It is OFFICIAL! THE DEFENDERS - RETURN! Also... DOCTOR STRANGE shows his BATTLE SCARS...

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As JUST ANNOUNCED at the Marvel "Fear Itself" Panel at the San Diego Comic Con...
December 2011 will see the release of a new series...

THE DEFENDERS!

Cover art to issue # 1 by Terry and Rachael Dodson!

(It appears that DR. STRANGE is to get a new costume of black and red...)

 Being unable to physically attend the Con (as I'm on the East Coast, am generally lacking the funds for such a trip and am nursing an illness) I instead linked up to their webcast videos and news posts, waiting for the news from the 'Fear Itself' panel - waiting for news on what is to come for DOCTOR STRANGE and the other "6-Dimensions" characters.

In this case, specifically those presented in the teaser images I posted here the past few days (most recently - [HERE]) .

Suffice it to say, and I'm sure it can be found fairly easily at most of your major comic news sites, if not already, then any second now... but I was forced to play video, pause it and grab this image of the announcement as well as the cover image seen above (Edit: I have been able to replace the cover image now with a better quality as it does now appear on sites like CBR [HERE]).

Written by Matt Fraction with art by Terry Dodson, the Defenders not only features the characters that were presented in the aforementioned teaser promos, but also a changing guard of other heroes, much like the non-team assemblage of old.

Fans of the original team will be thrilled to know that NAMOR; the SUB-MARINER also joins other original members; SILVER SURFER and DOCTOR STRANGE as they, and other new members, IRON FIST and RED SHE-HULK join to help the HULK who is in desperate need of their aid.

As it seems, there is a huge mystery of cosmic importance that the Hulk brings to these "friends" and he requires their aid to solve it and deal with it. However, the mysteries will be of such immensity that the members of the team will find themselves unable to speak of any of it to ANYONE other than members of the DEFENDERS!
Much like the Marvel ILLUMINATI, which Strange and Namor were a part, the DEFENDERS will also shoulder unbearable burdens to which no one else may be privvy.

With all the animosity and problems that exist recently between all the members of this team, as well as the mystery of IRON FIST's allegiance to AGAMOTTO (as seen in issues of NEW AVENGERS (review found ([HERE]) and the recent issue # 7 of IRON MAN 2.0), this is going to be one heck of a tense team of heroes. VERY much a MARVEL team. Very much like the classic DEFENDERS!

Perhaps, I shouldn't be saying anything negative at this early stage, but the artwork shown on that Defenders cover looks to be of pretty poor quality.
I've seen the Dodson's art on Spider-Man and X-Men titles and it usually comes across as more... polished... than this.
As it stands, this cover image looks like the same rushed "quality" of the old "SECRET DEFENDERS" issues by Tom Grindberg (whose work I liked...  WHEN he took his time to do a crisp job of it).
Still, this may not be the "final" image, as some glitzy coloring, or finished inks, might help it out somehow.

ALSO of note, is that while this spins out of 'Fear Itself' it also bears watching because of the membership's ties to other "link-ups" being promoted at Marvel.

First off; the MIGHTY (as seen in promos - and as I blogged about weeks ago [HERE]) this image shows that Doctor Strange and Iron Fist are among those who battle the "WORTHY" (of which HULK is a part)...

... as well as having DOCTOR STRANGE be a part of something that also spins off of the event; "BATTLE SCARS", which, like the "INITIATIVE" will be an ongoing title showing what happens to these major players of this 'Fear Itself' battle.

Note, the ORIGINAL, UNEDITED version of this image - as was seen at the Con, and subsequently, on the video feed featured THOR (or someone looking like him) in the top left corner.

As an added bonus, Valkyrie appears to play a big role as a member of the MIGHTY as well as this BATTLE SCARS crew.

Interested? Intruiged? Looking in eager anticipation for December?
Well... so am I! (And NOT just because I can't stand the 100+ degree heat this past week!)

