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111-660: In its first appearance, the Fantastic Four recover the Ultimate Nullifier with help from Uatu the Watcher and threaten to use it on Galactus, forcing him to retreat. The Nullifier later appears in " The Infinity War ". Quasar tries to use it in an attempt to destroy the Magus , who had acquired the collective power of five cosmic cubes and a gauntlet containing five of the six Infinity Gems. The Reality Gem

222-750: A Chitauri fleet. Afterwards, Sam brings the Nullifier to the Watcher for safekeeping. During the " Original Sin " storyline, an evolved Mindless One obtains the Ultimate Nullifier and uses it to commit suicide despite the Thing trying to talk it down. The " Reckoning War " event reveals that the Ultimate Nullfier was originally created by the Watchers during a war with the Prosilicans, and

333-702: A griffin to guard the Book. The sorcerer known as the Ancient One traveled back in time to c. 4000 BC, defeated the griffin, and returned to the 20th century. The Ancient One would remain the book's owner, despite a brief loss when the dark wizard Kaluu returned the Book to the Griffin, until he deemed his student, Doctor Strange, worthy of taking it. Doctor Strange keeps the book in his townhouse library in New York City 's Greenwich Village . He briefly lost

444-549: A warlord from an alternate dimension called the "Dark Dimension" who wishes to conquer Earth. Strange is aided by a nameless girl, later called Clea , who is eventually revealed to be Dormammu's niece. When Strange helps a weakened Dormammu drive off the rampaging Mindless Ones and return them to their prison, he is allowed to leave the Dark Dimension unchallenged. In The Unbelievable Gwenpool #3, Strange encounters Gwendolyn Poole , who explains herself to be from

555-415: A 1963 letter to Jerry Bails , Lee called the character Ditko's idea, saying: Well, we have a new character in the works for Strange Tales (just a 5-page filler named Dr. Strange) Steve Ditko is gonna draw him. It has sort of a black magic theme. The first story is nothing great, but perhaps we can make something of him-- 'twas Steve's idea and I figured we'd give it a chance, although again, we had to rush

666-558: A base after the events of the 2006 " Civil War " storyline, which he sat out. Doctor Strange was critical of the federal Superhuman Registration Act and aided the anti-registration Avengers team led by Luke Cage . During Brian Michael Bendis ' time as writer, Doctor Doom attacked the Avengers and manipulated the Scarlet Witch into eliminating most of the mutant population. Doctor Strange's failure to recognize Doom's hand in

777-558: A black hole. He does tell Red Hulk of his impending doom, but cannot describe it due to the Watchers' vow to not interfere. Uatu then watched Red Hulk fail at jumping across other asteroids until he was rescued by Thor. Uatu temporarily abandoned his post to travel to the Red Hole of Dargala. His absence was noticed by the other Watchers who sent the Watcher Uravo to find him. After being unable to find him, Uravo informed Yruku and

888-801: A cohesive cosmology that would have thrilled any self-respecting theosophist . College students, minds freshly opened by psychedelic experiences and Eastern mysticism , read Ditko and Lee's Dr. Strange stories with the belief of a recent Hare Krishna convert. Meaning was everywhere, and readers analyzed the Dr. Strange stories for their relationship to Egyptian myths, Sumerian gods , and Jungian archetypes. "People who read Doctor Strange thought people at Marvel must be heads [i.e., drug users]," recalled then-associate editor and former Doctor Strange writer Roy Thomas in 1971, "because they had had similar experiences high on mushrooms. But I don't use hallucinogens, nor do I think any artists do." Originating in

999-538: A crossover story with The Tomb of Dracula #44, another series which was being drawn by Gene Colan at the time. In Englehart's final story, he sent Dr. Strange back in time to meet Benjamin Franklin . Strange met his allies Topaz in #75 (February 1986) and Rintrah in #80 (December 1986). The series ended on a cliffhanger as his home, the Sanctum Sanctorum, was heavily damaged during a battle. Among

1110-626: A distance, a teary-eyed Ulana said goodbye to Uatu even though his body has not been found. In the aftermath of the " Empyre " storyline, the Unseen uses his powers to bring the Cotati 's weapons to him so that he could learn how a pacifistic race like the Cotati had gained them. Once he began analyzing them, the Unseen realizes the weapons were created by the First Race and is overcome with energy as

1221-481: A doctor in the upbeat, rich city of Manhattan. In the 2009 miniseries Marvel Zombies Return , a version of Uatu witnesses the Zombie Spider-Man 's arrival in his universe. After being horrified by the nature of the infection, he decides to travel to other universes to warn others of the infection, but the zombie Giant-Man appears and bites off Uatu's head, planning to use his communicator to traverse

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1332-649: A fictitious minister praising the story, and mailed it to Marvel from Texas. Marvel unwittingly printed the letter in Doctor Strange #3 and dropped the retraction. Due to the growing number of Doctor Strange readers, the Marvel Premiere series segued to the character's second ongoing title, Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts , also known as Doctor Strange vol. 2, which ran 81 issues (June 1974 – Feb. 1987). Doctor Strange #14 featured

1443-466: A profile of the "Ultimate Nullifier" which, using technobabble , described the device to be of "unknown origins" within the context of the fictional Marvel Universe. Titus later falsely tells Sam Alexander that he had killed his father Jesse, and threatens to kill his family if not given the Nullifier. The two battle, during which Sam accidentally activates the Nullfier and seemingly kills Titus and

