The world of magic in the Marvel Universe has been amping up recently, with the "X of Swords" event in full swing, and recent Avengers storylines featuring the theft of the Sorcerer Supreme's power and the rise of the demonic Mephisto. At the center of all magic in Marvel Comics is the Sorcerer Supreme, a title held by a master of the mystic arts whose knowledge and skill outmatch all others. Though this hasn’t always been the case, the role of the Sorcerer Supreme is to protect the realm of Earth from hostile supernatural forces.
The history of the Sorcerer Supreme stretches further back in time than you might think. As long as magic and humans have coexisted, there have been individuals with the power to control magic, and thus a Sorcerer Supreme. Don’t forget, we’re talking about Marvel Comics here: a multiverse with shifting continuities and alternate dimensions. This means the list of Sorcerers Supreme is a long and diverse one, and some of the entries will be surprising to casual readers.
Let’s start at the beginning. According to Marvel lore (and Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic's work on Marvel Legacy #1), the first to hold the title of Sorcerer Supreme was Agamotto the All Seeing. Though the child of the Elder Goddess Oshtur, Agamotto was born mortal. Just like his future successor Doctor Strange, Agamotto was also a member of an Avengers team, albeit a Stone Age one. Joined by Odin - Thor’s father - and ancestral versions of Black Panther, Iron Fist, Star Brand, Phoenix and a mammoth-riding Ghost Rider, the group banded together to defeat a celestial who threatened to destroy primitive Earth. Agamotto is the creator of many powerful relics including the Eye of Agamotto. Ultimately, he, Oshtur and Hoggoth formed the Vishanti, a group of supernatural beings that serve as sources of power for the Sorcerer Supreme.
Following Agamotto was the Atlantean Sorceress Zherad-Na, who was most known for prophesying the great cataclysm which sunk Atlantis into the ocean. Two more Sorceresses Supreme followed her: one was Shamhat Saraswati of Akah Ma’at, a priestess of Oshtur, and Ayesha the Rain Queen of Balobedu who is also believed to be the ancestor of the X-Men hero Storm.
Other notable mentions include Aged Genghis (circa 3000 BCE) and Salomé (about 1300-1100 BCE). The Vishanti granted Aged Genghis, otherwise known as the Exalted One, all of his power and in return he left his mark on the world of magic as the judge who presides over the tournament-style contests which have at various points in time decided who the next Sorcerer Supreme would be. Salomé was part of a faction of a mysterious supernatural race called the Blood. Although great and powerful, her transgressions ultimately had her banished to an alternate dimension.
And what would any magic history be without Merlin? The Arthurian mage (who usually goes by "Merlyn" in the Marvel Universe) was the Sorcerer Supreme of his era, and was the one to assemble all master practitioners featured in the Doctor Strange and The Sorcerers Supreme series, where a great and terrible evil occasioned a team-up between the Sorcerers Supreme of various eras. Another highly distinguished Sorcerer Supreme is the Ancient One, whose real name in the comics is revealed to be Yao. Yao was born a slave in what today would be Tibet. For many practitioners of the mystic arts, he is known as Master, and is recognized as the most influential mentor in the history of magic by all those who came after him. For a long period of time he was presumed dead, which is why so many other characters popped up to fill the role of Sorcerer Supreme in his stead. Sir Isaac Newton referred to him as The Sorcerer Supreme, and considering the size of Newton’s ego that’s saying a lot.
Speaking of Sir Isaac Newton - yes the very same 18th century scientific genius who developed calculus and invented the reflective telescope - he was also a master magician and protector of Earth. That is until a lust for power, and god-sized delusions of grandeur, made him turn against the world.
There are other historical/mythological figures to have held the title, such as: Hermes Trismegistus, the ancient Persian prophet Zoroaster, as well as King Solomon of ancient Israel and his paramour Balkis the Queen of Sheba. Setting a new precedent, the pre-socratic philosophers: Thales the Milesian, Pythagoras of Samos, and Pherecydes of Syros formed the Triumvirate, which jointly held the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme. Eventually, they were defeated by the Spartan wizard Caius of Lacedaemons. Later, Zhang Jiao, the historical leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in China, served as Sorcerer Supreme before Merlyn assumed the role.
In a dark part of American history, there was the Reverend Hiram Shaw, ancestral patriarch of the mutant Shaw family. He was the Sorcerer Supreme in the 17th century, as well as a central figure of the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts. An equally dark figure (though one who suffered darkness rather than causing it) is Sorceress Supreme Kushala, who wields the powers of both a master of the mystic arts and the Spirit of Vengeance. That’s right, an Apache sorceress from the 1850s was both a Ghost Rider - or Demon Rider - and the Sorceress Supreme, a frightening combo to say the least. She was introduced alongside Nina the Conjurer, who was a Sorceress Supreme from the 1950s.
Not one but two known mutants have carried the responsibility of Sorcerer Supreme, though both have dubious claims. Wiccan, aka William Kaplan, is the Demiurge, a being who controls the rules of magic, and is expected to take over the mantle from Doctor Strange in the not-too-distant future. In one possible timeline, Illyana Rasputin, aka Magik, takes over as Sorcerer Supreme after Doctor Strange sacrifices himself. While this is technically still an alternate reality, it's one that featured significantly in Brian Bendis' Uncanny X-Men Annual, with a time-traveling mutant visiting Sorceress Supreme Magik before returning to the modern age, suggesting it's a particularly strong possibility. While we’re on the subject of alternate dimensions, we can’t forget to mention that even the Dark Dimension has a Sorcerer Supreme: none other than Dr. Strange’s lover Clea Strange.
The mantle has passed to other unconventional sorcerers, such as Makeen and Doctor Voodoo, also known Jericho Drumm. Unlike many of their predecessors and successors, both were worthy enough to bear the Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamotto. Easily the most well-known Sorcerer Supreme is Stephen Strange, more commonly known as Dr. Strange. A pupil of the Ancient One, and the world’s current Master of the Mystic Arts. Most recently, his powers were stolen by the god Khonshu, and were then briefly taken up by Blade the Vampire Hunter. To no-one’s surprise, Loki Laufeyson once engineered an elaborate con to swindle his way into the role of Sorcerer Supreme, but thankfully the magnitude of the responsibility proved too much for him and he agreed to relinquish the title back to Stephen Strange.
Of course, what most fans think of as the Sorcerer Supreme is merely the Sorcerer Supreme of one plane of reality. Other planes and dimensions have their own magic-users who’ve become Sorcerer Supreme, some of which have been mentioned here, but the totality of which has barely been explored even in the comics (though Howard the Duck's home reality does have its own Ducktor Strange.) The power held within the office of Sorcerer Supreme is as vast as is its history of succession. Not place of birth, race, religion, creed, nor sex seem to be a barrier to ascendency. All that seems to matter is the individual’s ability to carry the great burden which comes with protecting the Earth and our reality.
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