Marvel Snapshot: Character Spotlight: Clea

Hey everybody, welcome to another awesome character spotlight, right here in Marvel Snapshot! This time, we’ll focus on the former pupil, confidant, and sometimes lover of Dr. Strange, Clea! This silver haired vixen can hold her own in a fight with anyone, and quickly showed Dr. Strange she was ready for the big leagues! Let us move past the introduction and get right into this sassy, Silver Age beauty! She was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1964 (Strange Tales #126).

In the very beginning, Clea’s name was even a mystery, but when Dr. Strange first appeared in the Dark Dimension, he freed her from the clutches of the dread Dormammu. After Strange and Clea fought their way out of captivity, the evil Umar also tormented the two, and even captured Clea for a while. The Ancient One, who had been watching, whisked her away to a pocket dimension to save her from Umar. We would later find out that Umar is Clea’s mother, and that would complicate things for some time for her.
Clea then returned to Earth with Dr. Strange, and the two began a love affair while Strange taught her the ways of the mystic arts. The two would return to the Dark Dimension several times, battling Umar, Dormammu, and even setting up a “resistance” when Dormammu was the ruler. For a time, Clea actually became ruler of that dimension, and was eventually replaced by a supposedly repentant Umar and her new lover, Baron Mordo. That pair ruled for a while, but then Dormammu stole both of their powers, and again renewed his war with Strange and Clea.

Clea would eventually leave this dimension and the arms of her mentor/lover, and return permanently to the Dark Dimension. She believed that Strange didn’t lover her anymore, but instead fell in love with Morgana Blessing. In truth, he was still madly in love with Clea, and he wept when she left him. So, although in the beginning she was the “damsel in distress,” she became quite a formidable sorceress in her own rights, and sometimes ruled an entire dimension, too!
As usual, check out my recommended reading list, along with some of Clea’s best cover shots! See you next time, and enjoy!
Recommended Reading
Essential Doctor Strange vol. 1, 2, 3, & 4 – Tpb
Dr. Strange: Into the Dark Dimension – HC
Marvel Fanfare #’s 5, 8, & 40 (vol. 1, 1982)
Marvel: 1602 – Tpb