The Marvels of Shame: Doctor Strange 1978 version

There are movies using Marvel characters and universes that some would rather forget. In this series of articles, we’ll be taking a look at these “wonders of shame,” products so underwhelming that they never quite live up to the license they use. But is there nothing left to do? We’ll see that with the first film in our selection: the 1978 TV movie Doctor Strange.

Between the Spider-Man series (1977) and the Captain America (1979) project, a new pilot is born, dedicated to the master of the mystical arts: Doctor Strange, the superhero who first appeared in Marvel comics in 1963. The idea is that this 1:30 telefilm will become the first episode of the series if the public is interested in it.

The film begins when the supervillain Morgan Lefey is sent to Earth by an evil alien to kill a powerful sorcerer named Lindmere. The presence of the latter prevents the entity (which vaguely evokes the Dormammu of the comics) from invading the world.

Morgan temporarily possesses a human, Clea, and tries to kill Lindmere. The old sorcerer succeeds supremely, but realizes that he needs help. He seeks it out from Stephen Strange, who has gifts for him to take over. From this moment, the mystical arts and the discovery of the astral plane begin for this young doctor.

Once Stan Lee got along with director and screenwriter Philippe Deguerre, and it shows! Unlike many Marvel productions of the time, there are characters that stick to the chosen universe: the game includes Elder, Clea and Wong, but also Morgan Ferrey, a famous supervillain from the comics (and who will be seen again in the MCU series Runaways). Only the demon with Balzaro is a made-for-TV movie.

And let’s face it, in addition to honoring the names of the characters, this Doctor Strange more or less follows the origin story of its hero: the doctor acquires magical powers that give him access to one or more worlds that were previously unknown and must. Protect the earth from these unknown worlds.

Peter Hooten, who plays Strange, clearly lacks charisma, but the special effects are within the canon of the time, but overall not funny, even if the end result is clearly light years away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is a little uncomfortable with the past. On the Ideas Home screen.

Because after all, the pilot would not be ordered to series by CBS, specifically because of the poor response to the telefilm’s September 6, 1978 broadcast. in the magazine Comic book feature In January 1985, Stan Lee accused the chain of placing Doctor Strange opposite the Roots miniseries, thus explaining its poor ratings. It should be noted that Lee appears to have been involved since the Roots had officially retired the previous year, in January 1977.

Anyway, that’s why the pilot remains in pilot status and Doctor Strange won’t return to live action until 2016 under the guise of Benedict Cumberbatch.

After two solo films, the Sorcerer Supreme is well on his way to continuing to play a major role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, clearly eclipsing Peter Hooten’s version, which, however, is worth a second look despite its obvious flaws.