To get some hopefully good stories featuring Doctor Strange in several titles... I'll be a VERY good boy and wait for Santa to drop these issues down my chimney!


"Tamam Shud!"
~P~

Lo... THERE SHALL COME... THE DEFENDERS!

IN PREPARATION FOR THE DEFENDERS!

While originally intending to post this within a day or two of my most previous post, I felt that it could wait until it was closer to the actual "reveal".

Anyway, as written in my last post ([HERE]), we all saw the various teaser images that alluded to the gathering of several characters in the post "Fear Itself". They were DR. STRANGE, SILVER SURFER, RED SHE-HULK and IRON FIST.

While the meaning of the various wordplay images might differ from person to person, I feel fairly confident that it's all right there in the teaser itself - especially the caption; "It's Either IN you or It's NOT."
And the only word that is IN all of the characters is DEFENDER - except for the outlined figure of the HULK - within whom it does NOT.

So, to me, it's that Hulk is the rogue agent who is the initial catalyst for these four Defenders to unite.
Whether Hulk is to be a long-term bad guy or just gone off the rails (yet again) is not certain.
But what is certain is that these teasers have long-time fans of the classic "non-team" chomping at the bit.

So, until the Comic-Con event officially sheds some light on this project, allow me to illuminate a little on the mystery of the teaser images.

Specifically, where the images originated and to definitively reveal just who is whom...

"The Last Shall Be First"... well, the HULK image was the last to be revealed, and it is presented below alongside the actual comic image from which it was taken.

HULK

Hulk image from DARK REIGN : THE HULK # 1 (art by Frank Cho)

It's been questioned as to WHY the Hulk's pants are black (those people swear that it is to be the RED HULK, but RULK is known to be occupied in the coming months)... and the answer is hidden in the word jumble of this Hulk. Something happens to HULK and he undergoes another color shift... this time to ONYX HULK.

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IRON FIST

 IMMORTAL IRON FIST # 6 (by David Aja)

Fans question the reasoning as to why a fairly "low level" character like Iron Fist is to be in this line-up. I believe it has something to do with his new ties to AGAMOTTO.
(as last seen is issues of New Avengers - review of same ([HERE] - although there are others in that series. All within a post of each other.) as well as the newest issue of Iron Man 2.0 # 7.

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RED SHE HULK

(SHE-RULK)

RED SHE-HULK taken from the issue of HULK # 22 (by Ed McGuinness)

Red She-Hulk will be drawn into this fold by the very nature of the fact that she is the Hulk's ex-wife and wished to be there to help him (or hurt him bad!).

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SILVER SURFER

 SILVER SURFER from the BACK cover of the "DANGEROUS ARTIFACTS" special (by Claudio Castellini)

 A classic DEFENDER, it is good to see the Surfer back with his compatriots on this fairly "Earth-based" team.

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DOCTOR STRANGE

Doctor Strange's pose was taken from a fairly recent Marvel promotional art sample (what Marvel sends out to prospective vendors and manufacturers to use as production art).

That computer colored image was itself inspired by artwork from the old 1982 series * of "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe" issues (# 3 - with art by Paul Smith)

FAR, far too many reasons why Doctor Strange needs to be on this team:

• His lineage as the de-facto Leader of nearly every incarnation of the Defenders.
• His need to somehow fix things with HULK after the whole World War Hulk debacle.
• His slow rise to power and reclamation of same after losing his position as Sorcerer Supreme.
• His big role (soon to be seen) in the end of FEAR ITSELF as one of the MIGHTY (a grouping of which many of these Defenders are also comprised).
• To get him away from BENDIS!

It's going to be a big spin-off to the AVENGERS, but one without the name of Avenger.
For these are... THE DEFENDERS!!!

* Footnote: Incidentally, that Paul Smith illustration was used for most subsequent incarnations of the "Marvel Handbooks" as well, and up until only very recently when it was replaced by the photoshopped version, was very nearly THE representation of Doctor Strange to the outside world.


