episode "Mind Over Anti-Matter", voiced by Maurice LaMarche. He helps She-Hulk at the time when an unnamed evil entity has possessed Hulk turning him into the Dark Hulk.
• Doctor Strange appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episodes "Enter Dormammu", "A Brat Walks Among Us", "Night in the Sanctorum", "Invader from the Dark Dimension", and "Election of Evil", voiced by Roger Rose.^[61]
• Doctor Strange is featured in the series, Ultimate Spider-Man, voiced by Jack Coleman. He appears in the season one episode, "Strange", where he helps Spider-Man and Iron Fist at the time when Nightmare has placed everyone in Manhattan in a deep sleep. In season two, he appears in his astral form in the episode "Journey of the Iron Fist" while visiting K'un-L'un. He then appears in the season three episode "Cloak and Dagger" where he helps Spider-Man and Dagger when Dormammu has possessed Cloak into capturing Iron Fist and White Tiger.
• Doctor Strange appeared in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. episode "Stranger in a Strange Land",^[62] voiced again by Jack Coleman.^[63] He is mentioned to be an old friend of Hulk. In order for A-Bomb to perfect his magic tricks, Hulk hooked him up with Doctor Strange. In the episode "Planet Monster" Pt. 2, Doctor Strange was among the superheroes that help the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and the Avengers fight the forces of the Supreme Intelligence. He provides a barrier to protect the heroes from the Kree warship's lasers.
• Doctor Strange appears in the Avengers Assemble episode "Widow's Run", voiced again by Jack Coleman. In order to determine what to do with the Infinity Gems in the Avengers' possession, Black Widow convinces them to turn to Doctor Strange for help since she had a vision that Doctor Strange wouldn't be tempted by the powers of the Infinity Gems. Doctor Strange tells the Avengers that he has been forewarned about the Infinity Gems' powers which are causing danger to reality and even affecting the mystic realms. When Dormammu and the Mindless Ones emerge from the portal, Doctor Strange helps the Avengers fight them until Black Widow uses the powers of the Infinity Gems to send Dormammu and the Mindless Ones back to the Dark Dimension. After Black Widow broke free from the Infinity Gems' influence, Doctor Strange was present when Thanos arrived and claimed all the Infinity Gems which he places in his Infinity Gauntlet before leaving. In the episode "Avengers Underground", Doctor Strange is seen trapped in a special container by the Squadron Supreme as he tries to break out. In the episode "Avengers World", Doctor Strange appears on a holographic globe as one of the heroes Iron Man and Captain America consider potential Avengers.
• Doctor Strange appeared in several episodes of Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, voiced by Yasunori Masutani.

Film

Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange from the 2016 film Doctor Strange.

• Peter Hooten starred as Dr. Stephen Strange in the live-action TV movie Dr. Strange, which premiered on September 6, 1978. In this film, Stephen Strange was a psychiatry resident rather than an experienced neurosurgeon. John Mills appeared as Thomas Lindmer, whom director-writer Philip DeGuere added to the story as a stand-in for the Ancient One.^[64]
• The 1992 film Doctor Mordrid began development as a Doctor Strange adaptation, but the studio's license expired before production began.^[65][66] The project was rewritten to change the main character's name and slightly alter his origin.^[65]
• In the animated direct-to-DVD film Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme, released August 14, 2007, Strange (voiced by Bryce Johnson) travels to Tibet, seeking to heal his hands after a car accident. Training with the Ancient One and his pupils, Strange faces the emergence of Dormammu.^[67] Its broadcast premiere occurred November 1, 2008 on Cartoon Network.
• Doctor Strange has a brief non-speaking cameo in the film Planet Hulk. He and the members of the Illuminati regretfully inform Hulk of the decisions made to ensure his removal from Earth.
• Doctor Strange is scheduled to be released on November 4, 2016.^[68] Various incarnations of a Doctor Strange film have been in development since the mid-1980s until Paramount Pictures acquired the film rights in April 2005 on behalf of Marvel Studios.^[69] In June 2010, Marvel Studios hired Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer to write Doctor Strange.^[70] In June 2014, Scott Derrickson was chosen to direct the film,^[71] while Jon Spaihts was hired to rewrite the script.^[72][73] In December 2014, Benedict Cumberbatch was chosen to portray the titular character.^[73] Filming began in November 2015 in Nepal before moving to the UK later in the month.^{[74][75][76][77]}

Video games

• Doctor Strange acts as Spider-Man's advisor in cutscenes in The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin, on the Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear.
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance voiced by James Horan.^[78]
• Doctor Strange appears in Hsien-Ko's ending in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. He later appears as a playable character in the updated version of the game, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.^[79] He is voiced by Rick Pasqualone.^[80]

Doctor Strange appears as a playable character in

• Marvel Super Hero Squad Online
• the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance
• the 2012 fighting game Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth
• Marvel Heroes
• Lego Marvel Super Heroes,^[81] with James Horan reprising the role
• Marvel Contest of Champions for iOS and Android beginning in March 2015

• Doctor Strange is a playable character in Lego Marvel's Avengers, voiced by Chris Cox.

Novels

• In 1979, Pocket Books published Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts: Nightmare, by William Rotsler.^[82][83]
• In the 1968 book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfe writes about Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters' interest in comics and specifically references Strange.^[84]
• In the 2006 novel Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours by author Jim Butcher, Strange appears briefly as a fellow superhero from whom Spider-Man seeks assistance when struggling against three vengeful siblings of Morlun.

Notes

References

External links

• Doctor Strange at Marvel.com
• Doctor Strange: Sanctum Sanctorum
• The Lesser Book of the Vishanti by Catherine Yronwode