OR:"Then There Was That Time When the Top Brass Chewed Out the Sorcerer Supreme..."
While the military enjoys a cooperative arrangement with the super-beings who often stand between humanity and those foes who prove to be too much for conventional forces to subdue, doubtless there are some within military circles who will (appropriately enough) bite the bullet when it comes to being assigned to approach the Avengers or lesser-known individuals in order to solicit their assistance with a threat to national security. Count Gen. Hoyt Emerson among them. Today, he enters the sanctum sanctorum of Dr. Strange--and he is not at all happy about it.
Frankly, Emerson has a point. We know that Strange has many artifacts from across who knows how many dimensions--but what compels him to have every inch of his decor match his teachings? Does every room have to reflect the otherworldly? Pick up the phone and ask Jarvis to fix up a reception area for your guests, Doc--the man has impeccable taste!
As for Emerson, he can join the club in regard to the level of frustration he feels, since his visit has soured Strange's mood, as well--interrupting his preparations for entering the Dark Dimension and nearly costing him his life in the process. To paraphrase Strange, whatever his visitor has to say had better be good!
Strange, of course, assumes an air of civility by the time he greets the General and his aide--and given Emerson's bluntness and lack of, eh, tact, kudos to Strange for keeping his composure.
Don't you miss the old Stephen Strange in such moments? The arrogant, tactless s.o.b. who used to treat his patients like meal tickets? Emerson would have been fileted like a fish.
As it is, the current Stephen Strange stays reasonably calm and persuades the General to get to the point--which Emerson proceeds to do, with obvious reservations.
But what kind of threat has the military knocking on the door of the Master of the Mystic Arts? And will its representative, the salty Emerson, have the patience to trust in whatever Strange has to say on the matter?
Continued »»»