An Eye For An Eyepatch

 

In April of 1987, two months after the second volume of Doctor Strange came to an end, writer Peter Gillis, who had succeeded Roger Stern to script the final eight issues of the series, would continue with the Sorcerer Supreme in a new incarnation of Strange Tales--the book returning to its split format from the Silver Age with its double bill now featuring Strange and the duo of Cloak and Dagger. Published monthly, Gillis would have roughly eleven pages per issue to begin an extended arc for Strange that built on the sorcerer's confrontation of and battle with Urthona, the alien sorcerer who raided Strange's sanctum of its mystic tomes and powerful artifacts (along with capturing the sanctum itself) and attempted to establish himself as our dimension's new supreme mystic. That battle ended at great sacrifice for Strange--watching helplessly as his manservant Wong was horribly mutilated, and then having no recourse but to destroy the book of the Vishanti, the Orb of Agamotto, and other valuable, irreplaceable tools of his trade so as to deny them to Urthona.

The powerful empath, Topaz, is fortunately able to heal Wong's grievous wounds; yet as Strange surmises, the mystic sources of danger to Earth are even now manifesting around the world, while Stephen Strange himself, now bereft of the tools and resources he would normally call upon to confront them, will be forced to make difficult and even unconscionable choices. And to make matters worse, he also suffers from an affliction of the spirit, as Topaz realizes when she urges him to resolve his feelings for his former disciple and love, Clea, whose departure had left him a shattered man.

With the issue "settled" (at least as far as Clea is concerned), Gillis is free to put his story arc in motion, which is already beginning to have an effect on this mystic master who has weathered much heartbreak and inner conflict in a relatively short time. And there is still more to come, when this series introduces a more visible sign of Strange's turmoil.

And so we train our eye on yet another

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Marvel Trivia Question

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How and why did Dr. Strange suffer the loss of an eye?

To answer such a question, we'll need the perspective which Gillis provides on the matter throughout this arc, as Strange (along with his young apprentice, Rintrah) begins to confront the series of incursions from the ancient evils now having access to our plane of existence. For Gillis's purposes, that threat will be made manifest collectively by the Old Ones, ancient threats which draw first blood by taking possession of an innocent, unsuspecting human in order to take advantage of Strange's vulnerability and indecision by presenting him with an impossible choice. (Or is it?)

Shaken and returning to his sanctum, Strange finally sees the depth and extent of this threat, a realization that strikes to the core of a man who has never taken lightly his responsibility to shield our world from all the extra-dimensional evils which even now clamor for a foothold that will precede their rise once more.

To protect his friends--and following yet another attack--Strange takes the radical step of casting a spell of forgetfulness which returns his identity of "Stephen Sanders" and gives both Wong and his business manager, Sara Wolfe, new memories and identities as administrators of the "Stephen Strange Memorial Metaphysical Institute"... after which he books a flight to Hong Kong to confront yet another mystery, the resolution of which adds to his list of personal woes.

Eventually, Strange decides to return to the former temple of the Ancient One in the Himalayas--a journey which you might think would bring him some measure of solace, but only leads to anguish when he discovers evidence of certain doubts his master had about his future.

It's tempting to wonder whether or not the scene is intentional on Gillis's part, hearkening back as it does to the first Strange Tales series which introduced Strange's embrace of "black magic"--and, to show the apple didn't fall far from the tree, the Ancient One's, as well.

(To be fair, in light of writer Stan Lee's efforts to show the contrast between the evil of Mordo and the good deeds of Strange and the Ancient One, those old tales from the 1960s paid little heed to the evil implications of "black magic" and focused instead on how it was put to use, as opposed to Gillis using a wedge to regard "black" and "white" magic separately.)

With this further indication of the likelihood of Strange's turn toward the use of black magic, the door is opened to the entrance of Kaluu, a former enemy of both Strange and the Ancient One but who comes to Strange with a virtual olive branch in order to form an alliance which will allow them to battle the evil forces which threaten. Even so, Kaluu is savvy enough to see the way open for him to all but dictate who will be the Alpha in this partnership.

That "war" Kaluu speaks of is increasingly fierce--particularly so for Strange, who continues to be torn between his own methods and the admittedly greater effectiveness of Kaluu in their dealings with these dark forces. But in spite of himself, Strange grows more receptive to Kaluu's approach to this crisis, while surprisingly showing less resistance to his role as "disciple" to Kaluu's "Master." Kaluu's value to him only becomes greater when they travel to Africa to confront the Old One named Ghaszaszh Nyirh (that just has to be an anagram)--whom they narrowly defeat, but at a cost.

When the pair return to the Ancient One's temple, it's no surprise that we find Strange reeling in a pit of despair and frustration, undoubtedly feeling a sense of loss and no small amount of guilt in light of the road he's willingly taken, a choice which has cost lives along the way.

It's in such a state that he faces the last of the Old Ones, a powerful foe that he has dealt with before--the tentacled Shuma-Gorath, against whom Strange barely prevails against this time but only by sacrificing innocents.  Finally, he stands as one who has lost himself completely and become a being without ego or conscience.

Eventually, he is found by, first, Kaluu, and later joined by Enitharmon the Weaver, Rintrah's teacher whom Strange once prevailed upon to mend his cloak and who appears to have another associate we never suspected.

The two are eventually successful in re-familiarizing Strange with his memories and his roots--and so they return with him to New York, where the three (along with Rintrah) part company and where Strange once more takes up the mantle of his role as the Ancient One's successor. But as he acknowledges, he's not out of the woods yet as far as his ties to black magic.

With the arc ended, Gillis segues with Strange to the sorcerer's new title, Doctor Strange--Sorcerer Supreme, for its first four issues. But it would be his successor on the book, Roy Thomas, who would hit the reset button that would return Strange to a state more conducive to a new title with its own plans for him. The deed is done via a conflict Strange has with Agamotto, a hookah-puffing member of the Vishanti whom he first came across in the premiere issue of his previous series, a skirmish Strange wins by taking custody of his foe's most prized possession.

And "seeing" how Strange was obviously fully sighted for the duration of his third volume and beyond, we can assume from Agomotto's implication that he's also taken care of the sorcerer's missing eye.  As to the "how," he accomplishes the deed by making use of the other guest to have graced his company in the past. (And quite a novel solution it is. What blend of "tobacco" has this caterpillar stocked that hookah with, anyway?)