Everything You Need To Know About Marvel’s Phase Three Slate

Doctor Strange

Release Date: November 4th, 2016

Character Synopsis: Unlike many superheroes, Doctor Strange is not technically the character’s heroic moniker, it’s his actual title. Stephen Vincent Strange is a former neurosurgeon who lost the ability to conduct surgery following a tragic car accident, but eventually became the Sorcerer Supreme and a master of the mystic arts. He resides in New York, taking residence in a Greenwich Village townhouse called the Sanctum Sanctorum, and protects the Earth against various otherworldly threats.

Origin: Strange is brilliant but highly egotistical, and too proud to accept that this career is finished after the accident. He refuses to take a teaching job, and instead goes on a quest to find someone who can fix his hands. He consults various doctors and specialists around the world, and even tries homeopathic treatments and exotic cures, but is unable to find the help he needs.

After exhausting his wealth and becoming homeless, Strange is forced to perform seedy, back-alley medical procedures for pay, until he comes across a hermit called The Ancient One. At first, the Ancient One refuses to help Strange because of his selflessness, but after stopping the old man’s former disciple, Baron Mordo, from killing him, the Ancient One teaches him about the mystic arts and makes him Sorcerer Supreme.

Powers: As Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange draws his powers from various entities and artifacts. Primarily, he gets his power from three entities known as the Vishanti, which consist of the godly beings Agamotto, Hoggoth and Oshtur. He will occasionally tap into the energy of a demon, such as Dormammu, but is uncomfortable with the darker nature of those abilities.

As it stands, Doctor Strange has a handful of powers, including the ability to turn nearly invisible and phase through solid objects, fire off mystic bolts of energy, banish creatures and humans to other dimensions, transmutation, telekinesis, teleportation, the ability to create protective shields, travel between dimensions, conjure various magical objects and weapons, a grabbag of magical spells, and (through extreme concentration) the power to either freeze, slow, or even travel through time. Oh, and he can conjure up money as he sees fit too, thus solving his homelessness and making it so that he can pay off whatever debt comes his way. I don’t know about you, but of the powers listed here that‘s the one I’d like most.

Greatest Enemies: Doctor Strange has faced countless demons, mystical beings and creepy creatures. Most notable of them, however, are the aforementioned Dormammu, the “Lord of Chaos” who rules over the Dark Dimension; Nightmare, the evil ruler of the Dream Dimension, and of course, Baron Mordo.

Mordo is the former disciple of the Ancient One, who often works with Dormammu in hopes of defeating Doctor Strange. He’s easily Strange’s biggest nemesis, and while he possesses similar powers, he’s not afraid to use black magic or invoke demons and is particularly skilled in astral projection and hypnosis.

Casting: The casting for Doctor Strange has been an absolute nightmare for Marvel studios, and especially hard to keep track of for us mere mortals. There have been countless actor shortlists that have made the rounds, composing of names like Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Gosling, Keanu Reeves, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jared Leto, and Tom Hardy. The two biggest names that have stuck are Joaquin Phoenix and Benedict Cumberbatch. Phoenix reportedly went into negotiations for the role just before San Diego Comic-Con, and nearly finalized the deal before passing on the part. Marvel then turned to Cumberbatch, who is supposedly in final talks but has not yet signed the dotted line.

History and Future: This will be Doctor Strange’s big screen debut, though he did headline a rather well-received direct-to-video animated film in 2007, and was the focus of a live-action TV movie starring Peter Hooten in the late ’70s that is better left unspoken of. Chances are that the character will factor heavily into Marvel’s Phase Three plans, and will be part of the new Avengers roster that will shift at some point between Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Infinity War. We know from an Easter Egg in Captain America: The Winter Soldier that Stephen Strange is out there in the MCU, and has already caught Hydra’s attention as a dangerous threat.

– James Garcia