Dormammu is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Strange Tales #126 (November 1964), and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
Debuting in the Silver Age of comic books, Dormammu has appeared in over four decades of Marvel publications, featuring prominently in the Doctor Strange titles and limited series as the recurring nemesis of the mystic hero. The character has also appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, toys, trading cards and video games.
Dormammu first appeared in Strange Tales #126 - 127 (November - December 1964), but had in fact having already been mentioned, as was his realm the "Dark Dimension", in passing in the title.
Writer Mike Conroy stated
To Lee and Steve Ditko, the Lord of the Realm of Darkness and the associated invocations were just another piece of business, another way of adding depth to the otherwordly nature of Strange's adventures. However, the readers were intrigued. They wanted to know more. "It seems there was something about that nutty name, Dormammu, that was keeping Doc's devoted disciples awake at nights trying to figure out who Dormammu was," Lee explained. "I knew I was in big trouble. I had made up the name - now I had to dream up a character to go with the name. But who? How? Ditko visualized the answer. "He gave the demoniac DD...a visage totally different from any villain I had ever seen in comics before," proclaimed Lee.[1]
After being established as the ruler of an alternate dimension (later described as the god-tyrant of its denizens),[2] Dormammu became a perennial foe of Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, who until this time had dealt almost exclusively with off-beat "one-off" mystical threats in Strange Tales #110 - 125 (July 1963 - October 1964). Strange's first encounter with Dormammu in the "Dark Dimension" also introduced Clea - eventually revealed to be the niece of the villain (like Clea's name, this was not initially revealed in Strange Tales #126 (November 1964) and the monstrous and imprisoned Mindless Ones.
Major appearances include starring in an epic fifteen issue storyline in Strange Tales #131 - 146 (April 1965 - July 1966); the discovery that Dormammu has a sister, Umar, and both are in fact mystical beings called Faltine in Strange Tales #150 (November 1966); teaming with fellow villain Loki to instigate the "Avengers-Defenders War" in Avengers #115 - 118 (September - December 1973) and Defenders #8 - 11 (September - December 1973); Thor Annual #9 (1981); Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #1 - 2 (November 1988 & January 1989) and the limited series Doctor Strange: The Flight of the Bones #1 - 4 (February - May 1999) and Hellcat #1 - 3 (September - November 2000).
After a major appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #498 - 500 (October - December 2003), Dormammu became the patron of small-time villain the Hood in New Avengers #46 (December 2008).
Dormammu is first mentioned by Karl Amadeus Mordo, senior apprentice of the appointed "Sorcerer Supreme" the "Ancient One", who, in the entity's service, attempts to slowly weaken the sorcerer, but is stopped when his fellow pupil Stephen Strange manages to alert his master to the betrayal.[3]
The character later appears in person when sending a messenger to boast his renewed intentions of conquering his universe before his aging adversary. In response, Doctor Strange travels to Dormammu's "Dark Dimension" as the Ancient One does not consider himself powerful enough to defeat Dormammu, and manages to overcome all supernatural servitors sent against him. Dormammu engages Strange in mystic combat and shows himself to be far more powerful, but, when drawing upon the realms energies, inadvertently weakens the barrier containing the horde of Mindless Ones. Since they threatened Dormammu's subjects, Strange helped his enemy to re-seal the juggernauts by letting power from his amulet flow into Dormammu. Indebted to Strange for his help, Dormammu ends the fight, and in return Strange demands a binding vow to never enter the "Earth realm" again and to not harm Clea. Dormammu complies, but gains a burning hatred against Strange for the humiliation.[4]
Dormammu uses a loophole to his oath by granting Mordo vast power, whereupon the sorcerer leads his minions on a lengthy hunt for Strange, and abduct the Ancient One as a bargaining chip. Dormammu's niece, Clea, assists Strange by weakening the barrier of the Mindless Ones, forcing her uncle to focus elsewhere. Dormammu learns of her betrayal, brings all three Earth sorcerers to a neutral realm, to let her see his disciple destroy Strange, and summons fellow "Lords of the Netherworlds" to watch the spectacle. When Strange begins to get an advantage against Mordo, Dormammu decides to face the sorcerer in a contest of pure hand-to-hand-combat. The physically stronger entity eventually falls to his foe's greater familiarity with martial arts. To Dormammu's humiliation, before the gathered Lords, Strange forces him to vow not to menace the Earth even by proxy. The villain strikes a parting blow by banishing Clea, and inciting another lord to attack Strange.[5]
