He fails, but Strange's heroism appears when he discovers the Ancient One's disciple, Baron Mordo, attempting to kill the old man. The Ancient One refuses to help Strange due to his arrogance, but senses a good side that he attempts to bring to the surface. Strange, nearly broke, seeks out the aged mystic. Depressed and still searching, Strange happens to overhear two sailors discussing a hermit called the Ancient One (who is actually the Earth's Sorcerer Supreme) in the Himalayas, who can cure any ailment. Īfter exhausting his funds, Strange becomes a drifter. Marvel unwittingly printed the letter and dropped the retraction. According to Frank Brunner, he and Englehart concocted a fake letter from a fictitious minister praising the story, and mailed it to Marvel from Texas. Stan Lee, seeing the issue after publication, ordered Englehart and Brunner to print a retraction saying this was not God but a god, to avoid offending religious readers. Englehart and Brunner created another multi-issue storyline featuring sorcerer Sise-Neg ('Genesis' spelled backward) going back through history, collecting all magical energies, until he reaches the beginning of the universe, becomes all-powerful and creates it anew, leaving Strange to wonder whether this was, paradoxically, the original creation.

Strange then assumes the title of Sorcerer Supreme. In issues #8-10 (May–September 1973), Strange is forced to shut down the Ancient One's mind, causing his mentor's physical death. Englehart and Brunner collaborated closely on the stories, meeting over dinner every two months to discuss the series, and their run became known for its psychedelic visuals and plots.

This arc marked the debut of another recurring foe, the entity Shuma-Gorath, created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Frank Brunner, who took over as the regular creative team starting with Marvel Premiere #10.

The character then starred in a revival solo series in Marvel Premiere #3-14 (July 1972 – March 1974). He appeared in both the main story detailing the formation of superhero 'non-team' the Defenders, and the related back-up story. After plans were announced for a never-realized split book series featuring Doctor Strange and Iceman, each in solo adventures, Strange next appeared in the first three issues (December 1971 – June 1972) of the quarterly showcase title Marvel Feature.

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