Dormammu: Bio, Origin & History

Real Name: Dormammu

First Appearance: Strange Tales #126 (November, 1964)

Powers: One of the most powerful beings the Marvel Universe. Through the Dark Dimension he is capable of energy projection, matter manipulation, teleportation, necromancy, size altering, giving his power to others, and the creation of Demon Lords.

Affiliation: N/A

Did You Know? Doctor Strange has referred to Dormammu as one of the most feared beings in the Marvel Universe.

A Little History

The creation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Dormammu first appeared in Strange Tales #126 back in November of 1964. This means that Dormammu isn’t only one of Dr. Strange’s most feared enemies, he’s also one of his oldest.

Dormammu and his sister Umar, are members of the mutant extra-dimensional society of energy beings known as the Faltine. The Faltine are beings born of pure magic and exist in a realm all to themselves, the Faltine Dimension.

Dormammu and Umar, are the offspring of Sinifer. Unlike other Faltines who are born as a copy of their “parents”, Dormammu and Umar were born different. The two, different from other Faltine’s craved physical matter. As such, they transformed Sinifer from energy into matter, thereby killing him. This angered other members of the society and the two were cast from the Dimension of the Faltine to the Dark Dimension. 

Once in the Dark Dimension, the two siblings gained the trust of its ruler, Olnar. The two then taught the King how to absorb other dimensions and realms into his Dark Dimension. Letting his greed take over, Olnar began absorbing as many dimensions as he could. Eventually, his greed took him to the Dimension of the Mindless Ones. For reference, the Mindless Ones were a race of beings that existed only to destroy all that lies in their path. 

During a battle with the Mindless ones, the Mhuruuks (sorcerers of the Dark Dimension) were beaten and many were left slain. This, sadly, included King Olnar. Sensing opportunity, the siblings killed any and all who might oppose them within the Dark Dimension. They then beat the Mindless Ones and trapped them behind a magical spell.

The battle didn’t come without cost to the siblings, however. At its conclusion, Umar was left weakened. Dormammu, with no one left to stop him, then ascended to the throne of the Dark Dimension.