Dr Strange!
Marvel’s DR STRANGE was not only the first comic I ever read as a teen, but it has remained my favorite from that day to this. So it is with some hope and excitement that I see he has finally been given the big production film treatment with an A-list actor.
Aside from an obscure television pilot, which I also recall fondly albeit it was not without its flaws (they turned the Ancient One into a White Dude named Linmer — get it? Merlin) and an even more obscure straight-to-video where Dr. Strange’s name was changed to Dr. Mordred, the cinema has never attempted to capture the mystery, awe, and comic booky wonder of the good Doctor.
Keep your fingers crossed. Marvel did ANT MAN and AVENGERS and all the movies leading up to and feeding into them correctly and expertly and in an entertaining fashion, so maybe they can do this one, too.
If they are really clever, the writers will borrow elements from the original Ditko and Stan Lee run fighting Dormammu and Baron Mordo, and go crazy with the with the Steve Dikto look for the trans-cosmic landscapes; or, better yet, take elements from the Shuma-Gorath story arc from the Englehart and Brunner run during the Marvel Premier days.
However, if they follow in the footsteps of the most recent FANTASTIC FOUR, and turn Wong into a Black Dude, or worse, Clea into a Black Dude, or follow in the footsteps of WIZARD OF EARTHSEA and turn T’challa or Power Man into a White Dude, I will summon up the Mindless Ones of the Dark Dimension and have them trample Hollywood into the ground.
For you collectors of John C Wright memorabilia, my one published fan letter to DR. STRANGE appears in the comic below, DOCTOR STRANGE #39, where I fanwhine about the lack of proper closure in the Lovecraftian ‘Dweller in the Darkness’ story arc.
About John C Wright
John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.
