Far underappreciated in the pantheon of Marvel heroes, Doc Strange always existed at the very fringes of acceptable comic book behavior. He fought with magic, guile, and a smirking intellect, rather than fists and brawn. His enemies were pure evil, of the most esoteric and other-worldly kind. And his victories were always tainted by his own dark bargain with the mystical forces that drove his life.

In other words, a hero too cool for the Marvel Universe.

My very fave.

A super-hero published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Strange Tales #110 in 1963. He was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

Stephen Strange was a world famous neuro-surgeon, but a man who was cold and self-absorbed. Strange was at the top of his profession when a car accident ended his career. An injury caused Strange to lose the fine motor control necessary to continue as a surgeon. Strange sank into despair. Refusing to take jobs that were "beneath him," Strange soon found himself poor and on the street.

Grasping at a final hope, Strange traveled to Tibet, in search of the Ancient One, a mystic whose powers were a thing of legend. The Ancient One refused to help Strange because he was deemed unworthy. Trapped by a storm, Strange discovered that the Ancient One's pupil, Baron Mordo, was plotting to kill the Ancient One and take his place. Prevented by a spell from revealing Mordo's plan to the Ancient One, Strange instead asked to become the Ancient One's disciple. The mage revealed to Strange that he was aware of Mordo's plot and freed Strange from the spell.

Strange studied with the Ancient One many years and eventually replaced him as the Sorcerer Supreme of his dimension. Strange came into conflict with many evil forces from other worlds, including the Dread Dormammu and Nightmare. He operated out of a house in Greenwich Village in New York where he lives with his manservant Wong.

Strange has a number of mystical artifacts that he uses to defend our dimension against the forces of evil. These include the Eye of Agamotto, a mystic amulet which seems to be the ultimate magical trump card - it never seems to fail to pull Strange out of a bad situation. Strange also employs his cloak of levitation which allows him to fly.