This little tidbit is just a placeholder - as we wait for the official reveal of what we ALL KNOW is to come...

THE DEFENDERS!!!!

WHAT LIES WITHIN : DEFENDER.

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* UPDATED *

(See end of post)

The mystery of the teaser-images that Marvel has been releasing grows ever clearer.
As I blogged about the other day - [HERE]), there have been daily teaser-images to a December 2011 event (?) that features characters shown only in outline, with descriptive words filling out the empty space within.

ALL of them carry the same tag-line:   IT'S EITHER IN YOU OR IT'S NOT.

To date, there are four images:

DOCTOR STRANGE

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IRON FIST

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RED SHE-HULK

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 SILVER SURFER
(Sadly, the poor design of this one ruins the series.
Seriously, they couldn't do this without actually rendering the surfboard?)

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There are several alluded-to verbal clues in each of these images.

First of all, each character has various letters highlighted in 4 different colors.

It has been found online there are four different messages hidden within.

A very innovative puzzle from Marvel's promotional department (and, while really, anyone with a lot of time and minimum spelling skills could figure the solutions, we give kudos to those who have done so for us). 

Yellow: The universe will break
Orange: Shut the engines down
Red: Everyone you love dies
Brown-ish: Fight to save everything

It seems to be a dire warning of some cataclysmic event that will precipitate the union (or at least the participation) of these four characters (and perhaps others?).

Are the lines to be read as a whole message? If so, the poor grammar would indicate more of a prophesy than an actual stated phrase.

If not a unified message, is each colored message unique to members of this assemblage? And if so, how do we parse whose colored message is for whom?

Also, how do we know that these 4-word phrases are complete? While it seems that these four are likely to be the whole coded message, complete...there could be more words remaining in each one.

There is to be at least one more image forthcoming tomorrow (which I will post here as an update - or perhaps in its own post... we'll see). It could either be the full team assembled image, or yet another outlined character.

The clue of IT'S EITHER IN YOU OR IT'S NOT also leads us to look at the individual words within each of the figures. Besides HERO * one other easily found word shared between them all is DEFENDER.  **

Could this be the new DEFENDERS line-up?

Would Marvel release a team book that isn't in some way linked to the Avengers brand?

So, if so, perhaps the official team name may be the AVENGING DEFENDERS, or the DEFENDING AVENGERS? Why not the MIGHTY DEFENDERS? I don't know for sure, but I will say I'm eager to find out.

And if this IS indeed a new roster for the DEFENDERS, it it a slight departure from Marvel's usual formulaic habit of filling the team.

In times past, it was usual for Marvel to pattern each subsequent iteration of the classic "non-team" with either the same "big-4" original members; Dr. Strange, Namor, Hulk and Silver Surfer... or if any of them are to be replaced, it is usually with analogues.

In the most recent cases; the "LAST DEFENDERS" used; Hellstorm, Krang, She-Hulk and Nighthawk (a new Nighthawk, but still based on one of the old teams classic secondary members), and in "Fear Itself; THE DEEP" (which was operating under the working title; "Fear Itself; The DEFENDERS - as the pencils for the original art attest), the team consists of; Dr. Strange, Namor, Savage She-Hulk (Lyra, an alternate-universe future daughter of Hulk and Thundra) and Loa (a mutant X-Man turned-Atlantean).

So, how can marvel release a new Defenders line-up/ title if there are theoretically two other teams running around currently under that banner?

Well, "Fear Itself: The DEEP" is a mini-series, and like the Defenders classic mission-statement, is a by-product of there being a big-enough danger for one of the members to summon the others.

And the "Last Defenders" are technically disbanded, although they ARE appearing (perhaps in a non-current timeline) in the pages of the new mini-series; "Vengeance" (written by Joe Casey, their creator).

Besides, if there can be umpty-umpth Avengers teams and titles, why not share the Defenders wealth?

(Y'know... aside from the fact that the Defenders brand has zero marketability for Marvel.)