In an apparent bid for power the character engages the universal embodiment, Eternity, in single combat, but is defeated and banished.[6]
Dormammu captures Clea, and overpowers and imprisons Strange, but after the sorcerer manipulates Umar to free him, and then surprises Dormammu by pushing him through a portal to the Earth. This makes the entity wither from the curse cast by his own power, when vowing to never enter the Earth realm, and he departs to his own plane.[7]
Dormammu enters into an alliance with the Asgardian god Loki (adopted brother of the thunder god Thor) and tricks superhero teams the Avengers and Defenders into fighting each other for components of the artifact the Evil Eye. The Eye is reassembled, and allows Dormammu to merge his own universe with all the planets of the "regular" Marvel Universe without breaking his vow. Dormammu imprisons the traitorous Loki and effortlessly overwhelms all of his other opponents, leaving only the Scarlet Witch. When Loki escapes and distracts Dormammu, the Avenger casts a hex on the Eye that causes it to absorb Dormammu into itself, which costs Loki his sanity as a side-effect.[8]
After being seen in flashback,[9] the character manages to reintegrate himself on Earth, but is recovering slowly to full strength. Together with sister Umar, Dormammu captures the elder goddess Gaea,[10] and seeks revenge against the Scarlet Witch by kidnapping her, and her mentor Agatha Harkness, from her intended marriage to the android Avenger the Vision, but after Wanda and Harkness remove the heat needed for his regeneration, he seemingly accepts to depart to his own realm.[11] In fact, Dormammu does not feel bound to hold this vow, due to not owing the Witch any favors, and almost immediately following attempts to destroy Doctor Strange and Clea, but is betrayed by Umar who steals his power, allowing the character to be banished from Earth.[12]
Dormammu tricks Strange into battling both the demon Ghost Rider and the Bounty Hunter in an unsuccessful attempt to kill the hero,[13] and appears in the alternate universe story.[14]
Dormammu acts as the envoy of Lord Chaos by playing King of the Norse gods Odin in a cosmic chess match that controls the universal balance of chaos and order. Umar attempts to rig the game in her brother's favor through manipulating Odin's son Thor, but it ultimately ends in a draw after the hero realizes this.[15]
Dormammu's agent Baron Mordo travels back in time to London in the year 1943, where he allies with the aristocrats Viscount Krowler and Sir Anthony Baskerville. Dormammu possesses Krowler, and begins to manifest on the Earth plane by absorbing power from the destruction wreaked during World War II, but is banished by Doctor Strange.[16]
The character reappears during the "Inferno" storyline. Strange, following an arduous confrontation with Shuma-Gorath, heals through processes that takes him through various mystical realms. This allows Dormammu to attach himself to his foe, and possess the sorcerer’s body, which exempts him from the vow to not directly enter the Earth-realm. Summoning extraterrestrial sorcerers as his lieutenants, Dormammu vows to "burn" and replace the Celestials as the greatest power in the Earth's universe, but is distracted and tricked by Clea and Strange (his consciousness occupying a rat), while their ally Topaz exorcises Dormammu’s presence.[17]
The character reconstitutes again, regains control of the Dark Dimension from Clea by subverting her will, and summons her parents, Umar and Orini, back from exile. However, Umar and sometimes-pawn Baron Mordo eventually decide to join forces with Clea and Doctor Strange. The enraged Dormammu threatens to completely destroy the "Dark Dimension" in retaliation, but Umar convinces him to accept a compromise as the ruler of a sub-realm, whereas his sister takes over rulership from Clea, with Mordo as her consort. Clea accepts to abdicate as a better temporary solution than seeing all of her people killed, but promises to return if Umar becomes a tyrant again. Dormammu finds that he has been tricked into being trapped as the ruler of the realm of the Mindless Ones. [18]
After two brief appearances,[19][20] Dormammu, in the guise of another Faltine, lures his niece Clea into gathering mystic allies among the Lords of the Netherworlds to depose her mother. This freed Dormammu to reclaim his realm, as he absorbs Umar and Mordo into himself, becoming more powerful than ever before, and he dismissively disintegrates the assembled entities.
