Mister Misery (Marvel)
Mister Misery is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Mister Misery was the name given to a mystical being created from the mystical toll of Doctor Strange. He was created from the mystical toll that Strange failed to pay for the use of his magic. Instead of bearing with the suffering of his spells, Wong instead channelled it elsewhere in the cellar of the Sanctum Sanctorum. Once there, it gathered until it developed into a living being of shadow that experienced all of the mystical pains that were spared from the Sorcerer Supreme. (Doctor Strange v4 #10)
During the fight between the Imperator and Doctor Strange, Mister Misery came to be released where he confronted Stephen Strange. He found that he no longer was sustained by his 'fathers' pain and looked for a new source of sustenance. Strange though remarked that the Imperator of the Empirikul saw both of them as monsters due to their ties of magic. He thus asked the creature for help and that they needed to work together against a common threat. Stephen was then attacked by the Imperator who was ready to kill the Sorcerer Supreme. It was then that Mister Misery acted as he acknowledged that Strange was indeed a fool but not one for the leader of the Empirikul to kill. Though helping his 'father', Misery stated that Strange's pain was his to exploit and did not belong to anyone else. Whilst the Imperator was distracted, Mister Misery bonded physically to Strange with the process being incredibly painful for Stephen. However, this did give him the strength he needed to fight the head of the Empirikul using magic. At the same time, the mystical pain was being shared with people around the world who had willingly taken it in to aid the Sorcerer Supreme to stop the threat the Empirikul posed to the world. With this power, Doctor Strange was finally able to defeat the Imperator and end the threat posed by his machines. Mister Misery expressed amazement at how Doctor Strange was able to inspire such devotion in others. With the threat defeated, the Imperator came to be chained within the cellar of the Sanctum Sanctorum whilst Mister Misery escaped in the chaos. At first, Misery believed that he would experience something at attaining freedom but instead felt nothing. He then reasoned that perhaps he would feel something if he sought vengeance against his creator. (Doctor Strange v4 #10)
After gaining freedom, Mister Misery targeted Doctor Strange, attacking him with both words and violence. He sought vengeance for his abandonment, accusing Strange of casting him away like refuse. In their battle, Mister Misery proved formidable, wielding dark magic born of suffering itself and using tendrils of shadow to lash out and entrap his enemies. His assaults were not only physical but also emotional, seeking to inflict despair upon Strange as much as physical harm. (Doctor Strange v4 #11) For a time, he attempted to live without suffering but after three days without hurting anyone he came to miss the misery. Mister Misery expanded his campaign of torment beyond Strange, attacking those close to him. He targeted Wong, Strange’s loyal ally, inflicting agony upon him in an effort to weaken the Sorcerer Supreme. He also ensnared Zelma Stanton, Strange’s librarian and companion, using her as leverage to further torment his creator. By preying upon those Strange cared for, Mister Misery sought to amplify his own essence, drawing strength from the anguish of others while twisting Strange’s life into despair. (Doctor Strange v4 #12)
He had survived but was in hiding where he found animals in misery coming to him where he killed them to end their suffering. It was then he came upon Stephen where he assumed that he had been tracked by his creator. This saw Mister Misery looking to kill Strange but he was interrupted by his allies. Their fight was then confounded by the arrival of Baron Mordo who wanted to be the only person to kill his old foe Stephen Strange. This saw Baron Mordo, Mister Misery and the Orb all competing for being the person responsible for killing Doctor Strange. It was then that Dormammu manifested at the scene as he wanted to claim the victory for himself. (Doctor Strange v4 #15) Ultimately, Doctor Strange confronted Mister Misery within the Sanctum Sanctorum. There, the Sorcerer Supreme battled not only the physical manifestation of his suffering but also the consequences of having severed himself from it. The battle was fierce, with Misery’s power drawn directly from the anguish Strange had discarded, forcing him to face the truth of what he had created. Though Strange subdued him, Mister Misery remained a haunting presence, impossible to truly destroy, for as long as Strange knew pain, his shadow would endure. (Doctor Strange v4 #20)
