History Characters / DoctorStrange

'''Remember''', this page is for characters and examples from the Prime Marvel Universe Doctor Strange series only. Please do not list characters, or examples from other shows, movies or alternate universes here. If you have thought of a trope that fits a Doctor Strange from another universe please take that example to its respective page.

* [[Characters/DoctorStrangeDoctorStrangeAndSupportingCharacters Doctor Strange and Supporting Characters]]

[[folder:Doctor Stephen Strange]]
!!Doctor Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/doctor_strange_small.png]]

!!! '''Alter Ego:''' Stephen Vincent Strange
!!! '''Notable Aliases:''' Black Priest, Cape Man, Captain Universe, the Eye, Doc Dollars, Doctor Vague, Dr. Whatisname, Dumb Magician, Iron Mage, Master of Black Magic, Red Rajah, Sheriff Strange, Sherlock, Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Sanders, Steven/Steve, Steverino, Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, Vincent Stevens
!!! '''Editorial Names:''' Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts, Dr. Strange
!!! '''First Appearance:''' ''Strange Tales'' #110 (July, 1963)

A brilliant but arrogant New York surgeon, Dr. Stephen Strange's life was turned upside down when a car crash caused irreparable nerve damage to his hands, preventing him from ever holding a scalpel again. Driven by arrogance and desperation, he traveled the world in search of a cure, finally arriving in Tibet to seek the help of the Ancient One, a powerful wizard and (unbeknownst to him) the Sorcerer Supreme, the mage charged with protecting the Earth from the otherdimensional Cosmic menaces who would threaten it.

The Ancient One, finding him too proud, turned Strange down but allowed him to stay the night, letting Strange discover and foil the plot of his DeceptiveDisciple Baron Mordo, so that he would learn humility and see the existence of true evil -- and the need to combat it. Sensing his great magical potential, the Ancient One asked Strange to become his new apprentice, and the now humbled Strange accepted.

After years of study he moved back to New York and engaged in many mystical adventures and fought many wicked foes, including the vengeful Mordo, the Dread Dormammu and the abominable Shuma-Gorath, who caused the death of the Ancient One, leading to Strange inheriting his title and responsibilities. As the new Sorcerer Supreme, Strange became the best and last line of defence between Earth and total destruction at the hands of its most powerful enemies.
----
* TheAce: While his power has been toned down in recent storylines, Dr. Strange is historically considered one of the most powerful Marvel heroes ''period''. The one caveat is that his enemies are usually even more so.
* TheAgeless: Like any Sorcerer Supreme, he has a pact with Death itself that means he will not die of natural causes, though he has a higher-than-normal chance of dying in combat with some otherworldly EldritchAbomination.
* TheAlcoholic: In some depictions he was prone to alcohol abuse as a surgeon, either during or just after the car accident that ruined his hands.
* AlienLunch: It's revealed in Jason Aaron's run that his usual meals are made up of horribly disgusting indescribable stuff that barely qualifies as food. Unlike most examples, he utterly hates it, but his body has warped so much from a combination of his spell casting and all the dimensions he's been through that it's all he can eat.
* AlliterativeName: '''S'''tephen '''S'''trange, '''S'''orcerer '''S'''upreme and his '''S'''anctum '''S'''anctorum.
* AmplifierArtifact: The Cloak Of Levitation which lets him... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin levitate, and fly]]. Also the Wand of Watoomb, the Book of the Vishanti, the Darkhold, the Purple Gem, and anything with "-of Agamotto" at the end of it, as well as many other mystical objects.
* TheArchmage: He is not called the "Sorcerer Supreme" for nothing.
* AstralProjection: A power he uses most regularly, usually when he wants to travel to other dimensions but can't readily bring his body along.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: "Doctor Strange" is his ''real name''.
* BadassBeard: In some depictions. Stark says they're "Awesome Facial Hair Bros".
* BadassBookworm: Not only is he a former world-class surgeon turned master of the mystic arts, he's a highly skilled martial artist to boot and is fully capable of laying the smackdown without relying on his magical powers.
* BadassCreed: In "The Oath", Stephen manages to make the Hippocratic Oath badass:
-->"I have sworn many oaths in my day, to every being from Hoggoth to Watoomb. But the first oath I swore was the Hippocratic. 'I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients, according to my judgement and ability, and I will do so at any cost.'"
* BadassLongcoat: When he's not wearing the Cloak of Levitation, most often during his stint as an OccultDetective.
* BadassMustache: Always.
* BeyondTheImpossible: The Sorcerer Supreme's forte. Some of his greatest feats quite literally defy mortal comprehension.
* BigGood: One of them. When it comes to mystical issues, expect other heroes to come knocking at his door.
* BiggerOnTheInside: His Sanctum Sanctorum looks like a sometimes derelict building on the outside but its inner dimensions are non-euclidean. He suggests you don't stare at some of the stranger angles unless you want your eyes to melt out of your skull.
* BreakTheHaughty: It’s part of his life. He lost his medical career from a paralyzing accident, and later on he ends up losing his magic repeatedly, forcing this on him.
* BreakoutCharacter: The Doctor made his debut in ironically Strange Tales and soon like his name became the face of the series and soon got his own title and is featured in many of Marvel's media today.
* BroughtDownToBadass: In "The Last Days of Magic" due to the Inquistor's witch hunt wiping out almost all magic on earth, leaving him with what new spells he can either make or discover and whatever magical items he can create or scrounge up... yet he still manages to defeat the Inquisitor and his goons and is currently battling whatever happens to try and take advantage of the situation.
* CameBackStrong: He met Death in combat, accepted the inevitability of it, surrendered to it -- and became immortal.
* CantStayNormal: No matter the reality, Doctor Strange will always live up to his name.
* CelebrityResemblance: Was visually based on Creator/VincentPrice. It's been [[LampshadeHanging pointed out]] by several characters, and eventually it's [[AscendedMeme revealed]] that his middle name is "Vincent".
** ComicBookFantasyCasting: He is still drawn to resemble Price, and on occasion Creator/BenedictCumberbatch, even before he was cast as the character.
* CombatMedic: He’s one of the earliest medical practitioners to be a superhero, though the medical part of his life isn’t given major focus.
* ComicBookTime: Largely averted. The 1990's series ''Marvel The Lost Generation'' established that Strange actually ''has'' been a sorcerer at least since the Sixties if not longer. See TheAgeless, above.
* CoolSword: In the 2016 comics, he forges his own sword, the Scalpel of Strange, to cut through dimensions. It’s additionally the first relic he made in his own name, as opposed to using relics/spells belonging to other mages/deities.
* CreepyGood: He stands out as eccentric and decidedly 'other' in the superhero community, from his wardrobe to his house and all its artifacts. People even get nervous when he decides to show up via AstralProjection. In some depictions he seems to enjoy this and find it amusing; in others, it cuts him off from his fellow humans and makes him feel lonely and isolated.
* DeadpanSnarker: On occasion.
* {{Determinator}}: He will never give up on a set goal, no matter how much trouble he gets or how deep he falls.
* DeusExMachina: Was once a meme for him, which was acknowledged in a comic where he was given the ability to intentionally invoke it. Mostly, though, he serves in the traditional sense, such as when the Fantastic Four had a surprise encounter with Shuma Gorath and Dr. Strange conveniently showed up to save them.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: His job in a nutshell.
* DoesNotLikeGuns: Though when push comes to shove, he is quite willing to shoot an EldritchAbomination with [[{{Ghostapo}} Hitler's gun]]. That said, in addition to the standard super-hero dislike of firearms, Strange has a more practical reason to avoid them; his crippled hands have such bad dexterity that aiming and firing a gun is extremely difficult. Using such a weapon regularly wouldn't just be impractical, but irresponsible and dangerous.
* DrJerk: He was one before the car accident that crippled his hands. He was so hated that the only jobs he was offered were of the KickedUpstairs variety, which he had too much pride to take.
* {{Fingore}}: Strange's hands were badly injured in the car crash, and though they outwardly appeared to heal, nerve damage meant he could never safely operate again. Some versions have his hands heal completely and what was really holding him back was his injured pride.
* GentlemanWizard: Strange is generally well-dressed and polite, not to mention (obviously) a wizard.
* GoodIsNotSoft: He's definitely on the side of angels... but he'll do whatever it takes to stop the forces of evil, no matter the cost.
* GuileHero: His wits are just as much a weapon as his massive reserves of power.
* ILetGwenStacyDie: He pursued medicine after his sister Donna drowned when he was a child.
* InsufferableGenius: Oh yes! His knowing better than everyone else on medicine (before his accident) and magic (after his accident), not to mention his holding back crucial information, made him arrogant and aloof and distanced people from him and has cost him a few friendships.
* KungFuWizard: Downplayed, as he rarely uses his fisticuffs but as shown in The Oath, Wong has taught him martial arts just in case he was BroughtDownToNormal.
* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: At his most powerful, Strange is, by ridiculously far, ''the'' most powerful of all mainstream heroes in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, such that even the likes of ComicBook/TheMightyThor or the ComicBook/SilverSurfer would be no match whatsoever for him in a straight fight. He needs to be, since his enemies are often far more powerful than even that.
* LiteralSplitPersonality: He once created two personas from himself: businessman Vincent Stevens and magician Strange. Both eventually turned on Strange and were destroyed.
* MagicalGesture: His iconic "I Love You/Metal Horns"-esque handsigns, which serve as the trope's page image.
* MartialPacifist: Despite his skill in martial arts, and magic. He prefers talking to fighting.
* TheMentor: A past incarnation of him mentored [[ComicBook/IllyanaRasputin Magik]] of the ComicBook/XMen. He's the go to mentor of the mystic arts in the Marvel universe as the most renown wizard.
* MerlinAndNimue: His wife Clea started her relationship with him as a student. Eventually they broke apart but he's taken on many apprentices since, most of whom were young women. This garners a lot of snark from outside observers, but it's shown as a sign of character development when they remain platonic. Deconstructed with the same flaw that broke apart his relationship with Clea, his pride leads him to the master/student relationship because he likes being the most knowledgeable person in the room.
* MysticalHighCollar: A large red one is part of his distinctive costume.
* NeutralNoLonger: His backstory. The clear and obvious existence of evil magic is what convinced him that 1) Magic is real, and 2) Good people need to learn magic too, so they can fight back.
* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Inverted, writers have had to often come up with restrictions as to what he can do.
* NotThatKindOfDoctor: [[InvertedTrope Anymore.]] He's kept up some of his medical skill, though how much [[ForgotAboutHisPowers varies]] [[SuperDoc from writer]] [[DependingOnTheWriter to writer]], and he still thinks of himself as a physician.
* ObnoxiousInLaws: He takes this to new levels: his wife Clea is the daughter of his foe [[HumanoidAbomination Umar]], making her and her brother [[DimensionLord Dread Dormammu]] his mother-in-law and uncle-in-law respectively.
* OccultDetective: On occasion.
* PapaWolf: Threaten him and he'll shrug it off. Threaten someone he loves and he'll take you apart. At times this has turned very disturbing. Such as when he basically banished a thief to hell.
* PimpedOutCape: One of the most iconic in all of comics.
* {{Pride}}: When he was a surgeon, he was also an arrogant JerkAss who knew exactly [[InsufferableGenius just how good he was]]. He got better, but he's not totally immune from it either.
* PrimaryColorChampion: Strange's outfit is almost always blue with his signature red cape and golden accents.
* ProgressivelyPrettier: He started as a somewhat gaunt older man with slanted eyes, progressed into a conventionally-handsome Western man, transformed into something that was almost {{Bishonen}}, and eventually settled as an ordinary-looking (but still more attractive than average) man in his mid-forties.
* PsychicPowers: He's actually on par with even the likes of Moondragon, who is an even more powerful telepath than ComicBook/ProfessorX, though the latter might be more [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer experienced and skilled]].
* RedBaron: The Sorcerer Supreme; the Master of the Mystic Arts.
* ScienceWizard: Before he became the Sorcerer Supreme, Strange was a renowned surgeon. He still occasionally consults on medical issues and as of 2019, his hands have been restored allowing him to practice surgery again while fighting mystical threats.
* SecretIdentity: In the past he had a 'civilian' identity as "Stephen Sanders," but he eventually let it lapse. The WeirdnessCensor seems to keep most persons from realizing he's more than a harmless New Age kook.
* SkunkStripe: His hair is white at his temples.
* SpellBook: The Book of the Vishanti.
* StevenUlyssesPerhero: Yes, his given name is Stephen Strange. [[NotThatKindOfDoctor Yes, the title is real too. Yes, that kind of doctor]].
* StoryBreakerPower: Toned down recently. Besides beating cosmic entities and eldritch horrors left and right, he has sealed black holes, stopped time, merged with universal concepts, channeled the mass of or restored universes, et cetera. And he's on humanity's side.
** On the other hand, given the [[EldritchAbomination things]] that he regularly has to deal with, being ridiculously powerful is less of a luxury and more of a requirement for survival.
** Subverted recently. See BroughtDownToBadass above.
* SuperWeight: Level 5 or 6 DependingOnTheWriter.
* ThirdEye: The Eye of Agamotto.
* ThouShaltNotKill: He still thinks of himself as a physician and is adverse to using deadly force.
* TomeOfEldritchLore: Much of his library; especially the Darkhold.
* TookALevelInKindness: After becoming Master of the Mystic Arts when his mentor passed away and bequeathed the title to him, he mellowed out and lost most of his {{Jerkass}} qualities.
* WhoYouGonnaCall: He is the go-to guy for dealing with most supernatural threats in the Marvel Universe and people often come directly to him to deal with their supernatural problems. And since he's the Sorcerer Supreme, it's pretty much in his job description.
* WizardsLiveLonger: In an aversion of ComicBookTime, his origin is still set in the early sixties.
[[/folder]]

* [[Characters/DoctorStrangeSupportingCharacters Supporting Characters]]

[[index]]

* [[Characters/MarvelComicsHeroes Doctor Stephen Strange]]

* [[Characters/DoctorStrangeStephenStrange Doctor Stephen Strange]]

* [[Characters/DoctorStrangeAllies Allies]]

* [[Characters/DoctorStrangeAllies Doctor Strange Allies]]
* [[Characters/DoctorStrangeEnemies Doctor Strange Enemies]]

[[/index]]

[[index]]

!!Marvel Cinematic Universe [[note]]Earth-199999[[/note]]
[[index]]
* [[Characters/DoctorStrange2016 Doctor Strange (2016)]]
[[/index]]

* [[Characters/UltimateMarvel Ultimate Doctor Strange]]

* [[Characters/DoctorStrangeStephenStrange Doctor Strange/Stephen Strange]]

* [[Characters/DoctorStrangeStephanStrange Doctor Strange/Stephan Strange]]

!Character pages for ''Doctor Strange''.

!Doctor Strange

'''Remember''', this page is for characters and examples from the Prime Marvel Universe Doctor Strange series only. Please do not list characters, or examples from other shows, movies or alternate universes here. If you have thought of a trope that fits a Doctor Strange from another universe please take that example to its respective page.

----
!!Prime Marvel Universe [[note]]Earth-616[[/note]]

* [[Characters/DoctorStrangeStephanStrange Doctor Strange/Stephan Strange]]
* [[Characters/DoctorStrangeAllies Doctor Strange Allies]]
* [[Characters/DoctorStrangeEnemies Doctor Strange Enemies]]

!!Ultimate Marvel Universe [[note]]Earth-1610[[/note]]

* [[Characters/UltimateMarvel Ultimate Doctor Strange]]

!!Marvel Cinematic Universe [[note]]Earth-199999[[/note]]
[[index]]
* [[Characters/DoctorStrange2016 Doctor Strange (2016)]]
[[/index]]

%%
%%
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
%%
%%

[[/index]]

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Doctor Stephen Strange]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/doctor_strange_small.png]]

A brilliant but arrogant New York surgeon, Dr. Stephen Strange's life was turned upside down when a car crash caused irreparable nerve damage to his hands, preventing him from ever holding a scalpel again. Driven by arrogance and desperation, he traveled the world in search of a cure, finally arriving in Tibet to seek the help of the Ancient One, a powerful wizard and (unbeknownst to him) the Sorcerer Supreme, the mage charged with protecting the Earth from the otherdimensional Cosmic menaces who would threaten it.

The Ancient One, finding him too proud, turned Strange down but allowed him to stay the night, letting Strange discover and foil the plot of his DeceptiveDisciple Baron Mordo, so that he would learn humility and see the existence of true evil -- and the need to combat it. Sensing his great magical potential, the Ancient One asked Strange to become his new apprentice, and the now humbled Strange accepted.

After years of study he moved back to New York and engaged in many mystical adventures and fought many wicked foes, including the vengeful Mordo, the Dread Dormammu and the abominable Shuma-Gorath, who caused the death of the Ancient One, leading to Strange inheriting his title and responsibilities. As the new Sorcerer Supreme, Strange became the best and last line of defence between Earth and total destruction at the hands of its most powerful enemies.