1554-533: A reality where all Marvel characters are fictional characters in comic books. As Strange helps her locate her home reality to create a fake background for her in the Marvel Universe so that she can get a Social Security number, driver's license and other essential documents, he discovers that Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast to play him in Gwen's universe, remarking that he "could see that". Doctor Strange

1665-470: A revival solo series in Marvel Premiere #3–14 (July 1972 – March 1974). This arc marked the debut of another recurring foe, the entity Shuma-Gorath , created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Frank Brunner , who took over as the regular creative team starting with Marvel Premiere #10. Englehart and Brunner collaborated closely on the stories, meeting over dinner every two months to discuss

1776-508: A room called the Chamber of Shadows. It usually is inside a display case with three curved legs. When summoned, the glass covering rises and the ball levitates. While powerful, the Orb has been blocked by exceptionally powerful mystic forces (such as Umar ) who do not want their exact location known. On at least one occasion, it has been used to open a dimensional portal to the realm of Agamotto. In

1887-590: A stone totem of sorts with a glowing red eye. It is able to manifest in many locations at once. It has been observing Earth for some time and was present when Captain America received his powers. However, it appears that there is more than one Watcher in the Ultimate universe, for in Ultimate X-Men #96 Jean Grey attempts to find heaven to resurrect her father, only to be stopped by a Silver Surfer that

1998-625: A supporting character for the bulk of the 2000s. He appeared regularly in The Amazing Spider-Man under J. Michael Straczynski , before being cast into a time loop by Baron Mordo . He later appeared on and off in The New Avengers , where he was stated as being part of the secret group known as the Illuminati to deal with future threats to Earth. Ultimately Strange joined the team and allowed them to use his home as

2109-525: A way to fix his hands and subsequently wastes all of his money on expensive, but unsuccessful treatments. Broke and ostracized from his colleagues, Strange becomes a drifter. He happens to overhear two sailors in a bar discussing a hermit called the Ancient One (who is actually the Earth's Sorcerer Supreme) in the Himalayas , who can heal any ailment. Despite not personally believing in magic, Strange uses

2220-502: Is Thanos . Stephen Vincent Strange, M.D., Ph.D., is a brilliant but highly egotistical doctor. He was born in Philadelphia and raised in New York City . After high school, he went to New York College as a pre-med student, entered medical school at Columbia University and completed his residency at New York-Presbyterian Hospital , where his success made him arrogant. Despite his reputation for being able to handle even

2331-604: Is a practicing sorcerer who draws his powers from mystical entities such as Agamotto, Cyttorak , Ikonn , Oshtur, Raggadorr , and Watoomb , who lend their energies for spells. Strange also wields mystical artifacts including the Cloak of Levitation which enables him to fly; the Eye of Agamotto , an amulet whose light is used to negate evil magic; the Book of the Vishanti, a grimoire which contains vast knowledge of white magic; and

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2442-411: Is in peril as Nick Fury accepts his offer to aid him. During the " Reckoning War " storyline, Uatu attempts to appeal to the other Watchers for help against the Prosilicans, but they reject his warnings, to the extent that his father forces Uatu to watch what he describes as the "What If" scenario he has never looked at himself; "What If Uatu Had Never Interfered?" Watching a world where he never alerted

2553-525: Is infatuated with the ape version of the Wasp . In his drunken ranting, he goes so far as to ask the reader if they "wanna make out", then after realizing what he has said, apologizes and tries to explain himself. He usually tells stories that entertain him, such as the story of giant cowboy rat men and homosexual cowboy-apes, or the story of how Odin sentenced the Thorangutang to learn humility by becoming

2664-444: Is likewise indestructible. It is possible to destroy single pages of either book, but the balancing spell in the other book must be destroyed as well to maintain a mystical balance. A collective of the three powerful magical beings—Agamotto, Oshtur, and Hoggoth—known as the Vishanti must allow the spell to be destroyed. Even though the book is a tome of benevolent magic, the spells within can still be dangerous when used improperly. This

2775-716: Is part of the universe's balance. Uatu is removed from his duty as Watcher of the Earth, but he returns to observe the world of which he has become so fond. During the GLX-Mas Special , Uatu appears in Wisconsin , after Squirrel Girl and her sidekick Monkey Joe defeat Thanos . He confirms that the Thanos she defeated was real, not a clone or copy. Uatu is present when the Dreaming Celestial awakens, but he turns away, unwilling to watch. After scanning him,

2886-636: Is proven when a young, inexperienced Strange tried to use the Book of the Vishanti to resurrect his dead brother Victor, but the spell, known as the Vampire Verses, caused Victor to become the vampire Baron Blood years later. The first known owner of the book was the Atlantean sorcerer Varnae , who lived around 18,500 BC. The next known owner was the Babylonian god Marduk Kurios . Marduk set

2997-646: Is shown in flashback that, weeks before Uatu's death, he came to witness Fury as his Infinity Formula began to fail, with subsequent flashbacks revealing that the Orb , Dr. Midas, and the Exterminatrix attacked Uatu and took one of his eyes, although Uatu survived the injury he received from Orb. Fury arrived soon after to talk to Uatu, but Uatu refused to identify his attacker and share the location of his missing eye due to it risking his oath. As Uatu began to gather his power for an apparent attack, Fury kills him, taking

3108-639: Is stationed in front of thousands of Watchers in a hive colony. In 2004, Bowen Designs released a bust sculpture of Uatu sculpted and designed by the Kucharek Brothers. Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by Steve Ditko , the character first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ( cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as

