The Death of Doctor Strange: Avengers #1: The Crimson Cosmos

Let me preface this by saying I am not a huge fan of the Avengers. I never have been. I mean, I love She-Hulk and Wasp, but I’ve always been more of an X-Men fan. Nevertheless, I’ve been keeping up with The Death of Doctor Strange largely because the character’s spot in the Marvel Universe has always fascinated me. Magical characters have a certain charm about them, and the good doctor is one of the biggest mages at Marvel. Sadly, this story arc has failed to impress thus far.

That’s not to say there is nothing noteworthy about this particular chapter. Far from it, in fact. From the very moment you see the cover art featuring an exciting battle between some of the Avengers and Juggernaut, you know you’re in for a treat. And here we get not just one Juggs, not two, but several, as the bands of Cyttorak are further explored. I hate to admit this, but it was only recently where I realized Doctor Strange’s “Crimson Bands of Cyttorak” had to do with Juggernaut’s power source. These are two characters I’ve never really thought would work in a story, but I find myself really wanting to see them interact.

The star of the story, however, is Iron Man. I have nothing against Tony. I’m a fan, actually. But I’m just… bored with him? I get that he’s one of Marvel’s top dogs, but I do wish we could’ve seen other Avengers in this issue beyond the most regularly featured. I do commend writer Alex Paknadel for bringing some interesting banter between Iron Man and Doctor Strange, though. I’d definitely be down for more of them together.

There’s a twist with Juggernaut that I didn’t fully understand, likely due to my general unfamiliarity with the Gem of Cyttorak. But it’s an interesting development nonetheless. I’m also very interested in the Three Mothers. As a horror fan, the Suspiria reference isn’t lost on me. We’ve seen preliminary art for these three evil witches, and the Wyrd even briefly appears in a flashback in this issue, but I can’t wait to see more. If anything permanent comes from this story (because you know Doctor Strange’s death won’t), I hope it’s the addition of these three awesome villains.