The Exact Same Energy. Well Said Oscar Wilde! Well Said Stephen!

The exact same energy. Well said Oscar Wilde! Well said Stephen!

“Why do people like a character who’s committed war crimes but hate this other character just because they’re annoying” because it’s fiction Susan, and being annoying in fiction is a greater sin than being a supervillain, because it won’t make me want to read about them. It isn’t difficult to understand

No, seriously. I dare say that Triumph and Torment is the most important story in all Victor’s chronology and I’m so glad Stephen is an essential part of it. Hear me out.

Cynthia von Doom is the last connection to Victor’s humanity. She’s the only person capable of lifting Victor’s ability to love. She’s the only person Victor loved in a non-twisted way. And Stephen saw it all. He knows Victor is able to love. And I cannot stress enough how important this story is to their relationship, in both POVs.

It’s important to Stephen because he learned that Doom is not that ruthless, merciless tyrant that the whole world believes him to be. And Stephen, as a doctor and the Sorcerer Supreme, will always fight to bring the best in people and heal them in all possible ways. Imagine his surprise to learn that Victor also has the ability to love and cry, to feel and be vulnerable. He witnessed a miracle. Stephen knows Victor can be healed.

On the other hand, it’s important to Victor because he doesn’t really care about people and his love is usually very unhealthy. Yes, he loves Reed, he loves Namor, he loves Valeria (her ex, not Reed’s daughter. But that too). Yet, he always finds a way to corrupt this love by betraying them out of rage and pain and jealousy. But Stephen? Stephen wasn’t important to him until the moment they went to Hell and fought Mephisto side by side. Certainly, Victor would despise Stephen for seeing his vulnerability. But he doesn’t feel that way. And that’s because Stephen found a way to guide Cynthia’s soul to Heaven. Stephen freed Cynthia from Mephisto, which was Victor’s most precious dream. Do you see it? His last connection to love is forever linked to Stephen. Victor could not hate Stephen. Their quest is deeply rooted in love. True love.

To think that the only reason Victor fights Stephen sometimes is because they have conflicting agendas. But most of the time, they respect each other so much and it’s all thanks to T&T… Yes, maybe Doomstrange is not as popular as other ships and they rarely interact, but just take a look at their relationship throughout the years.

Stephen saved Victor after Thanos shattered Victor’s body and soul. He could have left Victor to die and the world would be finally free from his tyranny. But he didn’t. In return, Victor saluted him and said he was at his disposal. How many times did the Doctor Doom say that to anyone? I’ll tell you. One. And that one is Stephen.

I write this all the time but Stephen and Victor literaly build a world together. Yes, I’m aware that Victor murdered Stephen, but from that moment on, he never stopped falling. It was the turning point because Stephen was his last connection to his humanity, just like Cynthia was. When Victor lost Stephen, he became all alone and adrift again.

And when Secret Wars was over and Victor decided to change, Stephen was there to support him. No one believed Victor but Stephen. He was able to see through Victor’s ego and pride, he knows what makes Victor pleased. He knows he likes green. That’s how much Stephen cares for Victor.

In return, Victor gave Stephen what no one on Earth has. He gave Stephen his trust, to the point of never questioning Stephen’s actions. He knows Stephen well enough to believe he’ll always be up to good deeds.

And let me tell you something. Victor cannot afford losing Stephen again. That’s why he won’t let Stephen die. That’s how much Victor cares for Stephen.

Again, I know they rarely interact in canon. Many characters are way more important to Victor’s chronology. The Fantastic Four, Namor, T’Challa, Tony. But their background? Unique. And very, very, very special.

Stephen is the only one who is truly capable of bringing Victor’s best side into light. And more importantly, Victor allows it the best he can. It really feels like Stephen is slowly taking Victor’s armor off, piece by piece, patiently and carefully. It sounds impossible but the Sorcerer Supreme is all about miracles, after all.

“I fight till I fall!”

Stephen at his truest. This statement is pretty much true throughout all his comic years. His determination and resiliency knows no bounds.

Marvel Premier #3 (1972)

This....

ART! 😭

Mmmmm, would you just look at the time? It’s prompt time!

[tw: depression]

Stephen is in his Sanctum, it’s just another regular day. Yet, he feels devastated by loneliness. It has intensified in the past couple of days, result of the recent losses in his life. Guilt, self-loathing, pain, they all worsened his depressed state of mind.

It’s night and he’s trying really hard to keep himself composed. He feels like sinking into a pit of darkness, bottomless and suffocating. The radiance in his eyes is long gone. They only gleam when tears reflect light. And they’re coming. The sorcerer can feel it.

Resist. Resist, Stephen curls up on his bad, wrapping his arms around his legs. However, those thoughts feel like famished ghosts, haunting the host as an attempt of self-destruction. He thinks of Clea, and Wong, and Zelma. He thinks of how many people he has hurt through his life, physically or not. He doesn’t deserve love. He doesn’t deserve to be the Sorcerer Supreme. The only reason he still carries the burden is because, unfortunately, he’s still the most powerful user of magic on Earth.

Even so, saving lives is not enough to atone his sins. Finally, the pain strikes his heart and soul. His hands shake more than usual. It doesn’t feel like the habitual pain. He wishes it does. No, this time it feels overwhelming, aching like a burning hell of misery and despair.

