Mystic Hands of Doctor Strange #1

[Col_Fury]

MYSTIC HANDS OF DOCTOR STRANGE #1 (May, 2010)
1st Story:
By Kieron Gillen & Frazer Irving

APPEARANCES:
Dr. Strange (also in -FB), Clea, Wong, Mephisto (also in -FB), Doktor (Dr. Suhner)

FLASHBACK:
Dr. Strange makes a deal with Mephisto to defeat the Doktor.
SYNOPSIS:
Dr. Strange is pleased to see a rich man give a homeless man everything he has, but is shocked to see Clea preparing to rob a bank. Dr. Strange shields Clea from surrounding influences and she snaps out of it. Dr. Strange investigates and finds influencing energies flowing from a mental institution. Just in case, Dr. Strange casts a teleportation spell on a coin in case he needs to leave in a hurry. He admits himself into the facility and discovers Dr. Suhner, the “Doktor,” is convincing patients to sell their souls to Mephisto on the Doktor’s behalf. This allows the Doktor to influence people to change the world into the way he feels it should be. Dr. Strange decides to think about whether the Doktor is making changes for the better or worse before he interferes. Later, Dr. Strange returns and confronts the Doktor, defeats him and erases his influences. On his way home, Dr. Strange drops his enchanted coin in a homeless man’s cup.

NOTE:
The story says it happens in “1975,” but given Clea’s presence it can’t happen in 1975-absolute (she didn’t start hanging out with Dr. Strange until after the modern age started). So, sometime during comics published in 1975.

Strange mentions that a few weeks ago, he had an adventure where the world was re-created and he’s the only one to remember the old world, even though it was pretty much exactly like this new, current world. That would be DRSTR2 10-13.

2nd Story:
By Peter Milligan & Frank Brunner

APPEARANCES:
Dr. Strange, Wong, Nightmare (-BTS)

SYNOPSIS:
A man says terrible things to his wife. She drives off to spend the night at her mother’s, but dies in a crash before she gets there. Years later, the man knocks on Dr. Strange’s door asking him to cast a spell to make him forget the last time he spoke with his wife before she died. Dr. Strange investigates and finds that the man has been plagued for years by demons sent by Nightmare. He clears out the demons and wakes the man up, who is upset that he still remembers. Dr. Strange says that forgetting is worse, and that the man has to live with his memories and learn to move past them. He thanks Dr. Strange and admits he does feel a bit better. Wong asks Dr. Strange how he’s been feeling since a recent adventure. Strange says he had to re-live the worst moment in his life over and over, but he can no longer remember what that was.

NOTE:
The years ago segment happens in the 1960’s, so the now segment is likely in the 1970’s. Is this the 1970’s-absolute, or around comics published in the 1970’s? The latter, I would think.

Dr. Strange is finishing an adventure where he heals a split in time just as this story starts. Since Frank Brunner is doing the art here, and with not much else to go on, I’d like to place this between DRSTR2 5-6, if only because DRSTR2 5 was Frank Brunner’s last issue on art.

3rd Story:
By Ted McKeever

APPEARANCES:
Dr. Strange

SYNOPSIS:
A drunken Dr. Strange warms himself at a garbage fire and considers suicide when one of his homeless friends offers him a drink. The homeless man is suddenly decapitated by a demon, but the head keeps talking. The demon offers the same drink to Strange, who drinks it. The demon is surprised to find out the drink is water. The head explains the drink was clarity; Dr. Strange is no longer drunk and magically fights the demon. However, when Dr. Strange becomes angry, the demon grows in power. The head explains that sometimes calmness is a tool that can be utilized consciously while anger can only be used unconsciously. Strange calms down and the demon is defeated.

NOTE:
When was an at least kind of magically-empowered Dr. Strange wandering around New York City as a homeless drunk?

The only spot I’m seeing is he must have fallen off the wagon when he retired from being Sorcerer Supreme way back in H2 126. He retired voluntarily, so maybe he got bored with nothing to do and went back to drinking? No, it’s not a great fit, but if anyone can find a better spot, I’m all ears.

4th Story:
By Mike Carey & Marcos Martin

APPEARANCES:
Dr. Strange, Bal Cyphyro (Dark Dimension knight), Ancient One (-BTS), Dormammu (-BTS), Mindless Ones

SYNOPSIS:
While studying under the Ancient One, Strange learns how to project his astral form. Exploring various realms he finds himself in the Dark Dimension, where he’s greeted by Bal Cyphyro who easily captures him. As Strange struggles to free himself, Bal Cyphyro says he’s taking Strange to his master Dormammu as a gift. Strange realizes that in his astral form, thought and will have more meaning than physical space and accidentally transports them into a pit of Mindless Ones. Bal Cyphyro is killed and Strange escapes. As Strange travels back home he vows to never meet Dormammu.

