Doctor Strange’s 10 Best Team-Up Comics

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Doctor Strange is Marvel’s Master of the Mystic Arts, but he’s rarely seen as its friendliest face. A former neurosurgeon with a god complex and an Upper West Side sanctum, Strange often flies solo—even when it’s wildly inconvenient. Outside his occasional tag-ins from Wong or Clea, he’s not the first hero other Avengers call when assembling a team.

But when interdimensional threats, magic-wielding villains, or cosmic catastrophes break loose, Strange shows up whether he wants to or not. Across six decades of comics, the Sorcerer Supreme has aligned with Marvel’s best—and weirdest—in battles that demand more than just spells, but teammates, too. From Spider-Man to the Defenders to cosmic threats requiring godlike intervention, Doctor Strange has reluctantly joined forces with Marvel’s greatest champions across six decades of Marvel Comics presence. Dive into the best of the best below.

10

Doctor Strange Joins Marvel’s Secret Society

New Avengers Illuminati (2006)

Brian Michael Bendis has given the comic book industry countless classics. Bendis ruled 2000s Marvel Comics as the author of well-known gems like House of M and Ultimate Spider-Man. He created Miles Morales in the latter, but it’s another Bendis creation — The Illuminati — that boasts a must-read Doctor Strange team-up in The New Avengers: The Illuminati. Penned by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Steve McNiven, the team’s debut miniseries puts Doctor Strange in the rarefied air of the Marvel Universe’s other genius intellects: Iron Man, Reed Richards, Black Panther, Namor, and Professor X.

Their shadow council tackles cosmic and earth-shaking problems that require careful planning rather than solo heroics. Strange’s role here highlights his sometimes dubious moral compass. He’s not just a street-level magician or masterful sorcerer, but someone who likes his power and control in shaping the future of the Marvel Universe. The proof? The group’s tough decisions set the stage for major events like Secret Wars, World War Hulk, and more.

9

The Sorcerer Supreme Reluctantly Assembles Marvel’s Strangest Super-Team: A New Team Forms

Defenders #1-2 (1972)

The original incarnation of the Defenders was a far cry from the Netflix show it became decades later. First, the team was led by Doctor Strange and included Hulk, Namor, and Silver Surfer. The team debuted in Marvel Feature #1 (Dec. 1971) ahead of their self-titled run as The Defenders in 1972. Despite the different makeup, the core premise hit similarly: heroes who, at a glance, have no business together, teaming up to take down street threats.

This inaugural two-fer features some classic 1970s psychedelia, too fun to ignore. Namor the Sub-Mariner and Dr. Strange’s astral project on the hunt for the Silver Surfer, the Hulk floats through Manhattan with an invisibility spell cast on him. The whole thing is a funky time capsule with superheroes rarely seen together (especially back then) finally rubbing shoulders. The roster itself is a fleeting one, too. The Silver Surfer was quickly written out after his brief tryout with the team (at the time, Stan Lee considered him to be his pet project and was not keen on letting other writers use him). But those early issues established a template most Strange team-ups would utilize, deploying the character as the reluctant, sarcastic leader trying to corral forces of good.

8

Strange and Spider-Man Body-Swap to Stop a Wand-Wielding Lunatic

Marvel Team-Up #21 (1974)

The early Marvel Team-Up series specialized in oddball duos, but issue #21 was one of the first that truly clicked. When the B‑list sorcerer Xandu gets hold of the Wand of Watoomb, he brainwashes Spider-Man into attacking Doctor Strange. What could’ve been a basic “heroes fight, then team up” plot gets weird fast: Strange casts a spell that switches their powers mid-fight, turning Peter into a web-slinging mystic and putting Strange inside a teenage body with no clue how to stick to walls.

Folks may remember this issue getting tossed around in comic book shop conversations when fans theorized how Spider-Man and Strange would coexist (or not) in Spider-Man: No Way Home. While the plot wasn’t lifted, certain dynamics found in this earlier issue were. This was one of Strange’s earliest crossovers with a street-level hero, and it showed how adaptable the character could be when pulled outside his usual gothic corridors. Spider-Man was a great comic foil to Strange’s self-serious camp, but he also webbed Strange back into Marvel’s more grounded New York, forcing Strange to think less in the abstract and more like the reader.

7

Strange Joins the Avengers to Track Down the Scarlet Witch

Avengers & Doctor Strange: The Children’s Crusade (2010-2012)

Children’s Crusade is where Doctor Strange steps into Avengers territory, joining the team as they try to find Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, who’s gone missing after years of chaos caused by her reality-warping powers in House of M. Written by Allan Heinberg with art by Jim Cheung, it’s also a crucial Young Avengers arc, ultimately reuniting Wiccan and Speed with their mother.

If nothing else, Children’s Crusade would make solid MCU homework. Wiccan, Speed, and the way Strange’s magic plays a key role in tracking Wanda’s mind, confronting the consequences of her past mistakes, are all directions the movies could go. The same too, can be said for where the team finally tracks her down — in the mind-controlled clutches of Doctor Doom.

6

Strange Teams with the X-Men to Rescue Nightcrawler’s Soul

X-Men Annual #4 (1980)

Doctor Strange and Wolverine finally crossed paths thanks to one of Marvel Comics’ best creative teams of all time: Claremont and Romita Jr. They didn’t hold back with the shared sandbox of X-Men and mysticism, either. The jumbo-sized X-Men Annual #4 follows the mutant heroes tapping Strange for assistance in rescuing Nightcrawler from hell.