Strange, at the time weakened without support from the "Principalities", confronts Dormammu alongside his allies Clea, the Silver Surfer, Hulk, and the modern Ghost Rider, but they are unable to cause any damage to the villain, who is ecstatic with his victory and overwhelming power. Strange journeys into the core of Dormammu's essence and uses the Eye of Agamotto to strip away his self-delusion, and make him acknowledge that his thirst for chaos, power, and conquest are unworthy for a being of his stature, as a desperate gamble to make him see reason. Dormammu is momentarily shaken, and appears to be defeated, but it is shown to be a mirage. The villain gloats that he has not shown "one tenth" of his true power against the heroes, but that he now realizes that rulership of "one puny" universe is beneath his notice, as he now has far greater and "more interesting" ambitions, and contemptuously dismisses the "insignificant mortals".[21]
The character observes the Guardians of the Galaxy - adventurers from the 31st century of Earth-691 - travel to the mainstream era of Earth-616. Now curious, Dormammu follows them back to their dimension, merges with his counterpart in this timeline, doubling his power, and attacks their headquarters, demanding the presence of the Doctor Strange of their time. Strange, now called the Ancient One, arrives with his disciple, the alien Krugarr, and battles Dormammu, assisted by the Guardians, the "Galactic Guardians", and the cosmic entity the Phoenix Force. Dormammu kills the elderly Strange, and almost overwhelms his other foes, but is defeated when Krugarr summons the spirit of Strange, and they channel the combined power of everyone in the assembly to banish Dormammu to his home dimension.[22]
Dormammu appears as the guiding force behind an attack on the self-titled Goddess[23] during the "Infinity Crusade" storyline. During The Flight of the Bones storyline the character is revealed as the instigator behind a series of spontaneous combustions of criminals and an attack on an ally of Strange by cultists.[24]
Dormammu uses the demon lord Satannish (revealed as his creation) and warlock Nicholas Scratch to lead his armies to capture five of the inter-dimensional places of Hell, in a plot to eventually conquer all life and afterlife. Dormammu, however, is thwarted when the heroine Hellcat rallies the powers of Hell to weaken the character by engineering a complete absence of mystic flame.[25] Dormammu also allies with the entity Mephisto to drive an attacking force out of their respective dimensions.[26]
Dormammu sends an army of Mindless Ones to attack the city of New York, and trick several prominent Marvel superheroes into unintentionally making him materialize on Earth by combining dimensional energies. Doctor Strange engages Dormammu in combat, and sends the hero Spider-Man back in time to a critical moment to stop his enemy from being able to re-enter Earth's universe.[27]
Dormammu returns, now in a symbiotic link with Umar due to their previous merged state. Together they petition the "Pan-dimensional Oversight Council" (counting Strange and Nightmare among its members) to perform a preemptive strike against Earth's superhumans, as "potential weapons of mass-destruction", and when the petition fails, Dormammu eats most of the present council-members, whereas Umar reduces the rest to "screaming blobs of mindless jelly". The siblings then attack and overcome an avatar of the entity Eternity and use the acquired power to remake the universe in their image. The pair are opposed by a reuniting of some of the original Defenders (Strange; the Hulk; and Namor the Sub-Mariner), with Dormammu retreating when Umar steals his power.[28] The character also appears briefly during a storyline in which Strange contemplates his past.[29]
Acting in secrecy, Dormammu empowers criminal mastermind the Hood, who in turn resurrects several dead supervillains and forms a crime army.[30] When the Hood asks for information about his "benefactor" from the demoness Satana, she claims that Dormammu disposed of his sister off-page.[31]
The character temporarily takes control of the "zombie" virus that decimates Earth-2149.,[32] and also takes advantage of the fact that Strange loses the title of Sorcerer Supreme, but the latter eventually exorcises his influence from the Hood together with Daimon Hellstrom and Doctor Voodoo.[33]
Dormammu briefly appears when the newly appointed "Sorcerer Supreme" Doctor Voodoo enters his domain. The villain dismisses Voodoo as an "unworthy" opponent and refers to his vastly inferior "gutter gods". This, however, Voodoo to strengthen the seals to the entity's realm.[34] The character also appears as one of the prospective "suitors" (holders of a slave-contract) for the hand of Satana.[35]