Aside from there being an apparent lack of the headstrong, brazen character-role that was filled by Namor, this is an interesting line-up. I must confess that I am a bit hard pressed to believe that this roster will remain for long. Fans of the Defenders want THE DEFENDERS. And whenever that line-up is not met, the fans tend to walk away.

Iron Fist is a great character, but he's not the usual "fit". He's much more in line with the way Doctor Strange USED to be handled in the title. Learned, patient, spiritual. Red She-Hulk can fill Namor's headstrong role as well as Hulk's usual smasher role, so that is fine. Surfer and Strange are both drastically different characters than they once were as well.

Surfer is now back to being the Herald of Galactus (unless that has changed in the past few months, of which I am unaware), and is of a darker-minded persona.

Stephen Strange is also changed. Although the extent of which truly depends on whomever is scripting the character at any given moment. He has been shown to be sullen, depressed, and weakened by his loss of the "Sorcerer Supreme" mantle in one title, and then capable, upbeat and mystically adept in another.

These images also bring forth one other question for Doctor Strange...

He is shown to be back in his classic outfit, complete with Cloak of Levitation, and a space for the Eye of Agamotto.

But these items had been lost to him over the past few years, along with the loss of his role as Sorcerer Supreme.

The Cloak was given to his successor, Brother / Doctor Voodoo, as was the Eye of Agamotto. However, the Eye was supposedly destroyed (you can read my intense dissection of that event [HERE]), and the Cloak was left ownerless with the apparent death of Voodoo.

Or are we in danger of being too literal in the visual representations shown?

Is his image shown in classic garb to be the actual case, or is that look being used just to clarify who he is, since his current wardrobe is not distinct enough for the outline treatment?  

Only time will tell.

What do YOU think?

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* Footnote: UPDATE: Hrm... It seems there is a word missing from Doctor Strange's image. That word is HERO. I thought I had seen it there when I wrote this piece, but after posting it, I went back in to check it and no... it's not there. Now, I don't know why the word HERO would be left off of Strange's image, but it is. A small nit to pick, but one that makes me wonder... is he REALLY a Hero (or at least, a SUPER hero)? I really don't like him to be portrayed as a "super-hero", often stating that he works best as a true sorcerer. But, still, even if he is a mysterious outsider who may cross paths with other super-folk while crossing dimensions to battle demons from beyond, he IS still a HERO.

** Footnote: There is one word evidently missing from Iron Fist's image. That word is MIGHTY.

It appears in both; Dr. Strange as well as Red She-Hulk as they are both in the "MIGHTY" team from the wrap-up of the FEAR ITSELF event.

However, according to the teaser image (seen in my previous post [HERE], Iron Fist is as well.

Still, a small slip up. One hardly worth noticing - except by the very nature of the images, you are meant to pour over each word looking for clues and meanings.

As such, I still wonder what the "3" stands for in the image of Doctor Strange.
As I mentioned in the past post, Strange has a number 3 on his chin (under the symbol for infinity).

Iron Fist has a large "33", but I have since read in his bio that 33 is the age that most of the previous holders of the title of "Iron Fist" had died. And Danny Rand is now 33...

But the "3" for Doc is curious. Could it stand for the Vishanti? They are a tribunal. But VISHANTI is a word that is shown in his promo image.... so what is the "3"?

Can anyone think of what it might be?
Am I forgetting something?

Feel free to toss ideas in the comments section.

* UPDATE *

Marvel released the next (and "last" image) of the series, and it shows... THE HULK.

Interestingly... there is NO mention of the word "DEFENDER". Only "OFFENDER".
My take? Something happens with the HULK and the others need to gather to deal with this.

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"Tamam Shud!"
~P~

A Review of New Avengers v2 # 4 : The EYE of the BEHOLDEN -or-Possession is EYE-tenths of the Law.

A "review" of the events in NEW AVENGERS v2 # 1-4.

 Spidey faces the dreaded "Peering Peeper of the Prostate".

