Comics

Spider-Man and Doctor Strange’s Relationship Is Even More Complicated Than in No Way Home

Doctor Strange needs Spider-Man’s help to save the world.

Image Credit: Sony Pictures

One of the more comedic and heartwarming pairings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was between Spider-Man and Iron Man. The heroes shared a mentee-mentor relationship that abruptly ended after Iron Man sacrificed himself to stop Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. With Iron Man gone, Spider-Man found someone else to look up to in the form of Doctor Strange. The web-slinger and the Sorcerer Supreme teamed up in Spider-Man: No Way Home and while they butted heads at times, they worked well together. The friction fans witnessed in Spider-Man: No Way Home pales in comparison to what’s happening with them in the comics. *WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #65.DEATHS. Continue reading at your own risk!

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Amazing Spider-Man #65.DEATHS comes from the creative team of Derek Landy, Kev Walker, Wade Von Grawbadger, Mattia Iacono, and VC’s Joe Caramagna. It’s a special one-shot tie-in to “The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man” storyline where Doctor Doom has gifted Spider-Man with magical armor and eight lives to take down the Eight Scions of Cyttorak. This is typically a job for the Sorcerer Supreme, but after Doctor Doom stole the mantle from Doctor Strange, Doom lobbied for Spider-Man to do his dirty work for him. But that doesn’t mean Doctor Strange has been absent from the event.

Doctor Strange pays a visit to Peter Parker after his most recent challenge, where he had to bear witness to and feel the deaths of countless people — including Aunt May and Mary Jane. This amount of trauma was enough for Spider-Man to give up as Earth’s champion in the fight against the Eight Scions of Cyttorak. The meeting between Spider-Man and Doctor Strange illustrates just how complicated their relationship has become, and how it’s nowhere near as bad as what audiences witnessed in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Doctor Strange tries to talk Spider-Man out of quitting the superhero game

image credit: marvel comics

Spider-Man is one of the most strong-willed heroes in the Marvel Universe, and the last thing anyone would suspect him of being is a quitter. However, Spider-Man has lost his fair share of loved ones in the line of duty, from Gwen Stacy to Uncle Ben. Compound that with having to feel hundreds and hundreds of deaths over and over again, it can leave a lasting toll on a person. Spider-Man has decided enough is enough and heads back home to hang up his tights for good.

Doctor Strange has other ideas. Stephen Strange shows up at Peter Parker’s apartment to tell him that the covenant must be upheld, meaning the battle between Earth’s protector and the Eight Scions of Cyttorak has to continue to its completion. Spider-Man has spent four of his lives over five of the challenges so far, so he’s already halfway done with the Scions. However, Spidey is sticking to his guns and not budging.

What makes things even more complicated is the presence of Phil Coulson, who fans will remember from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson was killed years ago in the comics during the Secret Empire event, but was recently brought back to life as the embodiment of Death via a new Infinity Stone, coincidentally called the Death Stone. Phil Coulson also shows up at Peter’s apartment, and he may be the only person who understands what Spider-Man is going through. Doctor Strange urges Coulson not to act like the Watcher and actually interfere to talk some sense into Spider-Man. If anyone can understand what it’s like to experience thousands of deaths, it’s Phil Coulson, the new Death Stone bearer.

Spider-Man: No Way Home changed Peter Parker’s relationship with Doctor Strange

image credit: sony pictures

The big fallout from Spider-Man: No Way Home was how Doctor Strange cast a spell that made the entire world forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. That also includes Doctor Strange, who fought alongside Spider-Man in the Battle of Earth in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. After Spider-Man’s secret identity became public knowledge, Spidey turned to the Sorcerer Supreme for help to undo it. This resulted in the opening of the multiverse, causing villains from Sony’s Spider-Man movies like Doctor Octopus, Electro, Green Goblin, and Sandman to travel to the MCU.

Doctor Strange wanted to send the villains back to their proper universes, where they all met untimely deaths while fighting Spider-Man. Peter couldn’t live with sending them to their deaths, which is where the conflict between Spider-Man and Doctor Strange came in. Though they had differing philosophies, the heroes ultimately worked together alongside Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men.

Spider-Man and Doctor Strange worked well together, but it remains to be seen if the two will ever fight side-by-side again. Spider-Man 4 is currently in development, and Doctor Strange will inevitably return for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. We’ll have to see if a new set of Spider-Man movies will keep him out of the MCU multiverse drama for more personal stories, or if he’ll be back with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes once again.