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Baron Mordo

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Baron Mordo
Baron Mordo as depicted in Strange Tales #132 (February 1965). Art by Steve Ditko.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceStrange Tales #111 (Aug. 1963)[1]
Created byStan Lee
Steve Ditko
In-story information
Alter egoKarl Amadeus Mordo
SpeciesHuman
Abilities
  • Mastery of magic
  • Genius-level intellect
  • Skilled martial artist
  • Ability to conjure demons

Baron Karl Amadeus Mordo (known as Baron Mordo) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly as an adversary of Doctor Strange. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #111 (August 1963). Baron Mordo is a gifted magician, especially adept in the black arts of magic, including summoning demons.

Karl Mordo was studying the magic arts under the Ancient One in Tibet when Dr. Stephen Strange arrived. Strange foiled Mordo's plot to kill the Ancient One, leading to Mordo being cast out and Strange eventually becoming Sorcerer Supreme. Mordo has since clashed several times with Dr. Strange, at times with the backing of the demon Dormammu, briefly even impersonating Dr. Strange.[2]

The Baron Mordo character has appeared in other forms of media, such as animated television series, films, and video games. Chiwetel Ejiofor portrays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Doctor Strange (2016)[3] and an alternate universe version in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).[4]

Publication history

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Baron Mordo first appeared in Strange Tales #111 (August 1963), and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.[5][6]

Fictional character biography

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A Transylvanian nobleman (born in Varf Mandra), Karl Amadeus Mordo became a student of the Tibetan sorcerer known as the Ancient One.[7][8] When Mordo plotted to kill his teacher, Dr. Stephen Strange learned of the plot. Mordo was forced to cast restraining spells to prevent Strange from warning the Ancient One. In desperation, Strange decided to accept the Ancient One's offer to take him on as his mentor in magic to have some hope of stopping Mordo. The Ancient One, however, was fully aware of Mordo's plot and of Strange's desire to warn him. Pleased at Strange's unselfish decision, the Ancient One's magical teachings immediately freed the doctor and explained the full situation. Thus informed in the face of his recent experiences, Strange agreed to become the Ancient One's apprentice despite the requirement that he abandon his former life. The Ancient One trained him to be a formidable opponent of Mordo. Eventually Mordo was exiled by the Ancient One.[9] Mordo's abilities were similar to those of Doctor Strange, but Mordo was particularly skilled at astral projection and hypnosis, as well as mesmerism. He was more than willing to use powerful black magic and invoke demons, both of which Strange was reluctant or unable to do. Mordo's use of these darker arts would sometimes backfire.

The evil Mordo became an open foe of Doctor Strange. He sent his astral form to hypnotize the Ancient One's servant into poisoning his food, hoping the old man would reveal his secrets of magic.[10] However, Strange tricked him into returning to his physical body after engaging in astral contact with him, thus breaking his hold over the servant, who helped the Ancient One to recover. Mordo disguised himself as Sir Clive Bentley, and trapped Doctor Strange with a drugged candle that paralyzed him, but Strange was able to use his mental powers to call a local girl to free him.[11] He opposed Doctor Strange's discipleship to the Ancient One.[12] He set a series of new traps for Strange in a bid to wrest magical secrets from the Ancient One.[13] Mordo took Strange's body while Strange was astral projecting for a threat he sensed that Mordo had caused, and cast a barrier around it, knowing that if his astral form was out for 24 hours it would die.[10] Strange found it in a wax museum, but was unable to enter. However, Strange took control of a wax model in the last minute, distracting Mordo and enabling Strange to return to his body.[14] He imprisoned the Ancient One, but was again defeated.[15] Mordo made a deal with his new master, the demonic Dormammu of the Dark Dimension, to amass additional power to defeat Doctor Strange.[10][6][16] He dispatched agents, other evil magicians around the World and Spirit wraiths, to search for the incognito Strange,[17] and then banished him from the Earth.[18] He fled from Strange,[19] and then dispatched agents to kill Strange.[20] He engaged in personal combat with Strange.[21] Mordo was exiled to the Dimension of Demons by Dormammu.[22] He battled Doctor Strange once more at Stonehenge, but was ultimately banished from Earth.[23]

