Who Controls the Magic of the Marvel Universe?

By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!

Don’t just stand inside the doorway like a terrible tentacled monster stuck between dimensions! Come in, come in. Sit by the magical fire awhile. Welcome to Mordo’s Mystic Mysteries, where we take a deep investigative dive into the questions posed by the magical world of Doctor Strange & Co.

So get comfortable and listen closely, foolish mortal—Episode I of “Mordo’s Mystic Mysteries” now commences!

TO VISHANTI AND BEYOND

The only beings that may be able to claim dominion over all magic everywhere are the Vishanti. The three eldritch entities—Oshtur, Agamotto, and Hoggoth—pretty much created the concept of a Sorcerer Supreme, their powers existing on Earth via ancient artifacts like the Eye of Agamotto. Hoggoth once described their abilities as “infinite,” but that could’ve just been boasting...

THE EXILE OF SINGHSOON

When Loki became the new Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange decided to retire and become a vet. With the aid of a talking basset hound, Strange learned that the Asgardian trickster was attempting to discover the “Exile of Singhsoon,” a legendary spell that was, in the words of Strange himself, “the nuclear launch codes of the magical world.” If a sorcerer properly conjures it, they can take control of the entire magic supply. Stephen himself described it as “a sort of emergency shut-off switch in case of catastrophic magical failure." Whoa. 

BON APPETIT

Doctor Strange doesn’t control the magic supply, but at times, it’s actually edible. In DOCTOR STRANGE #3, Stephen woke up as his astral self in another dimension and explained that being a sorcerer is a lot like being an electrician; you don’t create magic out of nothing, but channel it from the air around you. If you’re stuck in another dimension with magic-eating Een'Gawori slugs and no pants, sometimes you have to much on the local fauna to stock up on your mystic stores of magic. Not only that but after years of casting spells, Strange’s body can only stomach strange and exotic foods from other dimensions. While it “tastes like leprosy,” it’s all he can eat and will one day end his life.

FANDAZAR FOO

Ah, Fandazar Foo—a nexus point between realities with magic out the wazoo. According to Strange (and now Mordo), Fandazar Foo—don’t laugh at the name, please—is a gathering point of sorcerers from all over who need to replenish this magic supplies. It’s also a handy meditation location. Stephen called it “like Palm Spring. But for wizards.”

THE IMPERATOR

The Imperator, leader of the Empirikul, was on a mission to snuff out magic in the name of science and killed many Sorcerer Supremes across different dimensions in the process in the process. He saw it as a holy crusade or “Inquisition” in which he would purify “the infected” with “holy fire.” Why does the Imperator hate magic so much? Well, it might have something to do with the fact that his science-loving parents were murdered by the Elders of their society, who worshipped Shuma-Gorath and considered anyone who did not bask in his glory to be a heretic. 

CONCLUSION

On a first go-around, we could not find any proof of one singly being actually controlling the entire magic supply in the Marvel Universe. Yes, there are powerful masters of the mystic arts (such as myself) who know how to harness magic from the world around them; there are locations just bursting forth with magic; and there are those that seek to destroy magic in all its forms, but our research has not revealed an individual like we meet in issue #11.

We may be in trouble here…