3219-454: Is usually seen wearing. The first appearance of the first (blue) cloak was in Strange Tales #114 (November 1963). The first appearance of the second (red) cloak was in Strange Tales #127 (December 1964). The Cloak of Levitation is seen in a great many battles where it often plays a very significant role. While it is extremely durable, there are a few occasions when it is damaged. Its repair requires that Strange engage an ally, Enitharmon

3330-427: Is watching them and plans to take action himself). Fury is later able to release Uatu from the chair after showing him that the vision was incomplete, that timeline concluding with Reed's new energy generator overloading and erasing the universe, leaving Uatu shaken but assured that his interference was right after all. Revealing that the Prosilicans' weapons were based on Watcher technology and they were responsible for

3441-539: The Sorcerer Supreme , the primary protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats. Strange was introduced during the Silver Age of Comic Books in an attempt to bring a different kind of character and themes of mysticism to Marvel Comics. The character starts as an intelligent and arrogant neurosurgeon who is injured in a car accident. Because his hands had suffered severe nerve damage from

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3552-696: The 1978 television film Dr. Strange . Since 2016, Benedict Cumberbatch has portrayed the role of Stephen Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Artist Steve Ditko and writer Stan Lee have described the character as having been originally the idea of Ditko, who wrote in 2008, "On my own, I brought in to Lee a five-page, penciled story with a page/panel script of my idea of a new, different kind of character for variety in Marvel Comics. My character wound up being named Dr. Strange because he would appear in Strange Tales ." In

3663-603: The Marvel Method of scripting, Ditko took Strange into ever-more-abstract realms. In a 17-issue story arc in Strange Tales #130–146 (March 1965 – July 1966), Ditko introduced the cosmic character Eternity , who personified the universe and was depicted as a silhouette filled with the cosmos. Golden Age of Comic Books artist/writer Bill Everett succeeded Ditko as an artist with issues #147–152, followed by Marie Severin through #160 and Dan Adkins through #168,

3774-557: The Silver Surfer from bringing the planet-devourer Galactus to the Earth. For his continuous disregard for the Watchers' mission, Uatu is once placed on trial by the Watchers. He is found guilty, but is released on his own recognizance. When the Shi'ar seek to prosecute Mister Fantastic for saving Galactus' life, Uatu serves as his lawyer and receives help from Odin , Eternity , and even Galactus himself to explain that Galactus

3885-570: The Stranger , Odin , and Zeus . Uatu received a highly extensive education in his youth on his home world. He has devoted himself to the study of Earth's solar system and its sentient beings for millions of years. His home on the Blue Area of the Moon contains an enormous array of weaponry, artifacts, and technology created by various alien races from throughout the universe. Uatu also studies

3996-596: The Watcher , a character based on Uatu, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe animated series What If...? (2021–present) on Disney+ . The character first appeared without a name in Fantastic Four #13 (Apr 1963), and periodically reappeared in that title. He then starred in "Tales of the Watcher", a backup feature that ran in Tales of Suspense #49-58 (Jan 1964-Oct 1965), Silver Surfer #1-7 (Aug 1968-Aug 1969) and Marvel Super-Heroes #23 (Nov 1969). His origin

4107-688: The Watcher , is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby , he first appeared in The Fantastic Four #13 (April 1963). He is a member of the Watchers , an extraterrestrial species who in the distant past stationed themselves across space to monitor the activities of other species. Uatu is the Watcher assigned to observe Earth and its Solar System . The character has been adapted into other media, such as video games, toys, and television. Jeffrey Wright voices

4218-436: The pulp fiction magicians of Stan Lee's childhood as well as by contemporary Beat culture, Dr. Strange remarkably predicted the youth counterculture's fascination with Eastern mysticism and psychedelia . Never among Marvel's more popular or accessible characters, Dr. Strange still found a niche among an audience seeking a challenging alternative to more conventional superhero fare. As co-plotter and later sole plotter in

4329-666: The " Fear Itself " storyline, Uatu appeared next to Odin as Thor assists the Avengers. Aware that Uatu is there to witness the rise of the Serpent's daughter Skadi, Odin called Uatu a "titanic mute baby too dumb to be of use." Uatu later left while Odin kept boasting about himself. Uatu later watched Red Hulk's fight with Omegex. Noticing Uatu, Red Hulk shouts to him that he finally got his closure. Upon Red Hulk regressing back to Thunderbolt Ross, Uatu watches as Omegex ceased to exist upon it being unable to find Red Hulk. Iron Man later encountered Uatu upon his return from space as Uatu shows him

4440-650: The " Infinity Countdown " storyline, Doctor Strange goes on a space mission. He encounters Super-Skrull who has the Time Stone . After defeating Super-Skrull, Doctor Strange claims the Time Stone. Doctor Strange then tracks down the Mind Stone and finds it in Turk Barrett 's possession as Turk manages to evade him. When Black Widow's clone arrives seeking out Doctor Strange where she wants to dispose of

4551-480: The 1602 version of Doctor Strange prior to the latter's death. Uatu's deal with Strange prevented Strange from telling anyone else about the danger facing the world while he lived while allowing him to communicate that knowledge with others after his physical body's demise. As a result, he must maintain a pocket universe containing the 1602 world within himself. The Overmind of the Watchers notes that, as much as they are ashamed of him, they are proud of him for saving

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4662-424: The 2008 miniseries Marvel Apes , a gorilla version of the Watcher can be seen telling stories from the past and trying to get around to a story of the "Marvel Apes Age". In issue #2, he becomes drunk after drinking an "Ultimate Nullifier", which he claims is like a martini, only mixed with "Kirby Dots". In his drunken state, he complains about how boring it is to watch everything all the time. He also reveals that he

