As a long time Dr. Strange fan, I was not quite so in love with it.

First, I agree, the art was great. What's more, I think the idea of going back to the very early days where people came to him with problems of a mystic nature i interesting. It was for a long time a forgotten facet of the character, even though it was his earliest stories, and some of the more interesting one-and-dones later.

The character seemed off to me though. Staying that he thought a female character dug him and starting it off with the phrase "I enjoy the Hell out of it" seemed very un-Doc Strange to me.

What's more the the group of friends around a bar seemed alien by the nature of its normality (if that makes any sense) and then there was Scarlet Witch calling him a dog and his talk of ex's wanting to kill him. Aside from the not very good Fraction Defenders, I have no idea where that came from. Are there no more loners in the Marvel Universe?

When I saw the cover with no grey-temples I was afraid of this. I'm pretty sure that they youthified Dr. Strange.

Then again, it is only the first issue and he is one of my top 5 characters (for real), and I'm an addict, so I'll see what transpires.

Going back to his roots. Getting down to his essence. Juxtaposed with this next point...




Loosening him up. Making him more human. Redefining him a little.

Doc spent a lot of his career in a monogamous relationship with Clea. What would he be like in the absence of that? Might he not be the supernatural Captain Kirk, finding romance in nearly every alien dimension? It at least seems plausible to me. The opportunity would certainly be there. He's our dimension's mightiest sorcerer, proving himself supremely formidable on a daily basis. Among those who know and care, he would be a rock star, and rock stars get the babes.

He is to magic what Tony Stark is to engineering and capitalism. As Tony so often has a lovely lady on his arm, why wouldn't Stephen?

I agree, of course, that we haven't seen this before. But maybe we should have.




Of everything in the issue, this scene made the most sense of all. Look what came of it. Stephen learned of a new menace. Surely that's the point of these gatherings: to share information.




Could Secret Wars have caused this?




At least you like the art!

Not even counting his recent Clea troubles, Strange ranks up there with Tony when it comes to women. Even if you don't count the Into Shamballa story, where he (for the job) bedded 100 women at once in a massive orgy by duplicating himself, his list is about a dozen women.



Agreed. It was a great scene. I hope we see more like it with other magicians.



I don't think they youthified him, really. He still seems approximately middle-aged.

I didn't just like the art. I may have misinterpreted this, but there seemed to be a defensive feel to going back to that early idea of people coming to him with problems. I like the idea. It was always underutilized part of the character. I think there is a lot of potential for good character work.

AS for the justifications of him being "a dog," I'm going to need some examples to jog my memory here. I don't remember there being very many women in his life other than Clea before 2005. Even after that all I remember was The Night Nurse (despite the fact that as far as I know the marriage never officially ended), but that was monogamous, right? I never really enjoyed Bendis' New Avengers, so I came and went... also didn't like how he portrayed the Doc.

Yes, there was that scene in the excellent GN Into Shamballa. However, if I remember correctly (and I may not it has been a few years since I read it) there was a a spiritual reason behind it. Even if I'm remembering incorrectly, one night of debauchery hardly would have an army of exes out to get you.


I suppose an inter-dimensional Captain Kirk is plausible, except that Doc's whole origin is about not being as stuck in the material world. While not entirely giving them up, earthly pleasures would hols less sway.

As for the bar giving light to a new threat... is the Orb of Agamotto no longer up to snuff? Was there no way to do it that didn't seem like it was out of a sitcom? And wasn't he an alcoholic? It made him seem a little to much like a Spider-Man or Daredevil type.

And I absolutely think they are youthifying him. Certainly in look, I miss those grey temples. What's more the dialogue seemed like something a 30 year old might say.

Essentially, my issue comes down to a fundamental disagreement with something one of you two said, that Dr. Strange is the mystical Tony stark. I disagree, he is the polar opposite. Tony is about the material and Doc the immaterial. Doc's origin is about overcoming arrogance, Tony has been arrogant since 1963 and only slows when he is consumed by the drink. Tony is social, Doc is a bit more introverted. Many of these things made him unique among the Marvel universe. And admittedly they have been tugging on that for almost a decade.

He just feels too much like a superhero who uses magic more than Dr. Strange, which may seem odd to say, but it all goes with that uniqueness I talked about.

I understand the appeal of the comic, I just don't personally view it as Dr. Strange. But if this is what sells, its what is going to be.