----
* TheAce: While his power has been toned down in recent storylines, Dr. Strange is historically considered one of the most powerful Marvel heroes ''period''. The one caveat is that his enemies are usually even more so.
* TheAgeless: Like any Sorcerer Supreme, he has a pact with Death itself that means he will not die of natural causes, though he has a higher-than-normal chance of dying in combat with some otherworldly EldritchAbomination.
* TheAlcoholic: In some depictions he was prone to alcohol abuse as a surgeon, either during or just after the car accident that ruined his hands.
* AlienLunch: It's revealed in Jason Aaron's run that his usual meals are made up of horribly disgusting indescribable stuff that barely qualifies as food. Unlike most examples, he utterly hates it, but his body has warped so much from a combination of his spell casting and all the dimensions he's been through that it's all he can eat.
* AlliterativeName: '''S'''tephen '''S'''trange, '''S'''orcerer '''S'''upreme and his '''S'''anctum '''S'''anctorum.
* AmplifierArtifact: The Cloak Of Levitation which lets him... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin levitate, and fly]]. Also the Wand of Watoomb, the Book of the Vishanti, the Darkhold, the Purple Gem, and anything with "-of Agamotto" at the end of it, as well as many other mystical objects.
* TheArchmage: He is not called the "Sorcerer Supreme" for nothing.
* AstralProjection: A power he uses most regularly, usually when he wants to travel to other dimensions but can't readily bring his body along.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: "Doctor Strange" is his ''real name''.
* BadassBeard: In some depictions. Stark says they're "Awesome Facial Hair Bros".
* BadassBookworm: Not only is he a former world-class surgeon turned master of the mystic arts, he's a highly skilled martial artist to boot and is fully capable of laying the smackdown without relying on his magical powers.
* BadassCreed: In "The Oath", Stephen manages to make the Hippocratic Oath badass:
-->"I have sworn many oaths in my day, to every being from Hoggoth to Watoomb. But the first oath I swore was the Hippocratic. 'I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients, according to my judgement and ability, and I will do so at any cost.'"
* BadassLongcoat: When he's not wearing the Cloak of Levitation, most often during his stint as an OccultDetective.
* BadassMustache: Always.
* BeyondTheImpossible: The Sorcerer Supreme's forte. Some of his greatest feats quite literally defy mortal comprehension.
* BigGood: One of them. When it comes to mystical issues, expect other heroes to come knocking at his door.
* BiggerOnTheInside: His Sanctum Sanctorum looks like a sometimes derelict building on the outside but its inner dimensions are non-euclidean. He suggests you don't stare at some of the stranger angles unless you want your eyes to melt out of your skull.
* BreakTheHaughty: It’s part of his life. He lost his medical career from a paralyzing accident, and later on he ends up losing his magic repeatedly, forcing this on him.
* BroughtDownToBadass: In "The Last Days of Magic" due to the Inquistor's witch hunt wiping out almost all magic on earth, leaving him with what new spells he can either make or discover and whatever magical items he can create or scrounge up... yet he still manages to defeat the Inquisitor and his goons and is currently battling whatever happens to try and take advantage of the situation.
* CameBackStrong: He met Death in combat, accepted the inevitability of it, surrendered to it -- and became immortal.
* CantStayNormal: No matter the reality, Doctor Strange will always live up to his name.
* CelebrityResemblance: Was visually based on Creator/VincentPrice. It's been [[LampshadeHanging pointed out]] by several characters, and eventually it's [[AscendedMeme revealed]] that his middle name is "Vincent".
** ComicBookFantasyCasting: He is still drawn to resemble Price, and on occasion Creator/BenedictCumberbatch, even before he was cast as the character.
* CombatMedic: He’s one of the earliest medical practitioners to be a superhero, though the medical part of his life isn’t given major focus.
* ComicBookTime: Largely averted. The 1990's series ''Marvel The Lost Generation'' established that Strange actually ''has'' been a sorcerer at least since the Sixties if not longer. See TheAgeless, above.
* CoolSword: In the 2016 comics, he forges his own sword, the Scalpel of Strange, to cut through dimensions. It’s additionally the first relic he made in his own name, as opposed to using relics/spells belonging to other mages/deities.
* CreepyGood: He stands out as eccentric and decidedly 'other' in the superhero community, from his wardrobe to his house and all its artifacts. People even get nervous when he decides to show up via AstralProjection. In some depictions he seems to enjoy this and find it amusing; in others, it cuts him off from his fellow humans and makes him feel lonely and isolated.
* {{Cuckold}}: In one story, Clea becomes disillusioned with the workaholic Strange and finds herself seduced by Creator/BenjaminFranklin during a trip backward through time. After the two have sex, she falls so completely for her new lover that she [[IChooseToStay plans to stay behind in the past and marry Franklin]], much to Strange's anger and heartbreak. Strange eventually figures out that this Ben Franklin is a fake, and actually the wizard Stygyro. After Stygyro is defeated, the engagement to Clea is called off...but a few meaningful words and glances between the ''real'' Ben Franklin and Clea reveals that there's still a spark between them. ''To this very day'', Doctor Strange '''hates''' Benjamin Franklin with a passion.
* DeadpanSnarker: On occasion.
* {{Determinator}}: He will never give up on a set goal, no matter how much trouble he gets or how deep he falls.
* DeusExMachina: Was once a meme for him, which was acknowledged in a comic where he was given the ability to intentionally invoke it. Mostly, though, he serves in the traditional sense, such as when the Fantastic Four had a surprise encounter with Shuma Gorath and Dr. Strange conveniently showed up to save them.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: His job in a nutshell.
* DoesNotLikeGuns: Though when push comes to shove, he is quite willing to shoot an EldritchAbomination with [[{{Ghostapo}} Hitler's gun]]. That said, in addition to the standard super-hero dislike of firearms, Strange has a more practical reason to avoid them; his crippled hands have such bad dexterity that aiming and firing a gun is extremely difficult. Using such a weapon regularly wouldn't just be impractical, but irresponsible and dangerous.
* DrJerk: He was one before the car accident that crippled his hands. He was so hated that the only jobs he was offered were of the KickedUpstairs variety, which he had too much pride to take.
* {{Fingore}}: Strange's hands were badly injured in the car crash, and though they outwardly appeared to heal, nerve damage meant he could never safely operate again. Some versions have his hands heal completely and what was really holding him back was his injured pride.
* GentlemanWizard: Strange is generally well-dressed and polite, not to mention (obviously) a wizard.
* GoodIsNotSoft: He's definitely on the side of angels... but he'll do whatever it takes to stop the forces of evil, no matter the cost.
* GuileHero: His wits are just as much a weapon as his massive reserves of power.
* ILetGwenStacyDie: He pursued medicine after his sister Donna drowned when he was a child.
* InsufferableGenius: Oh yes! His knowing better than everyone else on medicine (before his accident) and magic (after his accident), not to mention his holding back crucial information, made him arrogant and aloof and distanced people from him and has cost him a few friendships.
* KungFuWizard: Downplayed, as he rarely uses his fisticuffs but as shown in The Oath, Wong has taught him martial arts just in case he was BroughtDownToNormal.
* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: At his most powerful, Strange is, by ridiculously far, ''the'' most powerful of all mainstream heroes in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, such that even the likes of ComicBook/TheMightyThor or the ComicBook/SilverSurfer would be no match whatsoever for him in a straight fight. He needs to be, since his enemies are often far more powerful than even that.
* LiteralSplitPersonality: He once created two personas from himself: businessman Vincent Stevens and magician Strange. Both eventually turned on Strange and were destroyed.
* MagicalGesture: His iconic "I Love You/Metal Horns"-esque handsigns, which serve as the trope's page image.
* MartialPacifist: Despite his skill in martial arts, and magic. He prefers talking to fighting.
* TheMentor: A past incarnation of him mentored [[ComicBook/IllyanaRasputin Magik]] of the ComicBook/XMen. He's the go to mentor of the mystic arts in the Marvel universe as the most renown wizard.
* MerlinAndNimue: His wife Clea started her relationship with him as a student. Eventually they broke apart but he's taken on many apprentices since, most of whom were young women. This garners a lot of snark from outside observers, but it's shown as a sign of character development when they remain platonic. Deconstructed with the same flaw that broke apart his relationship with Clea, his pride leads him to the master/student relationship because he likes being the most knowledgeable person in the room.
* MysticalHighCollar: A large red one is part of his distinctive costume.
* NeutralNoLonger: His backstory. The clear and obvious existence of evil magic is what convinced him that 1) Magic is real, and 2) Good people need to learn magic too, so they can fight back.
* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Inverted, writers have had to often come up with restrictions as to what he can do.
* NotThatKindOfDoctor: [[InvertedTrope Anymore.]] He's kept up some of his medical skill, though how much [[ForgotAboutHisPowers varies]] [[SuperDoc from writer]] [[DependingOnTheWriter to writer]], and he still thinks of himself as a physician.
* ObnoxiousInLaws: He takes this to new levels: his wife Clea is the daughter of his foe [[HumanoidAbomination Umar]], making her and her brother [[DimensionLord Dread Dormammu]] his mother-in-law and uncle-in-law respectively.
* OccultDetective: On occasion.
* PapaWolf: Threaten him and he'll shrug it off. Threaten someone he loves and he'll take you apart. At times this has turned very disturbing. Such as when he basically banished a thief to hell.
* PimpedOutCape: One of the most iconic in all of comics.
* {{Pride}}: When he was a surgeon, he was also an arrogant JerkAss who knew exactly [[InsufferableGenius just how good he was]]. He got better, but he's not totally immune from it either.
* ProgressivelyPrettier: He started as a somewhat gaunt older man with slanted eyes, progressed into a conventionally-handsome Western man, transformed into something that was almost {{Bishonen}}, and eventually settled as an ordinary-looking (but still more attractive than average) man in his mid-forties.
* PsychicPowers: He's actually on par with even the likes of Moondragon, who is an even more powerful telepath than ComicBook/ProfessorX, though the latter might be more [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer experienced and skilled]].
* RedBaron: The Sorcerer Supreme; the Master of the Mystic Arts.
* SecretIdentity: In the past he had a 'civilian' identity as "Stephen Sanders," but he eventually let it lapse. The WeirdnessCensor seems to keep most persons from realizing he's more than a harmless New Age kook.
* SkunkStripe: His hair is white at his temples.
* SpellBook: The Book of the Vishanti.
* StevenUlyssesPerhero: Yes, his given name is Stephen Strange. [[NotThatKindOfDoctor Yes, the title is real too. Yes, that kind of doctor]].
* StoryBreakerPower: Toned down recently. Besides beating cosmic entities and eldritch horrors left and right, he has sealed black holes, stopped time, merged with universal concepts, channeled the mass of or restored universes, et cetera. And he's on humanity's side.
** On the other hand, given the [[EldritchAbomination things]] that he regularly has to deal with, being ridiculously powerful is less of a luxury and more of a requirement for survival.
** Subverted recently. See BroughtDownToBadass above.
* SuperWeight: Level 5 or 6 DependingOnTheWriter.
* ThirdEye: The Eye of Agamotto.
* ThouShaltNotKill: He still thinks of himself as a physician and is adverse to using deadly force.
* TomeOfEldritchLore: Much of his library; especially the Darkhold.
* TookALevelInKindness: After becoming Master of the Mystic Arts when his mentor passed away and bequeathed the title to him, he mellowed out and lost most of his {{Jerkass}} qualities.
* WhoYouGonnaCall: He is the go-to guy for dealing with most supernatural threats in the Marvel Universe and people often come directly to him to deal with their supernatural problems. And since he's the Sorcerer Supreme, it's pretty much in his job description.
* WizardsLiveLonger: In an aversion of ComicBookTime, his origin is still set in the early sixties.
[[/folder]]

!!Allies

[[folder: Clea]]

[[quoteright:187:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3457c7346f36aac5cb1cb8886088901d.jpg]]

The daughter of the demonic entity Umar, though unaware of that fact for some time, Clea spent most of her life as one of countless denizens enslaved to her uncle, the god-tyrant of the Dark Dimension Dormammu, whose servant Orini was her own father. Impressed by the courage of Stephen Strange in his battles to defeat The Dread One, she chose to help him as his only ally in the Dark Dimension but quickly became a prisoner for her trouble. Both Dormammu and even Umar sought to hurt Strange through her, until the Ancient One sent her to another dimension for her safety, and eventually she went to Earth to live and train with Strange.

After years of training Clea returned to the Dark Dimension and learned that Umar was her mother, after she had taken over the Dark Dimension. Now much more powerful, Clea led a rebellion against her mother and defeated her in magical combat, and was named the new ruler of the Dark Dimension before being overthrown by Dormammu again, though not before marrying Stephen within it. Some time later Umar and Mordo regained control of the Dark Dimension and she was tricked by Dormammu into helping him overthrow them. To atone she chose to stay behind and lead the fight against him. She has not been seen since, but Strange has never forgotten her.
----
* AnimeHair: Her hair is always up.
* TheArchmage: Sorceress Supreme... of the ''Dark Dimension''.
* ArchnemesisDad: And Mum. And uncle. Her main enemies include her father Orini, mother Umar, and maternal uncle Dormammu.
* BenevolentMageRuler: Clea is this during the times when she rules the Dark Dimension.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: Both her mother and uncle are malevolent demonic entities seeking to dominate all of Creation, and her father was Dormammu's closest disciple. The Hell Lord Satannish is supposedly a creation of Dormammu too, which would make Clea his cousin. And at one point, Baron Mordo was Umar's consort. This is not a healthy family background.
* DarkMagicalGirl: Not as dark as Dormmamu, but still a warped although not evil.
* DatingCatwoman: And marrying her, then breaking up, but wanting to see her again... But she was never really a villain.
* [[DatingWhatDaddyHates Dating What Mommy Hates]]: Romanced and eventually hooked up with Stephen Strange, the greatest enemy of not only her mother Umar, but her uncle Dormammu.
* HerosMuse: Doctor Strange's muse.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: She left Strange when she became aware of another woman who had a greater claim on his love.
* LaResistance: In the Dark Dimension.
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: DependingOnTheWriter, she has a rather whimsical sense of humor and will distract Strange with lighthearted pranks (or physical intimacy) if she thinks he is getting too serious and needs to loosen up.
* MentorShip: She is Strange's greatest apprentice, and the love of his life.
* MysteriousWaif: When first introduced, all she could do was watch Strange from afar and look concerned.
* MysticalWhiteHair: Its color is probably because she comes from another world, but it is never really explained -- or questioned, for that matter.
* OnlyOneName: Just Clea.
* PutOnABus: To the Dark Dimension to try and clean things up, though she appeared in a recent annual.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Her age is indeterminate, having lived for centuries but having the form and demeanor of a twenty year-old woman and the rate at which she ages is unknown.
* [[StayInTheKitchen Stay in the Sanctum Sanctorum]]: She was frequently frustrated in the early years by Strange leaving her behind while he went out on missions with the Defenders or other heroes.
* SuperWeight: Level 5-6.
* WhatTheHellHero: Stephen calls her out for staying in hiding while he and every Sorcerer on earth fought tooth and nail to not die at the hands of the Imperikrul.
* YourCheatingHeart: With Benjamin Franklin, for Hoggoth's sake. [[spoiler: Turns out it was actually the evil magician Stygyro in disguise, but '''damn.''']]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Wong]]
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4932878fd418379a918f258c0a36d006.jpg]]

Wong is the latest in a long-line of men who devoted themselves to the service of the Sorcerer Supreme, beginning with his ancestor Kan ten generations before. He is more than just Strange's manservant; he is the sorcerer's confidant and most trusted friend, as well as his tutor and sparring partner in the martial arts - in turn, he is versed in magic enough to assist in complex spells and hold his own against his master's less impressive, but still dangerous, threats. He still calls Strange "master" on occasion, but he claims it's mostly a matter of habit.
----
* AgeLift: Different versions of the character portray him as being older (''WesternAnimation/DoctorStrangeTheSorcererSupreme''), younger (''Strange: Beginnings and Endings''), or the same age as Strange.
** Then again, Strange's visual age is [[OlderThanTheyLook misleading.]]
* BadassNormal: Comparatively speaking.
* BaldOfAwesome: Like most warrior monks, he's bald.
* BattleButler: Bodyguards Strange and takes care of most household tasks.
* BodyguardingABadass: Guards the Sanctum Sanctorum when Strange is absent or too tired to do so.
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: The Oath has Wong punching clear through a Stark security robot, suggesting he has some superhuman abilities.
* DarkSecret: As revealed in Jason Aaron's run, [[spoiler:he has an order of monks who, due to the cost of being Sorcerer Supreme being too much for one man to take, take the cost of Strange's spells for him. He tries to make a new one out of volunteers after the order is slaughtered, but Stephen puts a stop to it]].
* EthnicMenialLabor: Wong is a well rounded character and an all-round badass in his own right... but still, this trope is probably in the back of your mind.
* EverybodyWasKungFuFighting: His main skill set.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Stephen.
* IdenticalGrandson: Looks like his grandfather
* TheJeeves: Strange's butler. He also briefly served as this to the New Avengers during The Heroic Age.
* LegacyOfService: His family has a history of serving the Sorcerer Supreme.
* MartialPacifist: He only uses his Martial Arts when necessary.
* NoNameGiven: Only ever called Wong. It's unclear if it's his given name or surname.
* OldRetainer: Wong has been Strange's one true companion over the years, even after he lost the title of Sorcerer Supreme.
* [[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage Perfectly Arranged Engagement]]: With Imei, though she died before they could get married.
* ServileSnarker: At times. If Strange is portrayed as a DeadpanSnarker, Wong sometimes gets a dry wit to match.
* SuperWeight: Level 2.
* TookALevelInJerkass: When written by Brian Bendis, he becomes much more short-tempered around the New Avengers, even threatening Jarvis if he steps foot in his kitchen.
* WeakButSkilled: He doesn't have the sheer amount of power his boss does, yet is able to guard him and the Sanctum Sanctorum when he's incapacitated with no issues.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Sara Wolfe]]
[[quoteright:161:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wolfesara1_6.jpg]]

Dr. Strange's secretary and business manager as well as the Executive Director of the Memorial Metaphysical Institute. Occasional love interest for Wong though his duty and his ArrangedMarriage get in the way.
----
* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: Early on, Sara wore feathered earrings. She makes fun of them in later issues.
* GirlFriday
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Her reaction to Wong's arranged marriage.
* MagicalNativeAmerican: {{Averted|Trope}}. Sara is descended from a Cheyenne shaman but has no mystical abilities of her own.
* SuperWeight: Level 1
* UnfazedEveryman: Probably the most normal person in Strange's social circle. The "unfazed" bit might have something to do with her family history.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Zelma Staunton]]
[[quoteright:198:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ca545221cc725c18e97cd87d9acaa5d29c37ef15_hq.jpg]]

A librarian from the Bronx who ends up as Strange's personal librarian after coming to him for help with magical parasites.
----
* AudienceSurrogate: Serves as one to new readers.
* ButtMonkey: Tends to have a lot of magical crap happen to her when she visits the Sanctum Sanctorum.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Willingly takes in Stephen's pain in order to allow him to defeat the Imperator]].
* MagicLibrarian: SubvertedTrope. She's in charge of Stephen's library, but she's actually one of the {{Muggles}}.
* TheWatson: Serves as this to Strange and Wong.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Ancient One]]
[[quoteright:343:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6278910d4b844fb1c7af3e3a31cfc3f8.gif]]

Strange's centuries-old mentor and his predecessor as Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One has been protecting the Earth and wider Marvel Universe for generations from the forces of evil. He brought out not just Strange's inner magical potential but also his inner hero, and entrusted him with the responsibility to battle his most powerful foes. Strange was eventually forced to kill him to prevent the demon Shuma-Gorath using him as a conduit to Earth, but rather than die he merged with Eternity and became one with the universe, leaving his student the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.
----
* AllPowerfulBystander: The Ancient One became more powerful upon his transcendence, but rarely directly intervenes.
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: He has become one with Eternity.
* BigGood: In early Dr. Strange stories the Ancient One was still the Sorcerer Supreme and would help Dr. Strange if he got in way over his head.
* DoesNotLikeShoes: Never wears them.
* ElderlyImmortal: Despite being "immortal" he looks like an elderly man. Ironically, when he died he was only between 500-600 years old which isn't that old compared to many, many other characters both on Earth and in the greater Marvel Universe.
* KilledOffForReal: Sort of. He suffered a physical death, but it was more of a transformation for his spirit to ascend to a higher state of existence.
* MagicalAsian: A wise Asian mentor to the white Dr. Strange.
* OldMaster: Even past his prime physically he was still one of the most powerful sorcerers to have ever walked the Earth.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: Pulled one on Strange in their first meeting.
* StealthMentor: His entire mentorship with Doctor Strange is this.
* SuperWeight: Level 5-6.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Aged Genghis]]
[[quoteright:263:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aged_genghis_earth_616_from_all_new_official_handbook_of_the_marvel_universe_vol_1_1_001_4.jpg]]

It was believed that some time shortly after the dawn of humanity, Genghis was given great power by the Vishanti. In return for this power, Genghis agreed to summon together the greatest mystics in the world for a tournament to discover the Sorcerer Supreme. Having lost his mind millennia ago, few think he's [[GoodIsDumb really all that he's cracked up to be.]]
----
* AncientKeeper: Serves the Vishanti in choosing the Sorcerer Supreme, and has done so since the dawn of humankind. [[TricksterMentor Maybe.]]
* CrystalPrison: [[CrazyEnoughToWork Traps himself in one as part of the Sorcerer Supreme contest.]]
* EccentricMentor: Doctor Strange at first assumes him to be this after he begins staying in the Sanctum Sanctorum. His patience is strained when, due to Genghis's dementia, he proves to be more of an annoyance than anything.
* ElderlyImmortal: He is thousands of years old and unlikely to die as long as the Vishanti need him. But his mind is plagued by dementia and his body is as frail as any old man.
* [[DyingAsYourself Moment as Yourself]]: For only a day each century does his mind return to him, so that he may hold a contest among the magic users of the world and decide the next Sorcerer Supreme.
** He has occasional fleeting moments of clarity, which is what clues in Strange that he is not completely lost, and convinces him to let the Aged Genghis to stay with him for a time.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: Nobody is quite sure if he is insane or not. Nobody is even sure if he is really as aged as he says.
* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: It is his job to determine who is to be the next Sorcerer Supreme. He has chosen every one there ever was, and ever will be. This is his only job.
* PeoplePuppets: A skill he possesses, and is very good at it, being able to control even the most powerful of magic users with little effort.
* ScatterbrainedSenior: Oh is he ever.
* SetAMookToKillAMook: See People Puppets above.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kaluu]]
[[quoteright:265:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4477237_kaluu_mighty_avengers11.jpg]]