4773-601: The Ancient One trains the doctor in the mystic arts. After completing his training, Strange returns to New York City and takes up residence within the Sanctum Sanctorum , a townhouse located in Greenwich Village , Manhattan , accompanied by his personal assistant Wong . As the Ancient One's disciple, Strange encounters the entity Nightmare , and other mystical foes before meeting Dormammu ,

4884-415: The Ancient One, Strange desperately and selflessly accepts the Ancient One's offer to become his apprentice to have some hope of helping the old man. The Ancient One, pleased at Strange's sincere change of heart, accepts Strange as his new student and promptly frees him from the restraining spells while explaining he was aware of Mordo's treachery all along. Strange soon becomes Mordo's most enduring enemy, as

4995-629: The Dreaming Celestial reveals Uatu has broken his pact of non-interference almost 400 times. Uatu later arrived in Death Valley to watch the battle between Hulk and Red Hulk only to be ambushed and knocked out by Red Hulk. Upon sensing the Red Hole of Dargala about to make a new Omegex, Uatu saw to it that its next target was Red Hulk in hopes that Red Hulk would be able to defeat it. Since these events, Uatu has restricted himself to appearing to observe particularly cosmic events in

5106-532: The Earth's surface, and in other dimensions. Nick Fury eventually reveals that he has spent decades in a secret one-man mission to single-handedly confront and kill alien, subterranean, and extradimensional beings that threaten the Earth, and that, with the Infinity Formula having been depleted from his body, he has experienced rapid aging and wishes one of the superhuman investigators who have confronted him to take his place before his imminent death. It

5217-543: The Earths of alternate realities. With permission from the Timekeepers, he possesses a portal through which he can observe alternate realities. He has acquired extraordinary knowledge of the history of both the sentient beings on "mainstream" Earth and the numerous alternate Earths. In the alternate universe of the 1999 miniseries Earth X , Uatu is portrayed as a cold, nihilistic manipulator who feels no empathy for

5328-469: The Egyptian moon god Khonshu . The 2003 miniseries Marvel 1602 reveals that, although The Fantastic Four #13 was the first time he broke his oath, the anomalous appearance of Marvel's superheroes more than 300 years early — speculated by Uatu to be the result of the universe trying to create the means to save itself from a temporal anomaly — forced him to severely bend his oath by communicating with

5439-622: The FF to the coming of Galactus, Uatu sees the team suffer various injuries in battle with Galactus, including Sue being blinded, Johnny burning himself trying to knock out the Surfer, and Ben taking a serious beating. However, although he suffers damage from exposure to the energies in Galactus's ship, Reed is able to analyze the energy Galactus feeds on and devise a weapon that unleashes a form of energy dangerous to Galactus, destroying Galactus and freeing

5550-604: The Marvel Universe, such as visiting the heroes prior to the vote on the Superhuman Registration Act, the final battle of the " Secret Invasion " storyline, and the Hood 's acquisition of the Infinity Gems , reflecting during these appearances that he cannot do any more or he may be taken from Earth altogether. Uatu later visited Red Hulk at the time when he was on an asteroid helping Thor to close

5661-509: The Moon . He is an altruist and has bent or violated his oath on numerous occasions to aid humanity. He revealed himself to the Fantastic Four when they discovered his home, telling them he would leave the Moon to observe humanity from a more distant area. He proceeded to violate his oath several more times to aid the Fantastic Four. His most notable transgression was in Fantastic Four #48, in which he tried, and failed, to prevent

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5772-524: The New Avengers, and he offers the team his valet Wong to act as their housekeeper. Strange eventually regains his position of Sorcerer Supreme, but is possessed by a demon and becomes leader of the Black Priests . After the various Marvel universes merge into one, Doctor Strange acts as righthand man of Doctor Doom, who has become the ruler of this world after erasing all recollection of

5883-421: The Nullifier gets stolen or kept in other locales such as the Fantastic Four's headquarters, the Nullifier inevitably returns to Galactus' possession. In the Abraxas saga Galactus demonstrates his ability to recall the Nullifier to himself at will. In conjunction, he stated it to be "as much a part of me as my heart itself." In the 2006 edition of Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe , Marvel Comics included

5994-407: The Nullifier will erase them as well. An alternate universe variant of the Ultimate Nullifier from Earth-61112 appears in Age of Ultron #5. An alternate universe variant of the Ultimate Nullifier from Earth-9997 appears in Earth X . Thanos uses it to kill Death , leaving those still living unable to die. The Ultimate Nullifier appears in JLA/Avengers . An alternate universe variant of

6105-492: The Orb of Agamotto is the other occult object that Doctor Strange owns. It is a powerful scrying crystal ball powered by the Agamotto entity to detect the use of magic anywhere in the world, providing Strange with a location and visual. It can also be used to monitor the shields that protect the planets created by the three sanctums. If Agamotto is inside the Orb, it becomes Strange's ultimate source of knowledge. The Orb of Agamotto rests in Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum in

6216-421: The Orb of Agamotto, a crystal ball which is used for clairvoyance . In addition to his magical abilities, Strange is trained in several martial arts disciplines, including judo , and has shown proficiency with numerous magically conjured weapons including swords and axes. Strange was a skilled neurosurgeon before nerve damage impaired his hands. Doctor Strange is described as "the mightiest magician in