Dormammu has been described as "something worse than a demon".[31] It is unknown exactly how ancient he is, as he inhabits a wholly alien, conventional-laws-of-physics-defying realm separate from the regular Marvel Universe, and certain similar beings, such as the Dweller-in-Darkness are known to predate it. He is known to well precede the creation of the current demonic netherworlds;[25] to have clashed with Agamotto hundreds of millions of years ago, to have served as the primary enemy of the Vishanti ever since, and to have been considered an extreme threat by the mages of "pre-cataclysm" Atlantis.[32]
Dormammu is presented as the most powerful and malevolent of "the Faltine",[21] fictional higher-dimensional mystical energy beings. Not native to the "Dark Dimension", Dormammu and "his" sibling Umar were exiled for slaying their progenitor "Sinifer" (and what was considered a morbid/unclean obsession with physical matter), whereupon they journeyed there in search of experience, and assumed corporeal forms.[36] Dormammu merged with the local "Flames of Regency" to further enhance his power, and returned to an energy state, whereas Umar had grown accustomed to physical pleasure. After imprisoning the horde of marauding virtually unstoppable Mindless Ones behind a barrier Dormammu enslaved the entire realm to be worshipped as its sole deity, and continued to gradually merge other mystical universes to his own, while spreading his worship to any sorcerers throughout the multiverse who invoked his powers.[37]
The character is sometimes shown as incredibly patient, with certain plots to achieve his goals spanning billions of years,[25] whereas others are planned far more recently or even improvised through opportunity.[21] However, although extremely intelligent, with tremendous knowledge of the mystic arts, he is overwhelmingly arrogant, generally does not adapt well to sudden confusion and unexpected developments,[22] and has a tendency to indulge, and brag to, technically outmatched foes rather than swiftly finish them off.[5][8][21][34] He and his sister (originally genderless siblings) Umar have an unpredictable love-hate relationship. Sometimes being loyal and collaborating, and other times gladly betraying and taking the other's power for themselves.[21][28] Umar has an occasional tendency to sarcastically puncture her brother's obsessive histrionics with more pragmatic sadistic hedonism.[28]
Writer Keith Giffen has described them as "Donnie and Marie from hell. The brother-sister sibling rivalry relationship blown up to nightmarish, universe-shattering proportions." Whereas Dormammu himself is "completely inhuman",[38] the kind of character that "commits mass murder... on a whim".[39]
Presented as one of the most powerful known mystical entities within the Marvel Universe, Doctor Strange refers to Dormammu as his "most terrible foe";[40] a threat to "the life of the universe itself", that "at full power no one could stand against."[41]
The character is an interdimensional entity composed of mystical energy that can be used to achieve almost any effect he desires, including: energy projection; matter transmutation; size shifting and teleportation; body possession; resurrection of the dead; bestowing of power; and creating demon lords.[42] In certain instances Dormammu has been displayed approaching a universal scale of influence.[43]
Dormammu is apparently stronger in the Dark Dimension, being empowered by the worship of his followers,[44] and can draw upon its power.[30] The character has been shown to have one significant weakness: being vulnerable in environments that cannot fuel his mystical Faltine flames.[25][45]
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Dormammu first appears in Ultimatum introduces him as a powerfull demon who succeeds in killing Doctor Strange (actually the son of the original).[46] The demon was then confronted by Susan Storm and Ben Grimm in front of the destroyed Sanctum Sanctorum. Dormammu was then defeated after Susan sealed his entire head with her force-field and being overwhelmed by Johnny Storm's power, turning him into a powerless human being. [47]
Dormammu is summoned into Marvel Mangaverse by The Incredible Hulk (Nick Fury is revealed to be behind the attacks by the Hulk as well). [48]
- Dormammu appears in the 1979 Spider-Woman episode "Realm of Darkness." This version bears little relation to his comic book look instead bearing more than a passing resemblance to the Green Goblin. He is summoned to Earth by worshippers from Grand Cayman Island. He plans to stop the Earth in its orbit when the eclipse occurs so that he can engulf the Earth into complete darkness.
