Creation Artist
Steve Ditko and writer
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." In a 1963 letter to
Jerry Bails, Lee called the character Ditko's idea, saying:
Early years Doctor Strange debuted in
Strange Tales #110 (July 1963), a split book shared at the time with the feature "
The Human Torch" and later with the feature "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." Doctor Strange appeared in issues #110–111 and #114 before the character's eight-page
origin story in #115 (December 1963). His origin was later retold in
Doctor Strange #169 (February 1968). 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. He had Doctor Strange accompany spells with elaborate artifacts, such as the "Eye of Agamotto" and the "
Wand of Watoomb", as well as mystical-sounding vocabulary such as "Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!" or "Shades of the Seraphim!" Although these names were sometimes evocative of established mythological or theological beings, such as the Biblical Seraphim, Lee has said he never had any idea what the incantations meant and used them simply because they sounded mystical and mysterious. 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: '' #110 (July 1963), the character's debut. 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." Originating in the early 1960s, the character was a predictor of trends in the art prior to them becoming more established in the later
counterculture of the 1960s. As historian Bradford W. Wright described: and
Tom Palmer. As co-plotter and later sole plotter in the
Marvel Method of scripting, 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.
Golden Age of Comic Books artist/writer
Bill Everett succeeded Ditko as an 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. Expanded to 20 pages per issue, the
Doctor Strange solo series ran 15 issues, #169–183 (June 1968 – November 1969), continuing the numbering of
Strange Tales. 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. After plans were announced for a never-released split book series featuring Doctor Strange and
Iceman, each in solo adventures, 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 team the
Defenders, and the related solo back-up story. The character then starred in a revival solo series in
Marvel Premiere #3–14 (July 1972 – March 1974). This arc marked the debut of another recurring foe, the entity
Shuma-Gorath, first alluded to by writer Gardner Fox in Marvel Premiere #5 and later fully imagined by writer
Steve Englehart and artist
Frank Brunner, who took over as the regular creative team starting with
Marvel Premiere #9. Englehart and Brunner collaborated closely on the stories, meeting over dinner every two months to discuss the series, and their run became known for its psychedelic visuals and plots. In issues #8–10 (May–September 1973), Strange is forced to shut down the Ancient One's mind, causing his mentor's physical death. Strange then assumes the title of Sorcerer Supreme. 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. According to Frank Brunner, he and Englehart concocted a fake letter from a fictitious minister praising the story, and mailed it to Marvel from Texas. Marvel unwittingly
printed the letter in
Doctor Strange #3 and dropped the retraction. Due to the growing number of Doctor Strange readers,
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. In Englehart's final story, he sent Strange back in time to meet
Benjamin Franklin.
1980s Strange met his allies
Topaz in #75 (February 1986) and
Rintrah in #80 (December 1986). The series ended on a cliffhanger as his home, the Sanctum Sanctorum, was heavily damaged during a battle. Among the losses were 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 and the character's adventures transferred to another split-book format series.
Strange Tales vol. 2, #1–19 (April 1987–Oct. 1988) was shared with street heroes
Cloak and Dagger. This new Doctor Strange series resolved Strange's quest to reclaim his power and missing artifacts, and resurrected 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). The initial creative team was writer
Peter B. Gillis and artists
Richard Case and
Randy Emberlin, soon replaced by returning writer Roy Thomas and artist Butch Guice, with storylines often spanning multiple issues. Strange lost the title of "Sorcerer Supreme" in issues #48–49 (Dec. 1992 – Jan. 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. Doctor Strange found new sources of magical strength in the form of
chaos magic, as well as a magic construct he used as a proxy. He would form the Secret Defenders with a rotating roster of heroes, and reunite with the original Defenders. Strange regained his title in
Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #80 (August 1995). Strange appeared 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. 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 has appeared in four
graphic novels:
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 Mordo. He later appeared on and off in
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 the 2006 "
Civil War" storyline, 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. During
Brian Michael Bendis' time as writer,
Doctor Doom attacked the Avengers and manipulated the
Scarlet Witch into eliminating most of the
mutant population. Doctor Strange's failure to recognize Doom's hand in the former and to stop the latter caused him to start to doubt his abilities. After he was forced to use dark magic to confront an enraged
Hulk, followed by further use of dark spells to save the New Avengers from the Hood's supervillain army, Strange renounced his status as Sorcerer Supreme, as he felt that he was no longer worthy of it. The Eye of Agamotto passed the mantle on to
Jericho Drumm. He was also featured in
The Order, which spun out of the 2001
Defenders revival, and the
Indefensible Defenders mini-series.
2010s Doctor Strange appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010-2013
The New Avengers series.
Jericho Drumm, now newly appointed Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Voodoo, sacrifices himself to stop the powerful mystical entity Agamotto from reclaiming the Eye. A guilt-ridden Strange rejoins the New Avengers, and he offers the team his valet Wong to act as their housekeeper. Strange eventually regains his position of Sorcerer Supreme, but is possessed by a demon and becomes leader of the
Black Priests. After the various Marvel universes merge into one, Doctor Strange acts as righthand man of Doctor Doom, who has become the ruler of this world after erasing all recollection of the previous separate realities that existed. Circumstances force Strange to open a pod that releases the surviving heroes of the original Marvel continuity, known as
Earth-616. Doom kills Doctor Strange. In 2015,
Jason Aaron and
Chris Bachalo teamed up for the fourth volume of
Doctor Strange. A new character, reluctant librarian Zelma Stanton, agrees to reorganize Strange's magical library.
Jericho Drumm returns, and the series and a spinoff,
Dr. Strange: Last Days of Magic, sees such characters as Medico Mistico,
Magik, Scarlet Witch, Mahatma Doom, Professor Xu,
Monako, and Alice Gulliver. With the laws of magic fundamentally altered, and with the loss of his former resources, Doctor Strange is forced to depend on his own physical skills and inventive use of his few functional spells. He eventually no longer has access to most of his former spells or his levitating cape. During the "
Infinity Countdown" storyline, Doctor Strange goes on a space mission. He encounters
Super-Skrull who has the
Time Stone. After defeating Super-Skrull, Doctor Strange claims the Time Stone. Doctor Strange then tracks down the Mind Stone and finds it in
Turk Barrett's possession as Turk manages to evade him. When
Black Widow's clone arrives seeking out Doctor Strange where she wants to dispose of the Space Stone, he does not want to take it as he knows what would happen if they are in proximity. Using a magic spell, Doctor Strange speaks to the holders of the
Infinity Stones and requests a parley to reform the
Infinity Watch. He states to
Adam Warlock, Black Widow's clone, Captain Marvel,
Star-Lord, and Turk Barrett that they need to safeguard them from such calamities even if one of them is
Thanos. ==Fictional character biography==