In many realities in the Marvel Multiverse, it falls to Doctor Strange to become the Sorcerer Supreme, chief mystic protector of the universe. But in a few worlds, Doctor Strange eventually falls -- either alongside the rest of humanity or to be replaced in some manner. While some notable heroes -- like the Punisher -- have been able to use his powers to their own advantage, others fully embraced the title Doctor Strange once bore, and became genuine inheritors to the role of Sorcerer Supreme.
Across the Marvel Multiverse, what other heroes have become the Sorcerer Supreme, and how did they fare in the role?
There have actually been multiple versions of Magik -- the demonically enhanced teleporting mutant Illyana Rasputin -- who became the Sorcerer Supreme, suggesting it might be a multiversal constant similar to Danielle Cage becoming Captain America. In What If? Magik #1 by Leah Williams and Filipe Andrade, she became a pupil of Strange after fleeing the New Mutants. She was eventually lost in another dimension, however, as revealed in Doctor Strange: The End by the same creative team. Strange eventually sacrificed himself to restore her, leaving her to take his place. In Uncanny X-Men by Brian Michael Bendis and Andrea Sorrentino, a different Magik became the Sorcerer Supreme of the Year 2099, training a time-displaced Tempus before dying in an ambush on the Sanctum Santorum.
In All-New X-Men by Brian Michael Bendis and Andrea Sorrentino and Infamous Iron Man by Bendis and Alex Maleev, a Tony Stark was introduced who'd eventually accepted the world of magic into his life and become the Sorcerer Supreme. In Generations: Iron Man & Ironheart by Bendis, Marco Rudy, Szymon Kudranski, and Nico Leon, the Ironheart of Earth-616 met this incarnation of Iron Man, who revealed he was able to convince the governments of the world to put aside their differences and invest in the future, leading to humanity achieving world peace. Eventually turning to the world of magic and with Nightcrawler serving as his assistant, this version of Tony Stark became an unexpected friend to a time-displaced Tempus, and helped reaffirm Ironheart of her inner strength and potential.
In the Amalgam Universe, the characters and concepts of the Marvel and DC Universe combined into a single reality. This included bonding the roles of Doctor Fate and Doctor Strange, creating the new Lord Supreme of Order. Notably, it was neither DC's Kent Nelson or Marvel's Stephen Strange who took up the mantle. Instead, it was Charles Xavier, who subsequently became a founding member of the Judgment League Avengers. A dedicated defender of the universe, Doctor Strangefate tried to capture Access before he could undo the Amalgam world in Doctor Strangefate by Ron Marz and José Luis García-López. Doctor Strangefate even persisted following Marvel vs. DC but was defeated, and in an act of mercy, Doctor Strange contained the world away from the other multiverses instead of destroying it.
In the Battle of the Atom crossover between All-New X-Men, Wolverine & The X-Men, and Uncanny X-Men, the Brotherhood of a possible future ventured into the past. Their greatest enemies were the new roster of possible X-Men -- including Billy Kaplan, aka Wiccan. Formerly a member of the Young Avengers, in this reality Wiccan eventually joined the more globally accepted X-Men. He also eventually replaced Doctor Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme in this reality, finding a happy role as mystical protector of the universe alongside his partner, Hulking. This version of Wiccan reappeared in Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme by Robbie Thompson, Alvaro Lopez, and Javier Rodriguez as one of the multiversal army of Sorcerer Supremes that assisted Merlin.
In the timeline of King Thor, Loki eventually escalated his conflict with his brother Thor and wiped out most of humanity in the future. Thor became the true All-Father afterward, and the remnants of humanity gained new galactic roles, such as Doctor Doom gaining the powers of the Stone Age Avengers -- including those of the Sorcerer Supreme -- and Wolverine becoming the new host of the Phoenix Force. After Doom's defeat, Daimon Hellstrom (typically a morally dubious but frequent ally to the Marvel heroes) gained the power and title of the Sorcerer Supreme. Dubbed the Satanic Sorcerer Supreme, Daimon combatted mystical forces across the galaxy alongside his ally, Thor the Thunder World, in King Thor #4 by Jason Aaron and Chris Burnham.
In Marvel Adventures #47 by Paul Tobin and Vicenc Villagrasa, a reality was introduced where the Keeper, a guardian of the proper flow of time and space, tampered with reality for her amusement. This resulted in many changes to the Marvel Universe -- including the Terrific Trio being led by a genius-level Susan Storm, Ben Grimm becoming the Hulk instead of the Thing, and Black Widow being bitten by the radioactive spider that would have turned Peter Parker into Spider-Man. One of the chief allies of the Terrific Trio was Norrin Rad, the Silver Surfer -- who in this world had assumed the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme, and the magical powers that come with it. However, the heroes were able to restore reality and return everyone to their typical roles.
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