There are cosmic horrors – idiotic, ravenous, indestructible things – lurking on the fringes of the universe. They adore the taste of sentient life; it attracts them to the cracks in reality, and then they force their way through for a time, destroy/eat everything in sight, and retreat back to the madness-worlds that they call home. You know this for truth; its obviousness is inescapable. Most people cannot accept this at face value, however, and that is why we come up with theories about life-destroying comets and the like.
The old races – the really, really old races, the ones that the Elders of the Universe outlived – discovered, back in the day, the power of warning signs. Life magic, using the energy of expiring souls to create runes that, if not capable of destroying those horrors, at least made planets rich with life taste like moldy Limburger to them. (Metaphorically speaking, of course.) Benevolent members of those races explored the universe and found the prehistoric ancestors of all the alien races, and taught them the rituals – who to choose, how to kill and when and where, what to do thereafter. (Murder is simple. Sacrifice is difficult.)
Of course, people being people – even when they’re aliens – after a few tens of thousands of years, everybody forgot the why and how and when and where, and it just became ritual sacrifice to appease gods. Sometimes the gods existed; sometimes they did not. However, the existent gods didn’t complain, because sacrificial worship is still worship, even if it is messy. The nonexistent ones did not complain for obvious reasons. Eventually, of course, most civilizations grew up and left behind ritual sacrifice as a practice, because it was barbaric and cruel and pointless. And it was – the original rules to create the warding signs had long since mutated into uselessness.
On Earth, the old races taught half a dozen nascent cultures, all of whom managed to forget in different ways the purpose of their task. It’s not surprising that humanity forgot the reason for the sacrifices; what would be surprising would be if somebody managed to rediscover the practice and the need behind it. It would be virtually impossible, an act of archeology so amazing Indiana Jones would jump out of the fridge and doff his fedora in respect.
Which of course means that somebody does it. An accomplished archeologist pieces it all together, and then realizes that, according to the instructions left behind on stone tablets from a dozen ancient civilizations, Earth’s current set of warning markers is just about all used up. They should have been renewed a century ago; now maybe a couple of years’ time and one person’s knowledge are all that stands between the planet and eternal cosmic consumption.
The good Doctor only learns of this person’s work gradually, when other, less magically-inclined heroes ask him to consult on a grisly, occult-looking murder. Finding the person involved proves to be difficult, even for one of his calibre. But then comes the most troubling question: what if the archeologist is right? What if the heightened and honed magical abilities of the Sorcerer Supreme (and similarly powerful mages) aren’t an upgrade to the old blood magic, but merely an interesting, totally non-similar skill set, and they can’t deal with the cosmic horrors at all?
It’s Strange’s job to protect this reality from destruction. Does being the universe’s protector mean being the universe’s butcher when necessary?
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Damn it, I want to read this. Marvel needs to start another Dr. Strange comic. Fucking Bendis, ruining my fun.
Where is this idea taken from?
Your serial killer needs to have more than just a cosmic need to perform these acts over and over again. He needs to be able to derive a personal pleasure from the acts to keep from losing his focus and becoming completely suicidal.
Necrophilia is good for a jaw-dropping shock, but you can’t go wrong with Cannibalism.
Murder mysteries are also the central themes of my Green Lantern ideas. If they’re space cops, shouldn’t they, I don’t know, do police work?
This actually makes me think of a good hook for a Call of Cthulu-type RPG campaign. I would totally buy this comic though.
I’m just glad to see more Dr. Strange ideas from you.
This is tight. He’s a serial killer who thinks his work is vital to the survival of reality itself. He knows just enough occult lore to get Strange involved, and more importantly to make Strange doubt.
In a world where magic is real, the idea of cannibalism to “preserve” some portion of a victim suddenly makes sense. The killer’s necrophilia is an enactment of the original rituals that would later mutate and influence Hindus and some of their depictions of Kali going reverse cowgirl on a dead Shiva. The killer may not even want to do this, but he believes he has to. And just as important, he has to teach others to carry on the tradition. As it is, an angry relative of a dead victim or an overzealous cop could kill the archaeologist and thus doom all of humanity. Then, once the idea is established elsewhere and the survival of the world is ensured, he can stop.