Oh... I've put this off for as long as I could.
I've been busy with a lot of personal things (and as such expect an "important" announcement to be made here in a few days) and have been hoping to keep my face out of the spanner/blades equation that is the internet fan-frenzy on stuff like this, wherein a story is not yet completed, and yet everywhere - the fanbase is frothing at the bit, trying to make some semblance of sense of - what seems to be - a poorly written story (at least from a 40 year canonical point of view) dealing with Doctor Strange, the Ancient One and the Eye of Agamotto.

I am not going to write a review of all of the first 4 issues, and the many things that I would normally examine in infinitesimal detail.
Like:

• The ridiculousness of writer Brian Bendis' including little footnotes as to which mystical spells are being used and from which tome they originated (with page numbers and everything).
• The amazingly drool-worthy artwork of Stuart Immonen.
• The awesome astral rescue Doc performs to save Ms. Marvel.
• The whiny-bitch that Daimon Hellstrom is being shown to be.
• The lack of respect for Doctor Voodoo.
• The fantastic nature that Dr. S. (and to a lesser extent, Dr. V.) insist that knowledge is the true path to power.
• The B-S attitude of "the Ancient One".
• Iron Fist and his drinking of the mystical kool-aid.
• Wolverine: Apparent "Mystical Crossroads" of the Marvel U.
• and much much more...

I'd love to, but that way leads to madness.
No.
Instead, I'm only going to deal with the "mystery" surrounding the Eye of Agamotto (and the Ancient One).

Before I start, here are some scans of the last four pages of issue four.
These are pertinent to the subject at hand.
*So...y'know... SPOILER ALERT*

Everyone still with me?
OK.

*click pics to make Supreme Sized*

 

 

 

It seems that every review I have read online takes the dialogue as written - at face value.
I don't think that should be the case.

It's hard to do in a static form like comics, but I think there is a "layers behind layers" bit going on with what Iron Fist and Dr Strange are saying.

Look at Strange's face in the next-to-last page.
He is skeptical - not "guilty-looking" (as others online have written).
Strange is savvy enough to know that what is being said isn't as important as what isn't being said.
There is deception at work here.
When Iron Fist asks; flat-out - WHO the Eye "belongs" to, he is basically leading the answer.
He (and the entity behind this) could be deliberately phrasing the question so that the answer is "AGAMOTTO" - even though, Doc really SHOULD say; "Well, the Eye chose Jericho Drumm to be its wielder, so... it belongs with him".
(Of course, even back during the events wherein the Eye chose Jericho Drumm, Doctor Strange stated that this sort of thing had never happened before... so, aside from Bendis' usual "making stuff up to fit his stories", it could be that perhaps things aren't what they appear to be with the Eye.)

Also, check out the almost casually thrown-away line, also on that third scanned page, where after Iron Fist states that he spoke with the Ancient One, Doc asks; "The Ancient One came to you?"... "IN WHAT FORM?"
In what form, indeed.
That might lend a clue as to what is going on.
Since the Ancient One passed on, and is now "one with all there is", why would he be in a "physical" form?
And what was the deal with his glowing cane?
That seemed a bit ostentatious and obvious.
Of course, it could just be a "piece of flair" that artist Stuart Immonen tossed in to make it look even more visually interesting, but I'm one who is inclined to "see" clues in things like that.

Actually, speaking of clues, a multitude of clues could be hidden on that same "next-to-last" page, as while Iron Fist rants about "ownership" of the Eye, Doctor Voodoo looks on intently.
I mean, it IS his eye now, right?
Words and names are (usually) very important in magic.
Perhaps to NAME an owner outright, would cause some kind of "spell" to take effect.

If Doc said "Doctor Voodoo is now rightful owner" than maybe that would cause a domino-effect that could cause some other dilemma, since Voodoo isn't a true acolyte of the Vishanti, of whom Agamotto is one-third.
If Doc said "It is AGAMOTTO's Eye", then it would shift back to him/it.

