Warning: SPOILERS for Strange #7
Marvel's Doctor Strange is finally back from the dead with a massive change to his entire franchise lore - and a dour demeanor denoting a depressed doctor in Death's domain. Strange died quite recently in Marvel's Death of Doctor Strange event in Winter of 2022, but fans knew he wouldn't remain dead for long. Their suspicions proved to be correct in Strange #7, but Strange has changed.
In Death of Doctor Strange, Stephen Strange is murdered by an unknown assailant (later revealed to be a collaboration between Kaeceilius and Baron Mordo), forcing a young Stephen Strange to investigate his own murder. The time remnant was created by the present-day Strange as an insurance policy in the event of an untimely death. The young Strange solves the case and resurrects present Strange, but dies in the process. Strange subsequently dies again (thus killing the character three times over), and Strange's ex-wife Clea vows to bring him back from the dead while assuming the duties of the Sorcerer Supreme.
In Strange #7, written by Jed MacKay with art by Marcelo Ferreira, Clea confronts the mysterious Harvestman, a figure with a scythe and a golden mask. The Harvestman reveals his true identity as Doctor Strange himself, imbued with new powers that have apparently replaced his own. The two battle a slew of revenants, but Stephen is reluctant to return to a distraught Clea, or even touch her. "Our magics are in opposition," he explains; the Sorcerer Supreme represents Life, and Strange is bonded to Death. The opposite forces, if brought together, could destroy both Strange or Clea, and possibly doom others.
Doctor Strange Didn't Want To Come Back
Two issues previous, Doctor Strange revealed his face to the reader (but not to Clea). Even though Clea and the "Harvestman" met multiple times, Strange never revealed his identity, even when he clearly knows Clea misses him desperately. Though the love they share is genuine, Strange will never allow himself another moment of peace so long as Death holds him. In the Marvel Universe, Death is not merely a concept but an actual person (one whom Thanos loves desperately; unlike the MCU, his entire rationale behind gathering the Infinity Stones in 1991's Infinity Gauntlet series was to impress her).
Clea is determined to resurrect Doctor Strange, and she has multiple ways to fulfill this goal. If Strange helps Death with the revenant threat, she will allow him to return to the land of the living. The X-Men, meanwhile, have resurrection technology, but it is highly unlikely that Jean Grey or Professor Xavier backed up Doctor Strange's mind before death (and it is unknown if they can even back up his current mind as the Harvestman). Whatever the case, Doctor Strange has changed after dying, and he may not even want to return in the first place.