- Dormammu appears in the 1990s Spider-Man series' episodes "Doctor Strange," "Venom Returns," and "Carnage" voiced by Ed Gilbert.
- Dormammu appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "Enter: Dormammu" voiced by Robert Englund. Doctor Strange (whose Eye of Agamotto is holding an Infinity Sword fractal) ends up unleashing Dormammu from his Dark Dimension into Super Hero City. A recurring gag during this episode was Falcon asking Dormammu if he knows that his head is on fire. When Dormammu unleashes his Mindless Ones upon Super Hero City, Dormammu manages to steal the fractals from the Vault and Villainville while taking Captain America and Doctor Doom hostage. When the fractal is extracted from the Eye of Agamotto, Doctor Strange then uses a spell to banish Dormammu back into the Dark Dimension. In "This Al Dente Earth," Doctor Strange briefly pulls Dormammu's head out of the Dark Dimension in order to damage Galactus' machine.
- ^ Conroy, Mike. 500 Comicbook Villains, Collins & Brown, 2004.
- ^ Excalibur v.3, #14 (2005)
- ^ Stan Lee (w). "Black Magic" Strange Tales 111 (August 1963), Marvel Comics
- ^ Stan Lee (w). "The Domain of the Dread Dormammu!; Duel With the Dread Dormammu!" Strange Tales 126-127 (November–December 1964), Marvel Comics
- ^ a b Steve Ditko; Stan Lee (w). "The Pincers of Power!" Strange Tales 130-141 (March 1965 - January 1966), Marvel Comics
- ^ Denny O'Neil (w). "When The Unliving Strike!" Strange Tales 146 (July 1966), Marvel Comics
- ^ Roy Thomas (w). Doctor Strange 171-173 (August - October 1968), Marvel Comics
- ^ a b "Avengers/Defenders War" from:
- ^ Steve Englehart (w). "Amidst the Madness" Doctor Strange v2, 3 (September 1974), Marvel Comics
- ^ Steve Englehart (w). Doctor Strange v2, 6-7 (February - April 1975), Marvel Comics
- ^ Steve Englehart (w). "...Let All Men Bring Together" Giant-Size Avengers 4 (June 1975), Marvel Comics
- ^ Steve Englehart (w). Doctor Strange v2, 8-9 (June - August 1975), Marvel Comics
- ^ Don Perlin; Roger McKenzie (w). Ghost Rider v3, 30-31 (June - August 1978), Marvel Comics
- ^ Peter Gillis (w). "What if Dr. Strange had Been a Disciple of Dormammu?" What If...? 18 (December 1979), Marvel Comics
- ^ Chris Claremont (w). "The Great Game!" Thor Annual 9 ({{{date}}}), Marvel Comics
- ^ Doctor Strange vol.2, #49-51 (1981-1982)
- ^ Peter Gillis (w). Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme 1-2 (November 1988 - January 1989), Marvel Comics
- ^ Roy Thomas; Dann Thomas (w). "The Dark Wars" Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme 21-24 (October - December 1990), Marvel Comics
- ^ Roy Thomas; Dann Thomas (w). "Strange Tales Part II" Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme 28 (April 1991), Marvel Comics
- ^ Geof Isherwood (w). "The Curse of Kyllian" Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme Annual 3 ({{{date}}}), Marvel Comics
- ^ a b c d e Len Kamanski (w). "The Heart of Darkness" Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme 48-50 (December 1992 - February 1993), Marvel Comics
- ^ a b Michael Gallagher (w). Guardians of the Galaxy 34-36 (March - May 1993), Marvel Comics
