Peter Gillis begins his run on Dr. Strange (except for one more issue by Stern) with a retelling of Strange’s origin story that also serves as a Secret Wars II crossover.
Roger Stern’s run is over. Sad.
To his credit, Peter Gillis starts his run by tying up the story of Strange and Clea in the dark dimension, and then deals with Beyonder. He also does something that I don’t think I have ever seen before in the pages of Doctor Strange…
…He gives Stephen a haircut!
I imagine it’s hard to follow a Roger Stern run on anything, but to have your first issue be an editorial-mandated crossover with a terrible event series must make it all exponentially more challenging.
Beyonder broke into Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, stared directly into the Orb of Agamotto, and freaked out and went to a bar to get drunk. That’s where Strange finds him, a pathetic mess, and then shares his origin story with him in an effort to teach Beyonder the benefits of humility and service to others.
Meh. Gillis does what he can with this, but the Secret Wars II stories feel confining.