Mordo would return eventually to continue to bedevil Doctor Strange. He impersonated Doctor Strange during Strange's brief retirement, but was soon vanquished.[24] Mordo discovered the Book of Cagliostro, and battled Strange in 18th-century Paris. He then accompanied Strange and Sise-Neg to the dawn of time.[25] After suffering a mental breakdown, he was placed in Doctor Strange's care, but later escaped.[26] Mordo transformed the dead Lord Phyffe into Azrael, angel of death, and dispatched him against Strange.[27] He sent the Man-Thing to kill Strange, and assembled thirteen people for human sacrifice to the Chaos Demon. Mordo was defeated by Strange, Jennifer Kale, and the Man-Thing.[28] He attacked Strange, and escaped into the 1940s, but was manipulated by Dormammu.[29]

Mordo later sold his soul to both Mephisto and Satannish for power, gaming that Strange would save him. He was trapped with Sara Wolfe, and later rescued her.[30] Mordo himself was later imprisoned, and Sara Wolfe freed him from imprisonment. Mordo battled Dormammu to defend the Earth. He was defeated, and pretended to ally himself with Dormammu, and then allied himself with Umar to defeat Dormammu.[31]

Umar and Mordo were eventually deposed by Clea.[32] Mordo eventually contracted terminal cancer as a side effect of his use of black magic, and renounced evil just before his death.[6][33] He later returned to life.[34] He later allies with Terrax, Tiger Shark and Red Hulk as the "Offenders", to be opposed by his old rival and newly costumed Doctor Strange, aided by the other three original Defenders.[35][6]

Mordo appeared in X-Factor vol. 3 #203, where it is revealed that he kidnapped politician Cartier St. Croix to lure his daughter Monet St. Croix into a trap.[36]

During the "Dark Reign" storyline, Quasimodo researched Baron Mordo for Norman Osborn and recommends offering him small favors in exchange for his magical expertise.[37]

Mordo appears to be deceased in Uncanny Avengers #6.

Mordo returns during the aftermath of the Last Days of Magic arc.[38] Mordo forces a family to leave their residence, but lets the mother stay as his servant. Dormammu incinerates the woman's body as he possesses her to chastise Mordo for delaying his plans. Mordo heads to the Sanctum Sanctorum and attacks Wong with Doctor Strange confronting him and the two briefly battle before the latter is taken by Nightmare.[39] Mordo, angered that his foe was taken by another, is confronted by Dormammu again (in the form of a swarm of rats) who proceeds to attack Mordo causing him to leave.[40] He later catches up to Doctor Strange when he is attacked by Orb, until Dormammu arrives. He then helps Doctor Strange in banishing Dormammu directly to Shuma-Gorath.[41]

During the "Secret Empire" storyline, Baron Mordo becomes the caretaker of Manhattan after it is surrounded by Darkforce following Hydra's takeover of the United States. He uses the Sanctum Sanctorum as his residence and has the Elder God Pluorrg guard it.[42] He later catches Daredevil, Luke Cage, Cloak and Iron Fist when they are attempting to fight him. Mordo is then defeated by Doctor Strange, Spider-Woman, Ben Urich, and Kingpin.[43]

In the "Death of Doctor Strange" storyline, Mordo is accused of killing Doctor Strange.[44]

Powers and abilities

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Baron Mordo has vast magical abilities derived from his years of studying black magic and the mystic arts. He can manipulate magical forces for a variety of effects, including hypnotism, thought-casting, and illusion casting. He can separate his astral form from his body, allowing him to become intangible and invisible to most beings. He can project deadly force blasts using magic, can teleport inter-dimensionally, and can manipulate many forms of magical energy. He can tap extra-dimensional energy by invoking entities or objects of power existing in dimensions tangential to Earth's through the recitation of spells. He can also summon demons, but often does not have enough power to force them to do what he wants them to do.

Baron Mordo has some knowledge of a karate-like martial art form, and has an extensive knowledge of magical lore.

Other versions

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Mutant X

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An alternate universe variant of Baron Mordo from Earth-1298 appears in Mutant X #32.