The question of course is how this all impacts Strange. Does he accept “sacrifice one a month to save everyone else”, does he protect the killer(s) and the knowledge of the proper sacrifices, how does this threat compare with the other cosmic dangers Strange deals with and what makes this one so much worse? How many people have to die before Strange accept that this is the only way? How obsessed does Strange become in trying to find a better way?
I think what the ritual also needs is a side effect. When one sacrifices another person, prior to actually writing the runes, the energy must be stored in one’s own body. The result is a sort of vitality energy boost and is maybe similar to being on a caffeine high but better.
However, the archaelogist being the archaelogist hates it and what it represents. It just doesn’t look good that what he/she is doing to save the world also happens to look like being a druggie.
I like the idea of a killer that sees himself as a tragic hero (although I suppose that’s a pretty common concept in seriel killer fiction). A guy who would consider himself a Prometheus, saving the world at the cost of his own soul.
I also like the recruit idea. Sort of a Red Grant character who learns the rituals not for protection, but because they serve his own very personal needs, and has the added benefit of providing both a forum and a measure of protection for his work.
My enthusiasm for these was a bit lessened after a recent Bendis interview where he said everyone pitches Dr. Strange ideas but they can never sell Dr. Strange comics.
I’d buy this, though.
In addendum to my earlier post:
“Now whether these pleasures the killer takes from these acts of brutality are beneficial, independent or, unbeknown to the killer, detrimental to the ritual he is performing would be entirely up to the writer”
Why aren’t the “I Should Write Dr. Strange” posts in the MGKlassics section?
Because that section is for posts that predate the site.
“My enthusiasm for these was a bit lessened after a recent Bendis interview where he said everyone pitches Dr. Strange ideas but they can never sell Dr. Strange comics.”
Yeah, but doesn’t say anything of how receptive Bendis is to these ideas or how experiments have been tried. “We don’t take new ideas because the book sold poorly before them” doesn’t seem like very good reasoning to me.
These make me want to read the actual Dr. Strange comics. Then I realize they aren’t actually like this and it makes me unhappy.
Marvel’s got to be cognizant of economic realities. Deadpool’s allegedly really hot with a huge fanbase, but how many times did he have a book tank despite a huge fanbase and quality writing, while Wolverine sells like gangbusters and is the same old snikt snikt bub we’ve seen a dozen times or stories about Wolverine Jr. everyone alleges to be disinterested in?
I think one thing that this idea would need to tackle would be, if Strange determines the rituals are legitimate, whether or not they’re needed anymore. Earth has super-powered defenders now that it never had. Earth’s managed to stave off Galactus, the Celestials, and all manner of cosmic entities of great and unfathomable power. I think that the conclusion Dr. Strange’d have to come to is that sacrificing lives isn’t a tenable position, because I just don’t see superhero morality being complex enough to allow it when the Punisher, a guy who shoots child molesters in the face, isn’t a good guy.
I learned something new today about your fanbase, MGK. They would love to kill, but don’t think it’d provide enough of a rush on it’s own. (Though they do have a point re: why he keeps killing. Is it like buying minutes for a cellphone or do you need more than one sacrifice to complete the spell?)
Also Indiana Jones busting out of a fridge, Rorschach style, is awesome and a pretty good reason you should write Indiana Jones comics.
As for the actual idea, I do think it’d work best as a murder mystery from the Doc’s perspective. You front-load it, there’ll be nothing for the conclusion.
ACT I: “Yes, it’s a good thing you called me. These runes are like nothing I’ve seen before.”
ACT II: “By the Eyes of the Vishanti! I’M TOO LATE!”
ACT III: “My God. Are you saying there’s no other way?”
