Doctor Strange has had many teachers during his studies to be Sorcerer Supreme. In addition to the Ancient One, Stephen Strange has studied under the black magic user Kaluu, and even had several alien wizard instructors when he needed to re-learn his wizard skills by traveling the galaxy.
However, few people know about the time Doctor Strange claimed to be a student of the great and terrible… Spider-Man. Yes, as bizarre as it might seem, Strange once had a very good reason to convince his enemies that he was a disciple of Peter Parker.
The story took place in an out-of-continuity story from Marvel Adventures: Superheroes #5 when Doctor Strange recruited Spider-Man to help him save all of reality.
How Spider-Man’s Webs Saved All of Reality
The story begins with Doctor Strange patrolling various dimensions and looking for any mischief makers. All seems fine with the Mindless Ones and Dormammu’s sister Umar – but when Strange examines the fabric of reality, he finds it has been ripped to shreds by the Zakimiya, immensely powerful creatures who let their young feast on reality itself. Realizing he needs help, Doctor Strange recruits Spider-Man, whom he believes has the intelligence, confidence, and skills needed for the mission. After bringing Spidey up to speed, Strange mystically augments both Spider-Man’s spider sense to track the Zakimiya. He also magically upgrades Spidey’s web shooters to fire a mystic web that can seal the wounds in reality and let them heal.
Although Peter Parker is weirded out by the bizarreness of the mission, he soon proves invaluable not only by helping heal reality but also by battling the Zakimiya’s young who are running wild through the dimensions. At one point, Peter even gives Doctor Strange his spare change so they can barter for safe passage through a populated world!
As Spidey continues sealing up the cracks in reality, however, Strange informs him that their greatest challenge is yet to come. While the Zakimiya they have faced are formidable, they are still only newborn children – and nowhere near as powerful as the full-grown Zakimiya they are about to face. When Peter asks Strange how he plans to beat them, the Sorcerer Supreme calmly admits he has no idea, adding that the two of them are certainly no match for the reality-eaters.
How Doctor Strange Became a Student of Spider-Man
Fortunately for all of reality, Strange quickly improvises a clever con just as they approach the adult Zakimiya. Once again, he augments Spider-Man’s powers – this time letting him fire “The Crimson Webs of Cyttorak” from his web shooters. He then encourages Spidey to take down as many young Zakimiya as he can – adding he should do this as haughtily and arrogantly as possible.
Remarkably, Peter chooses to trust the good doctor – and goes on to deliver a hilariously borderline-incompetent supervillain speech, screaming at the young Zakimiya, “How dare you awaken me, the completely awesomely cool Spider-Man from my slumber of eons. I am tempted to release more than this mere mote of my true power!” Doctor Strange, meanwhile, challenges the adult Zakimiya themselves. As he predicted, even his most powerful spells fail to do more than mildly annoy the all-powerful monsters. When they threaten to turn him to dust, however, Strange warns them that such an act would anger his master… the entity known as Spider-Man.
Strange goes on to claim that Spider-Man is one of the Hidden Ones – a being so powerful that Strange learned all of his magic after Spidey tutored him for just an hour. Shaken, the Zakimiya witness how easily Spider-Man (aided by Strange’s magic) takes down their young and ask Strange what they can do to appease such an omnipotent being. Strange takes advantage of this by getting the Zakimiya to leave reality alone and feed their children the hearts of black holes instead. The threat over, Strange returns Spidey to their home reality and mentions the Spider-Man could probably make a good wizard if he ever wanted to take up magic.
Since that time, Doctor Strange and Spidey have dissolved their student-teacher relationship… although somewhere in the multiverse, the Zakimiya are likely warning their young not to anger the omnipotent Spider-Man.