2099

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Baron Mordo's descendant, Martin Hargood, appears in Secret Wars.[45][46]

Wastelanders

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An alternate universe variant of Baron Mordo from Earth-21923 appears in the one-shot Wastelanders: Doom. This version is the leader of a village in the Presidential Quarter before being killed by Doctor Doom.[47]

In other media

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Television

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Film

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Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo in Doctor Strange (2016)

Video games

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References

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  1. ^ Misiroglu, Gina Renée; Eury, Michael (2006). The Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9780780809772.
  2. ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains. New York: Facts on File. p. 19. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.[1]
  3. ^ "D23 Expo 2015: Marvel's 'Doctor Strange' Updates & More". Marvel Comics. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Doctor Strange 2: Chiwetel Ejiofor Confirms Return as Mordo". Screen Rant. June 25, 2020. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  5. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  6. ^ a b c d Gaudreau, Jared (March 20, 2022). "Marvel Comics: 8 Things You Didn't Know About Baron Mordo". CBR. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  7. ^ Strange Tales #115 (Dec. 1963)
  8. ^ Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 93. ISBN 978-1465455505.
  9. ^ Strange Tales #111. Marvel Comics.
  10. ^ a b c Saffle, Ben (February 19, 2022). "Doctor Strange: 10 Worst Things Baron Mordo Has Done In The Comics". CBR. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  11. ^ Strange Tales #114. Marvel Comics.
  12. ^ Strange Tales #115. Marvel Comics.
  13. ^ Strange Tales #117. Marvel Comics.
  14. ^ Strange Tales #121. Marvel Comics.
  15. ^ Strange Tales #125. Marvel Comics.
  16. ^ Strange Tales #130. Marvel Comics.
  17. ^ Strange Tales #131. Marvel Comics.
  18. ^ Strange Tales #132. Marvel Comics.
  19. ^ Strange Tales #134. Marvel Comics.
  20. ^ Strange Tales #135-136. Marvel Comics.
  21. ^ Strange Tales #139. Marvel Comics.
  22. ^ Strange Tales #141. Marvel Comics.
  23. ^ Strange Tales #159-162. Marvel Comics.
  24. ^ Marvel Feature #1. Marvel Comics.
  25. ^ Marvel Premiere #13-14. Marvel Comics.
  26. ^ Doctor Strange #10. Marvel Comics.
  27. ^ Doctor Strange #40. Marvel Comics.
  28. ^ Man-Thing Vol. 2 #4; Doctor Strange #41. Marvel Comics.
  29. ^ Doctor Strange #49-50. Marvel Comics.
  30. ^ Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #5-8. Marvel Comics.
  31. ^ Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #22-23. Marvel Comics.
  32. ^ Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #48. Marvel Comics.
  33. ^ Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #87 (March 1996). Marvel Comics.
  34. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #500. Marvel Comics.
  35. ^ Hulk #10. Marvel Comics.
  36. ^ X-Factor vol. 3 #203. Marvel Comics.
  37. ^ Dark Reign Files #1. Marvel Comics.
  38. ^ Doctor Strange vol. 4 #11. Marvel Comics.
  39. ^ Doctor Strange vol. 4 #12. Marvel Comics.
  40. ^ Doctor Strange vol. 4 #13. Marvel Comics.
  41. ^ Doctor Strange vol. 4 #15-16. Marvel Comics.
  42. ^ Doctor Strange vol. 4 #21. Marvel Comics.
  43. ^ Doctor Strange vol. 4 #22-24. Marvel Comics.
  44. ^ Death of Doctor Strange #1 - 5. Marvel Comics.
  45. ^ Secret Wars 2099 #2. Marvel Comics.
  46. ^ Secret Wars 2099 #5. Marvel Comics.
  47. ^ Wastelanders: Doom #1. Marvel Comics.
  48. ^ a b c d e f "Baron Mordo Voices (Doctor Strange)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 27, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  49. ^ "Amazing Friends". The Futon Critic. April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  50. ^ "Amazing Friends". Spider-Man. Season 3. Episode 2. May 17, 2020. Disney XD.
  51. ^ Strom, Marc (August 15, 2015). "D23 Expo 2015: Marvel's 'Doctor Strange' Updates & More". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  52. ^ "LEGO MARVEL's Avengers DLC - All-New, All-Different Doctor Strange Pack on Steam". Archived from the original on 2023-10-30. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  53. ^ "An Epic Quest Brings Doctor Strange to Marvel Future Fight," Marvel. Retrieved December 21, 2016
  54. ^ "Piecing Together Marvel Puzzle Quest: Mordo". News - Marvel.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  55. ^ "Characters". IGN Database. 19 May 2017. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  56. ^ "Rune to Maneuver". IGN Database. 14 November 2017. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  57. ^ "The master mystic Baron Mordo is ready to join your team as a new companion in #MARVELFutureRevolution, the question is... are you ready for him?". Marvel Future Revolution. Twitter. January 22, 2022. Archived from the original on June 6, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
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