6327-407: The Space Stone, he does not want to take it as he knows what would happen if they are in proximity. Using a magic spell, Doctor Strange speaks to the holders of the Infinity Stones and requests a parley to reform the Infinity Watch . He states to Adam Warlock , Black Widow's clone, Captain Marvel, Star-Lord , and Turk Barrett that they need to safeguard them from such calamities even if one of them

6438-400: The Surfer, Reed subsequently adapting that energy into a new power source for Earth. Uatu is horrified at this apparent proof that he broke his vow for nothing, and his father then leaves him to watch this alternate universe for the rest of his existence as punishment for his interference, while the rest of the Watchers remain resolved not to get involved in the coming war (unaware that Nick Fury

6549-423: The Ultimate Nullifier from Earth-20051 appears in Marvel Adventures : The Avengers #26. A character named the Ultimate Nullifier appears in Vengeance as a member of the Teen Brigade. However, he bears little resemblance to the Ultimate Nullfier weapon besides the ability to negate superpowers. An alternate universe variant of the Ultimate Nullifier from Earth-1610 appears in Ultimate Extinction . This version

6660-411: The Watchers returned to Prosilicus, they found the natives had all but destroyed themselves in a nuclear war. The Watchers blamed themselves for the catastrophe and vowed to never again meddle in the affairs of other races. Instead, they passively observe and record events for those who will come after the universe ends. Uatu is the Watcher assigned to watch over Earth from his home in the Blue Area of

6771-402: The Weaver. The item has been referred to as a "relic" in the live-action movie Doctor Strange (2016). In this film (and other MCU films), the cloak appears to be sentient; not only does it rescue falling people on its own accord, but when Strange reached for a weapon in the Sanctum to fight an intruder, the cloaked yanked him to where a harness was sitting. Aside from the Eye of Agamotto,

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6882-454: The accident, he was told that current medical therapy and rehabilitation would not be enough to enable him to practice again as a surgeon. Unable to accept this prognosis , he travels the world searching for alternative ways of healing, which leads him to the Ancient One , the Sorcerer Supreme. Strange becomes his student and learns to be a master of both the mystical and the martial arts . He acquires an assortment of mystical objects, including

6993-433: The beginning and keeping the zombie infection contained in these two realities so that it will 'devour itself'. He eventually congratulated the Sandman for his help; Flint Marko had destroyed all the other mobile zombies by dispersing a nanite cure devised by Spider-Man. In the alternate MC2 Universe, Uatu made several appearances regarding its last two miniseries, Last Hero Standing and Last Planet Standing . In

7104-403: The beginning of the universe, becomes all-powerful and creates it anew, leaving Strange to wonder whether this was, paradoxically , the original creation. Stan Lee, seeing the issue after publication, ordered Englehart and Brunner to print a retraction saying this was not God but a god, to avoid offending religious readers. According to Frank Brunner, he and Englehart concocted a fake letter from

7215-416: The book when he destroyed his home to prevent the alien wizard Urthona from taking his magical artifacts, but the book was saved by Agamotto, who transported it to his realm and returned it to Strange some time later. The Cloak of Levitation is depicted as a potent mystical cloak worn by Doctor Strange. The primary purpose of the cloak is to give its wearer the ability to levitate and fly. Additionally,

7326-422: The character is murdered, sparking a hunt for his murderer. The core miniseries of that storyline is written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by Mike Deodato . The Watchers are among the oldest and most advanced beings in the cosmos. Eons ago, they sought to spread their knowledge to benefit the lesser races of the Universe. Their first attempt, on the planet Prosilicus, included sharing nuclear technology. When

7437-527: The character's eight-page origin story in #115 (December 1963). His origin was later retold in Doctor Strange #169 (February 1968). Scripter Lee's take on the character was inspired by the Chandu the Magician radio program that aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System in the 1930s. He had Doctor Strange accompany spells with elaborate artifacts, such as the " Eye of Agamotto " and the " Wand of Watoomb ", as well as mystical-sounding vocabulary such as "Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!". Although these often referenced

7548-545: The character's origin. Another limited series, Doctor Strange: The Oath #1–5 (December 2006 – April 2007), written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Marcos Martin , focused on Strange's responsibilities as sorcerer and doctor. Doctor Strange has appeared in four graphic novels : Doctor Strange: Into Shamballa (1986); Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment (1989); Spider-Man/Dr. Strange: The Way to Dusty Death (1992); and Dr. Strange: What Is It That Disturbs You, Stephen? (1997). Strange appeared as

7659-403: The cloak is able to alter its shape, being often used to act as "another set of hands" to attack an opponent when Strange's own body has been incapacitated. There were two distinctly different cloaks worn by Doctor Strange bequeathed to him by his mentor, the Ancient One : a billowing, full-length blue cloak, that had minor abilities and spells woven into it, and the later, red cloak that Strange

7770-410: The corpse of the Living Tribunal on the Moon. Hoping to procreate, Uatu began seeing the Watcher Ulana who moved in with him. After an unrevealed amount of time, Ulana became pregnant. The 2014 " Original Sin " storyline reveals that Uatu's father was the Watcher who originally gave nuclear technology to the Prosilicans, and that Uatu's observation of parallel universes is motivated by a desire to find

7881-452: The cosmos" and "more powerful by far than any of your fellow humanoids" by Eternity , the sentience of the Marvel Universe . He holds the title of Sorcerer Supreme beginning with the 1973 storyline in which the Ancient One dies, and retains the title thereafter, except during an interruption from 1992 to 1995. He relinquishes the title once again in a 2009 storyline, but reclaims it in a 2012 story when he proves himself willing to protect