Kaluu was a student of the mystic arts in the ancient city of Kamar-Taj alongside the Ancient One. Kaluu used his powers to help the people of Kamar-Taj, but eventually succumbed to the Darkhold, which poisoned his mind. The Ancient One stopped him from enslaving the people of Kamar-Taj, and the two were bitter enemies since. Upon learning of the Ancient One's student, Stephen Strange, Kaluu stole the Book of the Vishanti, bringing him into direct conflict with Strange, who with his masters help, sealed Kaluu away in another dimension. After some soul searching, Kaluu returned to the material plane, where he met Strange again, now sans his master and a direction. Kaluu assisted Strange, serving as a second teacher to the Sorcerer Supreme. Now set on the right path again, both men consider each other close friends and allies.
----
* [[AmbiguouslyBrown Ambiguously Asian]]: DependingOnTheArtist, as no one seems to agree on where in Asia he comes from. Though he is typically written as being from ancient Tibet.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: See picture above. Some artists portray him as vaguely Middle Eastern, while others portray him as Tibetan.
* AntiHero: Pursued the dark powers in order to help his people. And while he has given up his evil ways, he's still kind of a prick.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: While not at first, eventually he Kaluu becomes Strange's ally, and something of a replacement teacher to him.
* DependingOnTheArtist: His ethnicity.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: During ''Time Runs Out'', he and Wong spent the end of the world (and all existence) quietly having tea together.
* FashionDissonance: His modern appearance, strangely enough; it just screams TheSeventies.
* GiantPoofySleeves: Like most every magic user, he has them.
* HotBloodedSideburns: Sports a pair, along with a fashionable [[DelinquentHair mohawk.]]
* ItsPersonal: Kaluu joined the fight against The Four Who Rule in ''Mighty Avengers'' because they'd stolen the Lost Talisman of Kamar-Taj.
* OddFriendship: With Strange. Even more oddly with Franchise/{{Blade}}. The two [[ItMakesSenseInContext apparently]] met in the 1970's along with other mystical heroes, and they've been in touch ever since.
* PhantomZone: Is sealed away in one after stealing the book of the Vishanti. He gets out, but only after spending a long time [[ContemplateOurNavels to think about his decisions in life.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: He spent most of ''ComicBook/{{Infinity}}'' trying to flee to a "less doomed" plane of existence.
* SealedEvilInACan: Is implied to be this for all the time he's locked away. When he finally gets out, [[RedemptionEqualsLife he's turned over a new leaf.]]
* TokenEvilTeammate: Is this for Strange when they first team up. Also falls into it again during his stint with the Mighty Avengers, so much so that Old Man Rodgers, in full-on Grumpy Old Man Mode, tells him to leave or be made to leave.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Him and the Ancient One used to be friends in their youth.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rintrah]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rintrah.jpg]]

Rintrah is an other-dimensional mystic. He is a green furred minotaur. Rintrah comes from an other-dimensional planet called R'Vaal. There, because of his sensitivity to occult forces and his potential to become a skilled sorcerer, he is apprenticed to Enitharmon the Weaver. When Doctor Strange brings his Cloak of Levitation to Enitharmon for repair, the weaver sends Rintrah to return the restored cloak. After delivering the cloak, Strange briefly, and with permission, possesses his body to fend off Urthona. He remains with Strange for a short time before returning to his apprenticeship. Several months after returning to Enitharmon, Rintrah went back to Strange's Sanctum Sactorum and asked to take him back as an apprentice. Strange, of course, accepted Rintrah's proposition. Rintrah undertook a number of missions, both alongside, and on behalf of, Dr. Strange. In Rintrah's last mission, Strange and Rintrah attempted to seek out and destroy a very powerful, yet very evil magical artifact. When the two finally found the item, Rintrah tried to crush it with his sheer strength before Dormammu could get his hands on it. When Rintrah crushed the artifact, a large burst of energy leaped from it, striking Rintrah in the chest and draining his life force near instantly. Strange, refusing to accept his student's death, placed a spell on Rintrah to leave him in a state of suspended animation, then placed him inside a pocket universe. Strange has continued to look for a cure to Rintrah's state ever since.
----
* SorcerersApprenticePlot: Rintrah once shape shifted into Strange, in order to get closer to the Enchantress. When he did, Enchantress gave him the original Eye of Agamotto and a purple cloak of levitation. Thinking he was magically inclined enough to successfully utilize the items, Rintrah attempted to do so, but instead of achieving what he had tried, Rintrah accidentally turned a pile of garbage into a man eating monster, that had to be slain by Dr. Strange.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Bats]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bats_1.jpg]]
When Dr Strange was going through one of his BSOD phases, he worked as a veterinarian and befriended a basset hound named Bats, who suffered from a weak heart. While Bats eventually died, his spirit sticks around to help out Strange.
----
* CanineCompanion
* WriteWhatYouKnow: Bats was created by Donny Cates, who had suffered the loss of his own pet (a cat named Autumn) during working on comics.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kanna]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pkzkrfmknna_earth_616_from_doctor_strange_vol_5_2_001.jpg]]
When Dr Strange was forced to go into space to find alien sorcerers/relics, he met and befriended Pzkzrmfknna (shortened to Kanna), an alien explorer who could wield both magic and technology. She briefly guided him around the cosmos till he got back home.
----
* {{Expy}}: She may be based on Hazel from ''ComicBook/{{Saga}}'', who like her is a hybrid of magical and scientific beings.
* MagicFromTechnology: Uses scientific instruments to generate magic.
* {{Magitek}}: Introduces Dr Strange to this.
* NotSoDifferent: She’s smart and aloof like Strange, which may be why they get along.
* WizardsFromOuterSpace: She's a magic-using alien.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Casey Kinmont]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1026919_casey2.jpg]]
A young girl whose baseball coach grandfather made a deal with a demon to provide great success to his team. Dr. Strange had to enlist her help to defeat the demon, and after that she discovered she had a talent for magic and so stuck around Strange as his sidekick/apprentice, for a brief time.
----
* EvilIsNotAToy: Dr. Strange gave her a spell to teleport things to another dimension. She played around with it till the demonic owner of said dimension came looking for the person dumping trash into his realm.
* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: Dr Strange empowered her eyeglasses so that she could see magical phenomena.
* HeroicSacrifice: She gave up her soul to stop a demon collecting the souls of preteen girls, and later she took an assassination by Silver Dagger that was intended for Strange.
* {{Meganekko}}: Wears glasses.
* MindControl: [[spoiler: In the 2019 comic, Baron Mordo did this to her to return to Earth and try to kill Strange. Strange is able to get her free]].
* {{Ojou}}: She belongs to a rich family.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: She appears in one comic storyline in 2010, and doesn’t reappear till 2019. Zelma Staunton may have been an Expy of her.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Her black hair seems to be dyed blue.
[[/folder]]

!!Mystical Allies

[[folder: The Vishanti]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2851184_224156_35438_vishanti_super.jpg]]

Oshtur began life as one of the Elder Gods, powerful magical entities that were the first sentient life on Earth. She fled to another dimension as her siblings began consuming each other for power, and there she met with another cosmic entity named Hoggoth and later, inspired by the children of mortal creatures, gave birth to the entity Agamotto. Agamotto became the Earth's first Sorcerer Supreme and left several magical artifacts to the people in their trust. The trio became known as the Eternal Vishanti, and now serve as magical patrons of those who defend the Earth against the dark and demonic enemies that threaten it.
----
* AlliterativeName: Their epithets, such as "Omnipotent Oshtur" or "Hoary Hoggoth."
* BigGood: Of a sort. Agamotto, at least, has attempted some pretty terrible atrocities out of greater necessity, while merely observed others he could have prevented out of boredom and loneliness. Unlike some of the other entities he butts heads with, though, he's not the vengeful sort and is graceful in defeat.
* CompositeCharacter: Oshtur is both a semi-unique character to the Marvel Multiverse, but her Egyptian alias , Ma'at, is the Egyptian-Goddess of Law and Order.
* EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity: To Strange before they were introduced.
* FaceHeelTurn: In the first arc of ''New Avengers'' vol. 2, Agamotto suddenly turns evil and starts attacking the world, for no adequately explained reason. He also claimed the other Vishanti had died. This has generally been ignored since.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Their typical appearance, albeit still weird. When Strange entered Agamotto's realm, he saw imagery drawn from ''Alice in Wonderland'' (Agamotto as an enormous caterpillar, hookah and all).
* GodCouple: And son.
* {{Mysterious Backer}}: To Strange.
* PantheraAwesome: Agamotto generally tends to appear in the form of a giant tiger.
* PhysicalGod: When they take physical form, otherwise they are CosmicEntities.
* PowersThatBe: Govern the good magics of the Earth, and are generally the nicer of the Old Ones, and would rather protect the planet than destroy it.
* SuperFamilyTeam: Oshtur and Hoggoth are the parent, with Agamotto their child.
* SuperWeight: Level 6
* TricksterMentor: Agamotto to Strange, especially when he appears to him without the other two Vishanti.
* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: They are higher entities, after all.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Gaea]]
[[quoteright:316:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gaea.jpg]]

Whilst her sister Oshtur fled the Elder Gods to another dimension, Gaea dealt with them by giving birth to the entity Atum, who consumed the ones who did not escape and then dispelled their evil energies, which eventually became TheLegionsOfHell. Gaea then established countless magical barriers to prevent her demonic brethren from returning to Earth again, which were later reinforced by successive sorcerers. When Strange fell out of favour with the Vishanti, Gaea was there to serve as his new patron.

She also happens to be the birth mother of ComicBook/TheMightyThor (under the name Jord) as well as the great-grandmother of ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules. In fact, it's revealed that "Gaea" is every EarthMother goddess in every known pantheon.
----
* BigGood: As she represents the Earth and all life on it; thus, protecting her is a priority.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: Her sister is Oshtur of the Vishanti, which is fine, but the rest of their siblings are cannibalistic demonic entities who are bent on her death for siring another entity born to eat ''them'' before they could wreck more damage across the cosmos.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: As anyone knows, nature can be motherly and gentle--or it can be cold, merciless and spiteful. This applies exponentially more so to Gaea, who once curbstomped ''Dormammu'' after he pissed her off enough.
* TheChessmaster: She, along with Frigga, Hela, Isis and other female godheads, appeased the Celestials by cultivating powerful human specimens over many centuries so that the Celestials would judge the Earth worthy of survival and spare it.
* ChosenConceptionPartner: For Odin. Since the Aesir were vastly weakened upon stepping onto Midgard, where they were cut off from their sources of power at Asgard, Odin desired there to be one god amongst them who was equally powerful on Earth as in Asgard. He accomplished this by impregnating Jord (the Asgardian form of Gaea).
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: However she appears is however the person who sees her can grasp her form.
* HotGod: Specifically, to Comicbook/{{Storm}}, who worships her as the Bright Lady she once met in her youth.
* LukeIAmYourFather: During one meeting with Thor, she eventually confessed to him that she is his actual birth mother.
* MotherNature: Is the Mother earth of all the world's religions.
* PhysicalGod: About as powerful as her sister so she is this.
* ReallyGetsAround: She is the personification of life and motherhood, and ''boy'' does she carry that into her work. The Earth Mother's go-to solution to virtually any problem is to mate with someone and produce a child from the pairing that can deal with said problem. For example, when her fellow Elder Gods turned into JerkassGods, she mated with the Demiurge (''her own father'', more or less) to give birth to Atum, the Demogorge, who ''literally'' eats gods for breakfast. When Odin needed a child powerful enough to protect Earth, she mated with him to produce Thor.
* TangledFamilyTree: She has given birth to a lot of children over countless millions of years. She is the reason why many gods of various pantheons are actually related to each other.
* WomenAreWiser: While she is powerful, violence isn't Gaea's ideal method. If at all possible, she will try to find a way to get what she wants with guile and maneuvering, which was particularly shown with how she dealt with the Celestials as opposed to the male gods' approach to attack them head on.
* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: We've never actually seen her "true" form on paper. We only see what human (or godly) minds can understand.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Straw Man]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/strawman_q.jpg]]

Centuries ago, the Straw Man, a powerful demon from another dimension, opposed the demon Kalumai. During one of their early battles, the Straw Man ripped one of Kalumai's horns from his head and closed the gateway through which Kalumai manifested on Earth, sealing it behind an oil painting known only as "The Scarecrow". From this painting, the Straw Man manifests himself in the mortal plane, to feed on the fear of evildoers. He is a [[TokenGoodTeammate member of the Fear Lords.]]
----

* CloudCuckoolander: He can come off as quite insane.
* DimensionalTraveler: Can travel between the painted dimension and the material plane. After becoming a fear Lord, he can now travel between other hell dimensions as well.
* EnemyMine: How he came to be allies with Strange.
* [[GenreAnthology Horror Anthology:]] Got his start in the short lived ''Dead of Night'' anthology comic, before making the rounds in other anthology books like ''Marvel Spotlight'' and ''Marvel Two-in-One''. Eventually he would appear in ''Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme'', where he did become a recurring character.
* GoodIsNotNice: He is nominally good, but still insane and an ass.
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: His appearances are few and hard to come by. Despite this, he keeps a small but strong [[{{Pun}} cult following]].
* LaughingMad: His signature call sigh. His enemies will hear him before they see him, a distinct cackling laughter. He usually continues to [[InLoveWithYourCarnage laugh while beating them.]]
* NobleDemon: When compared to the other demons in the Marvel Universe.
* PhantomZonePicture: The painting serves as one for his enemy Kalumai. As the Straw Man is a DimensionalTraveler, he can come and go at will.
* PortalPicture: His painting is a portal to another dimension filled with demons.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: His eyes are red, and he is a powerful foe who feeds on fear.
* ScaryScarecrows: A slightly more heroic example.
* SpookyPainting: "The Scarecrow". Nobody knows where it came from, which is what makes it valuable. Despite its value, only people with more macabre tastes seem willing to actually look at it for more than a moment, as [[UncannyValley there is something off about its subject.]] The painting has been known to cause madness in people, though whether or to this is the fault of Straw Man or Kalumai and his cult is not made clear.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Of the Fear Lords, as he is a protector of humanity. [[GoodIsNotNice The good parts of it, anyway.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Eternity]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eternity_earth_616_001.jpg]]

The AnthropomorphicPersonification of Eternity has existed since the dawn of time and represents one of the fundamental aspects of the universe. It is enemies with some of the most powerful and dangerous evils in the cosmos which seek either to kill it or take its power for themselves, which in either case will result in [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End of Reality as We Know It.]] He has assisted Doctor Strange when he comes into battle with these enemies.
----
* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:After reviving at the end of ''ComicBook/{{Secret Wars|2015}}'', he was attacked and imprisoned by the First Firmament, which began corrupting the multiverse, while all Eternity could do, besides occasionally chat with lesser cosmic beings, was scream]].
* AnthropomorphicPersonification: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Of Eternity.]]
* BigGood: See a theme yet?
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Eternity doesn't think like we do, or share our human concerns. Nevertheless, he can occasionally be considerate.
* CelestialBody: He resembles a humanoid starfield with a face.
* CosmicKeystone: If it goes, reality goes.
* GoodCounterpart: To Oblivion, the Chaos King, or whatever CosmicBeing happens to be personifying [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End Of All Things]] at that particular moment.
* FightingAShadow: In a way; forces that threaten it usually only threaten a singular continuity, and that specific continuity isn't replaced. Eternity can be destroyed on a universal level but it takes a different order of power to affect the entirety that is his multiversal self.
* LegacyCharacter: What's only been hinted at is elaborated on post-Secret Wars; Eternity is the seventh (and eighth) instance of TheMultiverse that has existed.
* PowersThatBe: Basically this. They're the deciding force behind who becomes Captain Universe.
* SentientCosmicForce: Embodies the multiverse.
* SpaceMaster: As the embodiment of universes.
* SuperWeight: High level 6 (Cosmic).
* TimeMaster: To an extent, his sister-self Infinity is the real controller of time.
* UnskilledButStrong: He doesn't have any high level fighting skills, but he is virtually omnipotent.
* TheWorfEffect: It seems to be traditional that whenever a writer wants to introduce a new villain at the universal threat level, one of the first things they'll have him do is defeat/imprison/displace/frighten/infect Eternity. Taken UpToEleven during ''ComicBook/TheUltimates2015'' where it's revealed [[spoiler: he's been chained up by the First Firmament]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Death]]
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/591118_1.jpg]]

The AnthropomorphicPersonification of Death, which grants {{Immortality}} to the Sorcerer Supreme if s/he is deemed worthy. It often takes the form of a young woman, as which it earned the affections of the mad Titan ComicBook/{{Thanos}}. It grants authority to various Death Gods, Skyfathers and Hell Lords to take charge of souls after death or under certain arrangements. Though a largely amoral entity that ultimately desires the end of life itself, it is not actively malevolent and sees its duty as bringing an end to pain. It is thus opposed to those that are out to do far, far worse.
----
* AnthropomorphicPersonification: Speaks for itself.
* AntiVillain: When Thanos killed half the universe to impress her, it worked. But though she has no problem whatever with killing she is averse to causing needless suffering or worse.
* BatmanGambit: ''The Thanos Imperative'' is one of hers. Basically, resurrect Thanos as completely immortal, and wait for him to meet the Many-Angled Ones, who need to kill Death in a reality in order to infest it... of course, in order to do that, they need to kill Thanos, which kind of requires Death to make an appearance. At which point... ''boom''.
* DependingOnTheWriter: Her attitude. She can be distant, implacable, malicious, or apathetic, depending on who is writing her at any given time.
* DontFearTheReaper: While her [[ComicBook/{{Thanos}} consort and lover]] would gladly [[OmnicidalManiac kill everything in the universe for her]], and though she would find that very romantic, she is a necessary component of the universe and, further, sees herself as the end of pain and suffering. She is not actively malevolent or sadistic.
* FateWorseThanDeath: While she is far from ''nice'', when you compare her to the likes of Dormammu -- who turns life and death into a neverending torture camp, or Shuma-Gorath -- who turns life itself into a cancer and enslaves you mind, body and soul, Death is practically a saint and is rarely directly opposed to Earth's heroes.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Zigzagged. She doesn't really have a true form per se, so she looks like what people's incarnations of the Grim Reaper would be to them. Generally however she either appears as an incredibly attractive hooded woman or a hooded skeleton. Defied when she appeared to Thanos as a little girl during a LoveConfession to him, which understandably unnerved him. She replied that he shouldn't expect comfort from Death.
* LadyMacbeth: In ComicBook/{{Thanos}}' origin story, she is depicted as actively manipulating him to become an omnicidal lunatic to curry her favor by appearing as his ImaginaryFriend since childhood.
* MasterOfTheMixedMessage: With Thanos. ''Especially'' when written by Jim Starlin. Does she like him? Does she not? Does she approve of his constant rampages in her name? Who can tell, because she never just ''says'' whether to cut the crap or not.
* MsFanservice: In her alternate form, she is a beautiful human woman with a brunette bob haircut and a {{Stripperiffic}} outfit that is very similar to that of ComicBook/LadyDeath. And she is often draping herself over Thanos or Thane or whichever asshole she is manipulating at the time.
* StalkerWithACrush: ComicBook/{{Thanos}}, though she is one to SelfDemonstrating/{{Deadpool}}, thus earning Deadpool the ire of Thanos. HilarityEnsues.
* SuperWeight: High level 6
* UnskilledButStrong: She possesses vast power, but her fighting skill is normal at best. The fan-power ratings on the Marvel Wikia suggest otherwise, however.
* TheVoiceless: Barely speaks at all.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Living Tribunal]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/riwtqzc.jpg]]

