DR. STRANGE: This old Sanctum

[starwolf_oakley]

Roger Stern had a series back in 1998 called MARVEL UNIVERSE that was going to cover the hidden history of the Marvel Universe. It was good, but only lasted 7 issues. Stern found out while he was plotting a story about Dr. Strange's first night back in New York City after he's finished his training with the Ancient One. And now Marvel is printing the story.
Preview from Newsarama.
http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album_view.php?gid=2912&page=1



They are a little vague about the time of this story. It is accepted that Dr. Strange is older than he looks. John Byrne's LOST GENERATION maxi-series also used this, that Dr. Strange did his mystical stuff in a simple business suit and hat instead of a blue tunic.

Comments

[uadlika]

Is the wrecked car Dr. Strange's or the rejected patient?

[bewareofgeek]

Strange's. A car accident has been part of his origin since the beginning.

[crinos]

Yeah, he was in a car wreck, and he sustained nerve damage to his hands which robbed him of the delicate touch of a surgeon.

And then he became a sorcerer. (Because his hands may not be up to performing surgery, but making arcane mystical gestures to shape the cosmos is alright.)

[starwolf_oakley]

IMHO, they kind of overdid the damage to his hands in the DR. STRANGE animated DVD. In that, he could barely use a pencil correctly.

BTW, are Strange's hands now fixed?

[jcbaggee]

No. In the recent Strange mini he was having difficulty forming complex hand gestures, citing his reduced power level rendering his hands difficult to use. I think they hand wave that his magics can alleviate, but not cure the symptoms.

[crinos]

Another example: In Dr. Strange: The Oath, Wong gets cancer, and Strange vows to operate himself if he has too; he then notices his hand shaking and realizes that's not an option.

Later, he has a real shaky grip when he's trying to shoot an eldritch abomination with Hitler's gun.

[psychopathicus_rex]

There's an earlier, story, however, where he has to operate on someone - it might have been Black Panther - and while he's really shaky and nervous about it, he does just fine. I guess it depends on the circumstances.

[greenmask]

trying to shoot an eldritch abomination with Hitler's gun.

Wow.

[espanolbot]

Apparently the gun that Hitler shot himself with (technically didn't happen in the Marvel Universe as the Human Torch burnt him to death instead) has a lot of magical power.

Makes sense, I guess.

[greenmask]

I guess it kinda does.. yeah.

[bewareofgeek]

They've been very inconsistent about that bit. But the idea that he healed his hands with magic (and if he loses magic his hands are useless again) is fairly new.

I personally think it's missing the point. Yes, magic fixed his hands... that was the trivial bit. More importantly, discovering magic cured his spirit... the arrogant bastard seen in the flashback of scan #2 ceased to exist. (Well, he's still a bit arrogant, but not to the same degree :) )

That was his real weakness, not the nerve damage.

[starwolf_oakley]

It's Dr. Strange's wrecked car. In fact, I think the three panels are a reference to Dr. Strange's origin from the STRANGE TALES story.

[thelazyreader]

Was the old doctor always such a douche or was it a retcon?

[fredneil.livejournal.com]

Always. The dialogue in those panels is taken from his origin.

[tsunamiwombat]

Old Doctor was always a douche. Part of his origin is he was a Douche who learned humility and concern for his fellow man through tragedy.

[starwolf_oakley]

Maybe that should be the hook of the Dr. Strange movie: What if a self-absorbed douche gained humility and concern for his fellow man?

[tsunamiwombat]

It was. Dr. Strange animated movie covers this.

[badficwriter]

I miss when the House was its own character and could defend itself. In Civil War, it was just a minor illusion over it, nothing special about it at all.

[skalja]

Seriously? That's so cool.

[bewareofgeek]

"Character" may be pushing it. It definitely had a guiding intellect, but it never had dialogue. Best example I can recall (and a cool story in it's own right) is Doctor Strange (v2) #56.

[skalja]

Sort of like the TARDIS in Doctor Who, then? (The intelligent but speechless timeship that carries all the characters around.) I'd call that a character!

[bewareofgeek]

Very like, in fact, although it doesn't move. ;)

[starwolf_oakley]

The inside moves, though. Most people who visit the inside of the mansion get annoyed that the rooms and furniture move around when they aren't looking.

[venatosapiens]

Better then stuff moving when they are looking, I should think.

[bruinsfan]

That's the one from the Paul Smith run where Mordo's lackeys masqueraded as a news crew filming Strange's interview with Morgana Blessing, right? Awesome story.

[bewareofgeek]

That's the one.

[bruinsfan]

Yeah. Bendis had a horde of third-rate villains easily breaking into it during that endless Hood storyline in New Avengers. I liked it much better back in the days when Urthona was forced to snatch it (foundations and all) through interstellar space because that was easier to do than break its protective enchantments