7992-478: The debut of the sorcerer-hero Doctor Strange, Stan Lee (editor and story-plotter), Robert Bernstein (scripter, under the pseudonym "R. Berns"), and Jack Kirby (artist) introduced a criminal scientist and Ph.D. with the same surname (called Carl Strange). Making his sole appearance in the Iron Man story "The Stronghold of Dr. Strange" in Tales of Suspense #41 (1963), the character gained mental powers in

8103-700: The devastation of the Great Barrens, Uatu absorbs the power of the Apex- the centre of all power and knowledge of the Watchers- becoming the personification of his race's power, allowing him to restore the Barrens to lively space after Reed Richards uses the Ultimate Nullifier to stop Wrath, the leader of the Reckoning, with the remaining leaders (as well as the one Watcher who knew the full truth and kept it from

8214-459: The early 1960s, the character was a predictor of trends in the art prior to them becoming more established in the later counterculture of the 1960s . As historian Bradford W. Wright described: Steve Ditko contributed some of his most surrealistic work to the comic book and gave it a disorienting, hallucinogenic quality. Dr. Strange' s adventures take place in bizarre worlds and twisting dimensions that resembled Salvador Dalí paintings. Inspired by

8325-481: The end. After plans were announced for a never-released split book series featuring Doctor Strange and Iceman , each in solo adventures. Strange next appeared in the first three issues (December 1971 – June 1972) of the quarterly showcase title Marvel Feature . He appeared in both the main story detailing the formation of superhero team the Defenders , and the related back-up story. The character then starred in

8436-1374: The film Thor , the Orb is briefly shown in Odin's Trophy Room in Asgard. The following are a selection of enemies of Doctor Strange: Laura Bradley of Vanity Fair included Doctor Strange in their "Stan Lee’s Most Iconic Characters" list. Screen Rant included Doctor Strange in their "10 Most Powerful Comic Book Wizards" list, and in their "10 Smartest Magic Users In Comic Books" list. CBR.com ranked Doctor Strange 1st in their "10 Best Sorcerer Supremes" list, and 5th in their "10 Scariest Avengers" list. Collider ranked Doctor Strange 1st in their "Most Powerful Original Marvel Illuminati Members" list, and 14th in their "20 Most Powerful Marvel Characters" list. Lance Cartelli of GameSpot ranked Doctor Strange 27th in their "50 Most Important Superheroes" list. IGN ranked Doctor Strange 33rd in their "Top 50 Avengers" list, and 38th in their "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes" list. The A.V. Club ranked Doctor Strange 47th in their "100 best Marvel characters" list. Lance Cartelli of ComicBook.com ranked Doctor Strange 35th in their "50 Most Important Superheroes Ever" list. Wizard Magazine ranked Doctor Strange 83rd in their "200 Greatest Comic Book Characters of All Time" list. Two months before

8547-493: The final issue before the Nick Fury feature moved to its own title and Strange Tales was renamed Doctor Strange . Expanded to 20 pages per issue, the Doctor Strange solo series ran 15 issues, #169–183 (June 1968 – November 1969), continuing the numbering of Strange Tales . Thomas wrote the run of new stories, joined after the first three issues by the art team of penciler Gene Colan and inker Tom Palmer through

8658-459: The first one too much. Little sidelight: Originally decided to call him Mr. Strange, but thought the "Mr." bit too similar to Mister Fantastic -- now, however, I remember we had a villain called Dr. Strange just recently in one of our mags, hope it won't be too confusing! Doctor Strange debuted in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963), a split book shared with the feature " The Human Torch ". Doctor Strange appeared in issues #110–111 and #114 before

8769-629: The form of chaos magic , as well as a magic construct he used as a proxy. He would form the Secret Defenders with a rotating roster of heroes, and reunite with the original Defenders. Strange regained his title in Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #80 (August 1995). Strange appeared with the Human Torch and the Thing in the one-shot publication Strange Tales vol. 3, #1 (Nov. 1994). The character

8880-463: The former and to stop the latter caused him to start to doubt his abilities. After he was forced to use dark magic to confront an enraged Hulk , followed by further use of dark spells to save the New Avengers from the Hood's supervillain army, Strange renounced his status as Sorcerer Supreme, as he felt that he was no longer worthy of it. The Eye of Agamotto passed the mantle on to Jericho Drumm . He

8991-940: The former, he briefly related the history of the MC-Universe; in the latter, he died while standing in the way of Galactus and his herald . In the reality seen in the 2004 miniseries Powerless , reality is turned upside down and is told from the point of view of psychiatrist William Watts , who in the very end is revealed to be the Powerless version of Uatu. Watts encounters non-powered versions of Spider-Man, Wolverine , and Daredevil , who face problems similar to their super-powered counterparts from Earth-616 . Just as in Earth-616, Uatu finds that he cannot remain detached and watch as his patients' lives are ruined, and tries to come to their aid, but, like his original incarnation, he never acts directly, instead inspiring and guiding

9102-424: The good things that Unseen did and the weapons used by the Cotati which caused Uatu to be revived, he states that the technology did not belong to the Cotati. While he cannot commute Nick Fury's sentence, he does release him from his punishment by removing the chains on him since he needs an operative to get the job done and makes Nick Fury his herald. The first war is coming and Uatu states that everything and everyone

9213-519: The heroes. He even watches the city using a telescope, before the last panel revelation that he is Uatu. In the comics story Scarlet Traces: The Great Game , he is shown in a cave drawing on Mars as one of the original inhabitants of the Moon, along with the Selenites from The First Men in the Moon . The Ultimate Marvel version of Uatu is not a person, but a highly advanced alien computer that observes everything. Ultimate Watcher resembles