The Living Tribunal is the supreme authority of the multiverse and one of its most powerful entities, second only to the One Above All. In general it only enters the field when all other forces have been outmatched.
----
* AllPowerfulBystander: He doesn't interfere often, but when he chooses to get involved he utterly destroys any and all entities he opposes, no matter how powerful they are.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: He's by a pretty solid margin the biggest fish we actually get to ''see'', and regularly plays this trope against assorted cosmic horrors who, while ludicrously powerful, are never as ludicrously powerful as ''him''. In absolute terms, he's the second biggest fish around: for all his might, he's still small and humble compared to [[{{God}} the One Above All]].
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Bar a couple of non-canon or semi-canon examples, the Tribunal is consistently portrayed as the most powerful force in all of existence, bar the Creator.
* BigDamnHeroes: The Living Tribunal doesn't fight {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, it ''curb stomps them''.
* BigGood: The Biggest Good in the multiverse, second only to {{God}} himself.
* GodIsNeutral: He is the supreme being in the CosmicEntity hierarchy and only answers to [[{{God}} The One Above All]], but acts as a neutral figure only concerned with keeping cosmic balance. Even universal threats like [[ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet Thanos getting the Infinity Gauntlet]] isn't a concern, and the Tribunal only intervenes when the multiverse is in real danger.
* GodzillaThreshold: If he shows up, you know this has officially crossed the Multiversal level. He has very particular rules on when he will cross said threshold, however. For instance, during ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet crisis, the greater cosmic forces of the universe, such as Infinity, were refused help from the Tribunal. According to the Tribunal, as powerful as Thanos was, it was of no concern to him, as a) even with all that power, Thanos' influence would not extend to rest of the multiverse, and b) Thanos gained the power of the Gems through his own strength, so, by the Tribunal's standards, no real crime was committed. This is after Thanos killed half the universe, too.
* GoodIsNotNice: The Tribunal is perfectly willing to snuff out sentient lifeforms by the trillions, if it would prevent the entire multiverse from imploding.
* JudgeJuryAndExecutioner: And a head for each.
* MultipleHeadCase: He has three heads, or technically a single head with three faces.
* NumberTwo: At least in the ''Comicbook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' timeline, the Tribunal is followed around by a Celestial named Scathan, whose role seems to be that of a "second opinion" man to the Tribunal's decisions. This came in handy when [[MegaManning the Tribunal's powers were copied]] by an OmnicidalManiac; Scathan simply denied him permission to use them, allowing the real Tribunal to deliver a well-deserved smackdown.
* TheOmnipotent: Or so close as to not matter, anyway. Even someone with the Infinity Gauntlet can't beat him.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Luckily for the Marvel universe, he is not unwise while using his great powers.
* SuperWeight: Extremely High Level 6 (Cosmic). He is not very far from God.
* UnskilledButStrong: He contains power that dwarfs even the Infinity Gauntlet, but his fighting skill is normal at best.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Compared to everything else he may as well be omnipotent but if his three heads can't agree on something he won't act. This can be used to keep him out of a lot of plots he would solve before they began.
* TheWorfEffect: Despite his phenomenal power, he actually has losses under his belt: one, against the Protege, was due to his own power being used against him, and others were due to weaker Manifestation Bodies, or not part of continuity, but during the Avengers story "Time Runs Out", the real Tribunal was actually killed by the Beyonders.
[[/folder]]

!!Rogues Gallery
[[folder: Astrid Mordo]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/astridmordo.jpg]]

The daughter of Baron Mordo, Astrid once used her magical abilities to mystically transfer her father's cancer into the body of Dr. Strange.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Asti]]
[[quoteright:226:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/asti.png]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Arioch]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arioch_earth_616_from_strange_tales_vol_2_13_0001.jpg]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Alaric]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alaric_mystic_earth_616_from_doctor_strange_vol_2_31_0001.jpg]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Aarkus]]
[[quoteright:302:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3016143_aarkus_9.png]]

Created by Creator/JackKirby and Joe Simon during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, [[spoiler: The Vision]], later called Aarkus, was an extra-dimentional being who was brought to Earth by Professor Enoch Mason. Possessing a menagerie of powers, and an AntiHero by nature, he served both the Axis and the Allies at different times, before joining up with the WWII team Comicbook/TheInvaders.

[[CerebusRetcon In truth]], he had been sent to Earth to ensure that the Cosmic Cubes would survive and reach sentience. Brainwashed by the villain D'Spayre, he turned to villainy and corrupted a cosmic cube to evil purposes. Only with the help of Comicbook/TheAvengers could Doctor Strange restore him to his original self.

He served as the inspiration for the second [[spoiler:[[ComicBook/TheVision Vision]].]]
----
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Partially why he turned to villainy. The other reason being...
* CameBackWrong: He and some of the other Invaders were brought to the present with the cosmic cube. Being an extra-dimensional being to begin with, this affected him in some [[GoMadFromTheRevelation unforeseen ways]].
* ElementalPowers: Can turn his body to smoke, as well as restrain people with it.
* FlyingBrick: Doesn't use it quite as often as his mental powers, but he is also incredibly strong.
* {{Intangibility}}: Turning into smoke gives you this.
* LegacyCharacter: [[spoiler: The Vision was created in the 1960's as one to both him and [[ComicBook/HumanTorch1939 the first Human Torch.]].]]
* MindReading: Part of his abilities.
* RecycledInSpace: Originally an obscure WWII character, he has since been reimagined as the guardian of the Cosmic Cube, making him a much bigger part of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse than he ever was previously.
* {{Shapeshifting}}: Can do this when it suits him.
* StoryBreakerPower: He doesn't appear much, this probably being a contributing factor. Each of his powers alone would count as a story breaker power by itself.
* SuperSmoke: Can turn into smoke.
* VillainTeleportation: Can teleport at will.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Accountant]]
A divine being whose job is to balance the books and keep things in order. He targeted Strange specifically because he was using too much magic.
----
* CelestialBureaucracy
* LaserGuidedKarma: Operates on this. At least, his own understanding of this.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Adria the Witch]]
[[quoteright:324:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adria_earth_616_from_girl_comics_vol_2_2_0001.jpg]]

A powerful witch and lieutenant of Baron Mordo. Along with Kaecilius, she sought revenge on Doctor Strange for defeating and imprisoning her master.
----
* AbortedArc: Her [[ItsPersonal desire]] for revenge against Strange seemed to be building towards another confrontation, but she vanished off panel between issues.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Despite making several major appearances in his first series, she hasn't appeared in a Doctor Strange comic since the 1970's, only making a brief appearance in a one-shot a few decades later.
* DarkActionGirl: A witch whose powerful, but not good.
* DemotedToExtra: In TheFilmOfTheBook she is merely one of Kaeilius's followers, while in the comics she was a powerful witch in her own right and managed to almost defeat Doctor Strange on her own.
* HotWitch: Very buxom.
* HighCollarOfDoom: Her original outfit, while also being a PimpedOutDress.
* ItsPersonal: Wants Strange dead for imprisoning her master.
* MauveShirt: Had some personality before she vanishes off panel.
* SexyBacklessOutfit: Wears on in her one modern appearance.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Afterlife]]
[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/832399_afterlifeds1.jpg]]

[[UnreliableNarrator An angel from heaven]] with the ability to absorb the pain and suffering from human souls. [[spoiler: It was actually trapped between heaven and Earth and was unable to settle in either, becoming a monster who lived off the life force of the living.]]
----
* AngelicAbomination: [[spoiler:Time in the Realm Between morphed Afterlife into a distorted, eldritch monster]].
* AngelsDevilsAndSquid: In a universe which contains plenty of the latter two, as well as many other deities, Afterlife stands out as being one of the few overt references to the Judeo-Christian God in Comicbook/DoctorStrange. [[spoiler:Eventually becomes an AngelicAbomination.]]
* FallenAngel: Sort of. It came from heaven to Earth intentionally, but is now unable to return.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Oh, [[EldritchAbomination are they ever]].
* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler: It's true form looks downright Gigeresque]].
* WingedHumanoid: To human eyes, appears as a golden, androgynous youth with red and orange wings.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Aggamon]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aggamon_earth_616_from_marvel_legacy_the_1960s_handbook_vol_1_1_001.jpg]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Author]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Baron Mordo]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/transparent_mordo_0.png]]

The treacherous apprentice of the Ancient One before Strange took his place, Baron Karl Amadeus Mordo has plagued the Sorcerer Supreme several times in his quest for revenge and power. He often allies himself with more powerful demonic entities, frequently Umar or Dormammu, and tends to rely on MindControl and illusions to further his evil schemes.
----
* AristocratsAreEvil: It's in the title.
* ArchEnemy: One of Strange's biggest enemies and certainly one of the most personal.
* BackFromTheDead: Twice, most recently thanks to Dormammu.
* BadBoss: He's not a great employer. He may well kill minions for screwing up, and in a pinch will leave them behind to die.
* BaitTheDog: He played on Sara Wolfe's interest in him (after a brief PetTheDog moment), only to betray her trust as soon as he got the chance.
* BlackMagic: His bread and butter. He often uses this against Doctor Strange.
* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: While not by any stretch of imagination heroic. He did learn some martial techniques from training with the monks. It's just never brought up at all.
* DaddysLittleVillain: His daughter Astrid. Tragically, he was trying to atone for a life of wrongdoing just as she was finding her stride as an evil sorceress.
* DealWithTheDevil: Frequently, almost always biting him in the ass. More recently he's made one with Dormammu in order to both come back and have magic to use after the Imperikrul wiped it all out.
* DeathEqualsRedemption: In one story arc he died of cancer, redeeming himself somewhat in the process. Strange mourned for him. This being a comic book universe, [[UnexplainedRecovery it wasn't permanent]].
* DeceptiveDisciple: To the Ancient One.
* DrivenByEnvy
* EnemyMine: Sort of, during his appearance in ''X-Factor'' vol 3. He works with the team during the ''Second Coming'' crossover to fight off the MRD, mainly because the MRD attacked him (figuring that while he wasn't a mutant, he was ''a'' threat).
* EvilCounterpart: To Strange. An extremely talented sorcerer, with his pride and arrogance rivaling that of Strange. The twist being that while Doctor Strange learning humility and morality lead him to be a better sorcerer, Baron Mordo hasn't.
* EvilSorceror: The original one Strange fought.
* EvilVersusOblivion: Since he wants to rule the world, he'll step up to help save it from destruction.. on occasion.
* GreenEyedMonster: In some depictions, envy of Strange's greater magical potential (or fear of losing his place beside the Ancient One) is what drove him to villainy.
* HesBack: As of issue 12 of the 2015 series.
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: He's turned good a few times, it hasn't stuck.
* ManipulativeBastard: One of his specialties. Had it not been for Doctor Strange Dormammu would have conquered Earth years ago with how good he is at putting pieces into the right place.
* MasterOfIllusion: One of his specialties.
* MindControl: His magic lets him controlling others, he uses this to his advantage.
* PsychicPowers: Goes hand and hand with his magic, but it's not on the same level as Jean Grey, Cable or even Doctor Strange himself.
* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: It's never been clear whether he started out evil or fell to evil somewhere along the course of his magical studies.
* RivalTurnedEvil: A fellow student of the Ancient One turned into one of the world's greatest threats.
* ShadowArchetype: To Strange. Their positions easily could've been reversed had Strange not had his CharacterDevelopment.
* SuperWeight: Level 5.
* VillainousIncest: Baron Mordo has a daughter by his half-sister.
* VillainsDyingGrace: Twice -- once to save Strange's friend Sara Wolfe and a second time to save Strange himself. He didn't survive the second one.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Baroshtok]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/baroshtok_earth_616_from_strange_vol_2_2_0001.jpg]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Chthon]]
[[quoteright:365:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/83e51afd7ed81b5ee28741e40c41ec84.jpg]]

The demon Chthon is perhaps the most powerful of the Elder Gods and the first EvilSorceror in the history of Earth. The office of Sorcerer Supreme was created specifically to defend against this demon in particular, and it has successfully exercised a nebulous influence throughout the planet's history. Chthon is the creator of a demonic race called the N'Garai and is the author of the Darkhold, the first book of BlackMagic from which vampires, werewolves and witches were unleashed on the world. It is trapped in a pocket universe both by innumerable mystical barriers erected by Gaea and Earth's magical defenders and by its own sheer power, as it is so strong and huge it cannot leave by normal means, though has imparted a fraction of its power into potential human hosts for later possession, most notably and successfully the ComicBook/ScarletWitch.
----
* ArchEnemy: To Oshtur and the Vishanti, who made it their mission to never let him win.
* TheArchmage: Easily one of the most powerful of Elder Gods.
* ArtifactOfDoom: The Darkhold and other evil items.
* BlackMagic: Literally wrote the book on it; also the creator and source of Chaos magic, which despite DependingOnTheWriter, really does exist in the Marvel universe.
* TheChessmaster: Almost never engages any of the heroes in person, instead using his students or slaves to do his bidding. Most of them are more than a match for the Sorcerer Supreme and the Avengers combined; one can only imagine how powerful he really is.
* DemonicPossession: Several times, though it seems to have reserved the ComicBook/ScarletWitch as its host of choice. It once ended up possessing her brother ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} and even though this was just a tiny portion of its power, it very nearly destroyed the planet causing calamities as it rewrote reality.
* DimensionLord: Of a pocket dimension adjacent to Earth. As the ComicBook/ScarletWitch demonstrated though, his power can affect the multiverse.
* TheDreaded: He usually draws a OhCrap reaction when he appears and with good reason.
* EldritchAbomination: Chthon is an Elder God, an ancient deity exiled to a dark dimension. This has resulted in ''Carnage'' Vol. 2 turning him into an {{expy}} of Cthulhu.
* EvilCounterpart: It is the antithesis of the Sorcerer Supreme and the job exists primarily to fight ''it'', and not demons, evil sorcerers and cosmic beings in general. Also, its presence is enough to slowly ''kill'' Strange, who has to either use magical shields by default or fight Chthon by proxy in order to engage him.
* EvilSorceror: In Marvel canon, the ''original'' EvilSorcerer (well, to Earth anyway), and one of the most powerful.
* {{Expy}} He's turned into a pastiche of Cthulhu in ''Carnage'' Vol. 2, complete with passages of the Darkhold reading "Chthon fhtagn".
* FightingAShadow: It has never shown up in its true form and usually relies on hosts or squeezing through portions of its power. If it ''did'' somehow manage to return, it would probably destroy the world just with its presence. [[note]]The cloaked grey demon pictured above is its most commonly seen form. It has also appeared as a ball of light, a black cloud with a face, a black demon, an enormous shadow in its own dimension, and most recently, a Cthulhu-esque blue monster.[[/note]]
* GodEating: Chthon devoured its own siblings for power, degenerating into a demon in the process.
* GodOfEvil: God of Chaos and the source of Chaos magic, both of which are evil in the context of the story.
* GreaterScopeVillain: It cannot act directly in the regular Marvel universe and thus is rarely if ever seen, the exceptions being when it utilises DemonicPossession, and in such cases it is a shadow of its true power (though still a major threat to all life everywhere).
* HumanoidAbomination: Likes to manifest a human form in some occasions.
* IHaveManyNames: The Other, The Great Shadow, He Who Holds The Darkness, Demon Of The Darkhold.
* LeakingCanOfEvil: The demon itself is trapped in another dimension and countless magical barriers are erected to keep it there; on one occasion a portion of it was summoned by cultists who [[EvilIsNotAToy realized their mistake]] and imprisoned it in Mount Wundagore. The ComicBook/FantasticFour villain the Puppet Master gets his magical clay from there and it was there that it implanted a fraction of its power into Wanda Maximoff and marked her as its host. Chthon's presence essentially turned the area into LovecraftCountry.
* ManOfKryptonite: The very essence and presence of Chthon is poisonous to the Sorcerer Supreme, whoever that may be. Strange can usually get by this with magic shields, though.
* ManipulativeBastard: Very manipulative, good at playing people to his tune.
* MotherOfAThousandYoung: Vampires, werewolves, witches and all manner of demons and other horrors owe their existence to him, though sometimes indirectly.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: It is also known as the Great Shadow, and Eternity once called it the "Cancer of Reality".
* RealityWarper: Warps reality to his advantage, but still can't leave his plane of existence.
* {{Satan}}: Somewhat closer to this than even the Hell Lords -- whose existence it is partly responsible for -- as a source of UltimateEvil in Marvel Earth. It is far more powerful than any of them too. The archangel Lucifer fought against his forces in the distant past, before his fall even. So perhaps it is more correct to say that Chthon is '''worse''' than the Devil.
* SuperWeight: Level 6.
* [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Swiss Messenger]]: Chthon is usually out to cause the biggest mess it can most of the time, but even if it had just stuck to experimentation and study without becoming more proactive. The damages it is ultimately responsible for would still be incalculable. Shuma Gorath is a liberal user of chaos magic, for example.
* TomeOfEldritchLore: The Darkhold, responsible for the creation of vampires and the fall of Atlantis amongst many other things. The Book of the Vishanti was written specifically as a counterweight to it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: City of Dreams]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Dagoth]]
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dagoth_earth_616_from_marvel_premiere_vol_1_7_0001.jpg]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Dormammu]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/transparent_dormammu_small.png]]

Dormammu is a member of the extradimensional race known as the Faltine, and with his sister Umar was exiled for craving matter and killing their "father" Sinifer, who spawned them. Through treachery and guile Dormammu took control of the Dark Dimension and began to cultivate worship of himself across several universes and conquering several others, which he merged with the Dark Dimension to increase his power as he is strongest there. He is responsible for the creation of Sataanish and other Hell Lords and is the power behind several demons, sorcerers and other magical villains.

