DR. STEPHEN STRANGE
Real Name: Stephen Strange
Occupation: Occult Expert, former Surgeon,
Place Of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Known Relatives: Eugene (father, deceased), Beverly (mother, deceased), Victor (brother, deceased), Donna (sister, deceased), Clea (wife),
Base of Operations: New York City
First Appearance: (comics) Strange Tales I #110, (motion pictures) Doctor Strange (1976)
History: Stephen Strange was a brilliant and arrogant neurosurgeon whose ambitious and meteoric career was tragically cut short by an automobile accident. Strange sustained minor nerve damage which prevented him from holding a scalpel steadily to perform delicate surgery. Although he was offered a prestigious consultant's position, his pride prevented him from accepting it. He invested his money in fraudulent cures and saw it dwindle to almost nothing. Strange soon degenerated from a recluse to a drifter and then a homeless vagabond. He eventually heard talk of a learned man in Tibet known only as the Ancient One who could perform miracles and decided to seek him out for himself.
Determined to meet this miracle man, Strange made his way across the ocean and traveled eastward into the Himalayan Mountains. Just as he was reaching the limits of his endurance, he stumbled upon the village of the Ancient One. The aged sorcerer told Strange he would only help him if he proved himself worthy. Not fully convinced of the wizard's magic, Strange remained with him as a guest of servitude in his house. During his stay, Strange encountered Baron Karl Mordo, a Romanian nobleman of some sinister repute. Mordo wanted the sacred relics and mystical secrets of the Ancient One for his collection and was determined to obtain them even if he had to kill the Ancient One. Strange warned the Ancient One of Mordo's evil intents and confessed that he knew of Mordo's desires, but he also realized Strange's potential for goodness. Strange afterward became a disciple of the Ancient One and learned all of his mystical secrets, inheriting his collection of mystical artifacts and tomes of magic lore.
After the death of his mentor, Strange returned to New York and set up shop in a reputed haunted townhouse on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. Although the general public thinks of him as something of an eccentric occult authority, Strange later learned he had inherited the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme, a title representing the most powerful Earthly magician on the planet. Working as a psychic informant for police agencies and as an occult researcher to paranormal research teams, Strange has since romanced and married a mysterious young woman named Clea.
Case Files: Classified
Powers/Abilities: (Based on long-term observations by Fox Mulder, FBI, X-Files Division)
Stephen Strange possesses the abilities to tap into and manipulate mystical energies. Like all earthborn magicians, his abilities are based upon three sources: powers based on the psychic powers of the mind/body/soul (clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition...), powers based upon tapping the ambient cosmic energies of the universe and employing them for specific spells (teleportation, illusion-casting, transmutation...) and powers gained by calling upon beings of power through the recitation of spells, either ritualized ones or by original spells invoking extra-dimensional beings of power living in worlds tangent to Earth, such as Gaea or the Vishanti.
Contrary to belief, the ability to practice magic is not a superhuman power. Theoretically, all human beings have the potential to tap into a massive amount of mystical energy. However, each person is limited by his own amount of training, discipline, knowledge and enlightenment of the mystical arts. There are very few differences in the distinction between sorcerers, wizards and witches. All wielders of magic, the science of the mystical arts, are known as magicians with the distinction being as far as how they tap into mystical power. Witches tend to use familiars such as objects or potions which they have created, while wizards direct their spells through wands or other tools of precisions. True sorcerers rarely use such mediums except in cases requiring far more energies than they can control. It is possible that the potential to practice magic is more evident in individuals with divine ("godly") relations, such as Alex Russo, Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, with ancient gods and deities as their relatives or ancestors.
True witches practice a religion known as Wicca or "witchcraft," honoring the Mother Earth goddess, Gaea, by her secret names. Such witches are considered "white witches," such as Samantha Stephens and Sabrina Spellman, and are typically benevolent; "dark witches" are typically Satanists, worshipping dark entities in realms alien to our own and are generally malicious.
Stephen Strange is considered the most powerful sorcerer on Earth except for gods like Odin or Zeus, making him a peer of magicians such as Merlin or Albus Dumbledore. He can conjure physical objects, teleport himself, create mystical shields and barriers, throw volumes of mystical force, cast spells and enchantments and psychokinetically affect matter on the molecular and atomic scale. He is quite adept in astral projection or transcendentalism, the ability of separating the human spirit from the body to move about unseen and undetected. He can sense mystical energies and discern the mystical properties of other individuals or objects. He is also susceptible to paranormal activity and can cast spells to drive away demons and evil spirits.
Stephen Strange also has extensive knowledge of spells and incantations, Oriental martial arts and considerable medical and surgical expertise.
Source/Comments: Stephen Strange is a character from Marvel Comics; he was played by actor Peter Hooten in the television movie, "Doctor Strange" (1976), and by Benedict Cumberbatch in "Doctor Strange" (2017).
References for this bio include the Official History of the Marvel Universe II #3 and the Marvel Database website.