The new, R-rated Sorcerer Supreme is Marvel's most powerful wielder of the dark arts, but her abilities are actually so powerful that they're becoming too much to handle. With the weight of two dimensions on her shoulders, Clea Strange is in charge of maintaining order. She is overladen with jobs and duties, lacking in allies, and being attacked by people all around her.
Magic s from all over the Marvel universe are gunning for her job, and some have attacked her to try and take the title. Thankfully, she pulled through and scared them away, generally through displays of raw power. While her predecessor Stephen Strange was always a darker hero than many acknowledged, using magic to injure or imprison magical foes indefinitely, Clea isn't hiding her power or her wrath, and many of her spells have blood-drenched consequences that make her a truly ferocious Marvel hero.
Clea's first battle with her new powers was against a mystical crime syndicate called the Blasphemy Cartel. Clea shows them what she can do in Strange #1 by Jed MacKay, Marcelo Ferreira, and Don Ho. While she drove them off initially, they have continued to return, developing more and more new ways to defeat her. Eventually, they discovered how to neutralize her magic, but it's soon revealed that they were only able to neutralize Earth's magic. As Sorcerer Supreme of both the Dark Dimension and Earth, Clea Strange has access to two very powerful magic sources - sources which are actually in constant conflict.
Clea Strange's Raw Power Is Tearing Her Apart
The amount of power she holds as the Sorcerer Supreme of the Dark Dimension is already incredibly intense, but with the combined power of Earth magic, she has more than she can handle. Strange issue 2 gives readers a closer look at how these two magic powers collide. The Dark Dimension and Earth are two opposing energies, they clash with one another like "fire and ice." Indeed, Clea is unable to access both magic sources at the same time because they literally don't mix. Because she holds both of those powers inside her, her magic is constantly at war. Negating one aspect of her power for a short time actually made her more dangerous, because she was no longer performing the balancing act that prevents her turning into a literal monster in the style of her uncle Dormammu.
Clea's Hero Status Is Sitting on a Knife Edge
Not many magicians attempt to take on multiple mantles, but Clea made history when she became the Sorcerer Supreme twice over. Clea its that what's helping her hold the balance is her love for Stephen Strange. Her desire to fulfill his last wishes and resurrect him is the only reason she even wants to keep the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth title. Clea has definitely proven herself in a fight, but if anything were to happen that breaks her balance, she would become consumed with power. As the most powerful Sorcerer Supreme, Clea's will is unparalleled, but her adventures are making it clear that it's also the only thing preventing her from becoming a cosmic tinder box.
Clea Strange is a very different Sorcerer Supreme compared to Stephen, and her incendiary mix of powers makes it clear she can't hold onto the role forever. It's a race against time for Clea Strange to accomplish her goals as Earth's Sorcerer Supreme before the competing power of the Dark Dimension sends her burning out of control.