The classic Marvel DimensionLord, Dormammu is a powerful EvilSorceror and one of the most feared and terrible entities in the universe. Wielder of truly godlike power, either a demon or something even worse, The Dread One has worked for unknown ages towards making our reality his own. He has fought Earth's Sorcerer Supreme since the days of Agamotto but holds a particular enmity for Strange, who considers him his ArchEnemy and will do anything to defeat him.
----
* AchillesHeel: His extreme arrogance is the biggest thing holding him back. He may be unbelievably powerful and capable of easily annihilating Strange on a bad day, but he loses things that he absolutely should have had in the bag on a very frequent basis solely because said arrogance made him let his guard down or caused him to abandon what should have been a successful plan in a rage solely because of a minor hangup.
* ArchEnemy: While Mordo was probably this originally, Strange eclipsed him a long time ago and Dormammu was in most senses his master anyway. The war between Strange and the Dread One is much more personal, and Dormammu is a much more formidable foe.
* AxCrazy: As his act of twisting the Dark Dimension into a never-ending hell where not even death is an escape along with his desire to aggressively expand his sphere of influence into other realities showcase very well, Dormammu is a bloodthirsty sadist who seeks to torture and kill for little more than sick amusement.
* BlackMagic: His name can be invoked by sorcerers wishing to utilise his power. In the early days Strange himself used to do this, until he found out exactly who and what he was calling upon.
* BigBad: The main one for the whole franchise.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Dormammu is a Faltinian, from a dimension where matter does not naturally exist, and exotic energies are the equivalent of money and status symbols. He and his "co-progeny" Umar were shunned for "lusting after matter," as repulsive to Faltinians as, say, necrophilia, pedophilia and bestiality combined would be to humans. Faltinians also reproduce by fission, and find the very concepts of copulation and sexual reproduction unspeakably obscene. Dormammu [[EvenEvilHasStandards shares this attitude]] to a degree, while Umar definitely does not (she's had a child, and has abducted the Hulk at least twice for what amounted to a booty call).
* TheChessmaster: Through his clever planning, Dormammu proves to be Strange's equal in every encounter.
* ClassicVillain: A combination of Pride and Ambition.
* ConservationOfNinjutsu: Tends to work in his favor. Dormammu tends to be more of a threat if Strange has back up and more likely to screw up if Strange is on his own.
* CurbStompBattle: Has dished out this to Doctor Strange and entire superhero teams.
* DarkIsEvil: He has a dark appearance that fits his personality.
* DeadpanSnarker: He has his moments. His arguments with [[SiblingRivalry Umar]] tend to result in SnarkToSnarkCombat as well.
* DealWithTheDevil: Frequently makes these. They tend to end very poorly for his client if they aren't savvy enough to anticipate him screwing them over.
* DemonicPossession: Briefly took over The Hood's body, until the New Avengers exorcised him out.
* DimensionLord: Of the Dark Dimension, which includes several others that have been annexed and mystically merged with it. At time of writing, Dormammu provides the trope image.
* TheDreaded: He's even known as Dread Dormammu, or simply The Dread One.
* DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans: His goal is to take over every universe and turn life and afterlife into a neverending torture camp. Fortunately he rarely comes close to achieving that ambition.
* EldritchLocation: The Dark Dimension.
* EvilCounterpart:
** Like Strange, Dormammu is a sorcerer first and foremost, though a much more powerful one who can rely on his natural magical energy. More importantly, Dormammu's greatest flaw is his {{Pride}}, which is what Strange had to overcome to get the help and tutorship of the Ancient One. Though Strange was never as psychopathic as the Lord of Darkness, he was every bit as arrogant.
** He is also often compared to [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Odin]], the All-Father of Asgard, and is usually portrayed as at least as powerful as he is. Whether he is less or much more is DependingOnTheWriter, but if Strange is not opposing Dormammu, Odin probably is.
* EvilerThanThou: Pulls this on Umar whenever he takes the Dark Dimension back from her. He also once pulled it on Mephisto.
* EvilSorceror: A villain who uses magic.
* FlamingHair: Or rather, a flaming ''crown'', that encompasses his entire head.
* AGodAmI: Worshipped as God within the Dark Dimension and as a deity in thousands of others. Within the Dark Dimension he is virtually unstoppable.
* GodEmperor: He rules universes like a deity.
* GodOfEvil: The God of the dark dimension.
* HeroKiller: Strange considers Dormammu his most dangerous enemy, and the Dreaded One has nearly taken over our universe. Bonus points for when Dormammu once went into the future and actually succeeded in killing that timeline's Doctor Strange.
* HumanoidAbomination: Despite being a godlike EldritchAbomination, his default form is his picture.
* IHaveManyNames: The Dread One, The Black One, The Great Enigma, Eater of Souls, Lord of Darkness, Lord of the Dark Dimension.
* JokerImmunity: Dormammu has seemingly been destroyed more than once, but it never sticks. Even scattering his essence across different dimensions isn't enough to get rid of him.
* KnightOfCerebus: The UrExample for Doctor Strange's stories. Before him, the villains could be beaten in a single issue. Then he showed up, and provided the first threat that required a multiple issue storyline to defeat.
* KungFuWizard: Like Strange, he is a highly-trained fighter and is willing to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Strange has often managed to defeat him by playing on his ego and goading him into trying to win by killing Strange with his own hands rather than annihilating him with overwhelming power.
* TheManBehindTheMan: He is the power behind Sataanish and many other Hell Lords, and is frequently the patron of Baron Mordo and several other troublemakers. Was also this to ComicBook/TheHood.
* MultiversalConqueror: Or at least, aspires to be.
* OhCrap: Had some instances of it. Once he tried to beg Magik to spare him, when he realized that she was going to absorb the Dark Dimension into her.
** More recently, he had sold out Shuma-Gorath's location to the Empirikul cult so that they would spare his dimension. Later on Dr. Strange teleported Dormammu to a wounded, but still alive and very angry Shuma-Gorath.
* OnlyOneName: He is Dormammu, without surnames.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: If he is openly fearful of something or is willing to team up with you against a threat, then you know that the situation is '''dire''', as Zom and Shuma-Gorath have both demonstrated.
* OrderVersusChaos: Was once chosen to represent Chaos in a game of cosmic chess against Odin, who represented Order. Though, in every other sense that was more of a straight-up battle between Good and Evil.
* OutOfCharacterAlert: Some of Strange's opponents tried to distract him with illusions of Dormammu, which Stephen could recognize for saying things out of character for the Dread One, like calling Umar his brother. Shuma-Gorath committed an especially spectacular blunder at it - his illusion said Dormammu is here to reclaim the title of Strange's greatest enemy, which Shuma-Gorath took from him. Strange knew the real Dormammu would ''never'' admit being second to ''anyone'' at ''anything''.
* PhysicalGod: He is essentially this.
* {{Pride}}: His weakness, and one Strange is happy to exploit.
* PureMagicBeing: His essence. He is not really a physical entity.
* RealityWarper: His power level.
* SmugSnake: A rare case of the trope overlapping with SmugSuper. He is an extremely powerful and intelligent demonic entity who is more than capable of holding his own against Doctor Strange and other Marvel heroes and has diabolical plans that stretch across multiple dimensions and countless millennia... and they all tend to be beaten, because he is just that arrogant and can't deal with things not working out exactly like he wanted them to. The ease with which his pride and sense of overwhelming superiority can be used to trick him into doing things that are definitely not in his best interests helps him even less.
* SorcerousOverlord: A dark sorcerer ruling many worlds.
* SuperWeight: Level 6 (Cosmic)
* UnlimitedWardrobe: His look is more consistent nowadays, but in the beginning, Ditko drew him in a different costume every time he appeared.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Dracula]]
See Characters/TheTombOfDracula
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Dream Weaver]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: D'Spayre]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dspayre_earth_616_from_marvel_war_of_heroes_001.jpg]]

The Demon known as D'Spayre was created 20,000 years ago by the Dweller-in-Darkness, using the fear originated from the sinking of Atlantis and Lemuria. He is a Lord of Fear and deprives power and pleasure from the negative emotions of others.
----
* AxCrazy: It is implied that the pain and suffering apparently required to fuel his powers are not so much necessary than just him being a vicious sadist.
* BatmanGambit: When the other Fear Lords created the Great fear, a powerful magic device that would cause all of humanity to be overcome with fear, he played along, despite his lower position meaning he would receive the least amount of power from it. After humanity has been subjected to the Great Fear, the other Lords get drunk on the power, only for it to wear off quickly as humanities fear slowly turned into despair. [[MeaningfulName As his name should tell you]], he fed on the fear until he was more powerful than the other lords and proceeded to kill them all.
* EmotionEater: In the same vein as his creator. Though with him, it is implied it isn't really necessary, he just does it because he can.
* EmotionalPowers: Fear and despair.
* EvilIsCool: Or at least looks cool.
* ForTheEvulz: While he claims to require the pain and suffering of others to fuel his power, it is [[AxCrazy implied that he is lying]].
* HandBlast: His go to method of attack.
* ManipulativeBastard: Manipulated the other Fear Lords, including his own master, into destroying themselves during one story arc. [[UnexplainedRecovery They got better.]]
* PopularityPower: A minor case. Possibly due to his [[ImpossiblyCoolClothes cool design]], he has continued to make appearances every few years or so, while most of the other Fear Lords rarely appear at all.
* PowerCreepPowerSeep: Starts off weaker than Dweller-in-Darkness, which is fitting seeing as he was created by him, but as time goes on, not only is he of near equal power, but he is made a Fear Lord, making him have equal if not greater standing than his master.
* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: Well, they were both evil, but D'Spayre turns on his master to usurp his position.
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: A three-way mutual partnership between Doctor Strange, the ComicBook/XMen, and [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]].
* SpellMyNameWithAnS
* TouchedByVorlons: He was the Vorlon for ComicBook/CloakAndDagger. While they would still have gotten powers from the drug they were injected with, it was D'Spayre's magic that swapped the powers between the two of them.
* XtremeKoolLetterz: Just look at his name.
* YouHaveFailedMe: Gets this from his master in his first few appearances.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Dweller-in-Darkness]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2307266_letter_4.jpeg]]
The Dweller-in-Darkness was a demon from the dimension Everinnye, like the demon Nightmare, and like Nightmare, the Dweller fed on the fear of living beings; fear both increased his powers and kept him alive. When he first came to Earth, the Dweller-in-Darkness fed upon the fears created by the war between the humans of Atlantis and the Deviants of Lemuria. The Atlantean sorceress Zhered-Na discovered the existence of the Dweller and banished him with the help of Agamotto and the Atlantean god Valka. He is one of the Fear Lords, and often acts as their de facto leader.
----
* BeenThereShapedHistory: His most audacious act of villainy was aeons ago in a previous universe when it attempted to seize [[ComicBook/XMen the M'Krann Chrystal]] (which controls the multiverse). This attempt failed, but a consequence of this effort was '''the Big Bang'''. The Dweller-in-Darkness (unintentionally) ''created the Marvel universe!''
* {{Cyborg}}: Gets a mechanical body after being decapitated.
* EldritchAbomination: One of the Fear Lords who feed on fear.
* [[EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether Everybody Is From The Same Dimension]]: He and Nightmare are both from the same dimension, both became fear eaters, and both love to antagonize Doctor Strange.
* EvilerThanThou: With Nightmare on occasion.
* EvilVersusEvil: With Nightmare.
* LovecraftLite: A darker example, but still counts, as he is able to be defeated by powerful sorcerers and [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor gods]].
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: A name suggesting that he is a personification of darkness.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Not in his initial appearance, but he is currently a Cyborg-Cthulhu-Wizard!
* NotQuiteDead: On multiple occasions.
* OffWithHisHead: His own servant, D'Spayre, decapitates him. His head is still powerful enough to survive and escape, eventually getting a mechanical body.
* TimeAbyss: He is literally older than ''the universe'', because he came from the one preceding it prior to the Big Bang, which it indirectly caused.
* WorthyOpponent: Comes to see Dr. Strange and Clea as this. [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou It makes him want to destroy them even more.]]
* YouHaveFailedMe: His go to strategy with minions, even D'Spayre, who [[UnexplainedRecovery keeps coming back anyway.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: House of Shadows]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Imperator]]
[[quoteright:321:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/doctor_strange_vol_4_12_story_thus_far_variant_textless.jpg]]

A new foe of Strange's and leader of the Imperkrul who's determined, with his army of robots and monsterous magic sniffing warhounds to wipe out all magic in the multiverse.
----
* AntiMagic: Is able to neutralize and outright destroy magic by attacking it's source. The technology of the Empirikul is somehow able to erase magic wherever they invade by doing this.
* AntiMagicalFaction: In charge of one known as the Emperikul, which has a reach that spans multiple realities.
* BigBad: Of "The Last Days Of Magic" arc.
* ChurchMilitant: The Emperikul. Also an AntiMagicalFaction.
* ColdBloodedTorture: For all his ultra-tech, the Imperator sure likes to use iron maidens, meat hooks and burning at the stake.
* DeathByIrony: Or rather defeat by irony. [[spoiler:His entire path began due to his parents sacrificing themselves to save him from being sacrificed to Shuma Gorath. He's defeated by Dr. Strange's former patients willingly sacrificing their own health and well being to save the universe's magic.]]
* DealWithTheDevil: He spared Dormammu and the Dark Dimension, when Dormammu made a deal with him. Dormammu gets left alone while the Imperator gets the location of Shuma-Gorath, the being he hates the most.
* EyeBeams: The Imperator's main power is shooting green lasers out of his eyes.
* EyeScream: Strange blasted out the Imperator's eyes with dust from the Ancient One's corpse. After his imprisonment, Strange just wrapped a bandage around his face to cover the damage.
* FantasticRacism: Sees all magic users as an infection that needs to be cleansed.
* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: Is made into Stephen's new "thing in the cellar" to take all of the pain and suffering caused to him by his use of magic]].
* FreudianExcuse: His parents lived in a dimension that worshiped Shuma Gorath and gave up their lives to save him from being sacrificed to him and was raised by machines.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Of the first four issues of the 2016 run.
* HeroKiller: He and his army have murdered several Sorcerers Supreme and fully believes he's doing the right thing.
* KillItWithFire: The Imperator regularly kills Sorcer Supremes with witch burnings and intended to give every Earth sorcerer one of these.
* KnightTemplar: Is determined to wipe out all magic and magic users.
* JerkassHasAPoint: In his own words, he can't blame demons for being demons, and the people who get their power from serving them are more deserving of his wrath. Too bad he doesn't consider that magic can be used for good, or whether people have any choice in serving evil.
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: Is punished by being chained up and forced to be a living battery for Dr. Strange's magic after killing countless people in a quest to wipe it all out]].
* MachineWorship: Played with. It's not machines he and the Imperkrul worships, it's science itself.
* MageKiller: He is so proficient in his craft that he nearly wipes magic out of existence altogether.
* MagicFromTechnology: Some of his superscience is so advanced it's almost magical, harnessing the powers of black holes, super novas and other phenomena.
* TheMagicGoesAway: The Empirikul cult's method of dealing with "evil". They have superscience that can drain magic out of a dimension and turn that world into a grey, sterile environment.
* MagicVersusScience: Is attempting to wipe out magic with Science.
* NotWorthKilling: Initially he does this with Monako. He thought that the old wizard was a washed-up has-been and not worth the time or effort, even though Monako was standing right beside him. This comes back to bite the Imperator in the ass, though he does murder Monako in retaliation.
* PunnyName: "Empirikul" is a different spelling of the scientific term "Empirical" meaning concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience. However, while the Imperator has witnessed terrible things from magic, he's unable to look at the good things magic brings to the world.
* SavageWolves: His Witchfinder Wolves.
* ShoutOut: His being shipped off-world by parents seeking to save him from a conformist society is a homage to Superman, when Krypton was written as a sterile unloving world.
* WeakToMagic: The Empirikul are weak against magical attack, even harmless magic like Ancient One's corpse dust is devastating to them.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: He's not looking to conquer or destroy other worlds, instead he believes himself a good man who wants to purge the universe of evil. Unfortunately he thinks that magic is the worst evil and wants to kill anything magical. Dr. Strange actually sympathized with him a bit, had Imperator stood down or just restricted his hunt to demons and evil wizards - Strange would have left him alone.
* TheWitchHunter: His magic hunting monsters are even called "Witchfinder Wolves".
* VillainsWantMercy: When the captured Imperator realizes what Strange is [[BodyHorror going to do to him]], he pleads for Strange not to do it and implies he's willing to change his ways. It doesn't work.
* ZergRush: With a dwindling stock of magic and some minor magical tools, Earth's sorcerers were able to massacre Empirikul with ease. Too bad they have tons of robots and clones on hand.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Iskelior]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iskelior_earth_616_from_doctor_strange_sorcerer_supreme_vol_1_58_0001.jpg]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kaecillius]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kaecilius_q.jpg]]

Kaecilius was a disciple of Baron Mordo. He often served as field agent or deliverer of messages, and occasionally acted as a channel for Mordo or Dormammu's power.
----
* AdaptationExpansion: A minor character in the comics, he's promoted to lead villain in [[Film/DoctorStrange2016 the film.]]
* CompositeCharacter: His film version took more from Baron Mordo than from his comic counterpart.
* HandBlast: His primary attack.
* OvershadowedByAwesome: Of Mordo's followers, he's definitely the odd man out. He can't really compete with the likes of The Demon and Adria the Witch in terms of power or skill, which is why he mainly sticks to serving as a channel for their lord Dormammu.
* WillingChanneler: Channels the power of his masters so while he goes in their stead.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kkallakku]]
[[quoteright:215:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2155665_kkallakku_journey_into_mystery_633.jpg]]

Kkallakku is the creator of the Fear Eaters, a race of interdimensional demons that feed on and draw their power from the fear of others. Kkallakku was one of the founding members of the Fear Lords.
----
* AboveGoodAndEvil: In her initial appearances, she was only concerned about feeding her and her children hunger. Later stories would portray her as more overtly malicious.
* EldritchAbomination
* MamaBear: Very protective of her children.
* MonsterProgenitor: Gave birth to the fear eaters.
* MotherOfAThousandYoung: Her fear eaters inhabit every place on Earth, picking away at peoples minds, tiny nibbles at a time.
* VillainousGlutton: Has an insatiable hunger. Her children try to sate her hunger by feeding her the fear of humans.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kathulos]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kathulos_earth_616_from_marvel_premiere_vol_1_8_001.jpg]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Lurking Unknown]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/531215_lurking_unknown_larry_alexander01.jpg]]

The Lurking Unknown, one of the seven Fear Lords, is a demon of unknown origin that gains its powers from the fear of others. It has displayed many abilities, from super strength to flame generation and control.
----

* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: When he is at full power.
* AttentionWhore: His driving character trait, aside from ForTheEvulz.
* CripplingOverspecialization: Lampshaded by Loki; his powers only work when people are afraid of him. While this sounds good in theory, when your default form is barely a foot tall, it can be a bit hard to get people to fear you.
** LoopholeAbuse: Once traveled to a dimension of tiny fairies, who were already much smaller than him. When he comes back from it, he's [[GodzillaThreshold gigantic]].
* DimensionalTraveler: Can travel between dimensions.
* ForTheEvulz: He isn't a very deep villain.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Grows from a tiny demon barely bigger than a cat, to a gargantuan monster the size of skyscrapers.
* MakeMyMonsterGrow: Himself. If he is able to acquire an adequate amount of fear, he can grow to enormous sizes. In theory, he can grow larger [[GodzillaThreshold than the world]], but he has never managed to get that far.
* SizeShifter: The main manifestation of his power.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Is the least powerful of the Fear Lords, as his powers are directly proportional to how much people are afraid... [[CripplingOverspecialization of him.]] He still likes to act as if he's in charge, and throws a tantrum when he doesn't get his way.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Mephista]]
[[quoteright:236:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0a94c9d28a5d45238263e9e9743f1e24.jpg]]

Mephista is the daughter of Marvel's resident devil Mephisto, and the sister of [[Characters/GhostRider Blackheart]]. While not as active as her family members, she is just as dangerous. Residing in the same hell dimension as her father, she is a frequent enemy of Doctor Strange.
----
* DemonicPossession: One of her powers.
* FireAndBrimstoneHell: Rules over a dimension like this, along with her dad.
* GoodWingsEvilWings: She has a a pair of large black wings on her back.
* {{Hellfire}}: Her sword blazes with it.
* HornsOfVillainy: Curved ram horns.
* HornyDevils: She may [[VaporWear look the part]], but don't underestimate her.
* MeaningfulRename: In her time in ''X-Factor'', she's renamed herself Jezebel.
* PlayingWithFire: Can summon fire and use it against her enemies.
* PrehensileTail: Same as her father.
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: Featured prominently in Creator/PeterDavid's run of Comicbook/XFactor.
* UnskilledButStrong: In theory, she could be as strong as ComicBook/GhostRider, but due to her lack of experience she wouldn't be much good in a hand-to-hand fight against an opponent of similar strength. Unfortunately for him, while Strange isn't a SquishyWizard, he is no Hulk.
* VaporWear: Doesn't wear much in the way of clothing. And what she does wear looks like it could [[TheissTitillationTheory fall off at any moment.]]
* WeaponOfChoice: Flaming sword of hellfire.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Mephisto]]
[[quoteright:406:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/016b6c2d1da735872a58e7b59520bdd4.jpg]]

An embodiment of ultimate evil, powerful Hell Lord and Marvel's most common stand in for Satan. He has antagonized just about every hero, but tends to single out those who are especially noble like the Silver Surfer and Thor. As can be expected, [[SatanicArchetype many of the traditional tropes associated with Satan are part of him]]. His origins are unclear, but it seems that he was ''not'' one of the Hell Lords created by Dormammu, and has no ties to him, and though he is not as powerful as the latter he is stronger than perhaps all other Hell Lords under his control. Strange often battles him when other heroes fall foul of his schemes, though memorably he once allied with ComicBook/DoctorDoom to save the villain's mother from the demon's clutches. See [[ComicBook/{{Mephisto}} his page]] for more info.
-----

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Mister Misery]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mister_misery.png]]

A villain who made his debut in the 2015 Dr Strange comics. He is the living embodiment of all the bad karma Dr Strange took from using magic over the years.
----
* SadisticChoice: He possessed Wong and tried to make Strange kill him.
* {{Yandere}}: It wants its creator to love it, at any cost.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Nebulos]]
[[quoteright:236:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/91071_70716_living_tribunal.jpg]]

Nebulos is an extra-dimensional entity and the Lord of the Planets Perilous. He is exceptionally dangerous due to his Staff of Polar Power, which can siphon a seemingly unlimited amount of evil magical energy.