Heck, maybe another illusion is being perpetrated and that isn't even IRON FIST at all!
Maybe that is the adversary in disguise!

I don't know.
All I can say is that something deeper seems to be afoot.

I am saying here (as I did on other forums elsewhere on the interwebs) that in MY opinion (and I have been known to be wrong) AGAMOTTO wants his eye back and simply can NOT take it unless it is surrendered.

I know that others believe that Agamotto can simply take back what is his, but I say that is probably not the case.
The same would go for anyone of us as well.
You give something of value to someone.
You can not simply just take it back.
If you LOAN someone something (which, really the Eye can be seen to be a "loaner" from Agamotto), then you usually need to ASK for it back as well.
Can you take it back? Well, yes. But that isn't the right way to do so.
The rules of etiquette are that you should ask for it back.
"Hey, Jimmy... y'know that thingamabob I loaned you? Well, I kinda need it. If it's ok with you, I'd like to get it back soon. OK? Thanks."

That's how it is done.

Even "U.S. Law" states that "possession is 9/10th of the law" and the one who HOLDS the item has the rights of it, even if it doesn't belong to them.
So, who is to say that MYSTICAL LAW isn't just as strong (if not stronger)?

That's not unheard of; even Vampires need to ask permission to enter a dwelling place. That could be seen as a part of the rules of mysticism.

The Eye has been given - handed down - from one Sorcerer Supreme to the next - STARTING with Agamotto (the 1st S.S.).
One can not simply take back what is given.
One may ASK for it back, or in the case of Agamotto, employ illusions to trick others into giving it up.

While I have NO idea what the heck the deal was in the first 3 issues, with the possession of physical bodies and the teleportation of Iron Fist (with the supposed rationalizing that it would be ok for him to be killed in doing so - which he did not, due to his mystical protection - much to the disembodied voices' surprise), but that aside, I believe that it is Agamotto.

The only time in comics canon that he ever reclaimed one of his "eyes" (the ORB of Agamotto) was after Strange attempted to destroy it to prevent the other-worldly "Urthona" from taking possession of it and all of Strange's other artifacts.

Doc thought it best to destroy such powerful items rather than let them fall into the hands of an evil sorcerer.
However, Agamotto sensed this and whisked the Orb and all the other items away to himself.
He later gave it back to Strange (interestingly enough, only after Doc threatened to destroy Agamotto's best-version, personal "Orb"; the "Omni-Visor"- aka; his Hookah).

So, it is with this sequence of history that we hope Bendis will play:

- Ancient One gives Strange the Eye after Doc beats Dormammu the 1st time.
- Strange Tales v1 # 127

- Doc keeps the Eye for many years - despite the many attempts of others to take it (Silver Dagger chief among them. See Dr. Strange; Master of the Mystic Arts # 1 - 5.)

(- Doc tries to destroy an Eye (the Orb) to keep it away from Urthona.
- Dr. Strange; Master of the Mystic Arts # 81)

(- Agamotto secretly retrieves it.)

(- Agamotto later gives it back to Strange. - Dr. Strange; Sorcerer Supreme # 7)

- Strange keeps the Eye until he performs dark magic (actually, he did this three times):

• 1) During Strange Tales v2 - when he's forced to use the "Wings of Needless Sorrow".
• 2) During "The ORDER" - when he's relegated to using the "Star of Capistan".
• 3) After the events of New Avengers Annual # 2 - which led to his giving up the title of Sorcerer Supreme.

- The HOOD and DORMAMMU actively seek to gain the Eye.
- New Avengers v1 # 51 - 54

- The Eye (and Agamotto / Ancient One) seeks out a NEW S.S. - finding it in Brother Voodoo.
- New Avengers v1 # 53

- Hood/ Dormammu are defeated by Strange, Voodoo and Hellstorm.
- New Avengers v1 # 54

- SOMEONE finally decides it is time to get the Eye back.
- New Avengers v2 # 1 - 4 (and more issues to come)

Now - as the the WHY... I have NO idea.
Maybe Agamotto just wants it.
He could see that maybe it's too powerful a "weapon" to be on Earth with the mystic upheavals going on, and decided that it would be best not to leave it as a tempting bauble for evil entities to try to plunder.

