Doctor Strange knows the heroes in the Marvel Universe all share a weakness against magic and he is making himself available for help.
Warning: contains spoilers for Doctor Strange #1!Doctor Strange’s peers in protecting Earth may have incredible powers, skills, and intelligence, but most of them do not have a clue when it comes to dealing with magic. Stephen Strange is one of the Marvel Universe’s only defenders against magical threats, and he’s now making his expertise available to his peers.
In Doctor Strange #1 by Jed MacKay, Pasquale Ferry, Matt Hollingsworth, and Cory Petit, the recently resurrected Doctor Strange begins his new role as a consulting doctor because the heroes of Earth, “are brave, they are clever…but almost to a one, magic confounds them.” Now that he is no longer carrying the burden of being Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme alone (as he is sharing it with his wife Clea), he can offer his expertise to heroes as the circumstances arise. In the issue, he consults Luke Cage, Daredevil, and Spider-man, showing the demand for his magical know-how is as high as ever. This begs the question of why are there not more magical heroes in the Marvel Universe.
Doctor Strange Is Now Taking House Calls
In this story, Doctor Strange calls attention to Earth’s lack of heroes that understand magic. Even a genius like Reed Richards refuses to deal with magic because he does not understand it. This is cause for alarm because they are grossly outnumbered by villains versed in the magical arts. There has been little done to recruit those to join the ranks of magical defenders in the Marvel Universe, and the few magical heroes that do exist tend to be morally ambiguous and unreliable, leaving Doctor Strange as the only true master of the mystic arts left to defend the world against magic.
The Avengers & Fantastic Four Need a Wizard
The Avengers have battled against wizards like Morgan le Fay for decades, yet there is not one truly magical character in their ranks, except for the time when Doctor Strange was a member. Thor has magical villains in Loki and Enchantress, but he’d rather throw his hammer at them rather than understand magic. Heroes who practice the mystic arts are few and unreliable. Daimon and Santana Hellstrom are known to fight for good or evil depending on the situation. Scarlet Witch spent years fighting alongside the Avengers before eventually destroying the team.
As it stands, the current Sorcerer Supreme and wife of Doctor Strange, Clea, is on Earth’s side. She is, however, from the Dark Realm and her motivations are typically clear but do not always align with those of the heroes. Perhaps when the students of Strange Academy graduate they will be worthy magical allies and spread their talents throughout all the heroes teams in the Marvel Universe, but before that happens Doctor Strange‘s work as a consultant will be perhaps his most important one.