Despite only appearing for a single story arc in the TheSixties, he remains one of the most powerful foes Doctor Strange has ever faced, requiring the intervening of the Living Tribunal to destroy him for good.
----

* TheBusCameBack: Returns in ''ComicBook/TheBestDefense'' as the villain behind everything.
* EldritchAbomination: His more human like face and limbs only add to his [[UncannyValley uncanniness.]]
* GodzillaThreshold: Alongside Zom, Nebulos is one of the few entities whom the Living Tribunal has personally fought. Strange can only stand back and watch as he shields himself from the energy their battle exerts.
* MostDefinitelyNotAVillain: Lord of the planet ''Perilous'', is empowered by evil energy, and looks like something that would give [[Creator/HPLovecraft Lovecraft]] nightmares. [[SarcasmMode Must be a good guy.]] To elaborate, Nebulos contacts Strange and gives him the Staff of Polar Power in order to absorb the evil energy from Baron Mordo. Not until it's too late does Strange find it suspicious that this mysterious entity would give him such a powerful item or wonder why it might want evil energy to begin with.
* OurGodsAreDifferent: Very different than any god presented in Marvel and just as twisted.
* SuperWeight: Level 5, bordering on level 6. The Living Tribunal had to step in and eliminate him personally.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Nicodemus West]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nicodemus_west_earth_616_002.jpg]]

West was the doctor who operated on Doctor Strange's hands after his car accident. He wound up following in Strange's footsteps and was taught by the Ancient One in the mystic arts, but sought to use his teachings for medical purposes rather than magical.
----

* AffablyEvil: Apologizes for failing to fix his hands upon meeting Stephen, despite said event happening decades prior, and Stephen having long moved past it.
* AntiVillain: Uses his skills and connections to help people around the world. His only real act of villainy was [[TooDumbToLive trying to kill Wong]].
* BadassInANiceSuit
* GoodPowersBadPeople: He doesn't start out bad, learning magic with the intention of curing people.
* HealingHands: [[IncrediblyLamePun Puns aside]], he is able to cure a sick girl in Tibet just by laying his hands on her.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Steals the elixir of life from Stephen, almost killing Wong and Stephen in the process, with plans on destroying it so as to, as he claims, prevent humanity from abusing its power. Stephen calls him out on this, claiming he's really doing it so as to please the [[MegaCorp pharmaceutical companies]]. He admits it's a little of both.
* MegaCorp: Heads a very successful pharmaceutical company.
* MismatchedEyes: One is blue, the other brown.
* MyGreatestFailure: Considered his botching of Stephen's hand surgery this. After reflection, however, he deduces that had he not botched it, [[SuperHeroOrigin Strange would have never have become the Sorcerer Supreme]], and he'd have [[StartOfDarkness never learned the mystic arts as well.]] He still takes the time to apologize to Stephen when they first meet though.
** Later considers it to be the death of Reginald Pavlish, whose death at his hands causes him to swear off magic. Until Stephen gets in his way, that is.
* SmallNameBigEgo: He genuinely thinks that he's a match for Strange - who, once it no longer suits him to pretend to be trapped, promptly thrashes him, referring to him as a "rank, arrogant, amateur." He then reckons, with a little more justification, that he can beat an injured Strange in hand to hand combat, with magic turned off. Strange being a KungFuWizard, just kicks the hell out of him with his bare hands.
* WhiteMage: A rare villainous example.
* WhiteMagic: Never uses any overtly evil magic, and was trained in the mystic arts by The Ancient One.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Nightmare]]
[[quoteright:296:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/470b34d249c6e928f21a68e604862c11.jpg]]

One of Strange's oldest demonic foes, Nightmare is an evil entity that preys on human beings in their sleep and seeks to trap them in the Dream Dimension where he can plague them with nightmares for all eternity, feasting on their psychic energy by causing his victims fear. Though he is unable to affect the waking world, the terrors and illusions he utilises can traumatise and haunt a person long after sleep. He is also a member of the Fear Lords.
----
* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: As long as people can dream, Nightmare will live. It is possible to kill him by stopping people dreaming, but humanity would quickly go mad as a result. Causing him mortal injury has had devastating effects, such as causing psychics worldwide to go berserk. This is implied to be the reasons why more benign entities of the mental plane, such as the ComicBook/{{Sleepwalker}}s, tolerate his rule over the Dream Dimension.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Nightmare doesn't seem to have quite as much power as beings like the Hell-Lords, as he's been physically beaten up by mortal beings like the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk and supernatural beings that you'd think would be less powerful, like ComicBook/{{Sleepwalker}}.
* DimensionLord: The Dream Dimension, though despite its name there are actually several of them and in fact several other dream demons, though he is possibly the most powerful. The other dream dimensions are not always bad places.
* DreamLand: His domain, the Dimension of Dreams.
* DreamWeaver: Traps his victims in nightmares which they never awaken from.
* EldritchAbomination: He appears fairly human, but it's likely that his shape is mutable.
* GodOfEvil: Really more of a God of Fear, but it amounts to nearly the same thing.
* HellishHorse: His steed, Dreamstalker.
* HorrifyingTheHorror: In the 2018 series, issue #10, a side story shows us what Nightmare has nightmares about. ''Stephen Strange''.
** In ComicBook/AvengersNoRoadHome, the ComicBook/ImmortalHulk is able to make him beg for mercy. Admittedly, he was weakened at the time.
* HumanoidAbomination: He seems to prefer a human form much of the time that he is seen.
* LogicalWeakness: In the 2015 ''Doctor Strange'' series he's defeated by [[spoiler:Strange inventing a new spell.. one that makes Stephen experience the nightmares of EVERY PERSON ON EARTH and gives the rest of Earth a good night's sleep. Naturally a world without nightmares, however temporary, leaves Nightmare utterly powerless]].
* ManipulativeBastard: His illusions allow him to manipulate people into his traps.
* MasterOfIllusion: One of his most effective power sets.
* MindRape: And, of course, you're most vulnerable when you sleep.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Even non-magical heroes in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse know to be wary of him.
* NecessarilyEvil: Nightmare's an asshole, but his existence is integral to the cosmic balance, and whenever he's killed or otherwise disposed of it has devastating effects on reality, with dreamers gradually descending into madness and psychics entering berserk rages. He occasionally resents his lot in life, and has done things like temporarily abandon his realm to be human, and attempt to get Strange to kill him and find someone else to tend to the Dream Dimension.
--> '''Nightmare:''' No, no... you have to let me die... please... I... can't take it... anymore... do you know... what it's like... to maintain the dreams of others... and not be allowed... to have dreams... of your own? I... want to die.
* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Almost literally.
* NonActionGuy: He doesn't seem to have the raw power demonstrated by some of Strange's other enemies, which is why he resorts to trickery and manipulation instead.
* PsychicPowers: In a limited sense, at least to the extent of imposing hallucinations or illusions. In his own realm, however, he's closer to Reality Warper.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: He's a SerialRapist on top of everything else.
* RealityWarper: It takes somebody on Dr. Strange's level to compete with him in his own realm. His influence over reality in the waking world isn't as strong.
* SealedEvilInACan: The usual solution to defeating him, though it is always just a matter of time till he gets out.
* SerialRapist: He has a daughter called the Dreamqueen; he got her by raping a succubus, [[UpToEleven which is messed up in all sorts of ways]]. Worse, he once told the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk that he spawned his other daughter Daydream by raping ''Banner's wife''; this earned him a [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown mild case of death]], though of course he got better. He also spawned his son, Trauma by raping the mother.
* StealthHiBye: Is capable of these. As he explains in ''Avengers: No Road Home'', he's the living personification of nightmares, so it's natural he's got the power to be right behind you. Always right behind you...
* SuperWeight: Level 6 inside his own realm. Level 5 outside of it.
* TakeOverTheWorld: He is psychically linked to humanity, so his ambitions are often limited to just this unlike other demons on this page. Of course, this would mean that humans would be [[PsychologicalTormentZone suffering horrible nightmares]] for all eternity, so it's still far from a pleasant goal.
* TheTrickster: As noted above, he uses this to make up for his lack of raw power.
* WildCard: Of the Fear Lords, he fill this position.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Nox]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nox.jpg]]

Nox is the Olympian goddess of the night and is a founding member of the Fear Lords.
----
* BadPowersBadPeople: Has power over darkness and lives off the fear of others; of course she's a villain.
* TheBaroness: When working on her own, definitely comes off as this.
* CastingAShadow: Has power over darkness.
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: In TheEighties looked suspiciously like Music/DavidBowie circa [[Music/TheRiseAndFallOfZiggyStardustAndTheSpidersFromMars Ziggy Stardust]], whereas in TheNineties she looked like Creator/{{Elvira|MistressOfTheDark}}.
* DependingOnTheArtist: She has never retained the same look for very long between appearances. Simply compare her initial [[EightiesHair look]] to her [[ElegantGothicLolita modern look]]. Sometime her skin is white, sometimes it's purple.
* OnlySaneMan: Compared to the other Fear Lords, she is the only one who isn't either AxCrazy, TheBrute, or TheUnintelligible.
* TheSacredDarkness: Where her powers really derive from. Her powers are only increased by peoples fear, as opposed to the other Fear Lords who require fear for their powers to work.
* UnlimitedWardrobe: Her wardrobe never ends.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Orini]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/orini_clea.jpg]]

Orini was one of Dormammu's closest disciples. Many years ago when Orini was a young man he met and was seduced by Umar. Six cycles later she gave birth to their daughter Clea, and since she refused to acknowledge her she gave Orini the child to be raised, and Orini in turn never told Clea who her mother was. Orini rose in rank and was regarded as Dormammu's best disciple so Clea was treated as a princess. Orini was the one to alert Dormammu when Dr.Strange entered the Dark Dimension the first time. After Clea met Dr.Strange and left with him, Orini's status was diminished. Nevertheless, Orini served Dormammu faithfully even to the point of almost killing his daughter.
----
* BaldOfEvil: He's completely bald and disciple to one of the most evil foes of Dr. Strange.
* BeardOfEvil: Has grown a white beard.
* CoolMask: Wears a triangle-shaped mask.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Salomé]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/84126_189156_salome.jpg]]

Salome was once a member of the Blood who joined Zarathos' cause to become the Fallen; however she later rebelled and went after her own pursuits. At one point she was also known as the Sorceress Supreme of this dimension and the first from Earth, [[UnreliableNarrator by her own account]]. When the Fallen came back to aid Zarathos, she went out on her own to defeat the current Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Strange, and reclaim her title.
----
* AbsoluteCleavage: Her dress is quite open.
* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Her skin appears to be navy blue and grayish blue.
* HotWitch: A Sorceress that's not unattractive, even with the blue skin.
* LadyOfBlackMagic: Sorceress Supreme, able to cast powerful green flames via a mystic dance.
* MulticoloredHair: Her hair is black and white.
* StatuesqueStunner: She's officially 6"/183cm tall, and not bad looking at all.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Satannish]]
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/230cc2ddb48ccfc279acbb36742e4353.jpg]]

A Hell Lord who is said to be the creation of Dormammu and thus ultimately acts to further his goals. He is a rival of Mephisto and one of the few who can come close to matching him in power.
----
* DealWithTheDevil: Compared to Mephisto, he is somewhat more honourable in these matters, though its still a bad idea to barter with him.
* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: Is a demon lord of Hell.
* DimensionLord: Rules over his own part of Hell, which in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse is separated into many different realms and dimensions.
* EvilVersusEvil: During the Hell on Earth war in ''X-Factor''. He didn't last long before Mephisto beat him up.
* TheLegionsOfHell: His army.
* MadeOfEvil: Made up of the evil energy of Dormammu.
* TheManBehindTheMan: As a Hell Lord subordinate to Dormammu, he has been on both sides of this arrangement.
* ManipulativeBastard: As a devil he is naturally manipulative and chaotic.
* MultipleHeadCase: Has a second head in his chest.
* RealityWarper: Can warp reality but mostly in his own realm.
* ReligionOfEvil: The Sons of Sataanish, his mortal representatives.
* {{Satan}}: Likes to pretend he's this, though he's little more than middle management for Dormammu at the end of the day.
* SuperWeight: Level 6 in his own realm. Level 5 outside of it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Set]]
[[quoteright:253:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/308521e78fc9e79a57efa9d7eb5892d4.jpg]]

Set is the Elder God who first devoured its brethren for power and degenerated into a demon, and is thus the first murderer in the history of Earth. It is an enormously powerful ancient evil that seeks to kill humanity and mammals and make reptilian life the dominant on Earth again, as it gains power from their violent death. The multi-headed snake god is the power behind many ancient sorcerers since mankind's early days and holds a special enmity for its sister Gaea, who is responsible for many of its greatest defeats.
----
* AnimalisticAbomination: A gigantic, horrifically powerful Hydra-like entity that [[DimensionLord resides over it's own dimension]], and that's not touching on the fact that he's an Elder God.
* ArchEnemy: Gaea, who sired Atum to kill Set and the other Elder Gods, and unleashed it against Set again when he returned, and sent the dinosaurs to wipe out all mammalian life as she had decided dinosaurs were [[HollywoodEvolution an evolutionary dead end]]. Their battle accidentally caused the dinosaurs to go extinct (the meteor that killed them was probably summoned by one or the other) and is the reason it has so many heads.
* ArtifactOfDoom: The Serpent Crown, which grants magical powers to whoever wears it and of which there are several throughout the multiverse, each mystically connected to the same Set who is a unique entity (DependingOnTheWriter). The Crowns enable him to influence events on a multiversal scale.
* BodyHorror: Its true form in its own dimension is identical to its normal one...except that it has been ''turned inside out'' for some horrible reason.
* BloodKnight: Enjoys a good fight, but of course hates it when he loses.
* CanonImmigrant: He was originally the GreaterScopeVillain of the ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' pulp novels. When Conan joined the Marvel Universe, so did he.
* DimensionLord: He is stuck in a pocket dimension adjacent to Earth thanks to magical barriers set up to keep him there. He has slightly more freedom than his brother Chthon however as he has managed to escape before and is still capable of influencing not just Earth, but alternate versions of Earth throughout the multiverse (though ''only'' Earth, due to the limitations of his prison.)
* EvilIsPetty: His ambition coincides with him doing this to spite his sister.
* AGodAmI: What he sees himself and expresses at large.
* GodEating: The very first Elder God to eat its brethren in a bid for more power.
* GodOfGods: His ambition is to be the greatest.
* HorrorHunger: More than any other Elder God, Set is characterized by his insatiable appetite and is possibly unable to stop, not that it particularly ''wants'' to mind. It is said that while Gaea nourishes, Set consumes.
** In one continuity, he actually ''ate the Phoenix Force''.
* HumanSacrifice: Demands it, partly because it grants him power, partly just to be a dick.
* HydraProblem: Atum cut off its original head, but two more took its place. So Atum kept cutting until he has seven.
* IHaveManyNames: Father Set, the Great Serpent, the Great Devourer Set the Great Destroyer.
** Each of its heads have their own name too and are the basis of various mythological and religious serpents-Set, Apep, Ophion, Tiamat, Lotan, Leviathan and Apocalypse, respectively, are their names.
* MotherOfAThousandYoung: The Sons of Set are it's children.
* KillAllHumans: A side effect of it's ultimate goal.
* LegacyCharacter: There is another Set in the Marvel cosmology, the GodOfEvil of the Egyptian pantheon who often clashes with Odin and ComicBook/TheMightyThor- apparently he took Set's name just because he thought Set the Elder God was just that badass. Apocalypse of the ComicBook/XMen was also once mistaken for Set, and milked it for all it was worth.
* TheManBehindTheMan: To several demons and human sorcerers, most notably Thoth-Amon, the ArchEnemy of Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian.
* ManipulativeBastard: An entire arc was weaved for him to gain power.
* MultipleHeadCase: His natural form.
* RealityWarper: Warps reality into gaining power.
* ReligionOfEvil: Has had a few in his time.
* SevenDeadlySins: Each of its heads represents one of them.
* SmugSnake: Both figuratively and literally.
* SuperWeight: Low level 6. Although it didn't demonstrate it during Atlantis Attacks, so maybe just level 5.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Shuma-Gorath]]
[[quoteright:251:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/251px-Shuma-Gorath_MvsC3-FTW_5798.PNG]]

--> ''"I fed on the screaming souls of universes. I drank the spoiled milk of dead stars. I am the emptiness outside all understanding. I am Shuma-Gorath."''

One of the most dangerous demons Stephen Strange has ever faced, Shuma-Gorath is one of the most ancient and terrible entities to ever exist. [[CompleteImmortality Apparently unkillable]], borderline [[TheOmniscient omniscient]], and [[MultiversalConqueror the ruler of nearly a hundred alternate realms]], it is responsible for the death of the Ancient One and has attempted to invade the Earth several times, and in the distant past even ruled it on two separate occasions. It has only grown stronger since then and its return could bring about the end of the universe.

