December 1963: The Unlikely and the Unlikeable

At the newly christened Marvel Comics, even unlikely and unlikeable characters could become heroes. 

That was true to some extent of the selfish and self-pitying teenager Peter Parker, and it was especially true of the arrogant neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange.

“Doctor, your patient wants to thank you!” an assisting surgeon tells him.

“I can’t be bothered!” Strange replies. “Just be sure he pays his bill!”

In Strange Tales 115 (Dec. 1963), we learn how, after an accident damages the nerves in his hands, a humbled, desperate Strange finally seeks help at the Ancient One’s secret lamasery (here said to be in India, later in Tibet). 

The mage rescues Strange from his power-hungry student Baron Mordo, testing Strange’s character in the process.

“Though he hated to ‘intervene,’ the Ancient One was forced to save Strange in some of those earliest clashes,” Jock Hughes observed. “In later battles, Strange was able to outflank Mordo by himself, and prove Mordo was dysfunctional; a la the movie The Craft.”

The lead Human Torch feature, now drawn by the workmanlike Dick Ayers instead of the audacious Jack Kirby, had lost some of my interest. But Steve Ditko’s surreal, moody art was a perfect fit for Dr. Strange, and the addition of an origin indicated that the company’s commitment to this backup character had strengthened. 

While Dr. Strange appeared in Strange Tales 110 and 111, he disappeared from issues 112 and 113, returning only in 114. And he didn’t rate a cover mention here in 115.

Stan Lee may not have considered him series material, and mentions that he was waiting for reader feedback after Strange’s first appearances. I suspect that when Marvel committed to the series, they started making changes in the character that included finally providing him with an origin and establishing him as Caucasian.

“The origin turned him from an (Asian-looking) character into another middle-class white American,” James Beers noted.