Strange Supreme's History
Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange M.D., Ph.D is the Sorcerer Supreme and a Master of the Mystic Arts. Strange became hellbent on resurrecting his late girlfriend Christine Palmer, after she died in a car accident, which ultimately resulted in the destruction of his entire universe.
Changing The Universe
One night, Doctor Stephen Strange arrived at Christine Palmer's apartment to pick his lover up for a night out at a dinner party. When Palmer exited the building, calling Strange handsome, Strange replied that he just pulled his suit out of the dryer, though he followed up by charismatically calling her stunning. Palmer told Strange that she was coming along just for the crème brûlée, with Strange remarking that they could do better than that.
On the way to a dinner while driving on a cliffside road, Palmer asks Strange to tell her the speech he had prepared. Strange attempts its opening, though Palmer immediately found it boring, suggesting to get to the heart of it or rather wing it like a contestant from The Price Is Right, a show Strange was unfamiliar with. Palmer reminds Strange that he had performed a radical hemispherectomy successfully, which Strange affirmed was part of the plan. Palmer adds that it was a remarkable one, with Strange commenting that she herself was remarkable, making Palmer chuckle. While attempting to pass a truck, Strange was immediately forced back into his lane by an oncoming vehicle, rattling Palmer. Strange attempts to affirm to Palmer that she was safe, though their car would be rear-ended by another speeding car, forcing them off the side of the cliff and into a river bank below. While Strange was relatively unharmed from the crash, Palmer had ultimately perished, much to a heartbroken Strange's despair.
Grief-stricken, Strange traveled the world searching for answers to give him hope. He found the Ancient One and the Masters of the Mystic Arts. He eventually was trained by the Sorcerer Supreme, gaining the Cloak of Levitation and later saving the universe from the Dark Dimension and Dormammu's rule. After the Ancient One's death, Strange became the new Sorcerer Supreme.
Traveling Back in Time
On the two year anniversary of Palmer's death, Strange couldn't help but think of the past, remembering an evening kiss he shared with her while he sat alone in front of the New York Sanctum's window. Wong appears and stood beside him, noticing Strange's attempt to hide the Eye of Agamotto while he reminisced of Palmer. Wong advised he join him while he prepared a kettle before he did anything reckless. Once Wong had left the room, Strange stared at the Eye before deciding to use it to transport himself back in time to the moment he picked up Palmer from her apartment. From there, events play out relatively the same, with Strange prematurely mentioning things Palmer would have told him such as what to do when he gave his speech. However, despite not attempting to pass the truck this time, his car would still be rear-ended by the speeding car, resulting in Palmer's death again. Desperate, Strange used the Eye again to constantly repeat events from before, vainly trying to prevent Palmer's death. Despite his efforts, such as taking an alternate route to the dinner or abandoning her, Palmer would always perish in some way.
Emerging from his wrecked car broken and defeated one last time, Strange could only yell in frustration, pounding the ground in anger. Strange eventually was greeted by the Ancient One, who informed Strange that Palmer's death was unchangeable, an "Absolute Point"; without it, Strange would never have joined the Masters of the Mystic Arts and eventually rise to defeat Dormammu. Despite this, Strange was unable to accept her words, arguing that she taught him that nothing was impossible and that he only required more power. When told by the Ancient One that not even the greatest sorcerers of the past could bypass an Absolute Point, Strange resolved to going back in time to acquire knowledge lost to time. The Ancient One attempted to dissuade Strange, but he continuously refused. While Strange prepared the Eye of Agamotto, the Ancient One interfered and drew power from the Dark Dimension to split Strange's mind and body into two, with one half traveling centuries into the past and the second half traveling the destined path he was meant to tread. Both halves of Strange would be oblivious to the other's existence for the time being, simultaneously co-existing in the same timeline and universe.
Seeking Knowledge
Strange arrived centuries back in time to the middle of a jungle, where he is greeted by an unknown man. Strange attempts to ask the man if he knew where the Lost Library of Cagliostro was, though he gave no answer and walked away. Strange followed him into a clearing, where he was greeted by the sight of the lost library. Seeing that there was no door, Strange used his Sling Ring to warp himself up to an opening, where he discovered a protection rune on the ground. Strange dispelled the rune with his magic and walked further in, only to be surrounded by numerous other runes and plunged into a dark abyss. Upon regaining his senses, Strange is greeted by the man from before, who comments on Strange's unusual attire for a sorcerer, which Strange attempts to justify by saying it was Armani.
