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Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #43

Jul 1992
Roy Thomas, Geof Isherwood

Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #43 cover

Story Name:

An eye for an eye

Synopsis

Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #43 synopsis by Rob Johnson
Rating: 4 stars
Last issue Galactus (and his Herald Nova) abducted Dr Strange to help find out what happened to Eternity, but in the process rendered him unconscious. It ended with Silver Surfer turning up and (only partly) getting the wrong idea. The 3 conscious beings squabbled in Silver Surfer #67 until Stephen Strange woke up and calmed them down. All 4 teamed up in Galactus' huge round spaceship to go off on an adventure.

Galactus brings Norrin Radd (and us) up-to-date with the situation. He and Frankie Raye had found Eternity floating comatose in the Dimension Of Manifestations (in Infinity War #1).  They'd followed a trail of emanations through several dimensions but then ran into mystical barriers they couldn't cross. So Big G decided to enlist Earth's Sorcerer Supreme to solve the problem (giving him no option).

But they haven't started off yet because Galactus now wants Strange to give him the Eye Of Agamotto. Stephen calls forth the Eye from the Amulet Of Agamotto to rest on his brow. But he says *he* must be the 1 to use it. He can't *give* it anyone else because he only has it on loan from Agamotto himself. Surprisingly Galan of Taa agrees. DrS sits in a control chair and wills the Eye to transmit what it sees into the ship's sensory system. But on the 1st attempt the control room is filled with light. And when normal vision is resumed Dr Strange and the Eye Of Agamotto have gone.

Back on Earth Rintrah is trying to use the Orb Of Agamotto to contact his master Strange when Sara Wolfe pops in to see why Clea hasn't shown up at the Memorial Metaphysical Institute. Then the Orb develops bulges which turn into tentacles which grab him. But Clea joins them to cast the Flames Of The Faltine to save him. However she only meant for the tentacles to go but the whole Orb disappears.

Rintrah is surprised to see her because he thought she and her little 'fairy' Faltine companion Flyx had left for the Dark Dimension (last issue). It seems she hasn't gone yet and she explains that before last issue she used her Watchfire to see what was happening there and found only total blackness. She doesn't know whether it's a trick by her mother Umar or whether some Age Of Darkness has descended. So she started looking for allies to help her. As mentioned last issue she and Flyx already went to the Purple Dimension to get help from Aggamon. But now she belatedly asks Rintrah if *he*'ll help her. But Rintrah says he's got to stay here while Doc is away with Galactus. Clea too would like to help her husband but she's needed in the homeland she used to rule. So now she and Flyx really do exit to the 6th Dimension to find Tiboro.

Stephen Strange himself awakens in the presence of Agamotto The All-Seeing in his hookah-smoking caterpillar guise. Agamotto has taken back possession of his Eye and Orb (and the earlier Eye that was also in Strange's Mansion). He's very unhappy with Doc letting Galactus and Rintrah use them. Doc says he needs the Eye to help Galactus find out what happened to Eternity - the whole universe is in danger. The caterpillar could care less. It's not *his* universe and anyway he's got it all 'on tape' in his memory bubbles so he can see the interesting bits whenever he wants.

The Sorcerer Supreme makes a grab for the 3 artefacts with the Crimson Bands Of Cytorrak and the Roving Rings Of Raggadorr. But Agamotto casually dispels them and imprisons DrS within the Orb. He can't escape. Spells invoking Agamotto or his his pals Hoggoth and Oshtur or their collective Vishanti are obviously not going to work here. But he does manage to use the Orb's own energy to send out a magic 'fishing line' which brings Galactus' spaceship here.

Big G also isn't happy to be dragged into this weird dimension. (Nova and Silver Surfer are off scouring normal space for the missing magician.) Agamotto and Galan (as Aggie remembers him) tussle over the sorcerer. Galactus' eye-bolts destroy the giant mushroom that his opponent sits on, but the mystic caterpillar turns into a more aggressive form with 1 giant eye with which he can blast back. Probably because Agamotto's distracted, Dr Strange is able to escape the Orb but then has to dodge ricochetting eye-blasts as he sends mystic bolts of his own in random directions. The 2 huge foes are now grappling hand-to-hand. G blows A's head off, but the caterpillar just regenerates it. However he's not pleased to see his hookah and several memory bubbles have been damaged.

