Captain Marvel Is The One Hero Whom Doctor Strange Fears

Warning: contains spoilers for Captain Marvel #30!

Captain Marvel is the one superhero that Doctor Strange fears above all others. The Sorcerer Supreme has faced countless supernatural enemies over the years, but he finds Carol Danvers particularly dangerous, especially after she deliberately disobeyed him multiple times for her own personal gain…though she would see it differently. Whatever bond the two shared is gone, their friendship finished and firmly fractured following the events of Captain Marvel #30, written by Kelly Thompson with art by Jacopo Camagni and colors by Espen Grundetjern.

Captain Marvel’s desire to prevent a terrible future has led her to ally with the Enchantress – a difficult prospect, since the Enchantress’ future son Ove is responsible for taking over the Earth. The Enchantress creates a potion that will make Carol immune to her greatest weakness: magic. To magicians, however, it removes one’s connection to magic entirely – and permanently. “For a magician, it would be like going blind,” says the Enchantress. Unfortunately, things go wrong quickly: Carol’s thoughts betray her true intentions, the Enchantress summons Ove to the present, and she’s suddenly fighting for her life.

Ove is frighteningly strong, and not even War Machine’s sudden arrival is enough to take him on conventionally – which is why Carol tricks Ove into drinking the potion meant for her. Ove’s connection to magic is instantly severed in a very painful sequence, and the villainous Enchantress swears revenge. But Doctor Strange isn’t happy to hear it. “You’ve committed a sin against the magical community…you’ve stolen a magician’s ability to use magic, to even feel it. For a magician, that’s like being robbed of a sense.” This is quite a brutal takedown, especially after Strange’s warnings to Carol about learning magic in the first place. Despite everything they’ve been through together, he slams the door in her face…with a dark warning.

Captain Marvel #28 revealed that Doctor Strange had previously warned Carol about eliminating her weakness to magic, suggesting that for a person as powerful as she is, a weakness is a good thing: it forces her to think through situations instead of using her strength to solve all her problems. Strange subsequently spread a message throughout the magical community, forbidding anyone from teaching magic to Carol. Combine her willingness to learn from the Enchantress with her cavalier attitude toward severing Ove’s connection to magic, and it’s no wonder Strange quite literally slams the door on his former friend: he’s afraid of what she could become. In his eyes, she has already crossed the line from a friend to a threat.

The Death of Doctor Strange miniseries arrives this September, and Marvel remains tight-lipped on the details. It’s possible, however unlikely, that Captain Marvel’s ever-increasing power levels could inadvertently lead to the end of the Sorcerer Supreme. Carol still hasn’t given up on learning magic; if Doctor Strange’s warnings are correct, Captain Marvel’s unchecked ambition will be her downfall.