9324-478: The last of his money to track down the aged mystic. The Ancient One refuses to help Strange due to his arrogance, but senses a good side that he attempts to bring to the surface. He fails, but Strange then commits a heroic act when he discovers the Ancient One's disciple, Baron Mordo , attempting to kill his mentor and usurp his power. After a confrontation with Mordo leads to him being shackled with restraining spells preventing him from either attacking Mordo or warning

9435-431: The losses were Doctor Strange's entire collection of mystic books and other important artifacts. As a consequence, Strange was now considerably weaker, and several spells designed to protect humanity from vampires and the evil serpent god Set expired. The title was discontinued so that the character's adventures could be transferred to another split-book format series. Strange Tales vol. 2, #1–19 (April 1987–Oct. 1988)

9546-438: The most complicated surgical procedures, Strange is self-centered and greedy, and only treats patients who can afford to pay his exorbitant fees. One night, while speeding in his car, a terrible accident shatters the bones in his hands, leading to extensive nerve damage. He soon finds that his fingers tremble uncontrollably , rendering him unable to perform surgery. Too vain to accept a teaching job, Strange desperately searches for

9657-486: The multiverse and satiate his hunger. At the end of the series, Uatu returns, stating he was pure energy, and thus could not be infected by the virus. With Giant-Man unable to master his technology before Spider-Man found a means of destroying most of the zombies, Uatu then proceeds to trap the last zombie, the Sentry, in a time-loop paradox by sending him back in time to Earth-2149, starting the entire Marvel Zombies Saga from

9768-512: The multiverse. In the Marvel 2099 reality of Earth-96943, Uatu the Watcher was blinded by his fellow Watchers for his constant breaking of the Watcher Oath. He later created clones of the Fantastic Four. Though Uatu wanted to have them destroyed, he was talked out of it by the 2099 version of Moon Knight and the clones established themselves as this time period's Fantastic Four. To enable

9879-420: The names of established mythological beings, Lee has said he never had any idea what the incantations meant and used them simply because they sounded mystical and mysterious. Ditko showcased surrealistic mystical landscapes and increasingly vivid visuals that helped make the feature a favorite of college students at the time. Comics historian Mike Benton wrote: The Dr. Strange stories of the 1960s constructed

9990-421: The one world where his father's act of charity was proved to be the right thing to do. In the beginning of the story, Uatu is murdered, and his eyes are gouged out, setting off a search by the Avengers and their allies for his killer. It is discovered that Uatu was killed by giant gamma-irradiated bullets, as were a number of varying giant monsters discovered by the Avengers' investigation in outer space, beneath

10101-540: The one-eyed Uatu is brought back to life. When the Unseen asks how he is back from the dead and to at least say something, all Uatu says is "There shall be...a reckoning." While reconstructing his home, Uatu learns of how Nick Fury became Unseen by tapping into the Cyclopedia Universum. It revealed that three of Uatu's brothers and sisters broke their non-interference vow by judging Nick Fury and fusing what's left of Uatu with Nick Fury. After viewing some of

10212-431: The other Watchers that he thinks Uatu has become unhinged ever since Red Hulk attacked and absorbed some of his powers. When Uravo finally caught up to Uatu at the Red Hole of Dargala, Uatu tells Uravo that they should not have come together. They witnessed Omegex emerge from the Red Hole of Dargala as it heads towards Earth to target Red Hulk. Uatu and Uravo later tracked Omegex's trail as it gets closer to Earth. During

10323-412: The other eye as he realizes that Uatu "records" everything he watches in his eyes. Following a fight with Orb that blew up Uatu's house, Fury subsequently inherits Uatu's power and position after using the power of one of Uatu's eyes to kill Doctor Midas and becomes known as "The Unseen", chained and watching events unfold on Earth, while the Orb merges with Uatu's other eye, which appears on his chest. From

10434-477: The people of Earth in expanding into the cosmos, Uatu sacrificed his life to destroy the barrier around Earth that prevented this. On the unified Marvel 2099 reality of Earth-2099, Doom made everyone forget about the Heroic Age and imprisoned Uatu so that he can inform him about possible threats to him. Doom would later kill Watcher when he served his purpose. At the end of the main story in each issue of

10545-472: The people of Earth whom he watches. This is partially because he has been blinded by an Earthling, Black Bolt , and partially because the planet he is watching is nothing but the primal cocoon of an unborn Celestial , and the humans inhabiting it are mere "antibodies", a natural line of defense for constant menaces. Also, Uatu (who watches the events on Earth from a base on the Moon) is the original inspiration for

10656-430: The powerful Eye of Agamotto and Cloak of Levitation , and takes up residence in a mansion referred to as the Sanctum Sanctorum , located at 177A Bleecker Street , Greenwich Village , Manhattan , New York City . Strange assumes the title of Sorcerer Supreme and, with his friend and valet Wong , defends the world from mystical threats. In live-action adaptations, the character was first portrayed by Peter Hooten in

10767-437: The previous separate realities that existed. Circumstances force Strange to open a pod that releases the surviving heroes of the original Marvel continuity, known as Earth-616 . Doom kills Doctor Strange. In 2015, Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo teamed up for the fourth volume of Doctor Strange . A new character, reluctant librarian Zelma Stanton, agrees to reorganize Strange's magical library. Jericho Drumm returns, and

