#aggamon

It’s all about subtleties.

I think issue #1 is a perfect start, not because of the possible mystic threats and glorious magic fights. It’s perfect because it’s just Stephen being Stephen. More than that, it’s just Stephen being happy and doing good on a regular basis. It’s simple, but it sums up everything he represents as a hero.

And all the team got it right, whether it’s the story, art or colors. It’s sweet and colorful, even though not everything is sunshine and roses (which gives the right, believable tone to Clea and Stephen’s relationship, after all).

But first, this is my remark that we were SO RIGHT to assume these two would f* like rabbits. So yeah, it’s canon hehe not that we needed any confirmation but... 👀

Now, back to the subtleties. They speak of a lovely couple teasing one another.

(Clea and Marc’s friendship is unbreakable now btw)

They speak of Stephen’s compassion towards his friends.

They speak of domestic life.

And fluffiness.

And peace of mind.

But they also speak of important matters like the crisis we have to face in order to fight for human rights and equality.

(if this metaphor is not clear, this IS a criticism towards the way the world has been treating war refugees, especially those of color)

In addition, those subtleties speak of injustice.

As well as conflict.

In short, this is the essence of Doctor Strange. If you want to learn who Stephen is, this is the perfect issue to illustrate it all. His kindness, compassion, duty, his conflicted heart, love and life, patience, altruism, stubbornness, weaknesses, flaws, maturity. He’s just a human with incredible mystic abilities and a powerful heart.

It’s not a dramatic story, it’s just... light-hearted in its own way. There’s conflict but the focus is a man who is finally learning happiness again. It’s an accurate portrayal of life, in which nothing is perfect but there’s beauty and joy. A well-deserved happiness after so much suffering and loneliness.

Plot-wise, I’m pretty sure Clea didn’t murder Aggamon. It’s probably just a device to create conflict in their marriage, which was expected by the interviews and solicitations. My heart is at peace because I know Jed wouldn’t reunite Stephen and Clea just to split them afterwards.

There’s also Wong’s new role as an agent of W.A.N.D., and he does have his own unique style to reach out to others -- through peace and compassion as well. I confess I’m in love with Wong in this uniform and I’m just so excited to see more of him and Pandora. He’s finally his own character, having his own life and personality. And I couldn’t be more grateful.

Looking forward to Nightmare and the mystery that surrounds Aggamon’s death. If DODS taught me anything, the culprit is closer than we suspect.

I’m also expecting some healing in the future issues. I know there was a tension between Stephen and Victor (a deserved one after DODS, if I may add) and an apology it’s out of question for a character like the king of Latveria, but a team-up would be nice to go past that. Also, Jed has been cooking Marc’s apologies for a while now (in both his MK’s run and DODS, as well as teased in the sneak peek). You know me, I’m always down to emotional bonding cause I’m hopeless 💜

From Doctor Strange Vol. 6 #001, “The Life of Doctor Strange”

Art by Pasqual Ferry and Matt Hollingsworth

The killer of Doctor Strange is revealed!

Spoilers under the cut

Death of Doctor Strange #2 preview!

In which Jed left me wanting.

I’ll start with the warlords.

Aggamon and Dagoth come from, Strange Tales v1 #119 and Marvel Premiere #7, respectivelly.

Tiboro was conceived in Strange Tales #129, while mommy, I mean, Umar is well-known among fans.

Except for mommy, I mean, Umar, they’re all b-villains that don’t really matter, but my bingo was right. That was a good Strange Tales reference and it shows Jed did his lesson. One may arguee - and there’s a little bit of drama happening right now because of that - that the continuity is not right. In this case, because 60′s!Stephen was not supposed to know either Dagoth or Tiboro for he already had the Cloak of Levitation at that time. But what if the narrator is regular!Stephen? Then all is fine.

Next, Stephen is a bastard as usual, and we love to see it. He doesn’t remember the banishment because he sent Kaecilius, Adria and Demonicus to the Purple Dimension back in Doctor Strange v2 - Master of the Mystic Arts #56, many many years later.

Stephen then explains that he has only seven days to solve his murder, for he sacrificed one week of his life span to be summoned in case he was murdered. It’s all about the story seen on the previous issue.

Next, Cap is calling Stephen via his Avengers card (which is not surprising but thankfully he’s considered a consultant Avenger now. He deserves better, me thinks). I wanted to zoom in the card to see the signatures but I can’t read them at all lmao. I suppose the President is Coulson, judging from what happened in Heroes Reborn? I’m not sure, I dropped Aaron’s Avengers ngl.

I HATE CAP’S REACTION HERE THO.

60′s Stephen: “The Stephen Strange you knew died. I’m from the past to investigate his murder.”

Cap: “Of course... Anyways, we need someone to stop the invasions and--”

BRO, WASN’T HE YOUR FRIEND??? The hell???? This is why I don’t trust the Avengers, you seeing this sh*t, Spider-man?

In any case, the warlords are not actually invading. We’ll learn soon with my favorite part of this issue. SHE’S COMING!!

I love my wife so much. I love how she says “I need you”. I’m glad to see that Clea doesn’t hate Stephen for what happened after v5. I love how she seeks him when she’s in trouble, which means she still trusts him.

And here’s the drama: how does Clea remember Stephen? It all lies on my theory that Stephen hid his soul on the ring which binds their souls. When regular!Stephen died, most of spells were undone, including the memory spell he cast on Clea. I’m 100% confident the ring is the key. And guys, can we please wait for the next issues? This smells flashback all the way up. We still need to learn how Clea became Sorceress Supreme of the Dark Dimension, thank you. Also, I still think the killer is the demon from v5, so continuity is still working for now.

Okay, so she says that the warlords are actually fleeing, and then the Mothers make their first appearance.

Something I need to address here:

Anon left an ask that will take me weeks to reply but since I’m breaking the issue, I guess this a good opportunity, let’s go.

Here’s a curiosity:

The reason is not official but I suppose Bl*ck Arts is a pejorative term. I can’t tell for sure if this was addressed in the 60′s or not, but there’s also the possibility that people were biased towards the term because of their beliefs (summing up, the Christian Karens). This is just purely speculation, of course. I cannot offer a proper answer.

Back to the chapter, the Avengers show up and have their asses kicked. I guess this is why the chapter left me wanting. The fight took many pages and nothing happened. The Mothers left and the mystics didn’t even fight properly. A shame, really. We learn that the Mothers are after magic to feed their son, and each one has a different style. The Crawling will have an effect on Iron Man, especifically, as seen in the DODS: Avengers #1 preview (I’ll post it asap).

And this is it.

Some people also noticed that Zelma has a continuity error in Strange Academy, in which Jericho tells the students that Stephen died and she reacts as if she wasn’t there in the main event. True, it’s an editorial mistake. But there’s no need to take that so seriously. Coming from someone who read all Secret Wars tie-ins, it’s not that important. Tie-ins don’t change a thing in the main event. It may explain a thing or two but it’s not required. It’s not like mega events that demand reading actual titles (like Infinity within Avengers and New Avengers). I promise you, all is fine. As for Clea... let’s wait and see, as I always say.

No, I haven't!! Thank you so much for letting me know, it's truly amazing!! Missing his art already 😭