To take on the symbiote god Knull in King in Black, Doctor Strange just reactivated a power boost that cost him a world of hurt.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for King in Black #4 by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin & VC’s Clayton Cowles and Thor #12, by Donny Cates, Nic Klein, Matt Wilson & VC’s Joe Sabino, on sale now.
Not long ago, Doctor Strange sought a new kind of Asgardian magic during his battle to defeat Loki, who had become the Sorcerer Supreme. While Strange surrendered the Odinforce he stole after defeating Loki, he managed to retain some of the magic. Strange also had a relic that held some of the Odinforce taken directly from Yggdrasil, the World Tree.
And in King in Black #4, both the magic remaining inside Doctor Strange and that piece of the World Tree have come into play as a possible way to save the world from Knull. But as Strange just learned in Thor #12, that kind of power doesn’t come without a price.
Doctor Strange was one of the first to fall in Knull’s attack on Earth. In Black Cat #1 by Jed MacKay, C.F. Villa, Brian Reber & Ferran Delgado, right before Captain America fell, the Avenger told Black Cat to find a way to save Strange because he was the most important hero in the fight against Knull. This led to Black Cat planning her most dangerous heist. She was heading into the symbiote prison to try to break Doctor Strange out. She had two tools to use in her quest — some Anti-Venom serum and the relic from Yggdrasil, the World Tree, which contained Asgardian magic. She succeeded in freeing Strange.
In King in Black #4, Strange was freed and immediately took the staff in his hands, smashing it against the ground to harness the Asgardian magic from Yggdrasil, the World Tree. He used that magic in conjunction with several other heroes and launched a full-on attack on Knull. They were able to slow Knull down, but not even all this power could stop him. However, it did allow Silver Surfer to find the Enigma Force, which turned Eddie Brock into the new Captain Universe, the one force that can stop Knull.
Doctor Strange’s powers were only a small part of this overall plan, but it had to be powerful to join the other heroes in launching the attack on Knull. Strange originally obtained this power when Loki took over as the Sorcerer Supreme in the Donny Cates, Gabriel Walta & Niko Henrichon run on Doctor Strange. To get the power he needed to beat someone as strong as Loki, Strange had to steal a portion of the Odinforce from Yggdrasil, the World Tree. This is the tree that connects all the Ten Realms, and it possesses awe-inspiring powers. It was enough for Strange to fight Loki and win his Sorcerer Supreme role back. He then surrendered the powers back, except for the relic he used in King in Black.
However, once Strange had a piece of the Odinforce in him, it would be there forever. That was revealed in Thor #12, when Donald Blake came to the Sanctum Santorium and learned of the Odinforce within Doctor Strange. Blake figured out how Strange got his power and then easily defeated the Sorcerer Supreme with all the Odinforce he had stolen already.
Despite that loss to Donald Blake, this Asgardian magic could still be the key to Doctor Strange’s role in taking down the symbiote god, Knull.
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