It has [[ComicBook/TheThanosImperative recently been established]] that it is one of the Many-Angled Ones, immortal Lovecraftian entities that alter reality to bring about an end to death and allowing life to grow out of control and ferment as a cancer, and turning all living beings into creatures as alien and abominable as they are. It also established Shuma-Gorath and his brethern as one of the oldest sentient life forms in the multiverse, and is thus a truly ancient and terrifying evil.
----
* AscendedExtra: While immensely powerful and being responsible for the death of The Ancient One, he is one of Doctor Strange's minor villains [[StoryBreakerPower due to how powerful he is]]. Despite this, however, he was chosen for the ''Videogame/MarvelVsCapcom'' videogames series, as the Capcom representatives find him more interesting to develop than "a man with a cape" such as Strange's. [[ColbertBump This has helped Shuma-Gorath gain more attention, even if he is still a minor antagonist.]]
* BigBad: Whenever Dorammamu doesn't take over.
* CanonImmigrant: Same as Set, he comes from Robert E. Howard's ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'' pulp novels, though Shuma is much less of a character; he was mentioned all of once and there was no indication he was even a real being until Marvel got ahold of him.
* CardCarryingVillain:
-->'''Shuma-Gorath''': ''So thou knowest the essence of Shuma-Gorath, eh, Doctor Strange? Aye — evil! Ancient, timeless... patient... evil! And Shuma-Gorath doth know thee.''
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: The elder god Cthun used to be considered the worst of Strange's enemies and the addition of this Shuma Gorath to the Marvel universe proper did not change that. It did not take many appearances though for Shuma Gorath to rapidly increase in threat level, despite how rarely the octopus ever appears. This can be attributed to Robert E. Howard treating such creatures as a different kind of challenge for Conan and Kull to overcome [[SmallReferencePools but since Shuma looks like something from a HP Lovecraft horror story]] it was increasing portrayed that way as time went on.
* CharmPerson: All living beings within its realms are fanatically devoted to worshipping it, though this doesn't seem to apply to artificial beings like robots and the like. In ancient Earth "its name was whispered in reverence by every living thing". Even in the present, many powerful and often evil entities are prepared to serve it.
* TheChessmaster: His schemes are complex and usually evoke fighting a shadow.
* DemonicPossession: Of a sort. If you have enough power, you can kill it in its own realm, but the amount of power you'll need to absorb (and, implied, the sheer atmosphere of its home dimension) will slowly corrupt you until you become Shuma-Gorath yourself.
-->''Shuma-Gorath'': Once you have smashed this shell, you will stand in the midst of the cosmos and exult -- and you will reach out with your new-found power and do your will -- for good, you think -- But after an age your will becomes the only good -- and one day when the magic invokes the name of Shuma-Gorath -- you will answer!
* DependingOnTheWriter: On his good days it is capable of destroying Death itself, outmatching Galactus and the Celestials combined, and automatically destroy galaxies through aura-pressure alone. On an off day, it can be beaten by....the Mighty Avengers....yeah. {{Justified}} since it is established that Shuma frequently utilises FightingAShadow so the Avengers probably didn't beat the real deal. Also The Mighty Avengers book in question noted that despite the immeasurable level of power the creature was radiating, it was still just barely the equivalent of Shuma clawing into our dimension with just the tiniest fraction of his metaphorical fingernail poking through.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Subverted during ''Comicbook/{{Infinity}}''. The Tiger God that powers the young superheroine ComicBook/WhiteTiger seemingly manages to defeat Shuma, but it is swiftly pointed out by Blade that the "Shuma" they were fighting was only [[FightingAShadow an advance scout]].
* DimensionLord: Of several hundred dimensions, in fact.
* TheDreaded: This thing [[EldritchAbomination is incredibly powerful]], [[TheChessmaster incredibly intelligent]], and as such, when he makes an appearance, people start [[OhCrap freaking out.]] Let's put it this way: Dormammu was ''terrified'' at the prospect of having to deal with him. ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Dormammu]]''.
* EldritchAbomination: More so than any other on this page. Its normal form is a multi-armed tentacled monster with one giant eye, but it can take any shape and its other forms, and possibly its ''true'' form, are even more alien than that. It has been said that Shuma takes the form which most terrifies the dimension he is trying to conquer. One panel even has "[[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Shuma Gorath Fhtagn]]" written in jagged red letters.
* EnemiesWithDeath: And Death is usually on the ''losing end''.
* FightingAShadow: Its usual m/o; odds are good that if you run into what appears to be Shuma, you're probably just fighting a projection that may or may not be the vanguard of an actual incursion. It's also likely that it can't actually enter most universes on its own without potentially destroying them, which would explain why it tends to act from afar until the universe is so thoroughly ruined that it can enter without having to worry.
* AGodAmI: Worshipped as such in all of its hundreds of realms and across thousands more. Within its own realms it is all-powerful in every sense of the word, save for its lesser realms, though even in them its power is said to be so huge it makes Mephisto and Satannish look like "mice in a great temple".
* GodOfEvil: To the point it does not even want worship, just misery, going by all three times it has been on Earth. During Conan's time Shuma Gorath even obliterated worshipers trying to gain its favor, only wanting to see some kind of bloodshed. Shuma Gorath did offer Conan gifts though in an attempt to stop him from summoning Crom against it-too little too late.
* GodOfGods: More like God of gods of ''gods''. Shuma-Gorath claims that even Dormammu pales in comparison to his power and there is very little to contradict that, and the one time that Dormammu was faced with the prospect of tangling with him, he was ''flat fucking terrified''; next to Zom and the Living Tribunal it is probably the most powerful being on this page, and Zom has a bad habit of dying or being a SealedEvilInACan. As ruler of a hundred alternate timelines, it has implicitly killed the likes of Eternity, Death and the other cosmic abstracts many times over[[note]]In ''ComicBook/TheThanosImperative'', Death is able to kill him and the Many-Angled Ones (though only temporarily, as they would inevitably reform, and it is later shown that he survived or even simply escaped), but that is due to the rules of the Cancerverse and the magical-mechanics of how they ruled it; the Cancerverse only existed because the Death of ''that'' universe had already been killed, and halfway through the story the Many-Angled Ones start pushing through the weaponised corpse of ''ComicBook/{{Galactus}}''- The Galactus Engine-, showing that they or their minions had killed him too, and used it to destroy another abstract cosmic entity and fight several others simultaneously (a fight the Engine was winning- the abstract entities had even started to retreat). It is all but stated that they are even stronger and that they were the creatures pushing the Galactus Engine through that were said to be yet more powerful still.[[/note]], and it might very well be one the top ten most powerful beings in the entire Marvel cosmology.
* GreaterScopeVillain:
** Being the leader or at least one of its higher-ups (if there is a hierarchy at all) among the Many-Angled Ones makes him indirectly responsible for the [[Comicbook/TheThanosImperative Cancerverse]].
** The Imperator got his hatred of all magic due to Shuma-Gorath consuming his dimension. This lead to the near-extinction of magic across countless dimensions and the deaths of practically every Sorcerer Supreme except for Doctor Strange.
* HeroKiller: Strange was forced to kill the Ancient One to stop it, then later forced to kill ''himself'' to prevent it from consuming him and get rid of its power. It returned far quicker than he imagined.
* HumanSacrifice: Commanded this back in the day.
* IHaveManyNames: Shuma-Gorath, The Lord of Chaos, The Unclosing Eye, The Withering Devourer, He Who Sleeps But Shall Awake, The Great Old One.
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Literally; thanks to a situation Strange put himself in. It is not as if he had any amount of foresight that would allow him to make better choices to his credit.
* {{Immortality}}: Shuma-Gorath cannot truly die and any creature that somehow manages to kill it will end up ''becoming'' it, unless they have a similar level of immortality. If you kill yourself, its energies will just reform and it will return again. And don't put it off too long; those energies are so powerful than with them inside you can destroy ''galaxies'' just by ''being in them!''
* LargeAndInCharge: His normal form is so big that Strange mistook him for a ''mountain'', though thanks to VoluntaryShapeshifting he really has no size limit.
* TheManBehindTheMan: It has been served by Nightmare and various human sorcerers, one of whom sold out the world in exchange for "my life and [[ShinyNewAustralia Barbados]]. All manner of otherwise egomaniacal gods and demons are more than willing to do its bidding if it calls on them.
* MultiversalConqueror: And very, very good at it.
* NighInvulnerability: Oh, sure, you can hurt him, potentially even injure him severely, but you cannot ever hope to keep him down for long. No matter what you hit him with, he WILL get back up as if nothing happened.
* TheOmniscient: Not quite, but close enough.
* PhysicalGod: Within his realm, he's basically omnipotent. Outside of his realm, the amount of people who can reliably survive an encounter with him is in the very low double digits.
* RealityWarper: Can travel between dimensions and bend them to its will.
* SuperWeight: Higher end Level 6. It is a multiversal threat that even the absolute biggest heavyweights in the entire Marvel Universe dread having to tangle with, and there is no such thing as a trivial encounter with it.
* SympatheticMagic: He once made a voodoo doll of ''Earth''. Disaster ensued. What's worse is that it didn't even require any ''effort''; it conjured it out of nowhere purely to mess with Strange. (This backfired when Strange used it to kill him).
* TentacledTerror: Shuma-Gorath can best be described as a creepy pile of green tentacles with a giant eye in the middle. He is overall very unpleasant to deal with to say the least, not to mention extremely dangerous.
* TimeAbyss: Shuma-Gorath is not only one of the ''oldest'' creatures in the multiverse; it is one of the ''first''. It probably started out as some kind of magical, invincible bacteria from a completely alien reality, and slowly grew in size and power over the course of trillions of years at least, until the present where it is currently one of the most powerful forces of evil in all of existence. The other Multi-Angled ones are the same.
* VampiricDraining: The time traveler Sise-neg found Shuma Gorath feeding on the fear of early primates and noted it was passively draining energy from him even as he subdued it. So he banished it before it could possibly do something unexpected. Shuma was also able to drain the Human Torch and Invisible Woman somehow, suggesting it can derive energy from multiple sources.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: The Many-Angled ones eliminate death as part of their standard stratagem when they take over a universe; the end result is a universe of nightmarish horrors as life grows out of control.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Silver Dagger]]
[[quoteright:308:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/silver_dagger.JPG]]

A former Catholic Cardinal who has devoted himself towards eradicating magic, which he considers Satanic.
----
* BadassPreacher: A Cardinal trained to fight werewolves, demons, and sorcerers.
* ChurchMilitant: Leads The Sword of the Lord, a group of fanatics with similar beliefs.
* HunterOfHisOwnKind: Uses magic to destroy other magic-users and even wielded the Eye of Agamotto for a time.
* KnightTemplar: A Cardinal who considers magic Satanic and vows to eliminate it. Of course, he may have a point [[EvilSorcerer in some]] [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils fo]][[EldritchAbomination rms.]]
* SilverBullet: Often uses these as well as silver daggers.
* TheWitchHunter: Making him an enemy of Dr. Strange.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Stygyro]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stygyro_earth_616_from_official_handbook_of_the_marvel_universe_mystic_arcana_the_book_of_marvel_magic_vol_1_1_001.jpg]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Shadowqueen]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shialmar_earth_616_from_doctor_strange_vol_2_43.jpg]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Slorioth]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/slorioth_earth_616_from_defenders_strange_heroes_vol_1_1_001.jpg]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Shazana]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shazana_earth_616_from_official_handbook_of_the_marvel_universe_mystic_arcana_the_book_of_marvel_magic_vol_1_1_0001.jpg]]
A powerful enchantress and enemy of Dr. Strange.
----
* CainAndAbel: The Cain to her sister's Abel.
* SecondaryColorNemesis: Her outfit is mostly green and purple.
* TheUsurper: She usurped her benevolent half-sister Nazara as ruler of the Drakos dimension until she was defeated by Dr. Strange.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tul'uth]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tuluth_earth_616_from_strange_vol_2_1_0001.jpg]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Umar]]
[[quoteright:269:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/363423f34351225cd81cfbc63208cf21.png]]

Mother of Clea and twin sister of Dormammu, Umar is a Faltine trapped in humanoid form after giving birth to her daughter, a fact that left her enraged because it meant she would always be weaker than her brother. She varies between allying with the Dread One and scheming to take over his realm, and has occassionally succeeded though he usually ends up taking it back. Though not quite as evil or strong, Umar has displayed greater patience and guile and thus has proven to be just as big a threat to Strange and the universe as her dreaded sibling.
----
* BigDamnVillains: In one "Incredible Hulks" arc she abducted the Hulk to the Dark Dimension, which coincidentally kept the Earth from feeling more of his rage.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: She's the sister to Dormammu the ruler the Dark Dimension. The two of them hate each other and are constantly vying for power, and thankfully they are never able to work together for very long because that's the only thing that stops their plans to take over our universe when they do.
* BlackComedyRape:
** The ComicBook/IncredibleHulk couldn't last five minutes with her, but seemingly it was the best sex he had had in a ''long'' time, because no much how much she tortured Bruce Banner he remained too calm to transform back into the Hulk. Umar was ''furious''.
** In a later storyline she abducted Hulk again when he was in [[UnstoppableRage full Worldbreaker mode]]. This time they were both satisfied.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Umar and Dormammu are Faltinians, from a dimension where matter does not naturally exist, and exotic energies are the equivalent of money and status symbols. They were shunned for "lusting after matter," and killed their sire by turning him/her/it into cold, dead matter - the worst crime of which their people could even conceive. Umar's forays into sex, sexual reproduction, seduction and hedonism place her further along this scale than Dormammu, who found the words "mother," "father," and "grandfather" almost unspeakably obscene (he was pretending to be another Faltinian at the time, but he notably avoids mentioning Umar's daughter as such even as himself).
* CoolCrown: When she rules the Dark Dimension her head goes on fire like her brother's.
* DeadpanSnarker: She likes to snark.
* DeliverUsFromEvil: Sadly averted. Giving birth to Clea caused her to be trapped in her humanoid form, and as a result she flew into a blind rage.
* DimensionLord: Even when she isn't ruler of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu usually just sticks her in a pocket universe where she still holds absolute power, thus meeting the criteria for this trope.
* EldritchAbomination: Trapped in human form.
* EvilMatriarch: Of the Dark Dimension.
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: When she rules the Dark Dimension.
* HumanoidAbomination: She seems human, but isn't.
* LadyOfBlackMagic: A PureMagicBeing in a beautiful human form with powerful magic of the Dark Dimension.
* OnlyOneName: She is Umar, without surnames.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: Let's just say she has a really ''nice'' human form to be stuck in.
* RedOniBlueOni: Blue to Dormammu's Red, insofar as she tends to be more deceitful and cerebral in her evil ways. This is partly because just she is stuck in a humanoid form though and is thus weaker than she should be, and she can still be ''really'' hot-tempered if pushed enough.
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: Started off as a Doctor Strange villain, and still serves as his enemy, but started appearing repeatedly in the Hulk's comic when she developed her VillainousCrush.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: She's a PureMagicBeing locked into a physical shape.
* SiblingRivalry: Doesn't really get along with her brother.
* SuperWeight: Level 6 (Cosmic, like her brother).
* VainSorceress: Non-human version.
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: A being [[EvenEvilHasStandards even Nightmare considers a bit on the... extreme side]] finds the Hulk attractive and his relationship with Red She-Hulk "cute".
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Urthona]]
[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/88883_114476_urthona.jpg]]

Urthona is a powerful sorcerer from the planet Gevaltu. His desire to become Sorcerer Supreme over the entire universe led him to try and take the life of Doctor Strange.
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* HumanoidAliens: Other than shape, he's not very similar to humans at all.
* WizardsFromOuterSpace: A rare sorcerer alien who is from a different planet, not AnotherDimension like many of the extraterrestrial threats.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Xander]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xander_creators_earth_616_from_doctor_strange_vol_2_19_0001.jpg]]

Xander the Merciless was a sorcerer in service to the Creators, a group of magicians who sought to replace the stars with their own mystic energies.
----
* AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome: The Star-Stone was his main source of power. Losing it to strange hit him ''hard''.
* TheBusCameBack: After being absent for decades in real time (his last appearance in a Marvel book was in Roy Thomas's Dr Strange run in ''1977''), Xander makes his return in the Jed [=MacKay=] ''ComicBook/BlackCat'' solo series in 2019.
* GlassCannon: How Xander lost his original battle with Dr. Strange. Xander's relendless attack strategies got Strange playing defense for most of their fight. When Xander tried concentrating on a stronger spell, Strange decided to avoid using magic and to simply punch Xander in the face. Xander was knocked out with a single punch.
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: He was reduced to using what little magic he had left for petty crimes after Strange defeated him.
* RealityEnsues: When he gets his full powers back, Xander isn't quite as adept with them as he originally was. He has not had access to them in a long time.
* WizardsFromOuterSpace: On one occasion Xander is referred to as an "alien". While his masters, the Creators, are human sorcerers from Earth, they do have access to a number of dimensions which suggests Xander may not be from Earth.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: X'axal]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xaxal_earth_616_from_doctor_strange_vol_5_1_001.jpg]]
* HumanoidAbomination: It's an Elder God, so he's vaguely humanoid and certainly an abomination.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Zom]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/strange_tales_1.jpg]]

Created "long ago" by entities unknown, Zom is an ancient and terrible demon whose sole mission is to destroy everything, and whose rampage was only stopped by an alliance of powerful magic users whose ranks included even Dormammu and Umar. The alliance sealed him away but Strange released him on the advice of the Ancient One to help him win his battle with Umar; Zom proved to be an even greater threat and even Eternity was no match for him, but eventually he was defeated and a small piece of him was kept by Strange as a keepsake, though that too has recently been destroyed after Strange foolishly relied on its power, an act that caused him to resign as Sorcerer Supreme.
----
* AlwaysABiggerFish: The theme behind its original story arc; Zom was brought in to defeat Umar but went out of control and managed to defeat Eternity, but it was made clear it was no match for the Living Tribunal.
* AttackAnimal/ LivingWeapon/ LostSuperweapon: Zom isn't a natural creature, but rather was created as a sort of DoomsdayDevice.
* TheBerserker: Zom, but especially those who draw on its power as its sheer fury overwhelms them. Clea was able to successfully invoke it to undo one of Dormammu's spells though.
* BigEater: The zomling that formed when a little of Zom's essence escaped from the jar.
* TheCorrupter: To Strange at least.
* DealWithTheDevil: Strange chose to utilise his power during ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'' and subsequent story arcs as a last-minute desperation move. This was a ''bad, bad idea''....
* DemonicPossession: ....because it tended to result in this. Eventually, Strange even exiled himself from Earth and temporarily resigned as Sorceror Supreme because he was unable to control himself.
* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: But unlike other virtually omnipotent demonic entities Zom isn't very clever, and although apparently more powerful as such than any of them, he cannot use it for a lot of versatile purposes.
* TheDreaded: Scares the hell out of [[CosmicEntity Umar]], and even [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Dormammu]] does not hide his fear of him.
* EldritchAbomination: Not exactly tentacle-y or reality-violating, but he is a universe-wrecking threat who is impossible to reason with.
* EnemyToAllLivingThings: He is this to everyone, nothing he faces is his friend.
* EnemyMine: Dormammu, Umar, Eternity along possibly several other powerful magic users and cosmic beings once regarded Zom as such a threat they worked together to contain it.
* EnemyWithin: He became this for Strange when Strange resorted to using his power during and after ''World War Hulk''.
* EvilIsNotAToy: Something Strange needs to remember.
* GeniusBruiser: It has mastery of several spells that even Strange has trouble dealing with, so it is an accomplished EvilSorceror. However, he is such a [[TheBrute Brute]] personality-wise that he can come across as DumbMuscle.
* GodzillaThreshold: Strange only pulls him out of the bag when he feels the situation has crossed this. The first time was against Umar. The second was against Hulk.
* TheJuggernaut: The trope namer isn't anything that he has to worry about, but this is, at the end of the day, what he is: a rampaging bestial horror of universe (and quite likely multiverse)-ending power. Unless you're at the absolute top tier of the Marvel Universe, there is nothing that you can do to him.
* LiterallyShatteredLives: How Strange originally managed to defeat it; turned out to be a case of FromBadToWorse as now its evil was spreading everywhere and the Living Tribunal threatened to destroy the ''universe'' to stop it if Strange didn't clean up his mess.
* MadeOfEvil: Extremely evil from creation.
* MagicHair: His hair is basically a magical shield that hides its presence from sorcerers.
* MundaneSolution: Dr. Strange defeats the zomling by sucking it up in a vacuum then emptying it back into Zom's jar.
* OmnicidalManiac: Its sole purpose for being is to destroy everything.
* PhysicalGod: When you require a goddamn ''multiversal judge'' to stop your rampage, you've more than earned this title.
* SealedEvilInACan: UpToEleven. It took the combined efforts of [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Eternity]], [[GodOfEvil Dormammu]], and assorted other mystical entities to seal him up. When fighting Hulk the second time, it stated that it was only Doctor Strange restraining its full power that allowed Hulk to win the first battle. And this was a Hulk angry enough to overcome the full multiversal-scale power of ComicBook/TheSentry.
* SuperWeight: Level 6. It is a step or two below the Living Tribunal, but Dormammu himself is [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness openly afraid of him]], and while he has never been shown encountering Shuma-Gorath or another Many-Angled One, Zom's track record puts him in the general ballpark of being a credible threat to them.
[[/folder]]

----

* LegacyCharacter: [[spoiler: The Vision was created in the 1960's as one to both him and [[ComicBook/HumannTorch the first Human Torch.]].]]

