sonotadream

Strange Tales (1951) - #147-158 - Stan Lee/Denny O'Neil/Roy Thomas/Billy Everett/Marie Severin

Doctor Strange gets a new team. The art is still good - especially with Severin, - but we find Strange dealing with money problems - and this is not Peter Parker. That’s not interesting.

Fortunately, the Ancient One’s former best friend is evil and has just stolen the Book of the Vishanti, so let’s focus on that.

Kaluu and the Ancient One grew up in Kamar Taj a few centuries ago. Their village was peaceful, but they started studying magic because they wanted more. The Ancient One genuinely wanted to help his people, but Kaluu had other ambitions.

They cast a spell to make Kamar Taj an utopia, but Kaluu also starts mind-controlling the other inhabitants, until he launches war against a nearby village.

The Ancient One tries to stop it, but Kaluu puts him under a spell and turns him into a living statue. The Ancient One can still reach the divine powers and they rain down destruction over Kamar Taj. Kaluu finds refuge in another dimension and is now able to return due to the war between Dormammu and Eternity.

He can't get inside the Sanctum Sanctorum, so he send a horde of demons to attack Strange and the Ancient One. His master advises Strange to wait until all the demons are inside the barrier to attack them, to lull Kaluu into a false sense of security, but Strange can’t beat to watch the Ancient One under distress.

Kaluu makes his way inside, but finds the Sanctum empty.

Strange and the Ancient One are travelling in the time stream to Ancient Babylonia - when the Book of the Vishanti was first created and where Kaluu has hidden it.

The book only has defensive spells, but also works as the ultimate defence: when Kaluu uses a spell against Strange, it reflects back to him. Kaluu is stuck in stasis and the Ancient One sends him to the end of time.

With Dormammu gone, the Mindless Ones finally break the barrier keeping them out of this universe. Clea tries to call Strange for help, but is unable to contact him.

Instead, Umar, Dormammu's sister, comes back from exile. Her power is equal, if not superior, to Dormammu’s, so he tricked her and sent her to the void between dimensions. She deals with the Mindless Ones and then consults the Lamp of Lucifer to learn what happened to her brother (the family resemblance isn’t there, though; she looks like a powerful, attractive woman, Dormammu’s head was always on fire).

She wants to conquer the World and Strange is the only one strong enough to stand in her way, so she sets a trap, using Clea as bait.

She calls Strange to the Dark Dimension and tells him that Clea was taken by the Mindless Ones. She tries to pass herself as good, compared to her brother, but Strange doesn't quite believe her.

He goes searching for Clea among the Mindless Ones, but she's behind a mystical barrier. Once he crosses it, he finds that Clea was just an illusion created by Umar. Strange keeps looking and he's helped by Veritas, the cloaked, silent incarnation of truth. Umar fears them because she can bear to look at her real self.

With Veritas help, Strange makes it inside Umar's castle. He's hoping to use her mirror to locate Clea, but Umar sends a deadly spell. However, Strange is capable of travelling at the speed of thought and reflects the spell back to Umar.

Strange escapes through the dimensions with Clea, although that's not distant enough from Umar. With the Ancient One's help, they make it to Earth.

The Ancient One uses a vanishment spell to send Clea away and keep her safe from Umar. Distraught, Strange vows to defeat Umar and his master has to restrain him to keep him safe. He sends Strange to the place beyond Time to free Zom, the only creature with the power to confront Umar.

He’s a giant sort of monster, he was imprisoned by Dormammu centuries ago and he wants to destroy everything. Strange gets Zom to follow him to the present, where he immediately targets Umar as the most powerful being around. She decides to retreat to the Dark Dimension, where no one can challenge her, and now, Strange and the Ancient One have to deal with Zom.

He attacks the Ancient One, who sacrifices himself to protect Strange. He leaves his disciple with two warnings: look for the forelock and someone’s coming.

The forelock is the lock of hair growing in Zom’s forehead, which Strange destroys. This releases evil into the hearts of magic users around the world, which, in turn, brings about the Living Tribunal - a giant, yellow being with a floating, three-faced head; he looks very cool - who imprisons Zom again and judges that the Earth must be destroyed.

Strange tries to talk them out of it; when that doesn't work, he challenges the Living Tribunal to a duel. His magical abilities are such that, even if Strange doesn't have the power to afflict a cosmic being, the Tribunal is impressed enough to grant Strange some time to deal with the evil magic users just awakened.