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Essentially, my issue comes down to a fundamental disagreement with something one of you two said, that Dr. Strange is the mystical Tony stark. I disagree, he is the polar opposite. Tony is about the material and Doc the immaterial. Doc's origin is about overcoming arrogance, Tony has been arrogant since 1963 and only slows when he is consumed by the drink. Tony is social, Doc is a bit more introverted. Many of these things made him unique among the Marvel universe. And admittedly they have been tugging on that for almost a decade.

I agree with all of that. The thing that seperated Stephen Strange from the superhero community at large was that he operated in a secretive world none of them were much aware of, and certainly did not comprehend. Superheroes meeting the supernatural naturally tend to be like oil meeting water - Iron Man could scarecely believe in Thor when they met, and even now it is possible Tony Stark rationalises him as an exotic form of Alien rather than otherdimensional divine being.
Doctor Strange takes on the threats no one else is aware of, and no one else can deal with, a private war that has raged since time began...

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The character seemed off to me though. Staying that he thought a female character dug him and starting it off with the phrase "I enjoy the Hell out of it" seemed very un-Doc Strange to me.

What struck me as I read the book was what gradually developed to be the strong suggestion that Stephen Strange is putting on an act when as Doctor Strange, this accounting for his formal manner and speech when in action as Sorceror Supreme, and the much more loose manner and slang when in civilian dress. It struck me as odd, along with several other elements. But I did enjoy the book on the whole and can accept it as a modern telling of the character attempting to reach for an audience who might not be all that familiar... this character has had a lot of rough handling in the last decade or so and this story did feel like a return to the confident and able Doctor Strange he should always be.

I do think You are a little too critical on Strange's characterisation as what typified him in the 1970s heyday wasnt what typified him in the mid-80s and 90s. Roy Thomas' Sorceror Supreme series took steps to loosen him up considerably as a person, giving him some sense of irony and a recommitment to engage with the world outside the Sanctum and walk the streets meeting people. I can see all of this in Jason Aaron's treatment, and while there are occasions that feel misjudged his wanting to be out of the house and walk the streets as a normal man is not at all unprecedented. Like any other character he has changed and grown since his heyday in the 70s, that was a decade with a whole different set of interests and social standards forming it, and as subtly ifferent as he is now to as he was then he will no doubt be just as different come the 2020's and 2030's. Marvel try to keep all of their characters contemporary, and I would not be at all surprised if the classic costume is a thing of the past again come Benedict Cumberbatch and his movie...

I have no problem with Doc relaxing or wanting to engage the world. He is supposed to be a man, so logically that would still be a part of what makes him tick. I simply think that, for example, those ways of connecting with the greater world should be a bit more unique. Which if nothing else could be much more interesting to see, let alone more true to the character

The idea of "enjoying the Hell out of it" does not bother me as much in concept as the words chosen, and that admittedly is a minor pet peeve. In and of itself I simply shrugged it off.

However, the increased use of such things gave me the distinct impression they were trying to make him younger than he had bee. That is more than a pet peeve with me.

The hints and statements of him being a womanizer bugged me, they seem absolutely antithetical to the character.

In the end it isn't the ideas of relaxing him, or fleshing out, but rather the way it was done. I didn't realize until it was stated on this very thread but he did seem like Tony Stark with magic, but with a social life that looks more like a street level character. Evolution is great, I'm just not sure that is what this is.

As I said though, I do intend to keep buying, and I hope it will get more in line with the character I love, at least how I know him. Worst case scenario, I always have the option to resist the addict urge and not buy.


As for you remark on 2020 or 2030. All I can say is that IO salute you on your optimism on the fate of the medium.

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However, the increased use of such things gave me the distinct impression they were trying to make him younger than he had bee. That is more than a pet peeve with me.

You're right with that observation, but then just about all Marvel and Dc frontline characters have been slightly deaged over the last 15 years, Tony Stark and Peter Parker are noticably more youthful looking than in decades past for example, but this is the nature of the medium and the way entertainment in general has moved. Whether Doctor Strange should be deaged a few years like they have been is not all that important I feel, but the gray temples do form an important part of his visual appearance and serve to make him distinctive.
Being somewhat flexible where costume is concerned I can accept a different dress code for the Doctor, I am a fan of Mark Buckinghams work on the series in the mid 90s, but what balances out such a change is that it is still clearly Stephen Strange in this new costume - and that is why the gray temples are important - Identification and a distinctive look.

Eh. It seemed very much like things I always say. And I'm 50. I've seen other people say he's acting "hipster," but I don't get that either. Everything he says seems rather normal... and not especially youthful. In fact, just the opposite. "Youthful" would have been a lot more colloquial and slang, which he definitely does not sound like in any panel of this issue.



