Things Have Come to Pass in The Death of Dr. Stange #5

Chaos has been dealt with, the murderer has been revealed, and all mysteries laid to rest. The Peregrine Child, however, still threatens to consume all magic once and for all, but Doctor Strange has one last trick up his sleeve…well, someone’s sleeve, anyway. The Death of Doctor Strange #5, written by Jed McKay, drawn by Lee Garbett, colored by Antonio Fabela, and lettered by Cory Petit.

You gotta hand it (look, I’m sorry, there was no way around this pun) to this issue’s opening page for just how well it captures the chaos of the moment. The time-plucked ghost of a younger Strange has just solved the murder and hand-theft of his older self, is prepping for a magic duel between himself and his future murderer, Kaecilius, while magic warlords of several different dimensions try to flee in terror from a magic-consuming, otherworldly child and his three horrendous bodyguard guardians.

The Strange has hit the fan.

The final issue of this chaotic, magic event has ghost-Strange finally reveal his hand (last one, I promise). He apparently set a lot of things into motion behind the scenes last issue, from organizing wizards to keep warlords and supreme sorcerers from running, to coming up with a plan to defeat the Peregrine Child once and for all. Most importantly, however, ghost-Strange has a deeply clever (and somewhat horrific) method for killing two birds with one stone: defeating Kaecilius, and resurrecting the original Doctor Strange himself. 

The thing about magic in stories is, the best ones are about cleverness on a conceptual level. About finding ways around seemingly absolute rules. Loopholes in reality. Kaecilius has used Strange’s stolen hands to defend himself against every offensive spell there is—but ghost-Strange’s plan? A spell of restoration. One that, horrifically, restores Strange’s body from the wrist down—but consumes Kaecilius’ body and soul in the process.

As Kaecilius rightly points out, it’s an inhuman thing to do. The Strange we know has grown past such horrible actions, has found mercy in his heart. But in a twist of poetic justice, that Strange is the one Kaecilius murdered, leaving Kaecilius to be undone by the only Strange left behind.

It’s horrific, it’s dark, it’s cleverly triumphant, and those are all things that a good Doctor Strange comic should contain.

This is also, however, a superhero event comic – so there must also be dazzling displays of punching and day-saving solution that only makes sense if you squint to save the day. The middle “chapter” of this issue has all of that, leaving the art team to go all out on Avengers and X-Men teaming up to take down the big bad. Ghost-Strange’s self-sacrifice to win the day isn’t especially clever, but it does have heart, especially with the vulnerability this ghost had on display the last issue. 

It does give us one moment of absolute, sorcerous badassery as the Sorcerers Supreme of five different dimensions form a pentagram to banish the threat once and for all, restoring order to the world and to magic and bringing this tale to a close. 

This brings us to our final, and appropriately numbered chapter thirteen, bringing this event to a close. As the Doctor Strange of the present speaks about how he cannot cheat death so easily (amusingly enough, with the X-Men all standing right there), he passes on his mantle – and cloak and Eye of Agamotto – to Clea. It is, honestly, a rushed ending, sweet as it is, one that is going to feel incomplete unless you choose to continue this tale with Clea’s adventures in the new Strange book coming out later this year. 

This was a fun event, one that gave its many tie-ins a blessedly simple premise: magical chaos erupts when there’s no Sorcerer Supreme to keep things in line. Up until its rushed ending, it had wonderful pacing, a fantastic mix of emotional vulnerability, silliness and the kind of wild concepts that you can only find when magic meets superheroics. The art’s managed to carry this entire mix—cartoonish when it needs to be, wildly colorful when it needs an impact, and kind to characters who are doing their best to earn a brief moment in the spotlight.

Doctor Strange is a weird character. Both his attitude and his field of interest keep him pretty aloof from the rest of the Marvel universe. I think it may be safe to say that although he isn’t largely disliked, he will not be missed. The Death of Doctor Strange is the best (likely temporary) sendoff a character could ask for—but more importantly, is a heck of a preview for the kinds of adventures we can expect in Jed McKay’s Strange when it comes out.

That book’s in good hands (okay, I lied, but it’s a magic comic. It’s important to do these things in threes). 

Armaan Babu