Marvel Hints A Disgraced Hero Was Sorcerer Supreme Before Doctor Strange

It seems that the predecessor of Marvel’s Doctor Strange as Sorcerer Supreme may not have been the Ancient One, but actually a far more disgraced hero buried in comic obscurity, Doctor Druid. The title of Sorcerer Supreme is granted to one who masters magic and the mystic arts far superiorly to all others, or commands more magic power than any other in any given dimension. So the idea that a character who is often treated as a joke could have ever been the Sorcerer Supreme period is laughable at best.

Doctor Druid, who was jokingly referred to as Doctor Droom in his introduction, is the alter ego of Anthony Ludgate, a psychiatrist who found an interest in learning the Mystic Arts. This was due at least in part to his learning of his druid ancestor, Amergin the Druid. The Ancient One appeared to him in the form of a Tibetan llama and taught him the Mystic Arts in the event that his grooming of Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme failed. This may be surprising to some readers, as his exploits throughout his Marvel comics history have been very undignified.

The suggestion that Doctor Druid once held the title of Sorcerer Supreme comes in the story “Where Monsters Smell” in Marvel #4, by Hilary Barta and Doug Rice. It starts out with strange monsters appearing and attacking innocent people out of seemingly nowhere, though with a comedic bent. Doctor Droom appears, narrating in a tone that takes itself too seriously, at least in contrast to the jokiness of whole story. Sprinkled throughout are little throwaway parodical references to things we know about Doctor Strange and how he operates, such as Droom going down to a basement and opening a door with a sign taped to it that reads, “Top Secret Sanctum.” Droom later pronounces that he “accepted the mantle of Mystical Master.” From this, despite its being a joke story, it’s fun to play around with the theory that he was actually the Sorcerer Supreme that preceded Doctor Strange, in between him and the Ancient One.

While it’s played as a little joke story, it’s no less interesting to speculate that Doctor Druid may have at one time been the Sorcerer Supreme. In addition to later finding himself briefly in the role of the leader of the Avengers, he was also the leader of the Secret Defenders, a group originally assembled by Doctor Strange. Unfortunately, the biggest thing to his name in official canon appears to be title of “Worst Leader of the Avengers Ever.” This is because he allowed himself to get duped by a time traveler who used her mind powers to trick the Avengers into subsequently electing Doctor Druid their leader so they would be easier for her to control.

Needless to say, it did not go well for Doctor Druid as the Avengers were nearly destroyed because of this, and afterward, Druid was cast out as a villain, suffering an undignified demise later on via incineration in a trashcan. This makes the idea of his being Doctor Strange’s predecessor all the more ridiculous. Although it seems unclear whether or not he was actually the Sorcerer Supreme prior to Doctor Strange,  what is clear is that he could be a worthy contender to the power of the current Sorcerer Supreme. And with the comics seemingly bringing him back, perhaps this new incarnation of Doctor Druid will give his character more dignity than he’s previously enjoyed.

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