5 Major Reveals About Marvel’s Doctor Strange From Comic Prelude

The first of two issues of Doctor Strange Prelude hit stores from Marvel Comics hit stores today, and unlike some of their other prequel comics, had a lot of newsworthy story beats inside it. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is fully revealing magic for the first time in Doctor Strange, and now, thanks to this comic, we know some of the people that will be using it.

While nothing in this prelude comicbook can be considered 100% proof that it will appear identically in the movie, it does give us a lot of possibility, and some unique peeks, about 4 months early, into the world of Doctor Strange. This book is considered canon to the MCU, after all.

Here are the five biggest things we found out about Doctor Strange through this comic!

How Magic Works in the MCU

While we all saw cities bend and astral forms emerge in the first Doctor Strange trailer, we haven’t really seen what magic will look like in the film. Thanks to this comic, we have our first glimpse of it, and it’s pretty stunning. Just as in the pages of Marvel Comics, it seems there will be full symbols when spells are cast, and there are incantations necessary as well. When the spells are cast, it also seems to open some sort of portal from which the magic emerges – every use of spells in the book includes swirling skies.

Later in the issue (not pictured), it also seems that spells are used in combination with martial arts. As magic has often been called “The Mystic Arts” in Marvel Comics, it seems they may be exploring those things, bring the Mystic and Martial together into one new and unique form. It certainly makes the next look at the film, likely coming during Comic-Con, all the more intriguing.

Wong is a Master of the Mystic Arts

We’ve known for awhile that Wong would not just be the “manservant,” an aging stereotype, of Doctor Strange’s as he is in the pages of Marvel Comics. Instead, as officially revealed here, Wong is one of the several Masters of the Mystic Arts. He works alongside the other Masters to keep magic under control in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and as you’ll discover later, has an even larger role to play here.

Daniel Drumm and Tina Minoru Enter the MCU

A major Easter Egg here comes in the form of two of the other Masters of the Mystic Arts. Tina Minoru is a big one for fans of modern magic users – that’s the name of the mother of Niko Minoru, one of the main characters in Runaways. That comicbook, a fan favorite from Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, has long been rumored as in some stage of development by Marvel Studios, and including one of the main characters’ mothers here is a big step in the right direction.

Daniel Drumm, meanwhile, is deceased in the Marvel Comics universe. However, his death led to his brother, Jericho Drumm, to take up the mystic arts himself. As Brother Voodoo, Jericho has worked both on his own and as a member of various teams. He also, for a time, took the place of Strange as Sorcerer Supreme. His brother’s presence in this prequel comic could be an indication that we’ll see Jericho in the film.

Introducing Kaesilius – Before He Was a Villain

We talked at length about Kaesilius, the villain of Doctor Strange, earlier, but it’s worth noting him here, as well. The big deal? He’s a senior-ranking Master of the Mystic Arts, fighting right there alongside Drumm, Minoru, and Wong, even showing Wong respect for his own powers. He also has a sharper look to him than the others – probably due to his twin dagger-scythes, instead of the staffs the other three Masters use.

Drumm and Wong, Keepers of the NYC Sanctum Sanctorum

Most fans of Doctor Strange know he takes residence in his Sanctum Sanctorum, in New York’s lower east side. Well, this comic reveals that before it belonged to him, it was under the watchful eyes of Daniel Drumm and Wong. In this chamber, Wong puts the powerful artifact, which has some power circling around light and darkness, in a locked case. Of note in the Sanctum? Yes, that’s Doctor Strange’s own Cloak of Levitation in a case back in the right corner – think we’ll be seeing that one again!