Warning: Spoilers for Blood Hunt #4!Doctor Strange may be preparing to lose his place as the Sorcerer Supreme. For anyone wondering what it means to be Sorcerer Supreme, it refers to a mystic arts master who wields more magic and more access to magic energies than any other magic user in their realm. Stephen Strange has famously been attached to this role for decades and remains as such.

However, Doctor Strange may be forced to pass the role off to Doctor Doom based on the events of Blood Hunt #4 by Jed MacKay and Pepe Larraz. Most readers know Doom to be one of the most brilliant minds and scientists in the Marvel Universe, even smarter than Iron Man. However, his skills as a magic user are often overlooked.

Doom’s interest in the Sorcerer Supreme role has been longstanding in Marvel lore, but this time, he might finally have his best shot at the position.

Doctor Doom Demands to Be the Sorcerer Supreme

Will Doctor Strange Grant His Wish?

Blade has been possessed by the first vampire in pop culture history, Varnae (yes, even pre-dating Dracula), and as such, he’s led a vampire army to wreck the world around him. By blotting out the sun, Blade has made himself and the world’s vampires all the more unstoppable, especially with the Darkhold on Varnae’s side. With nowhere else to turn, a non-corporeal Doctor Strange (his vampiric body is roaming without him) and his wife Clea make a trip to Doomstadt in Latveria asking for a fellow doctor’s help.

The dictator of Latveria wagers that they need a group of master mages to return the world to normal. Doom has already recruited Stephen’s students from Strange Academy behind Strange’s back, and so all Doom asks in return is that Strange “give it to me, and let us begin.” Strange is confused, and then shocked to learn that the “it” Doom is referring to is the position of Sorceror Supreme. The comic book never returns to their conversation by issue’s end, so until next issue at least, readers are in the dark if Strange accepts Doom’s request.

Doctor Doom’s Investment in Strange Academy

Could He Be Running the School?

The reveal of Strange Academy’s students in Latveria may come as a surprise to readers who have exclusively been following the Blood Hunt limited series through this crossover event, but not to those who have followed the Strange Academy: Blood Hunt side quests featuring Doctor Doom. That series by Daniel Older, Eric Gapstur and Luigi Zagaria shows how the school grounds are protected from vampire attacks, but that doesn’t stop the students from escaping to help find the Montessi Formula that could save the world. Meeting a child claiming to be the personification of the Darkhold only complicates matters.

Those same matters become further complicated when Doctor Doom appears suddenly and approaches the children moments after the Darkhold disappears. Doom suggests that, together, they can all save the world. It’s hard not to believe that Doom has something diabolical up his sleeve – he is Doctor Doom, after all – but whatever he plans to do as Sorcerer Supreme, he has the children in mind, managing to recruit them in the process. In his own twisted way, he probably thinks he can be a positive influence on the students.

Doctor Doom Should Already Be Sorceror Supreme

If Not for Doctor Strange

The role of Sorcerer Supreme is something that Doctor Doom had been trying to achieve for decades. At one point, he was a contender to become the next Sorcerer Supreme when Strange lost the mantle, and a few years ago, after Doctor Strange died, Doom tried to become the next Sorcerer Supreme. To his credit, Doctor Doom has every right to be obsessed with becoming Sorcerer Supreme, as years prior, he was almost Sorcerer Supreme before Strange.

The 1989 graphic novel Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph & Torment by Roger Stern and MIke Mignola introduces a hidden part of Doctor Doom’s origin, revealing that before his travels to Tibet, he approached a centuries-old sorcerer named Genghis hoping to be trained under his tutelage. Doom attacks him out of frustration, but Strange saves Genghis’ life. Years later, both men find themselves in a group trial with the Sorcerer Supreme role on the line. Doom is only stopped by his Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, with Strange taking advantage.

Has the Sorcerer Supreme Been Passed on to Others?

It Wouldn’t Be The First Time Doctor Strange Passed Down the Mantle

For those wondering if Doctor Strange would even be allowed or have the power to give up his Sorcerer Supreme status to someone else, the answer is yes. The role of Sorcerer Supreme can be passed to another, either through the current Sorcerer Supreme’s death or by them surrendering the position. Alternatively, it can be taken away, as seen during Brian Michael Bendis’ New Avengers. Doctor Strange loses his mastery of the mystic arts when he uses dark powers to save the Avengers. As such, he begins actively looking for a new Sorcerer Supreme.

Surprisingly, one of the candidates to replace Strange at this time is Doctor Doom. The role ends up going to Jericho Drumm, a.k.a. Brother Voodoo. Still, though, Doom would be eligible to become Sorcerer Supreme in at least two of these instances. While Strange has preserved his spirit, his body is an undead vampire, which technically means he’s dead. On that technicality, the Sorcerer Supreme spot is vacant. By the same sword, his consenting to Doom’s request would be an act of surrendering the role (which may be further complicated by the question of whether he can truly be considered dead or not).

Would Becoming Sorcerer Supreme Stunt Doom’s Hero Progress?

He’s Dangerously Close to Reaching Redemption

What’s most interesting is the timing of all of this happening, as Doctor Doom has been in the midst of transitioning into becoming something of a hero, or at least has been on the cusp of heroism. He can be considered an antagonist in some stories, but he’s not an outright villain anymore. He’s previously tried being a hero by copying and becoming a new Iron Man. Alternatively, Doom’s relationship with his goddaughter, Valeria Richards, has brought Doom all the closer to being a protagonist, as seen most recently in Jonathan Hickman’s DOOM one-shot.

Some may assume Doom only wants the Sorcerer Supreme mantle to commit evil, but at the rate he’s going, it might be a means to make his heroic path all the more clear. In his mind, at least, his becoming the Sorcerer Supreme may be for the greater good and his best shot at helping people. He certainly cares a great deal about Latveria’s people, working within his means to create all possible precautions for them. Maybe becoming Sorcerer Supreme is how he thinks he can do the same for the world at large.

We Already Know Where Doctor Doom as Sorcerer Supreme Leads

And It’s VERY Bad

Marvel’s Timeless #1 one-shot by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and Juann Cabal actually gives readers a glimpse at what a world with Doctor Doom as its Sorcerer Supreme would look like. This dark vision of the future almost destroys any hope or notion that Doom could use his newfound power to become a hero, as an unstoppable Sorcerer Supreme Doom is too powerful for even the Avengers to stop. He forces the Avengers to kneel at his feet, something that would be unheard of in any universe, but he pulls it off.

It’s a brief glimpse and, as is the case with most potential timelines within Marvel’s multiverse, this is merely that – a possible future, with nothing rooted in stone. However, the fact that there is at least a possibility that Doom could grow madly egotistical in power to the point he forces the Avengers to fall before him can’t be a good sign for anyone who reads Blood Hunt #4. Time will tell if Doctor Strange says yes to Doctor Doom‘s demands, but if the latter does become the Sorcerer Supreme, the consequences could be far more dire than a vampire invasion.