Warning: contains preview images for Strange #1!
After replacing Doctor Strange, Marvel may be positioning its new Sorcerer Supreme Clea to be the next Dormammu. Doctor Strange’s longtime ally has ascended to the position of Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, and in a preview for Strange #1, on sale in print and digital this March, readers see Clea in action, confronting a number of magical threats. But as Clea's attitude to her new position is explained, hints are dropped that she may become like her uncle Dormammu - especially as she adopts a powerful form that shares his flaming head. The comic will be written by Jed MacKay with art by Marcelo Ferreira.
Clea was introduced in 1964’s Strange Tales #126, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The niece of the dread Dormammu and the daughter of Umar, Clea helped Doctor Strange defeat her uncle, and for this she was banished to Earth. There, she first became Strange’s student and later his lover. Recently, Doctor Strange was killed by Kaecilius, leaving Earth open to attack by magical forces. When his murder was solved, Doctor Strange returned to the world of the living temporarily, passing the title of Sorcerer Supreme on to Clea before being pulled back in the afterlife. While Earth may now have a new guardian against evil sorcerers, it's clear Clea will be a much different Sorcerer Supreme, perhaps taking pages out of her uncle’s playbook.
In a preview of Strange #1 shared by Comicbook.com, fans get a glimpse of Clea's upcoming adventures, which will pit her against Doctor Doom. Heading into battle, a blue flame engulfs Clea's head, signaling her powers as one of the Faltine - a race of energy beings composed of magic, of which Dormammu is the most notorious member. Speaking on the preview, MacKay points out that Clea is not just Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, but also that of the Dark Dimension, and will bring her experiences with her, adopting a very different attitude to facing down magical threats.
Stephen's take on the role of Sorcerer Supreme has strayed over the years, but essentially he believed himself a doctor. ... Clea, on the other hand, comes from a line of rapacious conquerors, and her views on the correct way to discharge her duties are going to be colored by that. She's not even a native resident of Earth, but rather an alien queen, heir to the title of warlord, and we'll see how that influences her in the position of Sorcerer Supreme.
MacKay's comments make it abundantly clear there is a new Sorcerer Supreme in town; one who is taking a much different approach than her predecessor. Clea grew up in the Dark Dimension, internalizing the horrors and depravity she saw there but eventually fighting back against Dormammu. It's worth noting that Clea’s blue flame head is a counterpoint to the red flames of Dormammu, but MacKay hints that Clea may become more like her mother and uncle, saying if Clea wants something, she pursues it with the "same single-minded desire" as Umar and Dormammu - figures who have toyed with reality itself to satisfy their own desires.
It's possible that Clea's time as Sorcerer Supreme could show fans a heroic version of Dormammu, but it's also possible taking up this new position in an alien dimension could cause a fall from grace. MacKay states that "Clea is willing to go as far as it takes: the Faltine are not known for their moderation," and even the heroic Doctor Strange sometimes chose a darker path than his Avengers allies would have liked. Clea morphing into an evil Sorcerer Supreme is not without precedent - several villains, such as the cannibal Kulan Gath, have held the title, or like Doctor Doom have come close to obtaining it. However she compares to Dormammu, Clea will clearly be a force of nature as she takes over for Doctor Strange as Earth's Sorcerer Supreme.
Source: Comicbook.com