Stephen Strange (Earth-22145)

Doctor Strange
Name	Stephen Strange
Current Alias	Doctor Strange
Aliases	Doctor Spooky
Affiliation and Relationships
Group Affiliation	Avengers; EMO KIDS
Marital Status	Single
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Hair	Black
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Human
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-22145
Personal Information
Identity	No Dual
Citizenship	American
Occupation	Sorcerer Supreme; former surgeon
Base of Operations	Abbey Formerly Avengers Tower, New York City
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Zach Bush, Scott Wittbecker, Rony Kahana, Shanon Ingles, Patrick Kevin Day, Matthew Garcia-Dunn
First	Marvel's Midnight Suns: Prequel Shorts S1E01 (October 31, 2022)
First	Marvel's Midnight Suns: Prequel Shorts S1E01 (October 31, 2022)

History

Origins

Stephen Strange started his career of saving lives in a very different way: as a world-renowned, but arrogant, brain surgeon. Tragically, he was forced to retire from medicine after a near-fatal car accident mangled the nerves in his hands. Unable to perform the precision work that had consumed his life, Stephen ultimately sought healing from the Ancient One, a mystical master of reality-bending magic.

Realizing that the Ancient One could not fix his hands, Strange instead poured himself into studying the arcane arts, and after years of tutelage under his mentor became as adept with sorcery as he had once been with surgery, becoming the Sorcerer Supreme. As Doctor Strange, Stephen now acts as a sage, occult advisor, and Master of the Mystic Arts, using otherworldly magic and ancient artifacts to protect the world from devastating arcane threats.

Prophecy of the Midnight Sun

With the Prophecy of the Midnight Sun, Strange went to meet with Caretaker who revealed to him that the Parchment of Power resided in the hands of Johnny Blaze and that she intended to reassemble the Midnight Suns. After an incident that claimed Agatha Harkness' life, Stephen took Wanda Maximoff as his apprentice. Disturbed by the return of Lilith, Strange and Iron Man went to see Johnny Blaze for the page of the Darkhold in his possession, but he was not happy to see them. Strange explained that the Prophecy of the Midnight Sun was nearing and asked for Blaze's help. Johnny refused, angry about how things turned out the last time he helped Strange. A Soulless Demon appeared behind Iron Man and Doctor Strange, and Blaze blasted it with his flaming shotgun before riding off on his motorcycle.

Iron Man received an urgent message from Bruce Banner warning of an imminent danger to the Sanctum Sanctorum, prompting Strange to conjure a portal that transported them to find Scarlet Witch already there. Following Captain Marvel's dramatic entrance through the ceiling, another portal manifested, allowing Hydra forces to pour through while Strange directed Scarlet Witch to activate the Wards of Protection. Before they could react, another portal opened to reveal Lilith herself. Strange began casting a defensive spell but was violently thrown backward and magically silenced by Lilith. Wanda managed to catch Lilith off guard with a blast of chaos magic, creating an opportunity for Strange to break free from his magical restraints and cast a banishment spell that hurled Lilith back through the portal.

Doctor Strange confirmed that the ancient prophecy was now unfolding, and that Lilith was growing stronger as the Midnight Sun approached, opening another portal that Wanda recognized and refused to enter. Strange let her to remain at the Sanctum to maintain the protective Wards while he, Captain Marvel, and Iron Man ventured through, arriving at the Abbey within a pocket dimension near Salem, Massachusetts. The Avengers were introduced to the Midnight Suns and the Caretaker. After Doctor Strange explained how dire the situation had become, he and Caretaker agreed on what needed to be done. Strange and Caretaker entered the tomb of Hunter, Lilith's child and the only one to have ever defeated her. They began a resurrection spell which triggered an unexpected reaction from Hunter's mystical Collar, alarming Caretaker until Nico Minoru stepped forward and successfully completed the resurrection. Hunter's final memories remained unclear, and Strange mentioned a spell that could restore the missing memories.

Sorcerer without Sanctum

The Mirror Table indicated that Wanda was in danger at the Sanctum. Strange couldn't create a direct portal because of Lilith's mystical interference, so Magik offered to forge a pathway through Limbo instead. Hunter, Strange, and Blade arrived in New York City and encountered Hydra forces whom they dispatched, finding out that they were enhanced by Lilith's magic which made them more formidable than ever before. Just then, the protecting wards have failed and the Sanctum was engulfed by the shell created from the Venom symbiote. Strange attempted to dispel the supernatural growth, inadvertently triggering a reaction with Hunter's Collar, which summoned Venom from the tendrils. Strange, Blade, and Hunter fought Venom until Spider-Man appeared, distracting Venom long enough to lead the creature away from the group and allow them to escape.

With no way to get inside the Sanctum, they had to return to the Abbey. Strange was deeply concerned by the loss of his home, his collection of mystical knowledge, and his apprentice Wanda all in one fell swoop, and his own predictive powers had diminished as the result of his connection to the Sanctum. Strange made himself a new home in the Abbey, where he developed a friendship with the Hunter. Stephen made use of the Abbey's mystical Forge powered by an ancient demon Babs, though he had to share his workspace with Tony who annoyed Stephen and called him "Doctor Spooky". Strange also joined the Esoteric Mystical Order, Knights of Intellect and Dimensional Spiritualism (EMO KIDS) club established by Nico Minoru.