Strange inquires if he knew where Cagliostro was, though the man cryptically dodges the question. Strange asks if he himself was Cagliostro, though the man reveals himself to be O'Bengh, the librarian for the books of Cagliostro. O'Bengh tells Strange to follow him, calling him "Sorcerer Armani", though Strange vainly attempts to clarify that his name was Strange. O'Bengh leads Strange to the Lost Library of Cagliostro, inquiring how long he'd say, with Strange responding with however long it took. Using his powers, Strange navigated through the vast collection of books until he found one regarding time manipulation. Reading through the book, Strange discovered that in order to have enough power to break an Absolute Point, he would have to gain power through the absorption of other beings.
Gaining Power
Isolating himself in a secluded room, Strange used the knowledge from the book to manifest a portal to summon other dimensional beings, the first one being the Champion of HYDRA. Strange attempted to bargain with the being to borrow its power, only for the creature to grab Strange by his leg and fling him around the room until he was knocked unconscious. Strange awoke to O'Bengh nursing him, who told him that dimensional beings do not bargain to share their power that man cannot wield. O'Bengh asks if Palmer was worth the pain he was inflicting to himself, with Strange stating that it was worth every moment. Before leaving, O'Bengh tells Strange that there was a fine line between devotion and delusion and the means in which love is achieved, and when Strange asks where he heard that from, O'Bengh simply responded that life taught him that.
Once healthy again, Strange returned to his room, where he came to the conclusion that he must forcefully take other dimensional beings' powers. Upon freezing himself in time, Strange started small by summoning an evil gnome, which Strange promptly absorbed. Following the gnome, Strange summoned a mystical bug with a different Cloak of Levitation from his original, which Strange took for himself before de-summoning the bug, remarking that he drew the line at bugs. From there, Strange steadily continued absorbing more and more stronger beings, briefly taking on their appearances himself as he absorbed them. While Strange caught his breath after absorbing a winged being, The Watcher decided against the notion to interfere, as this was the predetermined path Strange had chosen; Strange however would sense The Watcher's presence observing him and asked who was there, though he would receive no answer.
As centuries passed, Strange continued to absorb even more powerful beings. Eventually, Strange once again came face to face with the tentacled creature he first encountered, and using his amped-up powers, managed to sever the beast's tentacles and absorb them into him. With that, Strange unfroze himself from time, and soon encountered an old and dying O'Bengh, who revealed Strange had been draining the power of demonic entities for centuries. Strange attempts to heal O'Bengh with the Eye of Agamotto, though he is stopped by O'Bengh, who tells Strange that death is part of life, which Strange admits he cannot accept. O'Bengh reveals that while he couldn't accept, the other Strange could, much to Strange's confusion. Before dying, O'Bengh tells Strange that he is only half a man living half a life.
Confronting his Other Half
As reality started to break down due to Strange Supreme's presence after he unfroze himself from time, he soon lured the other Doctor Strange to the Lost Library of Cagliostro and trapped him in an imprisonment spell. There, Strange Supreme revealed himself to the other Strange, who questions Strange Supreme on what he had become. Ignoring the question, Strange Supreme laments to his other self that only they knew Palmer, though the other Strange interjects, saying that they can't save her without the world's destruction, much to Strange Supreme's anger, who lets out a burst of dark energy showing the silhouettes of the various beings he had absorbed. Regaining himself, Strange Supreme told his other self that he had sacrificed everything to save Palmer, taking centuries of his life to achieve his goal. The other Strange asks if he could now save her, though Strange Supreme denies, saying they can before grabbing the other Strange and teleporting away with him.
Strange Supreme brings himself and the other Strange back in time to the crash site of their car, where he reveals that once they are united as one, he would finally have enough power to bring back Palmer. The other Strange tries to dissuade Strange Supreme from doing this, though he refuses to listen, resorting to trying to absorb the other Strange on the spot, though he is impeded by the other Strange's protection spell placed on him by Wong. Strange Supreme then engages in a duel with his other half, saying that he has gone too far to back down now. Over the course of the battle, Strange Supreme chipped away the other Strange's protection spell, and even destroyed the other Strange's Cloak of Levitation.
Eventually, the other Strange sends a powerful blast of energy towards Strange Supreme, seemingly destroying him. While the other Strange is distracted by a forming pure light from where Strange Supreme stood, Strange Supreme sneaks up from behind as the other Strange's shadow and drags him into an illusion. Within the illusion, Strange Supreme disguised himself as Palmer to trick Strange, although he didn't believe it was her and Strange Supreme broke the illusion, sending the two freefalling from the sky.