Does that make any sense?
Well, no.
Not if you keep the 40+ years of Strange mythos in mind.

But, there may be NEW turn of events going on that would predicate new reasoning.

Sure, it's basically just Bendis and Quesada effing with the "rules" of magic, but they were going to do SOMETHING to "fix" it... looks like this is all part of "the plan".

Could it be someone pretending to be the Ancient One?
Well... that's my theory - and see my first "footnoted" Tangent below.
If that is the case, then it could be any number of baddies.
But none moreso than the one whom I speak of in that tangent.

Either way, it would make the MOST sense for Doc to use the Eye in its primary function and use it to REVEAL THE TRUTH!
Shine its lights on "the Ancient One" and see what is going on here.

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Of course, this all could be meant to be read JUST as it is written;
Strange needs to be taken down a peg.
Magic needs rules.
The biggest magic "gun" is the Eye, so take it off the board.

Since, as I already posted [HERE], Doctor Strange is to be featured in an upcoming HULK storyline, dressed as he is now, in raincoat and civvies, we know he isn't getting the Eye back any time soon.

Whether there will even BE a titular "Sorcerer Supreme" is up in the air.
Could Doctor Voodoo die and Doc become the default "Master of the Mystic Arts" and continue to safeguard the Earth-dimension while in a de-powered state?
Well... sure.

It's also a matter of record (online - you can find it easily) that Bendis is using a tip from a fellow writer (Ed Brubaker, if I recall?) to use Stephen Strange as a plain-clothed kung-fu mystic.

That might be the default setting for Doctor Strange for the near future.

Sadly, all I can say is... we have to WAIT and SEE what the EYE shows us to be the TRUTH.

--------------------
 Tangent, the 1st:

Now, allow me to posit a brief "wish" on this story...
The Ancient One isn't acting "in character".
Not his "good" natured character anyway...
But... he could be exhibiting a facet of a darker manifestation... one that inevitably caused Doctor Strange to be forced to slay his master in the first place (waaaay back in Marvel Premiere # 10).
The reason for the Ancient One's dark tendancies?
He was possessed by SHUMA GORATH!
If there is anything right in this world, it will be revealed that this so-called "Ancient One" is nothing more than another attempt to gain access to our world by Shuma Gorath (but by hiding behind the facade of Dr. Strange's former master).


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Tangent the 2nd:

Another wish?
Well...
There have been a lot of comics and events at Marvel as of late, in which mystical upheavals are occurring in much more frequent procession than "normal".
To name but a few:

- The X-Men's dealing with Vampires
- New Mutants' battles in Limbo.
- Asgard's fall and the events that spiral out of that.
- Thanos and the Guardians of the Galaxy fighting in the dark "cancerverse".

With more on the horizon (if Previews and other advance sources are any indication).
So, maybe.... just maybe, the forshadowed "Hell War" that was teased for several years in many Marvel books from 2004 - 2007 (Knights 4, Nightcrawler, Spectacular Spider-Man v2... basically anything written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa) will soon come to pass.
While this New Avengers story won't be the start of a major mystical "event", perhaps it is more seeds being planted to produce that dark fruit.

DITKO... oh DITKO... Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? -or- Why is Bendis being allowed to MAIM Doctor Strange?!?

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OK, Steve Ditko hasn't had anything to do with Doctor Strange - or Marvel - in decades.
But, he is Doc's creator and as such, it should be to him that Doc entreats for mercy when he is being unduly massacred.
And as far as the signs and portents have shown, Brian Michael Bendis HAS and IS INDEED maiming Stephen Strange.

Continuing from my last post - which can be found [HERE] (dealing with the upcoming "ravamping, and re-writing" of all the magical rules in the Marvel Universe in the pages of New -new- Avengers # 2), a new insult has been added to the injuries with the release of solicit text for the newest issue: New Avengers # 3.