[…] Chris Bird is still talking about why he should write Doctor Strange. […]
“Night in the Lonesome October” by R. Zelazny, MGK?
I gotta say, the Dr. Strange proposals didn’t enrapture me like the Legion ones did.
Except this one sent chills down my spine. LITERALLY. I would love to read this one.
dingdingdingdingding
Oh. Snap.
I see everybody is pitching in ideas, trying to round it out so it won’t seem arrogant of me to try the same. Goodie!
I would like to advice you putting this story somewhere late in your imaginary run, but every time you have a television or radio on screen it’s reporting on one of the murders. If you dose the televisions and radios and internets and newspapers out it will look just like world building instead of foreshadowing.
hell yeah man!
So if we put the wards back up, we’ll keep Galactus away?
I thought Galactus was from our dimension?
Nope.
He’s from the dimension before ours. Last survivor of a dead universe.
Galactus is local, but there is really only one way to find out if it would repel him too. Think what that would save the Fantastic Four in clean up bills every five years or so.
I like how this brings up multiple questions about the morality of the act, at least to me. For example, there’s the question of whether or not Strange takes on this role himself (almost certainly not)….but also the question of if he lets the person doing it get away to continue. And what can he say to the superhero community? They don’t understand most of what he does right now, and not trying to stop a serial killer is going to make that much worse. Plus, if he just leaves the killer alone, that opens them up to being caught/killed by someone like Wolverine sniffing them out at the crime scene and finding them by scent.
Then there’s the question of whether or not this could inspire someone to commit similar murders that serve no purpose other than their own sick pleasures….or if someone who wants the world to be eaten might take notice of the media attention these bizarre murders are getting, and try to erase the blood wards the killer is making.
I just imagine a denouement where Dr. Strange and this unwiling (and totally morose) serial killer get epically drunk together after the standard amount of conflict between them is resolved.
It isn’t just Earth though. By the time Strange notices him, he has already killed up and down the timeline of the Universe. Exactly how many innocents will Strange put up with, versus the people who would be saved accidentally when the killer offs Apocalypse in his cradle for so many “babies offed born at this exact second quota”?
So, I went to my usual comic book store yesterday and there was a brief article in Comic Shop News were they announced that Mark Waid (at least I assume it was Mark Waid, they only provided a last name) is going to write a new Dr. Strange book (I think it’s supposed to be an ongoing).
And if Bendis was right about “we don’t published characters that don’t sell” that would mean that books like Immortal Iron Fist, Incredible Hercules and even New Avengers, which has at different points had Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Spider-Woman AND Dr. Strange in them, who have all had multiple titles most of which didn’t last more then a few issues. Except Strange at one point sustained two books at once, Doctor Strange and The Defenders, both of which reached over a hundred issues (which is a bit inflated because he wasn’t always in Defenders and his own title was probably inflated by the Strange Tales series, but if Marvel can bullshit the issue numbers of Cap and Thor I should get the same luxury). So, the Doc can sell comics, it’s just finding a writer good enough to make him work. And it’s certainly not Brian “My magic can’t work under these conditions!” Bendis.
Um….From Hell? (Ok Masonic magick is not quite the same, still…)
reminds me of a script i was working on where Charles Manson’s murder spree was necessary to dampen the magical energy released by the 60s
The fun in this could be that in order to recharge Earth’s protective wards in a hurry, it is necessary to target certain specially-powered humans for the ceremonies. So you end up with a hero- and villain-killer, offing some C- and D-listers to try to keep under the radar. Marvel never runs short of C- and D-list characters they could pop in the ground (and you know they won’t stay there).
The way I envision this is that the man doing this could be Strange in another life, but instead of gifts and power, he has to debase his values, his life and reputation in order to save the world.
Indiana Jones: Serial Killer.
That should be a movie.
Huh. This is kind of the back story of NU52 Vandal Savage.
There’s also the temptation of passing the case on to a mage with less scruples, like doctor doom…