THE MARK OF SORROW(of Earth-13729)
THE MARK OF SORROW
(of Earth-13729)
Classification: Extradimensional (Earth-13729)
mystic brand
Creator: Doctor Doom (Valeria Richards)
User/Possessors: Wiccan (Billy Kaplan)
First Appearance: (behind-the-scenes, as part
of Wiccan's body): Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#1
(December, 2016);
(mentioned only as "the Mark"): Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers
Supreme I#2 (January, 2017);
(fully seen as a brand on Wiccan's body): Doctor Strange & the
Sorcerers Supreme I#7 (June, 2017)
Powers/Abilities/Functions: Those branded with
the Mark of Sorrow could channel great mystic power through the Mark
(such as projecting ice and mystic energy from it or mass
teleportation) but the more the Mark's power was
used, the more the Mark bound its user's soul, constricting until
eventual death.
History: (Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers
Supreme I#10 (fb)) - After his teammates in the X-Men were overtaken
and infected by the Brood aliens, Earth-13729's Wiccan was tempted by
Dr. Doom, who ruled Hell. Doom offered Wiccan increased power to save
his teammates but as payment, cursed Wiccan with the Mark of Sorrow,
which would slowly kill Wiccan each time he expended such power.
Returning to Earth, Wiccan used the Mark of Sorrow to cleanse the area
of Brood and return his teammates to normal. Following the battle,
Banshee asked Wiccan how he was able to turn the tide and Wiccan,
recalling the Mark of Sorrow, simply replied that it was magic. In the
subsequent days, Wiccan frantically searched various dimensions and
realms in an attempt to learn a way to rid himself of the Mark of
Sorrow, first being sent to Sharela, who suggested Wiccan visit the
Dust Daughters, as they would be the only ones who would know if the
Mark of Sorrow could be removed.
(Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers
Supreme I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Wiccan assured himself that the Mark of
Sorrow could eventually be removed but during a trip to the Last Hills,
underworld of dimension K'Vore, to seek the Dust Daughters, Wiccan was
told by the Dust Daughter
Queen that the Mark of Sorrow could not be removed. Shocked by the
revelation, Wiccan was moments after visited by the time-traveling
sorcerer Merlin, who asked Wiccan what the Dust Daughter Queen had told
him. When Merlin asked Wiccan to join him, he promised to remove the
Mark of Sorrow and remarked that Wiccan would be home in time for
supper.
(Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#1 - BTS) - Earth-13729's Wiccan, still afflicted by the Mark of Sorrow, was present when Merlin returned with his new recruit, the present-day Dr. Strange, and later aided Merlin's assembled Sorcerers Supreme against the Forgotten.
(Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#2 - BTS) - His mind focused only on getting home, Wiccan thought back to his encounter with the Dust Daughter Queen and how she had informed him that the Mark of Sorrow could not be removed, but despite these grim thoughts, Wiccan nonetheless continued aiding the Sorcerers Supreme against the Forgotten. When the Sorcerers later ventured towards Merlin's castle, Wiccan thought back to how Merlin had promised to remove the Mark.
(Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#3 - BTS) - Wiccan remained afflicted with the Mark of Sorrow but kept his affliction a secret from the other Sorcerers Supreme as they ventured into Merlin's Camelot castle and battled the Forgotten.
(Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#4 - BTS) - Still affected by the Mark of Sorrow, Wiccan accompanied the Sorcerers Supreme into the Forgotten's old prison to learn more about the mystic collective, where the Forgotten explained its origins before Sir Isaac Newton separated the collective into the individual beings that made it up and stole the Word of God tome, turning on and imprisoning the other Sorcerers.
(Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#5 - BTS) - Still keeping the Mark of Sorrow a secret, Wiccan discussed Newton's betrayal with Dr. Strange until Nina convinced her brother Joao, formerly of the Forgotten, to free the Sorcerers, who were cast into dimensional exile by a trap set by Isaac Newton.
(Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#6 -
BTS) - After Dr. Strange learned of Wiccan's Mark of Sorrow over the
course of several failed attempts to rescue the other Sorcerers, events
which he diverged into alternate realities by using the Lost Bones of
Eh-Yuh to reverse time, he opted to save himself first before rescuing
the other Sorcerers. When Demon Rider used the Constellation Lasso
spell to rescue Wiccan, Wiccan thanked her but remarked that she had
only saved a dying man. Having prior knowledge of Wiccan's Mark of
Sorrow due to the prior failed rescue attempts, Dr. Strange assured
Wiccan that he would not die and that the Mark of Sorrow could be used
as a weapon if properly channeled. When Wiccan appeared surprised that
Dr. Strange knew of his secret Mark of Sorrow, Wiccan was promised that
Strange would explain later after Wiccan helped rescued Nina the
Conjuror.
(Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#7) -
When the Sorcerers Supreme traveled to the present day to stop Sir
Isaac Newton from using the Word of God tome to become a god, Wiccan
channeled his Mark of Sorrow as a weapon, using it to project ice to
freeze Newton's Mindless One servants. Dr.
Strange quickly came over to Wiccan to warn him about the use of the
Mark of Sorrow as a weapon and when Wiccan replied that Strange had
been right about the Mark's powerful magic, Strange explained that the
more Wiccan used the Mark of Sorrow's power, the more it would
constrict his soul, eventually resulting in Wiccan's death. Wiccan
sighed and asked about how there was always a price, prompting Dr.