Then Stephen's plan bears fruit as all the expended energy has drawn the attention of Hoggoth and Oshtur. They tell their co-Vishanti off for lowering himself to Galactus' level and engaging in a battle that is damaging adjacent dimensions. He may be the supreme power in his own dimension but the multiverse needs Galactus and Strange to succeed in their quest. They remind him of the 1st Law of the Vishanti - with great power must also come great responsibility. (Now we know where Peter Parker got his mantra from.)

Chastened Agamotto reverts to his friendly caterpillar form and the other 2 Vishanti leave. He lets Dr Strange have the 3 talismans and he sends him and Galactus to follow G's spaceship out of his dimension. Of course when they all reappear in space Stephen is about die from lack of oxygen. But Big G gathers him in safely as Nova and Surfer join them, and they all enter the spherical spaceship. Strange takes his place in the control chair again and this time connecting the Eye to Galactus' navigation system goes without a hitch. And they open a portal to other dimensions to follow the energy trail to whoever attacked Eternity.

Continues in Infinity War #2 and Silver Surfer #68.


 

Review / Commentaries

Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #43 Review by (September 10, 2021)
This issue is an official Infinity War tie-in.

We'll catch up with Clea and Flyx in #48. (Flyx is again Dormammu in disguise.)

Clea and Flyx's backup tale in Dr Strange Annual #2 claimed that Aggamon and Tiboro were 2 of the Lords Of The Nether-Wolds summoned by Dormammu to watch him battle Dr Strange in Strange Tales #140-141. Up to that time none of the Lords had been identified (and the rest have continued to be anonymous). It is for this connection to her father Dormammu that Clea hoped/s to get aid from Aggamon and Tiboro.

Aggamon of the Purple Dimension has otherwise previously only appeared in ST#119 (clashing with DrS) and the above Annual, and never since. DrS has his Purple Gem which has had more apps then *he* has. He wasn't cooperative in the Annual but Clea bullied/tricked him into promising gem weapons for her invasion of the Dark Dimension.

Tiboro of the 6th Dimension also fought Doc early in ST#129, but he's since featured in DrS#177-178 and DrS(1974)#35&54 and will go on to several other apps. He and possibly some other Lords will accompany Clea and Flyx in #48, and maybe she'll have Agammon's gem weapons too.

Agamotto has been invoked since ST#115 but made his 1st actual app (with Hoggoth and Oshtur) in Marvel Premiere #5 starring DrS. His caterpillar version dates from his 2nd app DrS(1974)#1-2&5 by writer/artist Frank Brunner. Supposedly Agamotto based the look on an image from Alice In Wonderland in Stephen Strange's memory. He repeated the look in #6-7 of *this* series.
He'll also appear next in #48 along with Hoggoth and Oshtur as the Vishanti.

This issue ends saying continued in Infinity War #2, but actually the last panel of this issue probably happens after our gang's part of IW#2. Before leaving Earth-space (and indeed this dimension) Galactus detects energy like that which attacked Eternity coming from Monster Island. The gang investigate and find energy there being beamed in from elsewhere (and indeed from another dimension), and they decide to track that energy to its source.

In the above section the Eye Of Agamotto is already successfully linked to Galactus' navigation system, as happens in this issue in the panels just before the last 1. But presumably in the last panel of this issue when they open a portal to another dimension and prepare to go through it, then it is the energy trail from Monster Island that they are following.

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Geof Isherwood
Geof Isherwood
George Roussos
Geof Isherwood (Cover Penciler)
Geof Isherwood (Cover Inker)
Unknown (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Pat Brosseau.
Editor: Mike Rockwitz. Editor-in-chief: Tom DeFalco.

Characters

Listed in alphabetical order. All stories.

Agamotto
Agamotto
Clea
Clea
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
(Stephen Strange)
Dormammu
Dormammu
Galactus
Galactus
Silver Surfer
Silver Surfer
(Norrin Radd)
Plus: Hoggoth, Nova (Frankie Raye), Oshtur, Rintrah, Sara Wolfe.

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