Here's the COVER art and solicit text for the issue:

Just make Wolverine the ultimate martial and mystical warrior and get it over with.
And WHY is IRON FIST making spell gestures now?!?

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NEW AVENGERS #3
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils & Cover by STUART IMMONEN

Who is the true master of the mystic arts?
Well, it ain't Doctor Strange and it ain't Doctor Voodoo.
The bad news is he’s here and he is in charge. And he is gleefully ripping this dimension apart, piece by piece, in his search for relics of power.

How are the legacies of Iron Fist, Doctor Strange and Wolverine connected?
Find out here in this brand new eye-popper from Bendis and Immonen!


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Good Heavens!!! Words... fail...

However, in the comments section of my previous post, one commenter (DigiCom) posted his brief thoughts (as well as the solicit text) for NEW (new) AVENGERS # 3...

Fort your convenience, I'll paste them here:

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DigiCom said...

"It's worse than we thought:

So, we not only downplay Stephen's abilities, but also the current Sorceror Supreme (bets on that being undone in this arc), not to mention tying the title to an extradimensional city (instead of Earth) and a completely non-magical mutant.

Can anyone actually see how this will end up working out for the better?"

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Well, to be perfectly honest, I predicted the linking of Doctor Strange to Iron Fist as far back as New Avengers (the first "New" Avengers, not THIS New, NEW Avengers) # 34

Back when it became obvious that Strange's tenure was soon to end.
This scene from New Avengers # 34 laid it all out quite clearly.

Dr. Strange : Foreshadower Supreme
New Avengers # 34 (Brian Michael Bendis - words / Leinil Francis Yu - images)

So, at that moment, I saw the fall of Strange's run as Sorcerer Supreme as well as the eventual linking of his and Iron Fist's lineage.

Unlike commenter, DigiCom, I don't know if the mythical, mystical city of K'un L'un, homeland of the powers of the Iron Fist are what is being linked, BUT it most likely WILL involve the folding together of mystical places into one big landscape.

Sort of like the "9 Worlds" that Thor's Asgard encompasses.

What Wolverine has to do with any of it, is a bit baffling.
The text mentions the "legacies" of these characters, so perhaps it is that Wolvie had recently been linked to an immortal line of "Wolverine-guys" (starting with some immortal guy ROMULAS, and leading all the way to Wolverine's son; Daken).
Maybe that is a mystical thing, along with how Wolverine has to fight the Angel of Death every time he needs to "come back to life" from a major injury.

Sadly, it may just be that Marvel's powers-that-be determined that in order for anyone to give a crap about this magic overhaul would be if they included one of their cash-cows into the mix.
(And they didn't want it to be Spider-Man since he already had a poorly-received attempt at a magical-based origin during JMS' "Spider-Totem" storyline).

Heh... maybe there are clues somewhere in John Byrne's old NAMOR series from the 1990's.
There was an arc (mostly issues # 20 - 25) that dealt with Namor asking Doctor Strange to send him to K'un-L'un, where he would find the real Iron Fist (thus proving that the previously thought deceased Iron Fist was really a plant-man disguised as Danny Rand), and Doctor Strange then magically rescued them from being eaten by a race of angry plants, before Namor next headed off to further investigate the mystery - until he had to battle a plant-controlled Wolverine and the evil sorcerer; Master Kahn...

Hey. Don't laugh. That was the storyline.
It couldn't be any worse than what Bendis could be planning.

Honestly though, I'm still trying to reserve any real judgment until the issues actually come out, but while I do think that Doctor Strange WILL emerge at the other end as the ultimate mystic, the damage that may be being wreaked to the realms of magic is hard to ignore.

Luckily, this is fiction, and a good writer * can revert it all should this be a blunder.

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*(Y'know...basically anyone who ISN'T Brian Michael Bendis)

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"Tamam Shud!"
~P~