One of the observations that I've made after being a fan of the so-called "Master of the Mystic Arts" for several years now, is that when both fans and professionals alike are asked which Marvel character they'd most like to contribute to, his name constantly pops up at the top of their list (myself included). Yet, when asked exactly what they'd do with the fate of Mrs. Strange's favorite son, the answer is usually unanimous: "Um...I dunno." (Myself, sadly, included.)

The problem, I believe, lies in the fact that Marvel writers past and present tend to treat Doc Strange as a deux ex machina, plot-wise. There tends to be no real cap, no real glass ceiling to his abilities. He can pull off anything....because it's magic, right? Reminds this reviewer of the quote by Alan Moore, made in reference to comic book continuity: "This is an imaginary story.... aren't they all?"

I feared this may prove to be problematic for anyone who attempts a screen adaptation of the character, because if he can literally do anything, how do you make interesting stories that work for him on a suspense level, because...well, the dude can pull anything outta his ass. I mean, literally. You never know.

Thankfully, after viewing the newest release from the Lions Gate/ Marvel Films DVD deal, Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme, I was pleasantly surprised. If you're a fan, it's pretty much a recap of the classic Lee/Ditko origin story, fleshed out with some new elements: Dr. Stephen Strange, a not-to-likeable man (we find out in flashbacks why he's such a cold fish) who's riding high on life as a hot-shot surgeon. He gets knocked down a few pegs after a car accident hinders his medical career, and learns humility and patience from the Ancient One. Not to mention all kinds of crazy acid trip magic stuff and how to transverse other dimensional landscapes that resemble Salavador Dali paintings.....

Oh, yeah....there's this big demonic presence called Dormammu he has to deal with. This causes my only complaint about this particular animated feature: They didn't utilize a character design close to the original Ditko source material, who in my opinion is one of the coolest looking bad guys from Silver Age Marvel, second only to Kirby's take on Doctor Doom and Steranko's version of the Nick Fury villain, Scorpio. As a long-time admirer of the works of Steve Ditko, I find it a shame that an animated Dr. Strange flick didn't see more of an influence from one of Marvel's more interesting art styles of the 1960s.

Throw in some new very Oriental supporting characters that help teach Strange and aid the Ancient One in his battle against black magic - which I honestly think was due to the popularity of Asian cinema at the moment - and you've pretty much got this Marvel Comics-based cartoon in a bag.

Still, Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme is a decent effort, much better than the slightly-better-than-terrible Ultimate Avengers discs they've been cranking out, and worth giving a look-see.

Can I ask a question? Is anyone out there still doing traditional cel animation these days? I don't think this particular feature has ever seen the light of day outside of a hard drive, because there's a lot of CGI stuff going on. So, needless to say, the disc's playback looks great.

"Best of Marvel Video Game Cinematics" - WTF?!? This little "featurette" (if you can call it that) is pretty lame. If I wanted to see video game screen captures and play-throughs, I'd visit YouTube.

"Who Is Doctor Strange" featurette- Various comic book professionals and folks involved with this production lay out the comic book origins and history of the character. Informative and concise.

"A First Look At Avengers Reborn " - Now....this has me worried. A sneak peak at the upcoming Marvel DTV whose plot involves an elderly Tony Stark in a dysatopian world gathering the children of the Avengers to take on Ultron. Hopefully the whole "Babifying" craze of the 80s that was began with "Muppet Babies" is cycling through again, because this looks like "Marvel Babies" to me....uggh.

"Doctor Strange Concept Art" - This in-set gallery is pretty self explanitory.

"Trailer Gallery"- Includes the annoying pre-menu trailers for the upcoming DVD release of Delta Farce ("Git 'er dun!" Oh....jesus.), The Dresden Files and the previously released Lions Gate/Marvel discs Ultimate Avengers, Ultimate Avengers 2 and The Invincible Iron Man .