Warning: SPOILERS for Avengers Assemble: Alpha #1
Marvel has finally revealed the origins of Dr. Strange's most powerful weapon, the Eye of Agamotto, and they are more horrific than fans could have ever thought. Used by the Sorcerer Supreme as a mystical amulet of incredible power and as a symbol of their station, the Eye, or actually Eyes, as there is more than one, were created by the legendary Agamotto, by their actual origins were lost to the ages, until now.
Agamotto is Earth's first Sorcerer Supreme, a wizard of incredible prowess who protected this dimension from all kinds of threats, mystical and non. It has been recently revealed that Agamotto was also a member of the Stone Age Avengers, the first group of super-powered protectors of the planet. Agamotto later ascended to the status of demigod as one of the Vishanti, but not before establishing the legacy of the Sorcerer Supreme and leaving behind powerful artifacts to help his successors, the Eyes of Agamotto. The item often used by Dr. Strange (and now by his successor, Clea) is one of the three Eyes, the Eye of Knowledge, but, as revealed in Savage Avengers vol. 1, there exist other two Eyes of Agamotto.
It was unknown how Agamotto actually created these artifacts, but Avengers Assemble Alpha #1, by Jason Aaron, Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, and Alex Sinclair, answers this question in a completely unexpected way. After the Stone Age Avengers meet their successors of the modern age for the first time, a classic superhero battle ensues between the two Avengers teams. While the two teams are busy fighting each other, the Multiversal Masters of Evil seize the opportunity to strike. Their leader, the Doom Supreme, attacks Agamotto and overpowers him, using two magical knives to rip out the Sorcerer Supreme's eyes in gruesome fashion.
Agamotto Used His Own Eyes To Create His Most Powerful Artifacts
It's very hard to dismiss this as a mere coincidence. It is more likely that Avengers mastermind Jason Aaron has used this chance to explain one of the oldest mysteries of the Marvel Universe. According to the sourcebook Avengers: Roll Call, Agamotto was originally a blind boy who attracted the attention of the goddess Oshtur, becoming her protégé. He is not blind in his appearances as one of the Stone Age Avengers, however, so Avengers Assemble Alpha #1 fixes that inconsistency. Agamotto is seen wearing the talisman known as the Eye of Agamotto in the Stone Age, but Savage Avengers vol.1 revealed there are other two artifacts with the same name around. So, the other two Eyes of Agamotto can be the actual eyes of the first Sorcerer Supreme, who will later recover them and turn them into powerful mystical artifacts similar to the one he is already wearing.
The presence of Agamotto among the Stone Age Avengers has caused some continuity issues, as it's a little hard to make it fit with what has been previously revealed about the character's past. Agamotto's gruesome blinding at the hands of the Doom Supreme can explain how and why he created a total of three Eyes of Agamotto, thus revealing the secret origins of Dr. Strange's most powerful magical artifact.
Avengers Assemble: Alpha #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.