Doctor Strange's replacement as Sorcerer Supreme will be chosen this December

The Death of Doctor Strange #4
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

A new Sorcerer Supreme will officially be named in December 22's Death of Doctor Strange #4, the penultimate issue of the limited series in which Stephen Strange is murdered under mysterious circumstances, leaving the job of Sorcerer Supreme open for a new candidate.

Written by Jed MacKay with art from Lee Garbett and covers from Kaare Andrews, the limited series launches with Death of Doctor Strange #1 on September 22 - though speculation on who could take Strange's place as Sorcerer Supreme has been going on since the title was announced a few months ago. 

Marvel's latest round of advance solicitations for Death of Doctor Strange and its tie-in titles reveals that Death of Doctor Strange #4 will name the Sorcerer Supreme, but offers little to no hints at who Earth's new primary magical protector may be.

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

The issue's cover offers no further insight, depicting a silhouetted figure whose body is mostly obscured by the shape of Strange's iconic Cloak of Levitation, one of the artifacts passed down to those who take the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.

Strange's death won't be the first time he's been replaced as Sorcerer Supreme. He once lost the title to Doctor Voodoo before receiving it back as a result of Doctor Voodoo's death and resurrection. And in the story Doctor Strange: God of Magic, Loki tricks Strange into temporarily handing the title over to him. 

In both cases, the title of Sorcerer Supreme eventually returned to Strange's hands - and may likely come back to him again if (when?) he's resurrected.

Along with showing off the previously announced Death of Doctor Strange: X-Men/Black Knight #1 tie-in one-shot, the reveal of when we'll meet the new Sorcerer Supreme also included information about another just-announced tie-in, Death of Doctor Strange: Blade from writer Danny Lore and artist Dylan Burnett.

The Death of Doctor Strange: Blade #1 (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

In Death of Doctor Strange: Blade, the titular Daywalker deals with the aftermath of the death of his old Midnight Sons ally in the vampire community, taking on Dracula and his so-called Vampire Nation.

Death of Doctor Strange: Blade #1 is due out December 1, followed by Death of Doctor Strange: X-Men/Black Knight #1 on December 15, and Death of Doctor Strange #4 on December 22.

Newsarama is thinking along the same lines as Marvel. We recently took a deep dive into who could be the next Sorcerer Supreme

George Marston

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)