Background

Dr Stephen Strange was a brilliant but arrogant surgeon. He bragged that his hands could do magic. He lost that "magic" in a car accident, which badly injured his hands. He did everything he could to heal them, but nothing worked. He even traveled to Tibet to find a cure. It was there that he found an old man that taught him the way of magic and told him how to look beyond his own selfish needs.

Dr Strange has teamed with Spider-Man on many occasions. Peter, being a scientist, is skeptical of Strange's magic but cant deny that he has been a major help to him in the past. Together they held off Xandu in one of their first meetings. Strange later helped Spidey save Flash Thompson from Vietnamese assassins, who blamed him for destroying their temple and killing their priest while he was in Southeast Asia. The priest had been in some kind of magical suspended animation, which saved his body from the shelling that destroyed the temple. Doc Strange brought him out of his trance; in gratitude, the holy man explained that Flash was innocent. At this time, Flash met Sha Shan.

The duo stopped Doctor Doom and the Dread Dormammu when they tried to use an ancient evil called the Bend Sinister to rule the world. Dr Strange unintentionally caused the Black Cat to suffer a terrible beating after he removed her "bad luck" powers, which were effecting Spider-Man. Strange also used his arcane knowledge to help Moon Knight be separated from Demogoblin and to seek a cure for the vampiric Morbius.

While he stopped Doom from ruling the world, he traveled to Hell with the dictator to free his mother, Cynthia von Doom, from the clutches of the demon lord Mephisto. Doom tried to double cross Strange, trading his soul for his mother's. His mother refused to allow it, and forced Victor to save Dr Strange. Her soul was eventually sent to a higher place.

Peter leaned on Strange's talents especially hard after the mysterious Ezekiel came into his life. Zeke (as Peter called him) claimed that Spider- Man's powers are actually based in magic, not just from a radioactive spider. He had enemies of a magical nature and they were coming for him. Dr Strange couldn't take part in the battles that confronted Peter, but he gave him advice whenever he could. This advice saved his life against the Shade, Dormammu and Shathra.

While Peter would have preferred to spend his birthday with Mary Jane (and really, who wouldn't?) a horde of Mindless Ones crashed into New York. The creatures were beaten back by the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man and Cyclops, much to Strange's remorse. Forcing them back to thier realm aided Dormammu in reforming his body and he engaged Strange in battle. Spidey interfered, and the spell being cast by Strange backfired, taking the two of them through space and time.

Peter relived important moments in his life, and Strange attempted to guide him back to the present time. During his time wandering through the past, he re- lived his first battles with many of his enemies: Mysterio, Sandman, Vulture and Electro. He again experienced the death of Gwen Stacy and many other battles. After he finally "caught up" to the present, Strange gave him his own birthday gift. He had a few moments to talk with Uncle Ben. (This is oddly similar to the time Strange let Peter talk with Ben's essence after they battled the Technomancers.)

Peter needed Dr Strange more than ever after his Aunt May was shot by a sniper hired by the Kingpin. Peter had revealed his ID on TV during the Superhuman Registration Act, which made him a target for all of his enemies. Kingpin put a hit out on Parker's family and May was mortally wounded. There was nothing that the doctors could do, so Peter turned to the Sorcerer Supreme. Strange couldn't risk playing God, but briefly gave Peter the ability to speak with every expert he knew (Mr Fantastic, Doctor Octopus and Doctor Doom among them) at the same time to find a way to save May. None could help.

However, a strange little girl offered help to Spider-Man as he left Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. While Strange warned Peter that it was too dangerous to use magic to change a person's fate, Spidey was willing to chance it when Mephisto offered to save May's life. Smart move, Pete. Ignore your friend that specializes in magic, but trust the demon.

Mephisto changed the space time continuum so that a thug in Electro's gang escaped from police custody and made Peter late for his wedding. This infuriated MJ who decided she couldn't marry him. The demon had nothing to do with the world forgetting Spider-Man's secret identity, however. That honor went to Dr Strange, Mister Fantastic and Iron Man. Their combined expertise in magic and science erased all memory of Peter revealing his ID. It would also keep others from figuring out his secret in the future.

This spell was weakened during Spider-Island, when New Yorkers were transformed into man-spiders by the Jackal and the Queen. Peter went on air (unmasked) to goad people to help end the rioting by using their new-found spider powers for good. He admitted that he had "recently been bitten and gained powers as well." Later, his girlfriend, Carlie Cooper, confided in him that she had found out that he was Spider-Man because he seemed too experienced at his powers to have just gotten them. She left him, because he had been lying to her. Peter confronted Dr Strange, furious that the spell seemed to have failed. Strange told Peter that by announcing on TV that he also had spider powers, the spell had been weakened. People would now have the ability to figure out he was Spider-Man.

Strange later helped to take part in escorting Norman Osborn from his prison cell at the Raft. He was disguised as Osborn and was "rescued" by H.A.M.M.E.R. agents while being moved by The Thing, Spider-Man and Luke Cage. Strange captured the H.A.M.M.E.R. agents after they thought they had gotten away. Osborn was simultaneously being moved by Wolverine, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones.