Doctor Strange in other media

Adaptations of in other media
Created by	Stan Lee Steve Ditko
Original source	Comics published by Marvel Comics
First appearance	Strange Tales #110 (July 1963)
Print publications
Novel(s)	Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts: Nightmare
Films and television
Film(s)	Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme (2007)
Television show(s)	Dr. Strange (1978)

Doctor Strange is a fictional comic book character who has been adapted in various other media.

Animation

• Dr. Strange appears in the "7 Little Superheroes" episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.
• Doctor Strange appears momentarily in the X-Men episode of "The Phoenix Saga" Part 4. A vision of him reacting to the Phoenix appears, followed by Captain Britain and returns in "The Dark Phoenix Saga" Part 3 along with Thor and the Uatu.
  

  Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: The Animated Series
• Doctor Strange appears in the Spider-Man: The Animated Series episode "Doctor Strange" voiced by John Vernon. Doctor Strange and Wong help Spider-Man rescue Mary Jane Watson from Baron Mordo and Dormammu as well as retrieve the Wand of Watoomb.
• The 1997 episode "Mind Over Anti-Matter" of The Incredible Hulk animated series features Doctor Strange (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) and She-Hulk journeying into the mind of Bruce Banner when Banner is possessed by an evil force.^{[citation needed]} She-Hulk provides levity at the sorcerer's expense by referring to him as Doctor Peculiar and other variations of his name.
• Doctor Strange first appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "Enter Dormammu" voiced by Roger Rose.^[1] He was possessed by an Infinity Fractal which drove him crazy and caused him to behave in a bizarre and erratic manner. After it was extracted from the Eye of Agamotto, Doctor Strange uses his magic to banish Dormammu back to the Dark Dimension. In "A Brat Walks Among Us," Doctor Strange helps the other heroes in keeping Brynnie Bratton away from Doctor Doom. In "Night in the Sanctorum," Doctor Strange allows the Super Hero Squad to stay at Sanctum Sanctorum while the Helicarrier is being repaired and warns them that a magic threat is responsible for their misfortunes. Due to Enchantress' spells, Thor unknowingly released Baron Mordo from his soda can prison causing Doctor Strange to reimprison Baron Mordo and rescind his invitation to the Super Hero Squad. When Enchantress attacks the city, Doctor Strange helps the heroes fight Enchantress stating that he had warned them about the magic threat, but "nobody listens to him." He manages to drive Enchantress away. In "Invader from the Dark Dimension," Doctor Strange and Valkyrie help Thor, Hulk, and Silver Surfer fight Iron Man (possessed by Baron Mordo) and his mind-controlled servants as the Defenders. Doctor Strange manages to restore Iron Man to normal and reimprison Baron Mordo into the Dark Dimension. In "Election of Evil," Doctor Strange gives the Mayor of Super Hero City some items to help him and Wolverine expose Egghead's mind-control. It should be noted that although he is officially depicted with grey eyes, they are colored green in this incarnation.

Film

Main article: Dr. Strange (1978 film)

• The TV-movie adaptation Dr. Strange premiered on CBS on Sept. 6, 1978. Written and directed by executive producer Philip DeGuere, it starred Peter Hooten as Dr. Stephen Strange, Clyde Kusatsu as Wong, Jessica Walter as the villainous Morgan LeFay, Eddie Benton (later pseudonymously Anne-Marie Martin) as Clea Lake; Philip Sterling as Dr. Frank Taylor; Sir John Mills as Strange's mentor, Sorcerer Supreme Thomas Lindmer; Michael Ansara as the voice of the Ancient One; and Ted Cassidy as the voices of both the demon Balzaroth, as well as the comics' Dormammu. Larry Anderson has a cameo appearance. Produced by Universal Television, it served as the unsuccessful pilot for a series. In an interview found in the January 1985 issue of Comics Feature magazine, Stan Lee recounted largely positive experiences working on Doctor Strange, especially compared with the other live-action Marvel Comics adaptations under the publisher's development deal with CBS and Universal in the late 1970s:

“

Just as with the Hulk, Lee had few problems with the tv movie adaptation done of Dr. Strange. "I probably had the most input into that one. I've become good friends with the writer/producer Phil DeGuere. I was pleased with Dr. Strange and The [Incredible] Hulk. I think that Dr. Strange would have done much better than it did in the ratings except that it aired opposite Roots. Those are the only experiences I've had with live action television. Dr. Strange and the Hulk were fine. Captain America was a bit [of a] disappointment and Spider-Man was a total nightmare."[2]

”

• The 1992 Full Moon Features film Doctor Mordrid was originally intended as a live-action Dr. Strange film. However, the option expired before production could begin. The script was rewritten to include original characters not directly adapted from the comics property.^{[citation needed]}

• In the animated direct-to-DVD movie Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme, released August 14, 2007, gifted neurosurgeon Dr. Strange (voiced by Bryce Johnson) travels to Tibet after injuring his hands in a car accident, desperately seeking any means of healing them. Training with the Ancient One and his pupils, Dr. Strange faces the emergence of Dormammu.^[3] Its broadcast premiere occurred November 1, 2008 on Cartoon Network. This movie gave Strange a slightly altered backstory: through flashbacks, it is shown that Strange had a deathly ill sister, who was the reason for his learning medicine, and who died on his operating table.

• In Spider-Man 2, J. Jonah Jameson is discussing possible names for Doctor Octopus, one of which is Dr Strange. Jonah thinks it's a good name, but says it's already taken.

Planned film

A movie version of Doctor Strange was initially listed as being in pre-production in 1986, with a script by Bob Gale.^[4] For unknown reasons the film never went further into production, but by December 1992, Wes Craven signed to write and direct, with Savoy Pictures distributing.^[5] The film was set for release in either 1994 or 1995.^[6] However, Savoy went bankrupt and Columbia Pictures purchased the film rights. David S. Goyer had completed a script in 1995.^[7] In April 1997, Jeff Welch was working on a new screenplay, with Bernie Brillstein and Brad Grey producing.^[8]

Michael France was then commissioned to write a script. Despite interest from Chuck Russell and Stephen Norrington as directors, Columbia dropped Doctor Strange entirely.^[9] By June 2001, Dimension Films acquired the film rights with Goyer back on board as writer and director. Goyer hinted scheduling conflicts might ensue with a film adaptation of Murder Mysteries,^[10] and promised not to be highly dependent on computer-generated imagery.^[7] By August 2001, Miramax Films acquired the film rights from Dimension,^[11] but by March 2002, Goyer dropped out of the project.^[12]

A 2005 release date was announced in March 2003,^[13] while in June 2004, a script still had yet to be written. Avi Arad was in search of an A-list writer.^[14] In April 2005, Paramount Pictures acquired Doctor Strange from Miramax, with a planned budget of $50–$165 million.^[15] Guillermo del Toro was attached to direct in February 2008, approaching Neil Gaiman to write the script.^[16]

In 2009, Marvel attempted to hire a gathering of scribes to help come up with creative ways to launch its lesser-known properties, such as Black Panther, Cable, Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Nighthawk and Vision.^[17] In June 2010, Marvel Studios hired Conan the Barbarian scribes Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer to write Dr. Strange, marking forward progress on a long-gestating superhero property which will likely be among the first Marvel films generated under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.^[18] While promoting for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, actor Patrick Dempsey indicated he was lobbying to play the title character.^[19]

Video games

• Doctor Strange acts as Spider-Man's advisor in cutscenes in The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin on the Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear.
• Doctor Strange has a cameo in Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems. In the Mt. Vesuvius stage, he provides a magical platform for the character to cross the long river of lava ahead.
• Doctor Strange appears as a playable character and a supporting character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance voiced by James Horan.^[20] He is found by the player's party in Mandarin's Palace where he is seeking for the Orb of Agamotto and is surrounded by enemies when the team finds him. After the players help him defeat his assailants and find the Orb, Doctor Strange offers his services to the team. Later, when the heroes learn of Loki's involvement with the Masters of Evil, they realize they will need magic facilities not offered by Stark Tower, so Doctor Strange offers his Sanctum Sanctorum as a base for a while. His four outfits are Classic, Royal Seer (his Marvel 1602 counterpart), Blue Mage (the uniform with a full-face mask from the late 1960s) and Ultimate. He has special dialogue with Fin Fang Foom, Wong, Clea, Ancient One, Hank Pym, and Sif (when the heroes find Odin's shattered Twilight Sword in Niffleheim). When the heroes encounter Ghost Rider in chains within Mephisto's Realm, Doctor Strange recommends that he takes Ghost Rider's place, as he will not be harmed. A simulator disk has Doctor Strange defend Clea from Baron Mordo in Mephisto's Realm.
• Doctor Strange (the Stephen Strange Jr. version from the Ultimate Universe) has a mention as a commercial in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions in Deadpool's level.
• Doctor Strange appears in Hsien-Ko's ending in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. He later appears as a playable character in the updated version of the game, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.^[21] He is voiced by Rick Pasqualone.^[22]
• Doctor Strange is a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.

Music

• Dr. Strange appears on the cover of Pink Floyd's album A Saucerful of Secrets.
• Dr. Strange is mentioned in the song "Cymbaline" from Pink Floyd's album Soundtrack from the Film More.
• Dr. Strange guest-stars in the 1972 Spider-Man "rockomic" LP From Beyond The Grave.
• Dr. Strange appears on the covers of Past, Present, and Future and Modern Times, two albums by Al Stewart.
• Dr. Strange is mentioned in the song "Mambo Sun" by T. Rex.
• Dr. Strange is mentioned in the song "Superbird" by Country Joe and the Fish.
• Inspectah Deck has referred to himself as Dr. Strange in several of his songs.
• Dr. Strange is mentioned in the song "Renaissance Rap" by Q-Tip.
• Dr. Strange is referenced in the song "Secret Wars - Part one" by Last Emperor.
• Dr. Strange is the focus of the song "Doctor Strange" by Paul Roland on his album Gaslight Tales.

Novels

• In the late 1970s, Pocket Books published a number of mass-market paperback novels featuring various Marvel Comics characters. One was Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts: Nightmare, by William Rotsler. It was reasonably faithful to the comics' characters and concepts.
• In the 1968 novel The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfe writes about Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters' interest in comics and specifically references Dr. Strange.
• In the 2006 novel Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours, Doctor Strange appears briefly as a fellow superhero from whom Spider-Man seeks assistance when struggling against three vengeful siblings of Morlun.

Other

• Doctor Strange receives a brief mention in the 2004 live-action film Spider-Man 2. After the failed experiment that melds mechanical arms to Dr. Otto Octavius (AKA Dr. Octopus), newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson and his assistant attempt to devise a catchy name for him. One suggestion was "Doctor Strange", which Jameson rejected ("sounds good, but its taken.").

• Doctor Byron Orpheus of The Venture Bros. animated television series is an homage to Dr. Strange, sharing his mastery of the mystic arts, a similar dialect, and familiar garb.^{[citation needed]}

• A very early concert appearance of the Grateful Dead on October 16, 1965, while they were still calling themselves the Warlocks, was called "A Tribute to Dr. Strange".^[23]

• In the series Numb3rs Agent David Sinclair mentions "Dr. Strange" as one of his favorite superheroes.

References

1. ^ "Comics Continuum". Comics Continuum. 2009-07-28. http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0907/28/voices.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-13. 
2. ^ Comics Feature. Issue 33A. January 1985. "A Talk With The Man, Stan Lee" pp. 40.
3. ^ "Doctor Strange (2007)". Marvel Entertainment, Inc.. http://www.marvel.com/movies/Marvel_Animated_Features.Doctor_Strange_%282007%29. Retrieved 2007-10-18. 
4. ^ Stan Lee (April 1986). "Stan Lee Sounds Off". Comics Feature. p. 40. 
5. ^ "Marvel characters holding attraction for filmmakers". Variety. 1992-12-09. http://www.variety.com/article/VR101955. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
6. ^ John Evan Frook (1993-02-08). "Savoy making public bow". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR103771.html. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Stax (2001-06-22). "Goyer Talks Dr. Strange & Ghost Rider". IGN. http://movies.ign.com/articles/300/300753p1.html. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
8. ^ Michael Fleming (1997-04-14). "A Mania For Marvel". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117434784. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
9. ^ Michael Fleming (2000-04-04). "Noon strikes twice at Spyglass for 3 scribes". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117780175.html. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
10. ^ "Doctor Goyer Is Strange". IGN. 2001-06-21. http://movies.ign.com/articles/300/300726p1.html. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
11. ^ Michael Fleming (2001-08-20). "New Line sharpens Blade 3". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117851502. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
12. ^ Rob Worley (2002-03-05). "Goyer on Ghost Rider, Zigzag and More". Comics2Film. http://www.comics2film.com/index.php?a=story&b=386. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
13. ^ Rob Worley (2003-03-04). "Marvel Movies: The Next Wave". Comic Book Resources. http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=1964. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
14. ^ Mark Rahner (2004-06-27). "Marvel Studios CEO on Spider-Man 2, other films". The Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2001964388_avi27.html. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
15. ^ Paul Bond (2005-09-06). "Marvel in control of own universe". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20071015102428/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001054692. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
16. ^ Olly Richards (2008-02-08). "Exclusive: Del Toro To Make Dr Strange?". Empire. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=21964. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 
17. ^ Marc Graser (2009-03-26). "Marvel's hiring writers". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001734.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-03-27. 
18. ^ Mike Flemming (2010-06-21). "Will Dr. Strange Be Marvel's First Superhero To Fly Under the Disney Banner?". Deadline Hollywood. http://www.deadline.com/2010/06/will-dr-strange-be-marvels-first-superhero-to-fly-under-the-disney-banner/. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 
19. ^ "Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Strange? Actor Wants Hero Role". Huffington Post. 2011-04-02. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/02/patrick-dempsey-dr-strange_n_843944.html. Retrieved 2011-06-30. 
20. ^ Denick, Thom (2006). Marvel Ultimate Alliance: Signature Series Guide. Indianapolis, Indiana: Brady Games. pp. 44, 45. ISBN 0-7440-0844-1. 
21. ^ GameSpot - Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 roster leaked
22. ^ Twitter - Chris Baker (the manager of licensed Marvel Comics games) reveals Doctor Strange's voice actor
23. ^ "Historic Concerts" at http://www.dead101.com/concerts.htm

External links

• Doctor Strange at the Internet Movie Database