This article contains spoilers for Savage Avengers #13 by Gerry Duggan, Patch Zircher, and Java Tartaglia.
Doctor Strange's darkest magic yet... involves cannibalism. He may be best known as the Sorcerer Supreme, but when Stephen Strange made his Marvel Comics debut it was as "Master of Black Magic." In the years since Doctor Strange has gone to any lengths necessary to protect the Earth from terrifying threats. He's struck bargains with devils and demons, wielded cursed weapons of eldritch power, and risked his very soul time and again.
But now he's facing potentially his most dangerous enemy ever; Kulan Gath, a Sorcerer Supreme from Conan's Hyborean Age, who has returned more powerful than ever. Kulan Gath unlocked the forbidden secrets of blood magic, discovering how to learn a sorcerer's knowledge by consuming their organs. Essentially an immortal, this monstrous villain has been dining on mystics and magicians for centuries, meaning his knowledge of magic is absolutely unrivaled. He's already been able to match the combined might of Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom, and he's now dining on the flesh of Shuma-Gorath, a being who predates creation itself. Kulan Gath is at his strongest, and the Savage Avengers may not be able to stop him.
And so, in this week's Savage Avengers #13, Doctor Strange takes radical steps to even the odds. He splits the Savage Avengers into two teams, sending them on separate missions that he nevertheless believes will lead to them crossing the path of Kulan Gath. In a shocking end scene, he takes Conan aside to give him additional instructions. "Should you encounter Kulan Gath, perhaps it would be more advantageous to wound him rather than kill him," he advises. "A small... sample would suffice. A finger. Perhaps just a bit of flesh caught in your blade..." He pauses, as though to emphasize his words. "I only need a small taste."
It seems Doctor Strange is considering using blood magic himself. Should he eat Kulan Gath's flesh, he could potentially learn every sorcerous secret Kulan Gath has discovered over the millennia. Strange would immediately become Kulan Gath's equal, and victory would be possible. The problem, however, is that Kulan Gath has already learned how to penetrate the mystical defenses of the Sanctum Sanctorum, and he is eavesdropping on the entire conversation.
But is Doctor Strange actually manipulating Kulan Gath? It's worth remembering that, in Savage Avengers #11, Doctor Strange used his powers to peer back through time and witness the moment Kulan Gath became Sorcerer Supreme, by killing his predecessor. Mekri Ra gave Strange mysterious, enigmatic advice - and the contemporary Sorcerer Supreme appears to be following it. Meanwhile, it's worth noting Savage Avengers #11 began with Strange assembling the Savage Avengers on the surface of the Moon, a place he was convinced Kulan Gath could not monitor, and he only had this conversation with Conan after returning to Earth. That in itself suggests this should be treated as suspect because Strange appears aware he could be overheard. It's reasonable to assume this is misdirection, an attempt to persuade Kulan Gath he is desperate and has no real plan at all. It wouldn't be out of character for Doctor Strange to contemplate something like this - but it also wouldn't be a surprise to learn this was all a trick.