Strange’s first canonical encounter with Wolverine, and their dynamic is exactly what you’d expect. Logan’s punch-first instincts clash with Strange’s measured, metaphysical approach, but both prove essential. Strange was inserted directly into X-Men continuity at its height and was its beneficiary. But the X-Men reaped benefits, too. The visuals are pure 1980s occult bombast, and the structure prefigures the kind of “magical crossover episode” that would become standard in comics decades later. It’s weird, bold, and surprisingly heartfelt.

5

Doctor Strange Opens a Gateway to Hell

Doctor Strange: Damnation (2018)

In Damnation, Doctor Strange tries to resurrect Las Vegas after it was wrecked during Secret Empire. Predictably, things go sideways fast. His magic accidentally opens a portal to Mephisto’s domain, turning Vegas into a literal Hell on Earth—complete with a demonic Hotel Inferno and citizens transformed into Ghost Rider-style flameheads.

Now a Ghost Rider himself, Strange has to team up with Wong, Blade, Moon Knight, and Scarlet Spider to fight Mephisto’s infernal takeover. This story leans into the dark, supernatural side of Marvel, with Strange balancing his Sorcerer Supreme duties against the chaos he unleashed. It’s a high-stakes mystical road trip, where Strange’s leadership and grit get tested as he races to save Vegas from damnation.

4

Strange Reunites with the Defenders for a Cosmic Comedy of Errors

Defenders: Indefensible (2005) #1–5

Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis with art by Kevin Maguire, this miniseries flips the classic Defenders formula on its head. Strange calls back Hulk, Namor, and Silver Surfer—not for an epic battle, but to stop a cosmic disaster that quickly spirals into chaos and laughs. The Indefinable plot — Strange calling back the OG Defenders to take on Dormammu and his sister Umar the Unholy — isn’t trying to rebuild the wheel. It’s straightforward and solid enough, however, as a runway for its characters.

After all, Defenders: Indefensible was responsible for re-energizing the stagnated title run, and the Giffen/DeMatteis duo were just the hire to do it. Fresh off their well-reviewed romps on Justice League International, the two had the perfect target with Strange’s pomposity, never at the expense of the moments of genuine friendship with this motley crew shining through.

Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme (2017)

Marvel’s magic isn’t confined to one Sorcerer Supreme. Across time—past, present, and future—many have taken up the mantle, each defending reality in their way. Sorcerers Supreme first leaned into this idea, but its sequel series, Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme, doubled down on that magic, assembling another team of these mystical champions for a new story.

When an ancient cosmic menace known as the Forgotten escapes its prison, Merlin enlists Stephen Strange to lead a quest through time alongside other Sorcerers Supreme. They journey through strange dimensions, hunting arcane weapons and knowledge to stop the rampage. The team includes familiar faces and surprising choices, with each issue spotlighting a different Sorcerer’s unique style and backstory. Javier Rodriguez’s art, paired with Jordie Bellaire and Tamra Bonvillain’s vibrant colors, brings these magical realms to life, especially a standout sequence exploring Merlin’s impossibly intricate library. The series even adds some storytelling magic to the experience —its final issue offers a Choose Your Own Adventure format that lets readers pick how the story concludes.

2

Doctor Strange and Doom’s Unlikely Alliance Shapes Battleworld

Secret Wars (2015)

Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars is a modern classic with a much broader story than just that of Strange’s subplot. Still, the Sorcerer Supreme is a scene-stealer in the multiversal saga, stepping into a morally gray space again, this time as the right hand to God Emperor Doom. After the multiverse shatters, Strange finds himself serving as Sheriff on Battleworld, a patchwork planet formed from the remnants of destroyed realities.

Strange’s role is complicated: he’s both an advisor and an enforcer, the second most powerful person in all the realm. While his team-up starts with Doom, his ultimate choice is to help Black Panther, his former Illuminati counterpart, and his universe resist and understand Doom’s regime. It’s a powerful gesture and a rare example of Strange both operating within a power structure and doing something radical from inside it.

1

Strange and Doom Are a Team From Hell — Literally

Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment (1989)

Countless times throughout his life, Doctor Doom challenged Mephisto for the soul of his mother. Every time, he failed. But when Doom won a magical tournament that granted him one favor from the newly crowned Sorcerer Supreme, he cashed it in on a rematch—with Strange as his partner. Triumph and Torment, written by Roger Stern and drawn by Mike Mignola, uses that premise to elevate what could’ve been a novelty team-up with two overpowered characters into a window into two of Marvel’s most magnificent egos.

What follows is half classic team-up, half intense character study. Most of the story takes place inside Mephisto’s realm, where Strange and Doom fight through illusions, traps, and demons to reach the throne room. Yet, for all the arcane power flying around, the story’s real weight comes from watching two titans of control come face-to-face with something they can’t muscle through. This, ultimately, is a story about two fragile men cooperating while confronting demons, literal and figurative, which means there’s plenty or trauma unpacking to go around. Stern and Mignola achieve it all to great emotional effect.

“}]] Doctor Strange is Marvel’s Master of the Mystic Arts and isn’t always seen as its friendliest face, though he still has several memorable team-ups.  Read More