NOTE:
This one’s easy to place: while Strange is studying under the Ancient One.

Placement suggestions:

ANCIENT ONE
…
DRSTR:OATH 1 (10:2)-FB
*MHDRSTR /4-BTS
DRSTR:OATH 4-FB
**ST 115/2 (8:7) (delete)
DRSTR3 8/2
…

BAL CYPHYRO
MHDRSTR /4

CLEA
…
DRSTR2 13
*MHDRSTR
DEF 39
…

DOCTOR STRANGE II/DR. STEPHEN VINCENT STRANGE/"STEPHEN SANDERS"
…
DRSTR:OATH 1 (10:2)-FB
*MHDRSTR /4
ST 115/2 (8:7)
…
H2 126
*MHDRSTR /3
M/FEA 1/3
WTS 5
…
GSDEF 3
*MHDRSTR /2
DRSTR2 6
…
DRSTR2 13
*MHDRSTR (1 - 15)
*MHDRSTR-FB
*MHDRSTR (16 - 22)
DEF 30
…

DOKTOR/DR. SUHNER
MHDRSTR

DORMAMMU
…
ST 115/2-BTS
*MHDRSTR /4-BTS
UTSM:SE
…

MEPHISTO
…
FF 157
*MHDRSTR (1 - 15)
*MHDRSTR-FB
*MHDRSTR (16 - 22)
CHAMP 2-FB
…

NIGHTMARE/"EDVARD HABERDASH"
…
M/PRM 3
*MHDRSTR /2-BTS
DRSTR2 10
…

WONG II
…
M/TIO 6
*MHDRSTR /2
DRSTR2 6
…
DEF 25
*MHDRSTR
DEF 30
…

[Leoparis]

For the 3rd story, I'd place this more recently, for example during the time when Jericho Drumm was Sorcerer Supreme.
Strange was seen drinking in Fraction's Defenders and also sleeping with students, which is uncharacteristic.
Around H2 126, he was living with Clea, can't have been too despondent.

[Col_Fury]

Well, this comic was published the month after Dr. Voodoo #5, so there's that.

However, Defenders #1 was published almost TWO YEARS after this comic. This comic was published a year before the Fear Itself crossover started, where Defenders #1 was published after that crossover finished. If we place the third story in the current day, that means around comics published in mid-2010, while he's training Dr. Voodoo to be the Sorcerer Supreme, which is shortly after the Siege crossover.

What about in the mid to late 1990s? Didn't Dr. Strange lose his title somewhere in there, and then he just appeared again in an issue of Spider-Man (or something) with a hand-wave explanation that he's Sorcerer Supreme again? What about during that time?

[Somebody]

That whole period is a mess where his power source kept changing, he was deaged for a while until he fought a war for a thousand years and so forth, but he never really stopped being Sorcerer Supreme while he was active (there was a time he ceded it briefly, but I think that led into the whole Strange/Dr Sanders thing).

The reset button hit in SENSSM was him being back in his classic status quo (i.e. Ditko costume with red cape, Wong as his servant, original house and Vishanti powers), not back to being Sorcerer Supreme.

I can't say about any of the specifics, since I haven't read Mystic Hands, but I don't see the philosphical issue with throwing a comic forward in time past where it was published IF it fit best there. From what you describe, though, I would at least investigate "between New Avengers Annual #2 and Last Defenders" as a possibility - he's largely depowered after renouncing Zom-magic (in Last Defenders, almost completely) and his house was destroyed.

[Col_Fury]

The third story in Mystic Hands is very vague; there's no mention if he's currently Sorcerer Supreme or not. It's not outright stated (but it is heavily implied) that he's homeless; he's shown hanging around with other homeless people and warming up at a garbage can in an alley. And the narration/floating head guy is warning Strange about the dangers of addiction.

BUT, what if Strange isn't drunk on alcohol here, but drunk on extra power? Meaning, somwhere around World War Hulk, where he's using dark magic and stuff? I suppose he could have been drinking during this period, too.

How about here?

DOCTOR STRANGE II/DR. STEPHEN VINCENT STRANGE/"STEPHEN SANDERS"
…
FNSM 24 (21:3 - 22:3)
*MHDRSTR /3
GSASTONX 1
…