MRL - Strange Tales (1951) #123-125

[sonotadream]

Strange Tales (1951) #123-125 - Stan Lee/Steve Ditko

The return of Doctor Strange. First, he faces Loki. Trying to escape his prison again, Loki projects his image to Strange, claims to be a prisoner of Thor, the real bad guy, and convinces Strange to steal Mjolnir, which Strange does.

However, is not entirely trusting of Loki, and quickly confirms the evil in his heart and they have an illusion face off. Strange wins, sends Loki packing and returns Thor's hammer, all in the span of sixty seconds or less.

Thor never finds out what happened, but he has his hammer back, so things must be fine 😋

Strange finds a woman under a trance while on a spirit walk one night. He can't break the spell, so he asks the Ancient One for advice. They agree the answers lies in the past, so Strange travels back in time in his spirit form. He must return before a candle stops burning, so, of course, he barely makes it, and must use his amulet to light the final stretch.

His time in the past proves fruitful - he learns what he needs and brings down a tyrant with some mind control. Strange breaks the spell and sends the woman back to her time. She turns out to be Cleopatra, btw.

We finish with an appearance by Strange’s archenemy, Baron Mordo. He managed to kidnap the Ancient One and Strange must reach him. They fight in the astral plane all over the world, until Strange’s amulet finally locates the Ancient One. Then, it becomes a light vs dark magic brawl.

Light winds, and Strange proves himself superior to Mordo once again.