Warning! Spoilers ahead for Death of Doctor Strange #2
In a new preview for The Death of Doctor Strange, it's revealed that the Sorcerer Supreme has managed to prolong his life by "pulling a Voldemort." With the magical barriers cast by Doctor Strange failing due to his murder, the world is in great danger. However, it appears as though the Master of the Mystic Arts had a contingency plan, and it somewhat resembles the same plan used by Harry Potter's Voldemort to achieve immortality (albeit on a smaller scale).
While Doctor Strange may have been murdered in The Death of Doctor Strange, that doesn't necessarily mean the Sorcerer Supreme is no more (especially when magic and the Marvel Universe are involved). While his assailant is still unknown, what's more concerning is the fact that the protective spell cast by the Sorcerer Supreme has fallen, leading to all sorts of threats that would have normally been repelled. The new preview for The Death of Doctor #2 from Jed McKay and Lee Garbett explains why a younger Doctor Strange has appeared in the wake of the current Sorcerer Supreme's death, while also offering a look at the specific magical threats the world is now facing without the Master of the Mystic Arts.
In the new preview, it's revealed that foes such as Aggamon, Dagoth, Tiboro, and Umar have wasted no time in breaching Earth, erecting their respective fortresses before Marvel's heroes can even grieve for their fallen friend and ally. Furthermore, this younger Stephen Strange explains to Wong, Zelma, Baron Mordo, and Kaecilius why he exists at all considering the modern-day Strange is still lying dead in a pool of his own blood. In short, it appears as though the Sorcerer Supreme cut off a piece of his own life as a contingency plan similar to Voldemort's Horcruxes. Here are the preview pages and the synopsis for the upcoming issue:
- DEATH OF DOCTOR STRANGE #2
- (W) Jed MacKay
- (A) Lee Garbett
- (CA) Kaare Andrews
- REST IN PEACE STEPHEN STRANGE!
- With the Sorcerer Supreme gone, so too are Earth's magical defenses! Now the rest of Earth's heroes have their hands full with multiple invasions from other dimensions. Some are familiar...but some are new... and frightening! Meet the Three Mothers!
In a similar fashion to He Who Must Not Be Named, Doctor Strange magically cut away and preserved seven days of his life just as Voldemort cut his soul into seven pieces to be hidden away as Horcruxes. However, while Voldemort planned to live forever indefinitely, it seems as though Strange's spell is more of a temporary contingency plan to make sure his affairs are in order and to help the Marvel Universe transition to a new Sorcerer Supreme.
In any case, having a young Doctor Strange in reserve to make sure the world stays safe in this dangerous interim period between Sorcerer Supremes is a brilliant move on the part of the now-deceased Strange. Furthermore, while the comparison to Voldemort can be made (particularly in reference to Tom Riddle), it doesn't appear as though Strange used any kind of dark magic or cursed his soul to achieve his backup plan for death as Voldemort did. Regardless, here's hoping this younger Doctor Strange can help get everything sorted when the full issue releases on October 20th.