One of the fun things about the Marvel Universe is that on occasion, heroes get to occasionally fight villains that are outside their regular rogues' gallery. Heck, Marvel even did an event with this as the gimmick. But this story is going to be from Marvel's heady days of the Silver Age. Doctor Strange has face many a threat in his day, but this encounter will be a unique one for him. His opponent here will be...the Juggernaut. Can he stop the unstoppable? Let's find out in Dr. Strange #182!
The cover is a Gene Colan piece, and it's pretty cool, even if Juggernaut looks a little goofy with the pose. The way Strange looms over him makes him look like he could possess quite a threat to the Unstoppable One.
"And Juggernaut Makes Three!"
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Gene Colan
Inker: Tom Palmer
Letterer: Jean Izzo
Editor: Stan Lee
Editor-in-Chief: Stan Lee
The story begins with Clea and Wong gazing into the Eye of Agamotto, with our man Strange trapped inside it.
Inside the Eye, Strange is trying to rescue Eternity, the embodiment of the universe, from the clutches of his old nemesis Nightmare. Nightmare had imprisoned Eternity in issue #180. Nightmare uses the power of Eternity to create some sort of cataclysm, but someone has something to say about that.
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| "I gotta get outta here! I got X-Men to beat up!" |
Juggernaut was exiled to a place called the "Crimson Cosmos", and he wants to get back to Earth. This was part of an unrevealed plan by the Sorcerer Supreme. He had brought the Juggernaut here. Outside, Wong and Clea watch the battle, when they get a delivery.
Telegram for Stephen Strange! Wong gets a bad feeling about the little note.
Inside the Eye of Agamotto, Juggernaut and Nightmare duke it out. You see, Stephen's plan was basically using ol' Juggy to distract Nightmare. The more Nightmare has to concentrate on fighting Juggy, the weaker his hold on Doctor Strange gets. And eventually, Strange is able to summon his amulet and Cloak of Levitation. Juggernaut and Nightmare realize what Strange is up to. The two attack him, but Strange was counting on that.
Yeah, the bad guys ended up accidentally releasing Eternity. Whoops. Eternity rants that he could have easily escaped the villain's capture. He just...didn't feel like breaking out.
I think the cosmic embodiment of the universe is just trying to cover up some wounded pride. He sends Eternity and Juggernaut to supposedly their oblivion (they'll be back), and without even so much as a "thank you", sends Strange back to Earth. Wong shows Strange the telegram.
It turns out, Eternity was a bit thankful to Strange after all, giving him the new identity of "Stephen Sanders".
I enjoyed the issue, mainly because it was a big battle. But the thing is, I was a bit disappointed with it. You see, the cover gave the idea we'd see Strange face off against the Juggernaut. That would have been quite an interesting fight. You see, Strange and the Juggernaut both are empowered by magic. However, they're very much opposites in how they use their mystical power. Strange uses his mysticism in the classic wizard manner, casting spells. Juggernaut's power is physical in nature. He can smash his way through just about anything, and has enough muscle power to even face the Hulk. It would have been a fun "brain vs. brawn"-type battle.
Gene Colan turns in some really cool artwork here. One of the fun things about this comic is the panel layouts. It seems to be continuing on the psychedelic stylings of Ditko, but evolved. It really stands out from many other comics of the Silver Age.
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2016 trade paperback Doctor Strange Epic Collection Vol. 3: A Separate Reality. Thanks for reading this blog entry! Join me next time when the Avengers continue their epic battle against Immortus…
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