Marvel: What Type of Doctor Is Dr. Stephen Strange?
Throughout its long history, Marvel Comics has introduced all kinds of superheroes, from rich playboys, Norse gods, aliens, androids, government agents, high school students, and wizards. If we only look at this last category, probably the most famous character in that group will be Doctor Strange. While we know he’s a wizard, or as he prefers to say, the Master of the Mystic Arts, we know that Stephen Strange was a doctor before his superhero life. So, let’s see what type of doctor he was before he became the Master of the Mystic Arts.
Stephen Strange was originally a neurosurgeon, an M.D. (Medicinae Doctor, doctor of medicine) specifically trained to diagnose and treat conditions that affect the human nervous system, brain, nerves, and spinal cord. After a car accident crippled his hands, and modern medicine didn’t have a solution for his condition, he sought the answers at Kamar-Taj, where he became a Master of the Mystic Arts. Although he’s no longer working as a doctor, he still kept his title, which is why he’s still known as Doctor Strange, the Master of the Mystic Arts.
The character of Stephen Strange was created by Steve Ditko, debuting in the comics in Strange Tales #110 in July 1963. In live-action adaptations, Peter Hooten played the character in the Dr. Strange TV movie in 1978. Doctor Strange joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the 2016 homonymous movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch. In the next few paragraphs, we’ll dig into Stephen Strange’s history as a neurosurgeon, based on both comic books and the movie.
The History of Doctor Strange
From the Marvel Comics canon, it’s known that Stephen Strange was depicted as a brilliant but arrogant and egotistical neurosurgeon. He was born in Philadelphia and raised in New York City. He attended pre-med school in New York City, entered medical school at Colombia University, and completed his residency at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. His continuous successes eventually made him a brilliant but arrogant and greedy neurosurgeon who only treated patients who could afford his services.
One night, while speeding in his car, Strange was involved in a car accident that shattered bones in his hands, preventing him from ever being a surgeon again. Since he was too proud to accept a teaching job, he wasted all of his money on expensive medical treatments to find a solution for his condition. Eventually, he lost all of his money and reputation, and his condition didn’t improve. Without any other choice, he looked for a solution in magic, something he had never believed before.
After spending his last dollar to travel to Kamar-Taj, Strange eventually met The Ancient One, who didn’t want to help Strange due to his arrogance. But eventually, Strange becomes an apprentice of The Ancient One, and after completing his training, he returns to New York City, where he takes residence at Sanctum Sanctorum to protect the world from mystical and magical threats with the help of his assistant Wong.
With some changes, Strange’s origin story from the comics was more or less faithfully adapted into the movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch, which was released in 2016. On the other hand, the 1978 TV movie starring Peter Hooten didn’t feature Strange as a neurosurgeon but as a psychiatrist who became Sorcerer Supreme to guard the Earth against Morgan Le Fay.
The first Doctor Strange movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch received a positive response from critics and audiences, particularly due to Cumberbatch’s performance and visual effects, perfectly depicting all the magical stuff in that movie. However, we couldn’t shake the feeling that the movie reminded us in some ways of the original Iron Man movie, which also told the story of a brilliant but egoistical man who became a hero after a life-altering situation occurred to him.
Following his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Benedict Cumberbatch reprised the role of Doctor Strange in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, which eventually made him one of the most important MCU characters. He protected the world against Dormammu, helped Thor to find Odin, and assisted the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy in a battle against Thanos on Titan. Seeing all the possibles outcome of the battle against Thanos, Strange gave his Time Stone to Thanos, knowing that five years later, the Avengers would save the universe by defeating Thanos, but at the cost of Iron Man’s life.
Following the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, Cumberbatch reprised the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home and his own sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the latter’s post-credit scene, he meets the Sorceress Clea, Dormammu’s niece, played by Charlize Theron, who eventually becomes his wife in the source material. Given how important Strange must be for the future of the MCU, it’s safe to say that Doctor Strange 3 will eventually happen, and we’re also expecting to see him in the upcoming Avengers movies.
Apart from Spider-Man: No Way Home, all of the movies featuring Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange are now streaming on Disney+.
