Zelma Stanton

A librarian from the Bronx, Zelma becomes acutely aware of the magical world around her, and as Doctor Strange’s apprentice, she uses her knowledge and books to save the day.

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Biography

Biography

Zelma Stanton leads an altogether normal life as a librarian from the Bronx until she discovers the world of magic when she contracts a magical ailment. She seeks out Steven Strange, AKA Doctor Strange, and with his help rids herself of her unwelcome guests, the Mind Maggots, and becomes his librarian at the Sanctum Sanctorum.

 

Sorting Books

A librarian from the Bronx, Zelma Stanton, visits the Sanctum Sanctorum to call upon Doctor Strange to help her with, well, something strange. Upon some encouragement from Doctor Strange, Zelma removes her hat to reveal a growth with teeth appearing in her hairline. When Strange investigates and uses a spell on her, the growth erupts, and mysterious beasts leap out of Zelma’s head and scatter around the house. All of the creatures seem to leave her head, but still, mouths remain. As Zelma explores the Sanctorum with Strange, they end up getting separated. She comes upon Wong, a master of the mystic arts and Strange’s protector, and he takes her back to the library where Strange discovers Zelma’s head is infected with Mind Maggots, which feed on the psychic energy of their host. He also sees that she’s still linked to them and covered in their ectoplasmic mucous strands. Strange then helps her solve her maggot problem by convincing her to scream her deepest secrets to lure the creatures back to them. She does so, admitting she cheated on her driver’s exam and that she doesn’t know what to do at a four-way stop. But it wasn’t enough. Wong encourages her to share her deepest, darkest secrets. She yells about how she claims to be a vegetarian to avoid her mother’s meatloaf, but she eats burgers twice a week and that she voted for J. Jonah Jameson for Mayor. Strange absorbs them, curing Zelma, and offers her a job as the Sanctorum’s librarian, which she accepts.

 

Spell Book Magic

Zelma is coming into her powers since she has recently become Strange’s apprentice. She casts spells from books located in Strange’s library and projects energy from her hands to hold back enemies.

 

Empirikul Enemies

The Empirikul, an interdimensional super-science army, travels around destroying or defeating masters of magic and mystical landmarks on Earth. Zelma comes face to face with the foot soldiers and uses a magical book to defend herself against them. She manages to escape their clutches.

 

Strange Allies

Zelma works with Doctor Strange after she suffers a strange ailment—an unusual growth forms in her head which releases monstrous creatures. After Strange helps her with this problem, he offers her a job as his librarian at the Sanctum Sanctorum, and she accepts. She then helps him rebuild his library after an attack on all of magic. She even teaches at his academy for magically-inclined students as the keeper of arcane and magical items.

As the acting librarian in the Sanctum Sanctorum, she meets Wong, a master of the martial and mystic arts as well as an aid and protector of Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme. Though Zelma does not trust his cooking as it is otherworldly. 

 

From Body Horror To Magic

The cult known as the Empirikul, led by The Imperator, sought to destroy all magic and magic users, and when they attacked the Sanctum Sanctorum, Doctor Strange’s library was destroyed. Zelma avoided the Empirikul, and in searching for a weapon to save the day, she entered the Sanctorum’s cellar, which had a clearly etched warning on the door to never to enter. She later ended up hiding out in a refrigerator and used a book to surprise attack the Empirikul, and then Wong showed up and teleported them to Tibet. Zelma insisted on going back to use what she found in the cellar against the Empirikul. The next time she saw Doctor Strange, she offered him the one book she saved from his library. As he went to face off the cellar creature and the Imperator, Zelma stayed behind, and with the support of Wong and the other monks in Tibet where they sought shelter, she cast a spell to share his suffering. Zelma then helped him rebuild his collection by recording spells. 

Zelma later helped Strange retrieve one of the last remaining magical items, a wand, but in their escape on a magical flying motorcycle, Magma Man attacked them in the name of magical menace Morgan le Fay and shot Strange with an arrow. Magma Man then threw Zelma and Strange off course and into Weirdworld. Strange fell ill from the arrow, and Zelma cared for him. She then used the wand and invoked Munnopor to defend her and Strange against attacking Bloodboars. Escaping her attackers, she then used one of the spells she had transcribed, the spell of transference to transfer Strange’s illness to herself. The spell worked and Strange got them safely back to the Sanctorum. Using the magical food from Weirdworld that he consumed, he fed it to Zelma to save her, and while it did, it also changed her ability to see the magical world more easily. Zelma then became Strange’s apprentice, and Wong, who didn’t support this change, left Strange’s service to pursue a life without magic.

Following the restoration of magic to their world, Strange and other powerful mystics started Strange Academy, a magically hidden school in New Orleans for magically-inclined students. Zelma recruited students and gave them a tour of the campus on orientation day. Her role on campus extended to the keeper of arcane and magical items. When one of her students asked about the cost of magic, Zelma informed her that it had been taken care of, but later at a staff meeting, she told her colleague Jericho Drumm, AKA Doctor Voodoo, that she did not like to lie to the students, suggesting that someone was either paying the price of all the magic that the students use, or there was some other sinister plot at work.

gender

Female

Universe, Place of Origin, Identity, Powers
  • Universe

  • Place of Origin

  • Identity

  • Powers