- ^ Geof Isherwood; Roy Thomas (w). "World Enough, And Time..." Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme 55 (July 1993), Marvel Comics
- ^ Dan Jolly; Tony Harris; Ray Snyder (w). "The Flight of the Bones" Doctor Strange v3, 1-4 (February - May 1999), Marvel Comics
- ^ a b c d Steve Englehart (w). Hellcat 1-3 (September - November 2000), Marvel Comics
- ^ Dan Abnett; Andy Lanning (w). Magik v2, 1-4 (December 2000 - March 2001), Marvel Comics
- ^ The Spider-Man story "Happy Birthday" from:
- ^ a b c J.M. DeMatteis; Keith Giffen (w). Defenders v3, 1-5 (September 2005 - January 2006), Marvel Comics
- ^ Brian K. Vaughn (w). "The Oath" Doctor Strange: The Oath 1-5 (December 2006 - April 2007), Marvel Comics
- ^ a b Brian Michael Bendis (w). New Avengers 46 (February 2009), Marvel Comics
- ^ a b Dark Reign: The Hood #3 (2009)
- ^ a b Fred Van Lente (w). "Night Shift" Marvel Zombies 4 2 (July 2009), Marvel Comics
- ^ Brian Michael Bendis (w). New Avengers 51-54 (May - August 2009), Marvel Comics
- ^ a b Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #1 (2010)
- ^ Deadpool Team-Up #892 (2010)
- ^ Doctor Strange vol.3, #22 (October 1990)
- ^ Dr. Strange vol.2 #72
- ^ "Giffen & Dematteis Talk Defenders And A Little Bit Of Everything". Google.se. http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=37585. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
- ^ "Defending Drax With Keith Giffen". Google.se. http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=34406. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
- ^ J. Michael Straczynski (w). The Amazing Spider-Man v2, 57 (November 2003), Marvel Comics
- ^ J. Michael Straczynski (w). The Amazing Spider-Man v2, 58 (November 2003), Marvel Comics
- ^ The individual powers list as examples are from:
- Bestowing power
Steve Ditko; Stan Lee (w). "Face-to-Face at Last With Baron Mordo!" Strange Tales 132 (May 1965), Marvel Comics
- Energy projection
"Avengers/Defenders War" (September - December 1973), Marvel Comics
- Size shifting, teleportation
Len Kamanski (w). "The Heart of Darkness" Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme 50 (February 1993), Marvel Comics
- Creating demon lords
Steve Englehart (w). Hellcat 1-3 (September - November 2000), Marvel Comics
- Resurrection of the dead
Garth Ennis (w). Punisher v7, 2-7 (March - August 2004), Marvel Comics
- Matter transmutation
J.M. DeMatteis; Keith Giffen (w). "Almost a Good Idea..." Defenders v3, 1 (September 2005), Marvel Comics
- Body possession
Brian Michael Bendis (w). New Avengers 46 (February 2009), Marvel Comics
- ^
- ^ Steve Ditko; Stan Lee (w). Strange Tales 126-127 (November - December 1964), Marvel Comics
- ^ The powers and abilities section covers the general list of powers that Marvel has presented as part of the character profile within:
- ^ Ultimatum #1-5
- ^ Ultimatum: Fantastic Four Requiem #1
- ^ Marvel Mangaverse: Avengers Assemble!! #1-4
- ^ Iron Man Armored Adventures S02E08
- ^ Introducing Dormammu & Viewtiful Joe
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![Marvel vs Capcom 3 Dormammu Gameplay [HD]](http://web.archive.org./web/20130928223111im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tb9wgkIG2Zc/default.jpg "Marvel vs Capcom 3 Dormammu Gameplay [HD]")