10878-849: The rest) trapped in the M'Krann crystal as punishment. As a member of the race of Watchers, Uatu possesses vast psionic abilities which have been further developed through training. These abilities include flight, telepathy, energy-manipulation powers, power-negating force-field projection, illusion casting, the ability to psionically alter his appearance at will, and highly advanced cosmic senses allowing him to be aware of countless events of Earth. His superhumanly complex intelligence enables him to monitor activities throughout Earth's solar system simultaneously. Uatu can convert his body into an unknown form of energy while still retaining his sentience for travel through hyperspace, and then return to his physical form. Bolstered by treatment with "delta-rays", Uatu possesses virtual immortality, although he can die by losing

10989-482: The series and a spinoff, Dr. Strange: Last Days of Magic , sees such characters as Medico Mistico, Magik , Scarlet Witch, Mahatma Doom, Professor Xu, Monako , and Alice Gulliver. With the laws of magic fundamentally altered, and with the loss of his former resources, Doctor Strange is forced to depend on his own physical skills and inventive use of his few functional spells. He eventually no longer has access to most of his former spells or his levitating cape. During

11100-458: The series, and their run became known for its psychedelic visuals and plots. In issues #8–10 (May–September 1973), Strange is forced to shut down the Ancient One's mind, causing his mentor's physical death. Strange then assumes the title of Sorcerer Supreme. Englehart and Brunner created another multi-issue storyline featuring sorcerer Sise-Neg ("Genesis" spelled backward) going back through history, collecting all magical energies, until he reaches

11211-578: The spirit of the universe, he uses the Nullifer against several spacefaring civilizations who have traveled to earth to stop him, destroying the universe in the process. Doctor Strange , the Phoenix , and the Silver Surfer survive and attempt to restore the universe, but Eternity stops them, choosing to leave the expanse where the universe was as a warning against the Nullifer's use. Uatu Uatu ( / ˈ w ɑː t uː / ), often simply known as

11322-479: The will to live. He has shown he is able to transport himself and others through time, and in one issue he claims he can send someone to Limbo . Watchers can augment their strength with cosmic psionic energy if they choose to; however, they tend to minimize their physical activities. The 1985 edition of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe compared Uatu's scale of power to that of Galactus ,

11433-472: The world even without the title. The Book of the Vishanti , portrayed as being written by unknown authors, is closely associated with Doctor Strange and is the greatest known source of white magical knowledge on Earth. The Book of the Vishanti contains spells of defensive magic and is indestructible. Its counterpart, the Darkhold , contains all the knowledge of black magic in the Marvel Universe and

11544-600: Was also featured in The Order , which spun out of the 2001 Defenders revival, and the Indefensible Defenders mini-series. Doctor Strange appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010-2013 The New Avengers series. Jericho Drumm , now newly appointed Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Voodoo, sacrifices himself to stop the powerful mystical entity Agamotto from reclaiming the Eye. A guilt-ridden Strange rejoins

11655-590: Was created by Reed Richards and is powered by the energy of a Big Bang . A character inspired by the Ultimate Nullfier from Earth-6160 will appear in the Ultimate Universe as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy . In What If? vol. 1 #32 'What If The Avengers Had Become Pawns of Korvac ?,' Korvac and Captain America use the Ultimate Nullifier to kill Galactus. However, after Korvac merges with

11766-494: Was featured in several limited series . The first was Doctor Strange: The Flight of Bones #1–4 (February–May 1999), with a series of spontaneous combustions by criminals instigated by old foe Dormammu . Strange was the catalyst for the creation of a trio of sorceresses in Witches #1–4 (August–November 2004). The Strange limited series (November 2004 – July 2005) by writers J. Michael Straczynski and Samm Barnes updated

11877-466: Was replaced in this instance with a duplicate created by Thanos . Although Quasar tried to use the weapon on Magus, his attack is redirected by the Infinity Gauntlet , temporarily nullifying Quasar in the process. The Ultimate Nullifier is generally kept within Galactus' ship Taa II, though at times Galactus has been known to carry it aboard his spherical starship. In the rare instances that

11988-649: Was revealed in Tales of Suspense #53 (May 1964), and his name was revealed in Captain Marvel #39 (Jul 1975). The character has made many cameo appearances across the Marvel Universe since his debut, including Avengers , Uncanny X-Men , Hulk , Silver Surfer , Quasar , and Marvel Point One . He acts as the narrator in Marvel's What If? title. In the 2014 " Original Sin " storyline,

12099-469: Was shared with street heroes Cloak and Dagger . This new Doctor Strange series resolved Strange's quest to reclaim his power and missing artifacts, as well as resurrecting the Defenders, who had died in the last issue of that team's title. Strange was returned to his own series, this time titled Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme , which ran 90 issues (November 1988 – June 1996). The initial creative team

12210-505: Was used by the Watcher Enmu to kill 90% of the universe's population. The Ultimate Nullifier has been described as "the universe's most devastating weapon", being able to defy the laws of physics by completely erasing objects from existence. In the hands of a being with an extremely powerful mind, the Ultimate Nullifier can destroy entire timelines and universes. However, if the user is not skilled or does not have enough willpower, then

12321-478: Was writer Peter B. Gillis and artists Richard Case and Randy Emberlin , with storylines often spanning multiple issues. Strange lost the title of "Sorcerer Supreme" in issues #48–49 (Dec. 1992 – Jan. 1993) when he refused to fight a war on behalf of the Vishanti, the mystical entities that empower his spells. During this time the series became part of the " Midnight Sons " group of Marvel's supernatural comics. Doctor Strange found new sources of magical strength in

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