Stephen gave in. It’s too much. Tears are the only thing capable of easing the pain, making him feel real and alive. Everything else seems fluid, abstract. There was also the fact that the sorcerer couldn’t send it away magically. The last time he sought such easy solution, he literally created a monster in his attic.

Luckily, he would soon grow tired, and the gentle touch of the Sandman would make it all go away, as a long past moment forgotten in time.

However, Stephen was not a lucky man. Magic is unbalanced. Someone is abusing of its power, mostly for evil. The sorcerer takes a deep breath, wipes the tears from his eyes and waves his hands, getting dressed and covered by his Cloak of Levitation.

He leaves the Sanctum, levitating towards the source. He sights a green energy on the horizon, its intensity increasing. He recognizes the energy. In fact, it’s quite familiar.

The place is the Baxter Building. The Fantastic Four is on the ground, defeated. Standing, there is Doctor Doom, ready to strike the last blow. Stephen knows that the ruler of Latveria is waiting for someone to stop him. Victor couldn’t afford having Reed Richards killed. Otherwise, his life would be meaningless, even though he would never admit it.

“Victor, I thought you have changed,” the sorcerer floats towards the villain, his tone disheartened. The man before him even took Tony Stark’s legacy once.

“Change is an understatement, sorcerer.”

Their dynamics have also changed. They’ve grown distant from one another, colder even. Victor has built an armor to protect him from harm, yet it also deprived him of kindness, and love.

The only man who once touched Doom’s heart was no longer capable of reaching him. It was just another failure in Stephen’s life. The sorcerer felt the weight increasing within, his heart becoming heavier and heavier.

It was a fierce battle, though. Stephen cast his best, most powerful spells. However, he was indeed tired, and his mind was doubtful. A sorcerer needs a clear state of mind in order to channel magic. Otherwise, they will fail. Stephen, as the Sorcerer Supreme, was still capable of conjuring and materilizing magic. On the other hand, its effectiveness was shameful.

For this very reason, Doom soon drained Stephen. The Shield of Seraphim, his last resource, was broken. He was entirely vulnerable, in more senses than Victor could imagine. The ruthless man finally approached his enemy. The word was even more painful when their background once considered they were very close partners. The sorcerer was on the ground, panting.

Doom kneeled before him. His cold steel fingers wrapped Stephen’s neck, squeezing and lifting his body in mid-air. The sorcerer was too weak to fight back. In fact, he was exhausted. His breathe was heavy, his lungs desperate for air as Victor’s fingers tightened their grasp harder and harder.

One last time, the sorcerer gazed at the ruler’s eyes behind the mask. He saw no soul, no feeling on them, no regret from the last time the same episode happened. It hurt him deeply, all that pain consuming, swallowing him entirely. Stephen then made up his mind. Some tears rolled down over his face as he closed his eyes, resigned.

I’m sorry, Victor. I’ve failed you.

Somehow, Stephen’s thoughts unintentionally reached Doom’s mind. Victor realized the sorcerer craved that. He magically had a glimpse of his pit of darkness and pain, and for a split second, he felt all that despair. The light in his eyes returned, and his heart ached as empathy took over.

Victor loosened his grap until he finally set Stephen free, leaving him on the ground once more.

“I cannot give you what you seek,” he turned his back on the defeated sorcerer, walking away as his cape swayed with the wind.

“You are… indeed… the most ruthless man I’ve ever met…” Stephen cried, his voice wrecked. “You had a glimpse of my soul… and still decided to walk away… when you could have ended it all. How could you? You’re really… a monster…”

Stephen’s words were like razors, cutting Victor’s heart. He never meant to be a monster, not to him. The sorcerer saw the ruler’s deepest side. He saw virtues, and he tried his very best in order to nourish them. Stephen knew Victor like no one else did. And it pained him.

“I have little concern of your impressions towards me, Strange,” the man replied. “Even so, this small portion within still compels me to act.”

Victor then turned once more and headed to the sorcerer. He kneeled again and touched Stephen’s face with both hands. Lastly, a spell came out from his mouth and a flash of light emerged from their respective eyes. All faded to black.

                                                           —

Stephen woke up on his bed in the Sanctum. He instinctively measured the magical balance on Earth in a hurry. It was restored. The sorcerer then turned his attention to himself. His body was still aching like hell, but his heart was… lighter, somehow.

Lastly, he recalled Victor’s words. He recognized the spell. Its purpose was sharing burdens. For some reason, Victor drained part of Stephen’s pain. There was still some left, of course. Even so, the gesture was wholesome. The sorcerer touched his chest and smiled.

He still can be saved.

Stephen...make up your mind. Tsk tsk

Jk. Though we gotta love how he defends the title cuz he knows more about Victor’s habits probably more than anyone else there 😳

Iron Man: Legacy (2010)

Doctor Doom (2019)

Also I don’t quite appreciate the very clear racism and dehumanization in older comics regarding Wong’s standing as manservant, but I can appreciate how Stephen actually corrects his mistakes when he speaks ill of him and realizes just how much he needs his friend. Him calling him old friend is heartwarming. How their relationship has grown from master-servant to master-master over the years is much better.

(And to be fair he’d been having quite a rough day/night. Though it’s not exactly an excuse.)

Marvel Premier #4 (1972)