Throw
him in the pit of D'Spayre
"To Have Loved…And
Lost!"
Scripter
– Roger Stern
Penciler
– Mikel Golden
Inker
– Terry Austin
Letterer
– Jim Novak
Colorist
– Glynis Wein
Editor
– Allen Milgrom
Editor-in-Chief
– Jim Shooter
October 1982
We
cover perhaps the most important attribute of Stephen Strange.
The Makings of a
Sorcerer Supreme: Determination
There
are times in every person's life where the question if the resolve they possess
is equal to the obstacles life sets before them. For Stephen Strange it is no
different. His will has been tempered from his days as a brilliant surgical
student, through his terrible accident, as he journeyed to the ends of the globe
seeking the Ancient One. It culminated in his decision to become the Ancient
One's apprentice, sacrificing his life and future to save him.
Will.
Determination. Fortitude. Resolve.
You
will not find Stephen Strange lacking in this area. It is part of what makes
him the perfect Sorcerer Supreme, and woe to those who underestimate his
steadfastness. You need look no further than this issue's story "To Have
Loved…And Lost!"
We
begin our tale in the upper room of Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. It is a fowl
night and he is in an even fowler mood. Clea, the Doctor's beloved has left him
for her home dimension.
Could
this broken man be the one I spoke of so glowingly but brief paragraphs before?
Surely this is not the figure of the master of the mystic arts? This is just a
man in pain, mourning a love lost.
And
if their love was true, how could Clea bear to part with him? What force would
drive her from the man responsible for saving so many and loving her so deeply.
We will allow her illusionary image tell all.
Who
speaks?
The
spirit of the Late Dakimh is typically the companion of Man-Thing and Howard
the Duck and a longtime foe of the demon D'Spayre. His presence here is a
mystery, as is his method of entry. However that may have occurred, he performs
as a surrogate Clarence Odbody, yanking Stephen from his body and showing his
astral form in very non-Capraesque visions what the present would be had he not
studied magic.
We
begin with what occurred to the Ancient One, his mentor and onetime master.
Strange
doesn't realize what has been done at this point, but it rapidly becomes clear…
As
Baron Mordo is revealed to be the Ancient One's disciple, Strange himself is
fitted with a coat with arms that tie in the back…
At
least until a business suit wearing Doctor "Keem" check him out to
show Strange something. Note that Wong and Sara are on hand in this too.
But
now things take a very decidedly nasty turn. Dr. Keem begins working to undermine
Strange's faith in himself. Stephen tries to get away but his cloak of
levitation is useless. To make matters worse, more events happen to make Keem's
lies look like the truth. For instance there is a movie about….well, see for
yourself.
And
as this "Cammeron Powell," Strange finds himself hiding in garbage.
Garbage that swiftly turns into Keem's car.
And
Keem's next stab at getting Strange to doubt himself is to arrive here:
That's
a thinly veiled Steve Ditko and Stan Lee up there, Doctor Strange's first artist and writer. When they fail to break his
resolve, he pushes them over to reveal they are the cardboard cutouts we know
them to be.
Dakimh
isn't done yet. He proposes that Strange's life is a play and then causes the
Sanctum Sanctorum to come apart like a prop.
He
even opines that the good Doctor's fellow Defenders are unreal as well. He
proves it by letting the air out of a very lifelike Valkyrie, who becomes a
rubber blow-up doll.
It
looks like his words are finally having an effect, too.
Which
is when all this unwinds. I'll give you a hit folks: that ain't Dakimh the
Enchanter.
And
Doc Strange knows it. So big reveal time: who has been trying to play the
Sorcerer Supreme like some kind of patsy?
D'spayre,
one of the fear lords and a powerful demon. Powerful enough to mess with Strange's
head since he is depressed about Clea. Can the Doctor muster enough will to
stop him? The answer appears to be no.
Until
D'spayre makes a fatal mistake.
By
conjuring up something Stephen knows can't exist in his abode, the mystic
realizes that everything done to him so far is an illusion and he gains the
upper hand. D'spayre even turns into an image of Clea to prevent the Doctor
from sealing him away for all time, but Strange is having none of it.
And
thus we end with Stephen's faith renewed and his determination unbroken.
Great
story and art in this one. One of the best Strange tales yet.
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