After Hunter, Nico, and Magik snuck out to try and rescue Wanda only to barely escape with their lives, Doctor Strange was upset about not being asked to help and insisted the attempt might have succeeded with his involvement. Magik retorted that the Suns distrusted Strange because he had made no effort to recover Wanda since her capture. Strange and Tony created a suit for Hunter provide protection against Venom's energy signature, which allowed Hunter, Strange, and Spider-Man to break into the Sanctum. Inside, Lilith stood next to Banner - whom she turned into her follower - near a device containing green energy. Strange warned Lilith that with the Sanctum's power returning to him, her plundering of his secrets would cease. But that was never the plan, and Banner activated the device, causing energy to erupt outward and creating a breach in the floor from which green energy spheres emerged. Lilith and Banner left through a portal as the Sanctum began to disintegrate, and despite Strange's insistence that he could stabilize it, both Spider-Man and Hunter recognized the folly and pulled him from the building moments before the Sanctum exploded. Outside, they witnessed a pillar of green light extending skyward, which Hunter and Strange identified as a manifestation of Chthon. Strange later explained that the Sanctum's destruction had removed the shield protecting the world from mystical threats that were now penetrating through.

Chasing the Parchment

Caretaker disclosed that Blaze served as guardian of the Parchment of Power, the final page of the Darkhold, to the rest of the team. Tony belived that the Gamma Accelerator could potentially destroy the Parchment, and Doctor Strange highlighted the significant implication: destruction of the Parchment would render the Prophecy's fulfillment impossible. Caretaker, Tony, and Doctor Strange explained to Robbie Reyes how he would summon Johnny Blaze. Strange revealed that the Cuffs of Cyttorak would enable the Mirror Table to access the link Robbie shared with the Spirit of Vengeance and locate Blaze. Upon Strange attaching the Cuffs, Robbie transformed into Ghost Rider, causing the Mirror Table's surface to display mystical flames as Blaze briefly appeared before vanishing.

Blade detected an unfamiliar scent within the Abbey grounds and suspected it might have been a Barghest, a legendary demon dog. Doctor Strange confirmed that Blade's instincts were correct and expressed belief that the creature might serve as the key to penetrating the barrier surrounding Banner's Gamma Lab, requesting that Hunter capture it alive. Hunter, Blade, and Wolverine spotted the Barghest before a red portal; when it turned and escaped the portal remained open, prompting them to pursue. They found themselves inside a Hydra facility, confirming Strange's suspicions that the Barghest was a product of Hydra experiment rather than a mystical entity. Having subdued the Barghest, the heroes transported it back to the Abbey, where Strange had it secured.

Strange explained that the barrier surrounding the lab permitted only demons to pass, suggesting he could utilize the Barghest to disguise Hunter as a demon. Strange presented the finished suit the following day, explaining that it should enable Hunter to penetrate the demonic barrier. Hunter was able to reach Wanda and purify her from Lilith's corruption. Tony completed the Gamma Accelerator and briefed the team on his strategy destroy the Parchment of Power with an enormous ray gun, despite Doctor Strange's continued objections that this was impossible. The plan failed, with the Parchment falling into Lilith's hands.

The Midnight Sun

Using Hydra intel, Hunter was able to retrieve the Godkiller, a weapon the hilt of which appeared composed of orichalcum — the same Atlantean metal as Hunter's collar — an apparent impossibility that warranted Doctor Strange’' examination. Strange theorized the artifact possessed potential to significantly impact their conflict with Lilith. The next day, everyone observed the ominous green sky outside as Doctor Strange announced the prophecy’s impending fulfillment and Caretaker added that Chthon approached their dimension. Strange noted the Godkiller's reaction to Hunter’s presence, deducing that only Hunter could wield it. Strange revealed that the Godkiller blade contained a fragment of Chthon himself — sliced off when humanity had banished him from their dimension — noting that Hunter's unique connection to the weapon repelled Strange's own attempts to handle it. Caretaker confirmed her suspicions about the blade's origin, though Strange suggested Lilith might intend to use it to complete Chthon rather than destroy him.

Strange and others researching a way to find Hunter.

Strange joined the others for a final confrontation with Lilith, who revealed that her intention was not to free Chthon but to destroy him. The Godkiller was used to stab Darkhold, banishing Chthon once more, though Lilith and Hunter were both trapped inside the book itself. In the aftermath, Wanda, Agatha, Strange, and Caretaker immersed themselves in various mystical tomes and ancient documents, expressing frustration as they discovered little information regarding events following the Prophecy of the Midnight Sun's fulfillment.

Trivia

• Voiced by Rick Pasqualone.

See Also

• 3 appearance(s) of Stephen Strange (Earth-22145)
• 29 image(s) of Stephen Strange (Earth-22145)
• 1 item(s) used/owned by Stephen Strange (Earth-22145)