Doctor Strange has been one of Marvel Comics’ most bizarre superheroes since his introduction in Strange Tales #110 (1963). This original appearance was a split-hero book, with Strange as the secondary story for much of his early run. However, thanks to him being a magic user and fighting characters from other worlds, the stories were like nothing else that Marvel was doing at the time. It was also the comic book character who helped open the door for Marvel to do more supernatural and horror stories when the 1960s ended, and the 1970s were underway. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Doctor Strange became one of Marvel’s most influential characters.
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From a murder mystery that caused Doctor Strange to lose his role as Sorcerer Supreme to Stephen Strange’s most iconic comic book adventures, here are the 10 best Doctor Strange stories in Marvel Comics.
10) “The Last Days of Magic” (2016)
In 2015, Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo created the Doctor Strange series that was part of the “All-New, All-Different” relaunch that ran for 20 issues. What made this story great was that Marvel showed here how magic always comes with a cost, and Strange was going through escalating physical and spiritual pain, which was starting to break him down. This led to the “Last Days of Magic” storyline, which finally stripped Strange of virtually all his spells and mystical artifacts, forcing him to rebuild from scratch and change the status of magic across the entire Marvel Universe.
9) Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts (1974–1976)
For fans who want to see some old-school Doctor Strange stories where Marvel Comics got very wild with the mystical part of the universe, the Steve Englehart, Frank Brunner, and Gene Colan stories from the 1970s are a good place to start. Englehart took over the character and threw Strange into some of the most ambitious cosmic and metaphysical stories that Marvel was making at the time. This included Strange meeting Death and Eternity, and it even included a Doctor Strange/Dracula crossover. This was the series that every other Doctor Strange story in the future drew from.
8) Damnation (2018)
Released in 2018, Damnation was a four-issue event series by Donny Cates, Nick Spencer, and Rod Reis that was a direct follow-up to Secret Empire. In this story, Strange used borrowed Asgardian magic from the World Tree to resurrect Las Vegas, but the city had been claimed by Mephisto, who built the Hotel Inferno over it. Mephisto turned several heroes into new versions of Ghost Rider, and Strange battled Mephisto in a game, with Strange’s own soul on the line. Mephisto continued his rule in Vegas after this series, but it was a great event with Doctor Strange playing the demon at his own game.
7) New Avengers: Illuminati (2007)
Doctor Strange was a member of the New Avengers, but he was also a member of the secret Illuminati, a group that influenced many things behind the scenes and caused more trouble than they prevented. It was this series that showed that the Illuminati existed, retconning several past events. In one of the most significant moments in Doctor Strange’s history, the group gathered all six Infinity Gems and split them up for safekeeping, with Strange taking the Soul Gem. This series also showed the Illuminati banishing Hulk from Earth to Sakaar, which would lead to World War Hulk and the Secret Invasion.
6) “Way of the Weird” (2015)
Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo started their run on Doctor Strange in 2015 with the first five issues telling the “Way of the Weird” storyline. While this led to “The Last Days of Magic,” it was the first arc from the run that set everything up. This was where Strange first began experiencing the grotesque, often physical, side effects of using magic, which changed how he had to operate for his own well-being. This was also the series that expanded Strange’s home, adding in otherworldly libraries, demonic refrigerators, and reality-jumping doors. This was a great entry point for anyone who had never read Doctor Strange comics.
5) Doctor Strange: The End (2020)
Doctor Strange: The End is a one-shot story by Leah Williams and Filipe Andrade. In this story, Stephen Strange is an aged sorcerer, and the last remaining magic-user on a cyberpunk future Earth where magic has been all but extinguished. Strange is then sent on a mission to battle a malevolent entity known as the All-Consuming End, which feeds on the death of magic. The story was about memories and creating a legacy that the world can live through. This book was part of the future-era stories that Marvel was putting out at that time, and it was praised for its melancholic tone and Andrade’s stylized art.
4) Strange Tales #110–168 (1963-1968)
Anyone who wants to see where it all started, Doctor Strange debuted in Strange Tales #110 in 1963 as the backup story in comics with the Human Torch as the lead. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko worked on the title, with Ditko creating the template for what every future Doctor Strange story would visually look like. This run introduced Wong, the Ancient One, Baron Mordo, Clea, The Mindless Ones, Dormammu, Eternity, and many more. Stephen Strange became so popular in this series that Strange Tales ended, and Doctor Strange Vol. 1 replaced it with issue #169.
3) Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment (1989)
Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment is a graphic novel from 1989 by Roger Stern and Mike Mignola. In this book, Strange wins a contest of sorcerers convened by the Vishanti and is rewarded with the unfortunate task of helping the runner-up, Doctor Doom. Strange helps teach Doom magic so they can travel to Mephisto’s realm to free Doom’s mother, Cynthia von Doom, from eternal damnation. This story had a lot coming out of it, including Strange helping teach Doom, which eventually made the villain powerful enough to become the Sorcerer Supreme himself over three and a half decades later. It is also easy to see a strong line from this artwork to Mignola’s Hellboy comics.
2) The Death of Doctor Strange (2021–2022)
The Death of Doctor Strange was a 2021-2022 five-issue miniseries by Jed MacKay and Lee Garbett that changed everything about Doctor Strange and magic in the Marvel Universe. The main story is a murder mystery as someone killed Strange in the Sanctum Sanctorum, with his hands posthumously removed, and the Eye of Agamotto and Cloak of Levitation stolen. It is a younger time-traveling Strange who helps lead the investigation. This would lead to Clea taking the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme, where she had her own title. While Strange got the role back for a short time, this book showed that Marvel could remove Strange from that job and create some great stories out of it. Scarlet Witch is the current Sorcerer Supreme.
1) The Oath (2006)
The best Doctor Strange story of all time, when it comes to the impact it left on the character and Marvel Comics, is the 2006 story, “The Oath” by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin. This story opens with Wong dragging Strange into Night Nurse’s clinic after he was shot with a silver bullet. Strange then investigates the murder attempt while trying to find a cure for Wong’s brain tumor. This leads to a moral dilemma when Strange learns Otkid’s Elixir is a cure for cancer, and Strange has to decide if he will save Wong or all of humanity. This is one of Doctor Strange’s best-plotted thrillers and is a nice change from simply fighting demons.
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