During the fall, the two Stranges traded blows, but ultimately Strange Supreme emerged victorious after fully depleting the other Strange's protection spell. Despite the other Strange's protests, Strange Supreme absorbs his weakened other half, finally making him whole.
The End of the Universe
With his full potential achieved, Strange immediately used his newfound power to finally resurrect Christine Palmer. However, this action was the breaking point for the universe's stability as reality quickly fell apart around them. As Strange struggled to keep himself and Palmer alive from the universe's collapse, he witnessed The Watcher's presence and vainly begged him to help, willing to do anything to save the universe. The Watcher refused, however, stating that any more interference with space and time would be disastrous, condemning Strange to his fate.
The universe was soon destroyed in its entirety, save a small patch of land held together by Strange's magic. As Palmer faded away in his arms questioning what he had done, Strange sobbed and apologized, left alone as the last survivor of his home universe.
Aiding the Watcher
Later, Strange was visited by The Watcher physically in what was left of his universe, the Mirror Dimension. There, The Watcher solemnly told Strange that he was out of options to combat Ultron, who was from a different universe, after Ultron had breached the boundaries of the Multiverse and taken control of the Nexus of All Realities. Strange sympathized with The Watcher, and asked if he was ready to break his oath aloud. Though initially hesitant, The Watcher mustered enough courage to directly ask Strange for help.
Guardian of the Multiverse
The Watcher and Strange searched the Multiverse in order to gather members and form a team capable of deafeating Ultron. The Watcher then transports his candidates, Peggy Carter, T'Challa, Erik Stevens, Thor, and Gamora, to a pub, created from Strange's magic. These five, along with Strange formed the Guardians of the Multiverse.
When Thor carries the head of a Sentry along with him, Killmonger takes it for himself. The newly-christened Guardians of the Multiverse devise a plan on confronting Ultron: Thor will lure him to their position as the team targets the Soul Stone for removal. Then, Gamora will utilize her Infinity Crusher to destroy the rest of the Infinity Stones. Afterwards, Uatu transports them to another universe to set their plan in motion as Strange enchants the team with an advanced protection spell.
Strange and Thor bombard Ultron with a swarm of Mjølnirs, allowing T'Challa to steal the Soul Stone. Strange then summons a horde of zombies on Ultron before the team depart to his home universe, where Natasha Romanoff intercepts the Soul Stone, believing the Guardians to be Ultron's lackeys. Carter reveals her close friendship to the Romanoff of her time, indirectly recruiting her to the team. Not long after, Ultron arrives to reclaim his missing Stone, having made quick work of the zombie horde.
Ultron attempts to destroy Earth with the five Stones, but is negated by Strange. As the AI and the Guardians wrestle for the Soul Stone, Strange manages to repeatedly nullify Ultron's attacks as the team pin him down, allowing Gamora to attach the Crusher onto the Stones. This fails as the Crusher was only designed to destroy the Infinity Stones of its original universe, allowing Ultron to recover the Soul Stone. He turns his sights on Strange and attempts to kill the sorcerer. Carter and Romanoff are blown away and land next to Romanoff's motorbike, where she finds the arrow infused with Arnim Zola laying beside it.
Romanoff gets Carter to expose Ultron's eye, allowing her to pierce it with the Zola arrow and have the HYDRA algorithm destroy the AI's codebase. However, Killmonger uses his Sentry Head to claim Ultron's armor and the Stones for himself. Zola-- who had assumed Ultron's body-- attempts to take them back, pitting the two in a deadlock struggle. Realizing that there is no way to truly win, Strange encapsulates Zola and Killmonger in a pocket dimension as Uatu teleports him back to his home. Strange assigns himself to observe the reality bubble, while Uatu sends the rest of his recruits back to their home universes.
Noticing a portrait of Steve Rogers, Carter considers heading back into her past, but Uatu convinces her to attend to her present day. Unable to restore Romanoff's world, Uatu instead places her in the universe where the Avengers had been assassinated, as Nick Fury, Carol Danvers and their Rogers fight Loki and the Asgardians. There, Romanoff steals the Scepter and uses it to subdue the God of Mischief. Meanwhile, Peter Quill joins T'Challa to fight Ego, Gamora and Thor reunite with Stark and Jane Foster in their respective realities, and Carter finds the HYDRA Stomper Armor stashed away on Batroc's ship with the help of her Romanoff. Reclaiming control of the Nexus of All Realities, Uatu dedicates himself to protect the Multiverse for as long as he can.
