Doctor Strange is known throughout the multiverse as a great many things. Protector of the Earth realm, Master of the Mystic Arts and last but certainly not least; Sorcerer Supreme. At least, he used to be. The story of how the God of mischief became the Sorcerer Supreme is told throughout Doctor Strange issues #381-#385 in Loki: Sorcerer Supreme. The story follows on from the earlier issues of Doctor Strange involving the Empirikul and from the Secret Empire storyline but is for the most part completely understandable as its own Stand-alone story. And, its a damn good one.
Story
Loki: Sorcerer Supreme is a 5 part mini-series written by Donny Cates with artwork by Gabriel Hernandez Walta, Mike Del Mundo, Jordie Bellaire. After competing in a magical tournament to decide who will be the Earth Realm’s Sorcerer Supreme Stephen Strange, the victor of the last couple tournaments is shocked to learn the Vishanti have named Loki: God of Mischief as earth’s next mystical defender. Most of all because he wasn’t even competing in the tournament! Strange willingly gives up his power and sinks back into a semi-normal life as a veterinarian. As normal as a veterinarian can be when they keep a talking dog as company. However, as to be expected Strange quickly learns what Loki intends to do as Sorcerer Supreme and makes some questionable choices when trying to stop him. These include but are not limited too assaulting Asgard and stealing god-like magical power from the World Tree, lying to his friend The Sentry and ultimately failing to trust in his closest friend and apprentice, Zelma Stanton.
Thats what I love about Loki: Sorcerer Supreme. It’s a character-focused story. Yes, the magical battles and cameo appearances are all well and good but this story excels when it explores the goals of its two main characters, Dr. Strange and Loki and the means at which they will go to achieve them. Despite being good in nature not all of our heroes decisions are the right ones and thats what is so good about this run. Their flawed characters make this demi-god and legendary wizard surprisingly relatable characters. As comic fans should know by now you can never trust the God of Tricks and whilst the story ended with a twist I saw coming it was still a very satisfying and heartwarming conclusion to a great tale.
Characters
We’ll start with Strange himself. The Master of the Mystic Arts is no longer so, what does he do with himself? Become a vet. Even without the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak or the Eye of Agamotto he still does what he can to help better the people of New York. Despite his good intentions, Strange’s flaws shine through extremely bright in this story. He’s headstrong and reckless at times, arrogant (a trait that has always been a quintessential part of his character), and less than truthful to say the least. I would say that he is ultimately proven right but Loki’s true intentions are never truly exposed by the end although knowing him it can’t be anything good. Speaking of the God of Mischief, I really enjoyed Loki in this story. His cocky and arrogant impression is mostly shown to be simply a facade he puts on when in reality around Zelma he is much more…human. His flirtations with Zelma was something I did not like in this issue. Whilst it’s totally within his character to try and seduce her he didn’t know he would gain anything from doing it and she had absolutely no reason to go along with it so the whole thing felt really off to me. Loki was built up more of an anti-hero here than a full-on villain, a trait that seems to be way more common with his character now but is still a direction I enjoy. His back and fourths with strange were handled nicely especially near the end when Loki starts to realize Strange isn’t as weak as he thought. The two bounce off each other in such a way where this whole story just works. Both characters are similar and vastly different from each other at the same time and it makes for a really interesting story which is a must-read for both Strange and Loki fans.
As for some of the side characters, the stand out has to be Stephen’s talking dog friend; Bats. He results in some utterly fantastic comic relief which really helps lift the tone of the overall story at times. That being said he is a part of the most emotional moment in this entire story which was executed beautifully. Zelma felt a little mismanaged to me in this story. Shes used more of a device to propel the plot and Stephens arc forward rather than her own character. Like I said I don’t really enjoy her and Loki together here and I would have liked to see more from her overall.
Artwork
All 5 issues look fantastic but they aren’t your usual Dr. Strange issues. With most of the earth’s magic being depleted, there aren’t huge colorful monsters or other dimensions that are shown. Instead, the story, for the most part, is grounded on earth and that is reflected in the issues overall look. Asgard was a nice change of scenery and close to the end when Dr. Strange and Loki finally go toe to toe we get to see a whole lot more magic and a whole lot more color. Loki: Sorcerer Supreme is definitely different from most Dr. Strange issues in terms of its artwork. Not necessarily worse or better. Just different.
Overall the story of Loki: Sorcerer Supreme is definitely one I would recommend if your an avid Loki or Dr. Strange fan or you just want to try some of Marvel’s more magical comics. Reading up on the rest of the Dr. Strange run would make this one more enjoyable for first-time readers but if you are new you can definitely enjoy this as a stand-alone story.