Strange has never been an introvert at all. Just because he holes himself up in his sanctum doesn't make him an introvert. His very beginnings were that of a flamboyant surgeon, and while he did get a lesson in humility, those are still his roots. He does still have that arrogance. I never said he was the mystical Tony Stark, but his track record has left a rather big trail of women that rivals Stark's. This is nothing new, and actually you do not see any of that here.

When you're talking serial characters with decades of history, almost all of them have a long history of girlfriends. Even hard luck Peter Parker has a long string of beautiful women... it's a far cry from the characterization here as someone who is "a dog" and has so many casual relationships that his friends rag him about it. Women have been attracted to him, but it doesn't mean he's a Barney Stinson.

Plus, I think it doesn't really fit his basic nature which Aaron seems to miss. His origin wasn't just learning humility, It's a spiritual redemption story: it was learning obtaining enlightenment, sacrifice, and empathy. The whole point is he moved from a shallow, self-interested, self-indulgent person and transformed. The personality given here, from using his magic to read if a girl is into him, proclaiming he needs a drink, they miss a fundamental point of the character.

Just because Wanda said something doesn't mean anything. "Dog" does not mean "womanizer" anyway.



I don't agree much. Even after his "enlightenment" (not even fond of that word, because it really wasn't-- it was just a simple lesson, and not one he really learned to perfection), Strange was never opposed to a bit of self-indulgence or self-interest. His arrogance was still an ongoing problem afterwards. He's a drinker; no big deal there. He's still entitled to have fun, unwind, etc. It was a horrible mistake that he was ever cast as an alcoholic or had any problem at all with alcohol. He's also been flippant with minor magic in the past like. No harm or foul. And that was more of a tactic than anything else.

First, I can't think of any way other than womanizer that that statement could have been interpreted. However, even if there were, the statement of having a number of exes willing to kill him is a bit less ambiguous in my minds.

While I do agree with the statements made, yes enlightened was a bit of a heavy choice of words (I still understood though) although Doc did achieve enlightenment in Strange Tales vol. 2, and since enlightened just means awoken, it may not be too far off.

Once again, if you are going to assert things like he had scads of women or that the arrogance was an ongoing problem, please site examples BEFORE Bendis got his hands on him. I'm not trying to be a dick here, but if you don't jog my memory the discussion will just go around in circles. I finished my Doc Strange collection a few years ago, and have not gotten around to rereading them all yet, it is quite a time consuming choice. I'm sure you understand. Please, I'm not even asserting your wrong per se I just need the memory jog.

The only times I really remember Doc acting in any way problematic was in the early Defender appearances where he gathered Namor and Hulk, but even then it was just because he could see the larger picture and understood the urgency.

In his own stories, I remember him copping an attitude a few times, but it really didn't feel like arrogance.


When it comes to fun, he is absolutely entitled, and it is great opportunity for good character work. The problem is that what constitutes fun is a subjective concept. When writing a character it is important to focus on what fits the character, his history and his personality.


Introverted? Yeah. Roy Thomas went as far as to say he was anti-social and that was why he was okay with putting him in the Defenders. Now depending on how you read anti-social you may agree, but keep in mind anti-social does not always mean no one in you life, and I'm sure Roy didn't mean that. Just thought I would nip that problem in the bud.


I personally think the problem was giving him to Fraction who loves to write the hipster who has trouble growing up character and Bendis who just wanted a magic guy for the Avengers. Then came the domino effect. Not that he was written as an alcoholic which I'm pretty sure is what they were going for back in his 1963 origin. I mean stereotypical Bowery bum usually reads drunkard and that was the shorthand they were going for.


Have a splendid day, sir... or I guess ma'am. I don't really know given the nature of this.

Glad somebody sees what I'm going for. Thanks for chiming in.


Have a nice day.

I'm not a big fan o de-aging in general. Since Peter was young in the first place I tend to be a little more lenient, until they start really pushing the youth button. It is especially frustrating since most of the new characters are younger, so why even do it.

Dematteis once said when asked a about a similar topic that diversity means diversity in age too. I started reading Doctor Strange as a teenager, and part of what I liked is that he wasn't bogged down by those typical problems in my life or in the mot too distant future. I have never and assume never will have any problems with older characters. I actually find when characters are allowed to at least act older than that 15-25o or 30 year sweet spot they are much richer and more intriguing.

when it comes to the costume and the scarf... I don't really hate it, but I do need to get used to it. The lack of grey temples though bugs mee a lot since, as you say they are iconic.