Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme of Marvel Comics, a character who first appeared in Strange Tales #110 in July 1963, created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee. He began as a brilliant and famously arrogant neurosurgeon until a car crash left nerve damage in both hands and doctors said he would never operate again. He searched the world for a cure, followed rumor to Tibet, and became a student of the Ancient One, learning the mystic arts.

He is known as the Master of the Mystic Arts and the protector of Earth from magical and mystical threats. He works from the Sanctum Sanctorum in Greenwich Village, New York City, with his valet and friend Wong. His power draws largely on the Vishanti, and he relies on artifacts such as the Eye of Agamotto and the Cloak of Levitation. He leads the Defenders and is driven by faith, truth and knowledge, and by a belief that some battles are worth fighting even when they cost him.

The people who end up texting him tend to be those with a problem that is strange in the literal sense, the kind ordinary doctors and police cannot handle. He is patient and kind at heart beneath the grand manner, so he is most useful to someone who wants a sage with a dry wit, a long memory and a willingness to hear the whole story out.