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New Set Photo Reveals Spider-Man Teaming Up With Doctor Strange—What's Their Comic Book History?

We recently learned that Spider-Man will team up with the Sorcerer Supreme during the battle.

By Alex HodgsonPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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[Credit: Marvel Comics]

With the anticipation for Avengers: Infinity War mounting, for now, we have to make do with set photos on Twitter. We recently learned that our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man will team up with the Sorcerer Supreme during the battle, and a recent tweet has given us a further peek at the pairing.

via Twitter

While it's simply a lighting check and not the most exciting of photos — we don't even have Tom Holland or Benedict Cumberbatch on set — it's obvious that it's the two characters, and it totally looks like Spider-Man is having a conversation with Doctor Strange's cloak. Let's be real, after Peter spent half of #SpiderManHomecoming bonding with the A.I. in his suit, it's easy to pretend he's chatting with an inanimate object.

Over the years, the two characters have interacted quite a lot, going all the way back to the '60s. It's not that surprising when you consider they both live in New York, but the two heroes deal with different worlds... literally. The same is true for the #MCU, Peter Parker's world is much more grounded whereas Doctor Strange introduced a number of different dimensions to the universe. So, just how could the two team up?

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2 [Credit: Marvel Comics]

Whenever the two characters have met in the past, Doctor Strange has usually taken more of a mentorship role to Spider-Man. This makes sense due to the disparity in their ages, Strange being a middle-aged doctor and Peter being a student. The first meeting of the two was in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2 from 1965 and featured the two teaming up to battle the evil sorcerer, Xandu. This comic actually began long-running story featuring the two heroes battling Xandu that lasted for more than 30 years. Xandu's goal was, ultimately, to revive his girlfriend, Melinda Morrison, after she was caught by the mystical energy released by one of his ceremonies. This energy trapped her between life and death after which Xandu vowed to rescue her.

As the Master of the Mystic Arts, #DoctorStrange was duty-bound to stop the evil sorcerer, and thanks to a twist of fate, Spider-Man got dragged along for the ride. While on patrol for the night, he discovered two shifty figures leaving the Sanctum Santorum through the skylight and he intervened. Doctor Strange joins Spider-Man for the final battle between the two and we get a wonderful display of Strange's grandiose spells combined with Spidey's snark.

[Credit: Marvel Comics]

One More Day

Doctor Strange plays a crucial role in one of the most important (and controversial) Spider-Man stories of recent times: "One More Day". This particular story was used as a soft reboot of Spider-Man's continuity, removing the new powers he gained during "The Other" story arc and also dissolving his marriage to Mary Jane Watson, a retcon that enraged fans who were thrilled that after so many decades of carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, something good had actually happened to Peter Parker. After Aunt May is shot, Spider-Man makes a deal with the devil, Mephisto, to spare her life and it is this deal that leads to the reboot.

[Credit: Marvel Comics]

Desperate for a way to save his Aunt, Peter seeks counsel with Doctor Strange. Unfortunately though, Strange is unable to do anything as the universe has deemed that it is May's time to go. When Peter refuses to accept his answer and begs him for help, Strange then offers him the opportunity to meet with Mephisto, but warns him that the demon will be able to grant his wish, but at a cost. It's in this story that Strange casts a spell that will allow Spider-Man's identity to remain a secret once more, effectively returning #PeterParker to his more well-known status quo.

It's not just in the comics that Spider-Man and Doctor Strange have a history, either; they've also appeared in animated form a number of times. In Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Strange first appears when his Sanctum is invaded by a group of mysterious thieves. #SpiderMan follows the thieves inside and battles them where he discovers that one of them is Mary Jane Watson. From then on, Spidey has a personal stake in this and he follows them to their base. However, because of their mystic powers, he finds himself teaming up with Doctor Strange.

It's later revealed that the thieves are working under the manipulation of Baron Mordo, who seeks the Wand of Watoomb to free Dormammu from his dimension. Spidey and Strange are able to defeat Mordo, which releases Mary Jane from his control. Strange educates the web-slinger of the mystic arts throughout the episode and Spidey is clearly impressed by the Sorcerer Supreme.

While we know the two heroes will meet in #InfinityWar, we don't fully know how they'll interact yet. The arrogant, self-centered Stephen Strange we first met in the MCU certainly wouldn't have taken to Peter Parker, but as some time has passed between Doctor Strange and Infinity War, we'll clearly see a different man to the one we are first introduced to. It certainly promises to be an amusing combination.

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About the Creator

Alex Hodgson

I'm a massive superhero fan who loves to put my thoughts down in writing. Spider-Man is my favourite, but I'm also a lover of the Arrowverse. Follow me on twitter @AlexJHodgson

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