Doctor Strange #4-5: Sorcerer Supreme of the Galaxy, Part 4-5

[superboyprime]

"I'm okay with a Doctor Strange who can do kind of whatever I need him to in a story. I just need him to have a good reason for doing it and I need there to be consequences for what he does, but I don't need to catalog his powers and spells down to the last detail." - Mark Waid

Comments

[coldfury]

"The Two Doctors" Oye. That's a bit on the nose, isn't it?

So if Silver Surfer is Slott's take on Doctor Who, is this Mark Waid's?

[starwolf_oakley]

This could be Mark Waid doing "Hey, there's another guy named Stephen Strange!" The Captain Marvel comics did "here are three other people also named Billy Batson, here's what happens when they shout 'Shazam!'"

[lbd_nytetrayn]

...I would be genuinely interested in seeing that.

[cygnia]

Back in ancient times, wasn't an early Iron Man villain called "Doctor Strange" as well?

[lordultimus]

He only showed up once. And he looked nothing like Stephen.

[long_silence]

It's nice to see Majesdanians outside of the Runaways, and it's cool to see them playing a role on the cosmic stage. Kinda wish that Waid had established their own magic.

[lordultimus]

I thought they were, like, 99% dead, so it kind of makes sense that they wouldn't show up too much.

[cainofdreaming]

Eh, broccoli still shows up on the plate every so often too.

[thanekos]

" I'm hoping it's not Counter-Earth me. He's an ass. "

[captainbellman]

I like to picture Stephen shaving himself with The Sword Of Strange before going out to battle.

"It's also a lawnmower. It's a lot of things. Get off my back."

[cainofdreaming]

So, it was Strange all along? Only with a nose this time.

[crimsonmoonmist]

"It's not a sword... It's a scalpel"
Okay, THAT is a great line considering the character.
It's always nice when writers remember a hero's secondary skills that aren't necessarily fueled by super powers.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Agreed. Loved that part.

[zylly]

I like Waid's take on Strange a lot. He's still got some arrogance, but he's also willing to be humble when required.

And it's good to see Strange starting to operate at something close to full power again.

As for the secret of the two Stranges, well, it resolves something long left hanging...

[sapphite]

"I like Waid's take on Strange a lot. He's still got some arrogance, but he's also willing to be humble when required."

I don't know, that feels like missing the point of Strange's origin story. Strange has already been humbled. His arrogance was something he overcame after his tutelage with the Ancient One. Having arrogance be his default state is like writing Spider-Man as a reckless, self-centered glory-seeker who is only responsible when required.

An arrogant man that can still be humbled seems more like Tony Stark's characterization. There'a already too many overlaps between Tony and Stephen, we really don't need to force more.

[zylly]

I think there's a slight difference in the two, though you are right that there's been quite a lot of overlap, especially in recent years.

But even then, I think Strange has a certain amount of "I'm the only one who even knows about this stuff, so listen to me." Which is a bit different from Tony's "I'm smarter than everyone else, so I get to make decisions for everyone."

Or perhaps arrogance isn't quite the best word, but I'm not sure what other word really applies here. Strange has a weight of responsibility few other characters do and a certain depth of knowledge of things which would drive lesser men mad. That affects a person.