Character Concept
Once a brilliant neurosurgeon, Stephen Strange's arrogance proved to be his undoing in an untimely automobile accident that rendered his hands damaged beyond repair. Spending an obscene amount of his wealth on searching a cure, Stephen resorted to traversing to the far reaches of the Himalayas in search of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, a collective of individuals who supposedly could cure any ailment with sorcery. Under the tutelage of the Ancient One, Stephen Strange devoted himself to the study of the supernatural and arcane and became a fellow defender of the
During a routine inspection of the Wundagore Mountains alongside his teacher and fellow friend, Baron Karl Mordo, a resulting series of unfortunate events led to the death of the Ancient One. Out of guilt and shame for his self-perceived role in the death of his master, Stephen declined the post of Sorcerer Supreme, leaving Mordo to shoulder the mantle of becoming Earth's mightiest mortal. As adversaries of the Masters, supernatural foes, and otherworldy dangers seek to take advantage of the Order's vulnerability, Stephen must now become the newest steward of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum. Wiz-biz. Wiz-biz. Wizards gonna bizards. This is mostly a worldbuilding exercise in magic featuring Stephen as the main character. He's not a neophyte hedge wizard nor is he the vincent price looking god-fucking motherfucker yet. He's what I call a 'Year Two' Strange. I'm primarily drawing from the old Kirby runs, a lil bit of MCU, a lil bit of Dresden Files, a lil bit of Hellboy and every piece of urban fantasy out there alongside Jed McKay's newest run to create an updated version of Marvel's Sorceror Supreme.
Key Notes
Tenants of the Sanctum SanctorumDoctor Stephen Strange M.D - A relatively young (40 is considered to be a teenager in wizard years) master of the mystic arts who was considered by many in the council to be the natural successor for the post of Sorceror Supreme should the Ancient One face an untimely death. He has become somewhat of a black sheep in the wake of the chaos that followed his master's death as many practitioners and disciples viewed his rejection of the post as a deliberate insult to their entire order. Considered by many masters to be a loose cannon with a penchant for breaking magical law to suit their own needs.
Wong - Chef, chemist, assassin, thamaturgist, butler, cleaner, Wong is what Wong is. Having served as an archivist for over two centuries in the Order of the Mystic Arts, he is Strange’s sole confidant.
Bats - The spectre of an NYPD basset hound who died under Strange’s care after saving his former master’s life from a bullet. Now, he has made the New York Sanctum Sanctorum his haunt and assists Strange with matters of mortal law enforcement.
Jericho Drumm - An young Haitian magician who specializes in the voodoo arts and is currently the disciple of Doctor Strange. His brother, Daniel Drumm, serves on the Council of Masters as a senior member.
Zelma Stanton - A college dropout with a burgeoning talent in the mystic arts who trains to be the next archivist of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum and an intern in the New York Public Library.
Masters of the Mystic Arts
Baron Karl Mordo, Sorcerer Supreme - Once Strange’s closest friend, they have become estranged in the wake of the Ancient One’s demise as Mordo struggles to bear the burden of the mantle of their former master.
The Council of Masters - A collection of 5 democratically voted Masters who delegate the affairs of the Order of the Mystic Arts and serve a check on the authority of the Sorceror Supreme. The current members of the 445th Council of Masters includes:
Clea - A 400 year old Faltine refugee from the Dark Dimension who is the niece of Dormammu and Umar. She originally held the post of Sorceror Supreme in the Dark Dimension before another eventual war between the Faltine warlords forced her to flee to Earth. Was romantically involved with Strange during his years as an initiate before circumstances concerning her parentage forced her to break up with him. In spite of this, she still harbors affection for Stephen.
Daniel Drumm - A Jamaican sorceror who specializes in Voodoo Magic. He is the youngest member of the Council and is considered the most inexperienced in matters of sorcery. Still, he has accomplished much for his age, establishing the first Sanctum Sanctorum in New Orleans and being the Council's primary delegate and contact with the Loa Pantheon. He is also the elder brother of Jericho Drumm and has entrusted Strange with tuition of his brother in the mystical arts.
Anthony Druid - An Celtic druid who traces back his history to the time of Avalon, when King Arthur ruled and enough magic suffused the air that even a peasant could pray and shit gold from his back.
Agatha Harkness - The First Witch and the only member of the council who has managed to read the Darkhold with their mind intact. They were the inspiration of folktales concerning witches worldwide and indulged in a few massacres during her first few centuries before becoming tired of it.
Kaecilius Orlo - A German railroad engineer who immigrated to Canada in the late 1800s. His family died in the Halifax explosion and his second family died yet again due to the Spanish Flu. He is the second-most youngest member of the council and is a close ally to Karl Mordo, being almost akin to a yes-man.
The Vishanti - A trio of elder cosmic deities consisting of Agamotto The Wise, Hoggoth the Hoary and Osthur the Lawful who have traditionally served as patron principalities of the Masters of the Mystic Arts. As of late, they have become mysteriously silent.
Otherwordly Forces
Dormammu, the Dread Lord - Ruler of the Dark Dimension and arch-enemy of the Order of the Mystic Arts. He first stepped on our plane in the Neolithic Era and was beaten back by the First Wizard, Agamotto the Wise. Since then, he has considered Earth more trouble than it's worth but make no mistake, he is merely preparing to mount one grand invasion that will remove any hint of his former defeat by those pesky mortals.
Nightmare - Freddy Kreuger, eat your heart out. Every nightmare, every bad dream, every chill in the night is the fault of one singular individual. The underlord of the Dream Dimension who hopes to breach the barriers of the Astral Plane and enter the material realm to wreak eternal horror.
Chthon - The source of all Darkness on the mortal plane. Even though he is sealed away in the deepest, darkest world, the legacy of his work has left a festering scar on Earth since the dawn of the first morning. He is the author of the Darkhold, the scribe of Chaos Magic, the primogenitor of Black magic and has spawned unholy beings from Earth’s first virgin soil.
Mephisto - Though he has only held the post for 959 years since he tore out the heart of his predecessor, Beezlebub, Mephisto's vileness is no less cruel than any Arch-Lord of Hell. His greatest asset is not the legions of demons he commands but his quicksliver tongue and ability to make any deal fall in his favor.
Shuma-Gorath - He/She/It/They is known by many/multiple/hundreds of names, the Many-Angled One, the Never-Ending, The All-Growing. The ruler of a hundred dimensions/realms/realities, Shuma-Gorath has attempted multiple incursions/invasions/conquests of Earth and has been beaten back at terrible cost by the Masters of the Mystic Arts. It has been 9/nearly a decade/4 cosmic solstices since his last invasion and he only grows stronger each time.