* HumanoidAliens: Other than shape, he's not similar to humans at all.

* LegacyCharacter: [[spoiler: The Vision was created in the 1960's as one to both him and [[ComicBook/HumannTorch1939 the first Human Torch.]].

Orini was one of Dormammu's closest disciples. Many years ago when Orini was a young man he met and was seduced by Umar. Six cycles later she gave birth to their daughter Clea, and since she refused to acknowledge her she gave Orini the child to be raised, and Orini in turn never told Clea who her mother was. Orini rose in rank and was regarded as Dormammu`s best disciple so Clea was treated as a princess. Orini was the one to alert Dormammu when Dr.Strange entered the Dark Dimension the first time. After Clea met Dr.Strange and left with him, Orini's status was diminished. Nevertheless, Orini served Dormammu faithfully even to the point of almost killing his daughter.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xander_creators_earth_616_from_doctor_strange_vol_2_19_0001.jpg]]

* {{Expy}}: She may be based on Hazel from Saga, who like her is a hybrid of magical and scientific beings.

* SorcerorsApprenticePlot: Rintrah once shape shifted into Strange, in order to get closer to the Enchantress. When he did, Enchantress gave him the original Eye of Agamotto and a purple cloak of levitation. Thinking he was magically inclined enough to successfully utilize the items, Rintrah attempted to do so, but instead of achieving what he had tried, Rintrah accidentally turned a pile of garbage into a man eating monster, that had to be slain by Dr. Strange.

[[folder: Bats]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bats_1.jpg]]
When Dr Strange was going through one of his BSOD phases, he worked as a veterinarian and befriended a basset hound named Bats, who suffered from a weak heart. While Bats eventually died, his spirit sticks around to help out Strange.

* CanineCompanion
* WriteWhatYouKnow: Bats was created by Donny Cates, who had suffered the loss of his own pet (a cat named Autumn) during working on comics.

[[folder: Kanna]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pkzkrfmknna_earth_616_from_doctor_strange_vol_5_2_001.jpg]]
When Dr Strange was forced to go into space to find alien sorcerers/relics, he met and befriended Pzkzrmfknna (shortened to Kanna), an alien explorer who could wield both magic and technology. She briefly guided him around the cosmos till he got back home.

* {{Expy}}: She may be based on Hazel from Saga, who like her is a hybrid of magical and scientific beings.
* MagicFromTechnology: Uses scientific instruments to generate magic.
* {{Magitek}}: Introduces Dr Strange to this.
* NotSoDifferent: She’s smart and aloof like Strange, which may be why they get along.

[[folder: Casey Kinmont]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1026919_casey2.jpg]]
A young girl whose baseball coach grandfather made a deal with a demon to provide great success to his team. Dr. Strange had to enlist her help to defeat the demon, and after that she discovered she had a talent for magic and so stuck around Strange as his sidekick/apprentice, for a brief time.

* BigGood: One of them. When it comes to mystical issues, expect other heroes to come knocking at his door.
* BreaktheHaughty: It’s part of his life. He lost his medical career from a paralyzing accident, and later on he ends up losing his magic repeatedly, forcing this on him.

* TheDeterminator: He will never give up on a set goal, no matter how much trouble he gets or how deep he falls.

* {{Fingore}}: Strange's hands were badly injured in the car crash, and though they outwardly appeared to heal, nerve damage meant he could never safely operate again.
** Some versions have his hands heal completely and what was really holding him back was his injured pride.

* InsufferableGenius: Oh yes! His knowing better than everyone else on medicine (before his acccident) and magic (after his accident), not to mention his holding back crucial information, made him arrogant and aloof and distanced people from him and has cost him a few friendships.

* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: At his most powerful, Strange is, by ridiculously far, ''the'' most powerful of all mainstream heroes in the MarvelUniverse, such that even the likes of ComicBook/TheMightyThor or the ComicBook/SilverSurfer would be no match whatsoever for him in a straight fight. He needs to be, since his enemies are often far more powerful than even that.

* ProgressivelyPrettier: He started as a somewhat gaunt older man with slanted eyes, progressed into a conventionally-handsome Western man, transformed into something that was almost {{Bishounen}}, and eventually settled as an ordinary-looking (but still more attractive than average) man in his mid-forties.
* PsychicPowers: He's actually on par with even the likes of Moondragon, who is an even more powerful telepath than [[Comicbook/XMen Professor X]], though the latter might be more [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer experienced and skilled]].

* WhoYouGonnaCall: He is the go-to guy for dealing with most supernatural threats in the Marvel universe and people often come directly to him to deal with their supernatural problems. And since he's the Sorcerer Supreme, it's pretty much in his job description.

* DarkSecret: As revealed in Jason Aaron's run, [[spoiler:he has an order of monks who, due to the cost of being Sorcerer Supreme being too much for one man to take, take the cost of Strange's spells for him. He tries to make a new one out of volunteers after the order is slaughtered, but Stephen puts a stop to it.]]

* MagicalNativeAmerican: {{Averted}}. Sara is descended from a Cheyenne shaman but has no mystical abilities of her own.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Willingly takes in Stephen's pain in order to allow him to defeat the Imperator.]]

Strange's centuries-old mentor and his predecessor as Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One has been protecting the Earth and wider MarvelUniverse for generations from the forces of evil. He brought out not just Strange's inner magical potential but also his inner hero, and entrusted him with the responsibility to battle his most powerful foes. Strange was eventually forced to kill him to prevent the demon Shuma-Gorath using him as a conduit to Earth, but rather than die he merged with Eternity and became one with the universe, leaving his student the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.

* AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: He has become one with Eternity.

* KilledOffForReal: Sort of. He suffered a physical death, but it was more of a transofrmation for his spirit to ascend to a higher state of existence.

* OddFriendship: With Strange.
** Even more oddly with Franchise/{{Blade}}. The two [[MakesSenseInContext apparently]] met in the 1970's along with other mystical heroes, and they've been in touch ever since.

* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: He spent most of ''ComicBook/{{Infinity}}'' trying to flee to a "less doomed" plane of existence.

A young girl whose baseball coach grandfather did a deal with a demon to provide great success to his team. Dr Strange had to enlist her help to defeat the demon, and after that she discovered she had a talent for magic and so stuck around Strange as his sidekick/apprentice, for a brief time.

* EvilIsNotaToy: Dr. Strange gave her a spell to teleport things to another dimension. She played around with it till the demonic owner of said dimension came looking for the person dumping trash into his realm.
* GlassesGirl: Wears glasses.
* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: Dr Strange empowered her eyeglasses so that she could see magical phenomena.

* MindControl: [[spoiler: In the 2019 comic, Baron Mordo did this to her to return to Earth and try to kill Strange. Strange is able to get her free.]]

* ThePowersThatBe: Govern the good magics of the Earth, and are generally the nicer of the Old Ones, and would rather protect the planet than destroy it.

* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: We've never actually seen her "true" form on paper. We only see what human (or godly) minds can understand.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: His appearances are few and hard to come by. Despite this, he keeps a small but strong [[IncrediblyLamePun cult following]].

* NobleDemon: When compared to the other demons in the MarvelUniverse.

* SpookyPainting: "The Scarecrow". Nobody knows where it came from, which is what makes it valuable. Despite its value, only people with more macabre tastes seem willing to actually look at it for more than a moment, as [[UncannyValley there is something off about its subject.]]
** The painting has been known to cause madness in people, though whether or to this is the fault of Straw Man or Kalumai and his cult is not made clear.

The AnthropomorphicPersonification of Eternity has existed since the dawn of time and represents one of the fundamental aspects of the universe. It is enemies with some of the most powerful and dangerous evils in the cosmos which seek either to kill it or take its power for themselves, which in either case will result in [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End Of Reality As We Know It.]] He has assisted Doctor Strange when he comes into battle with these enemies.

* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:After reviving at the end of ''Secret Wars'' (the 2015 one), he was attacked and imprisoned by the First Firmament, which began corrupting the multiverse, while all Eternity could do, besides occasionally chat with lesser cosmic beings, was scream.]]

* LegacyCharacter: What's only been hinted at is elaborated on post-Secret Wars; Eternity is the seventh (and eighth) instance of the multiverse that has existed.

* TheWorfEffect: It seems to be traditional that whenever a writer wants to introduce a new villain at the universal threat level, one of the first things they'll have him do is defeat/imprison/displace/frighten/infect Eternity.
** Take UpToEleven during ComicBook/TheUltimates2015 where it's revealed [[spoiler: he's been chained up by the First Firmament.]]

* MsFanservice: In her alternate form, she is a beautiful human woman with a brunette bob haircut and a {{Stripperific}} outfit that is very similar to that of ComicBook/LadyDeath. And she is often draping herself over Thanos or Thane or whichever asshole she is manipulating at the time.

* BigGood: The Biggest Good in the MultiVerse, second only to {{God}} himself.
* GodIsNeutral: He is the supreme being in the CosmicEntity heirarchy and only answers to [[{{God}} The One Above All]], but acts as a neutral figure only concerned with keeping cosmic balance. Even universal threats like [[ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet Thanos getting the Infinity Gauntlet]] isn't a concern, and the Tribunal only intervenes when the multiverse is in real danger.
* GodzillaThreshold: If he shows up, you know this has officially crossed the Multiversal level. He has very particular rules on when he will cross said threshold, however. For instance, during ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet crisis, the greater cosmic forces of the universe, such as Infinity, were refused help from the Tribunal. According to the Tribunal, as powerful as Thanos was, it was of no concern to him, as a) even with all that power, Thanos' influence would not extend to rest of the Multiverse, and b) Thanos gained the power of the Gems through his own strength, so, by the Tribunal's standards, no real crime was committed. This is after Thanos killed half the universe, too.
* GoodIsNotNice: The Tribunal is perfectly willing to snuff out sentient lifeforms by the trillions, if it would prevent the entire Multiverse from imploding.

* IntangibleMan: Turning into smoke gives you this.
* LegacyCharacter: [[spoiler: The Vision was created in the 1960's as one to both him and the first Human Torch.]]

* RecycledInSpace: Originally an obscure WWII character, he has since been reimagined as the guardian of the Cosmic Cube, making him a much bigger part of the MarvelUniverse than he ever was previously.

* AngelicAbomination: [[spoiler:Time in the Realm Between morphed Afterlife into a distorted, eldritch monster.]]
* AngelsDevilsAndSquid: In a universe which contains plenty of the latter two, as well as many other dieties, Afterlife stands out as being one of the few overt references to the Judeo-Christian God in Comicbook/DoctorStrange. [[spoiler:Eventuslly becomes an AngelicAbomination.]]

* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler: It's true form looks downright Gigeresque.]]

* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: It's never been clear whether he started out evil or fell to evil somewhere along the course of his magical studies.

* DealWithTheDevil: Frequently, almost always biting him in the ass.
** More recently he's made one with Dormammu in order to both come back and have magic to use after the Imperikrul wiped it all out.

* MotherOfAThousandYoung: Vampires, werewolves, witches and all manner of demons and other horrors owe their existence to him, though sometimes indirectly.

* LeakingCanOfEvil: The demon itself is trapped in another dimension and countless magical barriers are erected to keep it there; on one occasion a portion of it was summoned by cultists who [[EvilIsNotAToy realized their mistake]] and imprisoned it in Mount Wundagore. The ComicBook/FantasticFour villain the Puppet Master gets his magical clay from there and it was there that it implanted a fraction of its power into Wanda Maximoff and marked her as its host. Chthon's presence essentially turned the area into LovecraftCountry.

* AGodAmI: Worshipped as God within the Dark Dimension and as a deity in thousands of others. Within the Dark Dimension he is virtually unstoppable.

* TheManBehindTheMan: He is the power behind Sataanish and many other Hell Lords, and is frequently the patron of Baron Mordo and several other troublemakers.
** Was also this to ComicBook/TheHood.

* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: Well, they were both evil, but D'Spayre turns on his master to usurp his position.

* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler: Is made into Stephen's new "thing in the cellar" to take all of the pain and suffering caused to him by his use of magic.]]

* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: Is punished by being chained up and forced to be a living battery for Dr. Strange's magic after killing countless people in a quest to wipe it all out. ]]

* TheMagicGoesAway: The Empirikul cult's method of dealing with "evil". They have superscience that can drain magic out of a dimension and turn that world into a grey, sterile environment.

* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: When he is at full power.

An embodiment of ultimate evil, powerful Hell Lord and Marvel's most common stand in for Satan. He has antagonized just about every hero, but tends to single out those who are especially noble like the Silver Surfer and Thor. As can be expected, many of the traditional tropes associated with Satan are part of him. His origins are unclear, but it seems that he was ''not'' one of the Hell Lords created by Dormammu, and has no ties to him, and though he is not as powerful as the latter he is stronger than perhaps all other Hell Lords under his control. Strange often battles him when other heroes fall foul of his schemes, though memorably he once allied with Doctor Doom to save the villain's mother from the demon's clutches. See [[ComicBook/{{Mephisto}} his page]] for more info.

* GodzillaThreshold: Alongside Zom, Nebulos is one of the few entities whom the Living Tribunal has personal fought. Strange can only stand back and watch as he shields himself from the energy their battle exerts.

* OurGodsAreDifferent: Very different than any god presented in marvel and just as twisted.

* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: As long as people can dream, Nightmare will live. It is possible to kill him by stopping people dreaming, but humanity would quickly go mad as a result. Causing him mortal injury has had devastating effects, such as causing psychics worldwide to go berserk. This is implied to be the reasons why more benign entities of the mental plane, such as the [[ComicBook/{{Sleepwalker}} Sleepwalkers]], tolerate his rule over the Dream Dimension.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Nightmare doesn't seem to have quite as much power as beings like the Hell-Lords, as he's been physically beaten up by mortal beings like the [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Incredible Hulk]] and supernatural beings that you'd think would be less powerful, like [[ComicBook/{{Sleepwalker}} Sleepwalker]].

* LogicalWeakness: In the 2015 ''Doctor Strange'' series he's defeated by [[spoiler:Strange inventing a new spell.. one that makes Stephen experience the nightmares of EVERY PERSON ON EARTH and gives the rest of Earth a good night's sleep. Naturally a world without nightmares, however temporary, leaves Nightmare utterly powerless.]]

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Even non-magical heroes in the MarvelUniverse know to be wary of him.

* ComicBookFantasyCasting: In TheEighties looked suspiciously like Music/DavidBowie circa [[TheRiseAndFallOfZiggyStardustAndTheSpidersFromMars Ziggy Stardust]], whereas in TheNineties she looked like [[Film/ElviraMistressOfTheDark Elvira]].

* DimensionLord: Rules over his own part of Hell, which in the MarvelUniverse is separated into many different realms and dimensions.

* AGodAmI: What he sees himself and expresses at large.

* CanonImmigrant: He was originally the GreaterScopeVillain of the ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' pulp novels. When Conan joined the MarvelUniverse, so did he.

* EvilIsPetty: His ambition cosides with him doing this to spite his sister.

[[folder: Silver Dagger]]
[[quoteright:308:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/silver_dagger.JPG]]

A former Catholic Cardinal who has devoted himself towards eradicating magic, which he considers Satanic.

* BadassPreacher: A Cardinal trained to fight werewolves, demons, and sorcerers.
* ChurchMilitant: Leads The Sword of the Lord, a group of fanatics with similar beliefs.
* HunterOfHisOwnKind: Uses magic to destroy other magic-users and even wielded the Eye of Agamotto for a time.
* KnightTemplar: A Cardinal who considers magic Satanic and vows to eliminate it. Of course, he may have a point [[EvilSorcerer in some]] [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils fo]][[EldritchAbomination rms.]]
* SilverBullet: Often uses these as well as silver daggers.
* TheWitchHunter: Making him an enemy of Dr. Strange.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Shuma-Gorath]]
[[quoteright:251:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/251px-Shuma-Gorath_MvsC3-FTW_5798.PNG]]

--> ''"I fed on the screaming souls of universes. I drank the spoiled milk of dead stars. I am the emptiness outside all understanding. I am Shuma-Gorath."''

One of the most dangerous demons Stephen Strange has ever faced, Shuma-Gorath is one of the most ancient and terrible entities to ever exist. [[CompleteImmortality Apparently unkillable]], borderline [[TheOmniscient omniscient]], and [[MultiversalConqueror the ruler of nearly a hundred alternate realms]], it is responsible for the death of the Ancient One and has attempted to invade the Earth several times, and in the distant past even ruled it on two separate occasions. It has only grown stronger since then and its return could bring about the end of the universe.

It has [[ComicBook/TheThanosImperative recently been established]] that it is one of the Many-Angled Ones, immortal Lovecraftian entities that alter reality to bring about an end to death and allowing life to grow out of control and ferment as a cancer, and turning all living beings into creatures as alien and abominable as they are. It also established Shuma-Gorath and his brethern as one of the oldest sentient life forms in the multiverse, and is thus a truly ancient and terrifying evil.
----
* AscendedExtra: While inmensely powerful and being responsible for the death of The Ancient One, he is one of Doctor Strange's minor villains [[StoryBreakerPower due to how powerful he is]]. Despite this, however, he was chosen for the ''Videogame/MarvelVsCapcom'' videogames series, as the Capcom representatives find him more interesting to develop than "a man with a cape" such as Strange's. [[ColbertBump This has helped Shuma-Gorath gain more attention, even if he is still a minor antagonist.]]
* AGodAmI: Worshipped as such in all of its hundreds of realms and across thousands more. Within its own realms it is all-powerful in every sense of the word, save for its lesser realms, though even in them its power is said to be so huge it makes Mephisto and Satannish look like "mice in a great temple".

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Subverted during ''Comicbook/{{Infinity}}''. The Tiger God that powers the young superheroine White Tiger seemingly manages to defeat Shuma, but it is swiftly pointed out by Blade that the "Shuma" they were fighting was only [[FightingAShadow an advance scout]].

* NighInvulnerable: Oh, sure, you can hurt him, potentially even injure him severely, but you cannot ever hope to keep him down for long. No matter what you hit him with, he WILL get back up as if nothing happened.

* DoesNotLikeGuns: Though when push comes to shove, he is quite willing to shoot an EldritchAbomination with [[{{Ghostapo}} Hitler's gun]].

* RealityEnsues: When he gets his full powers back he isn't quite as adept with them as he originally was due to not haven had access to them in a long time.