I’m Begging Marvel to Use the New Sorcerer Supreme to Answer ULTIMATUM’s 15-Year-Old Mystery

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Ultimate Black Panther #10! It’s no secret that Ultimatum is one of the most infamous Marvel Comics storylines ever printed, mostly because it showed a great number of beloved Marvel heroes killed unceremoniously, and in extremely brutal fashion – including Doctor Strange. But now, with the launch of a new Ultimate Universe, Marvel is about to introduce an all-new Sorcerer Supreme, meaning it has a chance to revisit Doctor Strange’s Ultimatum death, and finally answer the 15-year-old mystery surrounding his possible resurrection.

In Ultimatum #4 by Jeph Loeb and David Finch, the world was in a state of utter chaos after Magneto turned the Earth on its axis, flooded New York City, and unleashed a hell upon the globe that no villain had ever done before. As a result, Dormammu was able to escape his enchanted confinement within the Sanctum Sanctorum, and while Doctor Strange tried to stop him, the Sorcerer Supreme was gruesomely murdered by the demonic deity.

As the Fantastic Four rose to the occasion to fight Dormammu after Doctor Strange was killed, the comic gives fans two of the most fascinating panels in this entire storyline. A stranger shrouded in shadow holding a lamp approaches Doctor Strange’s headless corpse, sighing and muttering to themself, “…Stephen…” as if disappointed that the Sorcerer Supreme could be so easily bested. The stranger then kneels down by Strange’s corpse, and fills the entire panel with ethereal light. And that’s it, Marvel Comics never revisits this plot point.

Ultimate Black Panther Teases a New ‘Doctor Strange’ who Could Answer Ultimatum’s Mystery

Ultimate Black Panther #10 by Bryan Hill and Stefano Caselli

While Doctor Strange may have been killed by Dormammu in Earth-1610, Marvel’s new Ultimate Universe of Earth-6160 has already teased a new Sorcerer Supreme with the soft introduction of a character referred to only as the ‘strange doctor’ in the preview for Ultimate Black Panther #10. Given the Ultimate Universe’s lack of a Sorcerer Supreme at the moment, the fact that Ultimate Black Panther has been dealing with magic, and that ‘strange doctor’ is the inversion of ‘Doctor Strange’, many are speculating that this new character could be the Ultimate Sorcerer Supreme.

With the mystery surrounding this character (and, indeed, the future of a Sorcerer Supreme in the Ultimate Universe), Marvel has the perfect opportunity to address the questions left unanswered in Ultimatum. Perhaps this strange, ethereal figure resurrected Earth-1610 Strange in another reality as another person, living a reflection of his former life until he’s called to action. Or, perhaps this ‘strange doctor’ is that ethereal figure who could answer the questions surrounding the original Ultimate Doctor Strange’s fate, while charting a new path to the future.

The New Ultimate Universe Contains Echoes of the Original, & That Should Include Doctor Strange

The new Ultimate Universe has contained echoes of the original since the beginning, which actually speaks to the nature of its existence. The Maker (Earth-1610’s Reed Richards) reshaped this new Ultimate Universe to his liking, making this reality a literal byproduct of the original Ultimate Universe. There’s also the fact that the ‘Avengers’ in this reality are once again called the ‘Ultimates’. Plus, there’s even a callback to one of the original Ultimate Captain America’s most controversial lines of dialogue. All-in-all, the original Ultimate Universe can be felt in this one, and now, that should include Doctor Strange.

It’s unclear exactly how this new ‘strange doctor’ can pay off the mystery surrounding Doctor Strange’s fate in Ultimatum, but one thing is clear: Marvel should find a way. Ultimate Doctor Strange never got the chance to complete a story arc that was obviously being set up for him, and since the new Ultimate Universe has been cleverly echoing the original since the start, now is the perfect time for Marvel’s new Sorcerer Supreme to answer Ultimatum’s 15-year-old Doctor Strange mystery.

Ultimate Black Panther #10 by Marvel Comics is available November 27, 2024.