Strange to agree that yes, there was always a price.
(Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#8) -
After the alien Author of the Word of God tome was awakened on Earth
and the Sorcerers Supreme teamed with the Avengers to battle the
creature, Wiccan considered using the Mark of Sorrow but Dr. Strange
reminded him how the Mark would corrupt his soul if used and that he
could possibly die. Wiccan thought perhaps his death would be better
than the entire Earth dying but allies soon arrived in the form of Nina
the Conjuror, her brother Joao, Howard the Duck and Luke Cage.
Unfortunately, the battle went sour when Sir Isaac Newton, corrupted by
his use of the Word of God's magic, stole the tome and returned it to
the Author, forcing Wiccan to utilize his Mark of Sorrow to teleport
everyone with magical properties to the Author's home dimension.
(Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#9) -
When the Author of the Word of God banished Wiccan and the other
Sorcerers Supreme into the pages of the Word of God itself, Wiccan
realized his cloak no longer functioned and considered using the Mark
of Sorrow but Kushala warned against it, reminding Wiccan that using
the Mark would damage his soul. Dr. Strange agreed and suggested they
all focus on what they could do. The Sorcerers soon confronted the
Author and tricked him into burning the Word of God tome, prompting
Wiccan to utilize the Mark of Sorrow to destroy the Author. After using
the Mark in such a way, Wiccan collapsed afterwards but subsequently
assured the Sorcerers Supreme he was fine.
(Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#10 -
BTS) - After Wiccan collapsed, Sir Isaac Newton informed Dr. Strange
and the assembled Sorcerers Supreme that there was nothing they could
do for Wiccan without knowing who cursed Wiccan with the Mark of Sorrow
in the first place. Yao revived Wiccan and Dr. Strange attempted to get
Wiccan to reveal who cursed him with the Mark of Sorrow. Soon realizing
that Wiccan's Mark of Sorrow was not given to him on Earth-616, Dr.
Strange suggested they travel to Wiccan's home reality of Earth-13729
to take care of the Mark.
(Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#11 -
BTS) - While Wiccan and the other Earth-616 Sorcerers Supreme were
incapacitated by Earth-13729's Dr. Doom,
who ruled a Hell realm, the Mindful One destroyed an orb imprisoning
several other Earth-13729 sorcerers and Wiccan soon awoke to find that
his Mark of Sorrow had also been removed with the destruction of the
orb.
Comments: Created by Robbie Thompson, Javier Rodriguez and Alvaro Lopez.
The Mark of Sorrow was clearly and fully seen in
Doctor
Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#6 when Dr. Strange first learned
of Wiccan's secret. However, this attempt to rescue Wiccan and the
other Sorcerers Supreme was ultimately diverged into its own reality by
Dr. Strange's reversal of time using the Lost Bones of Eh-Yuh, thereby
making the Mark of Sorrow we see in that issue be the Mark of Sorrow
from the divergent reality and not the one from Wiccan's home reality
of Earth-13729.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Mark of Sorrow has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#8, p13, pan3 (The Mark of
Sorrow, main image)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#10, p14, pan1
(Earth-13729's Wiccan first using the Mark of Sorrow)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#7, p5, pan1 (Earth-13729's
Wiccan using the Mark to project ice)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#8, p17, pan3 (Wiccan using
the Mark to mass teleport)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#9, p13, pan1 (Wiccan
blasting energy from the Mark and subsequently collapsing)
Appearances:
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers
Supreme I#1 (December, 2016) - Robbie Thompson (writer), Javier
Rodriguez (pencils), Alvaro Lopez (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#2 (January, 2017) - Robbie
Thompson (writer), Javier Rodriguez (pencils), Alvaro Lopez (inks),
Nick Lowe (editor)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#3 (February, 2017) -
Robbie Thompson (writer), Javier Rodriguez (pencils), Alvaro Lopez
(inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#4 (March, 2017) - Robbie
Thompson (writer), Javier Rodriguez (pencils), Alvaro Lopez (inks),
Nick Lowe (editor)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#5 (April, 2017) - Robbie
Thompson (writer), Nathan Stockman (art), Nick Lowe (editor)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#6 (May, 2017) - Robbie
Thompson (writer), Javier Rodriguez (pencils), Alvaro Lopez (inks),
Nick Lowe (editor)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#7 (June, 2017) - Robbie
Thompson (writer), Javier Rodriguez (pencils), Alvaro Lopez, Guillermo
Ortego (inks), Darren Shan (editor)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#8 (July, 2017) - Robbie
Thompson (writer), Javier Rodriguez (pencils), Alvaro Lopez (inks),
Darren Shan (editor)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#9 (August, 2017) - Robbie
Thompson (writer), Javier Rodriguez (pencils), Alvaro Lopez (inks),
Darren Shan (editor)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#10 (September, 2017) -
Robbie Thompson (writer), Nathan Stockman (art), Darren Shan (editor)
Doctor Strange & the Sorcerers Supreme I#11 (October, 2017) -
Robbie Thompson (writer), Nathan Stockman (art), Darren Shan (editor)
First Posted: 08/28/2018
Last updated: 08/28/2018
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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