Escaping, he sought a new host to bond to where he looked for someone suffering and miserable. He came to find this in a young boy named Calvin Morse who hid his pain which was used to feed Mister Misery who gave the human magic in return. During this time, Doctor Strange had established an academy set to train people in the use of magic with Mister Misery using Morse to enrol there so that he could torture his creator. However, the longer he hid within Calvin the more his power grew and he decided to bide his time until he was strong enough to take everything from his maker. This was until Toth of Weirdworld came to know the truth behind Calvin Morse's powers with Mister Misery seemingly killing him to silence him. This was until he was exposed causing Mister Misery to attack everyone at the academy who tried to find a way of freeing Calvin Morse. Despite their attacks and numbers, they were unable to stop Mister Misery without harming the host body. This was until Dessy came upon a plan where she thought to overfeed Mister Misery too much pain and torment to overwhelm him. She began with her own and the other students joined her where at first it served as nourishment but became too much for Mister Misery. This allowed Calvin to be freed from him and the parasitic mystical entity begged for the torment to end with Dessy complying by consuming him. (Strange Academy v1 #12)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Mister Misery was a living embodiment of pain and suffering, birthed from Doctor Strange’s own excised suffering given form. He was male in shape, though his body was grotesque and constantly shifting, cloaked in darkness and writhing with tendrils of malignant energy. His flesh appeared as a black, tar-like substance that flowed and twisted unnaturally, forming a silhouette that resembled a man but lacked stable form. His face was often obscured, with only hints of distorted features and glowing, hateful eyes visible through the living shroud of misery that composed him. (Doctor Strange v4 #10) Initially, the creature was unnamed and instead simply referred to as the Thing in the Cellar. (Doctor Strange v4 #8) When bonded to Calvin Morse, he briefly went by the name of Misery Morse. (Strange Academy v1 #12)
Misery was all he had ever known where he considered it to be his cradle and mother's milk where he would wither and starve without it. This was the reason he preyed on others and performed terrible acts on them where he compared this to how humans were capable of performing any act when they were starving. Mister Misery had said that he took no joy on what he did to his victims though did get pleasure out of it. (Doctor Strange v4 #12) The creature longed to experience other feelings beyond this state but struggled to find anything that made him feel happy. After trying freedom, he found the concept did nothing for him and instead looked to get vengeance against his creator. (Doctor Strange v4 #10)
Mister Misery was cruel, vindictive, and consumed by bitterness. He exhibited a deep resentment toward Doctor Strange, regarding him as a creator who had abandoned and discarded him. His behavior was sadistic, taking delight in the torment of others and thriving on spreading pain wherever he went. Though capable of articulate speech, his words dripped with venom and mockery, expressing both his hatred for Strange and his joy in causing misery. His personality was defined by a twisted sense of identity, seeing himself as Strange’s unwanted 'child' and enemy in equal measure. (Doctor Strange v4 #10)
Mister Misery came to consider Stephen Strange to be his 'father'. (Doctor Strange v4 #10) As a result of his origins, he was tied to Doctor Strange and considered a part of him. This was to the point that he was almost akin to being a child of Strange. He had said that he could never forgive the person that created him namely Stephen Strange. Mister Misery said that he was no longer a part of Strange and that he was his own creature. (Doctor Strange v4 #12) It was shown that he was protective of Doctor Strange and did not allow others to kill him. This was because he felt that Strange's suffering was his to exploit. For a long time, he believed that he would experience happiness upon being granted his freedom but upon attaining it he felt nothing and instead decided to devote himself to vengeance against Stephen Strange. (Doctor Strange v4 #10) His desire for revenge was to the point that he sought to make Strange suffer by hurting and killing others. (Doctor Strange v4 #12)
Powers and abilities
Mister Misery was a magical construct born of Doctor Strange’s excised suffering. His physiology was amorphous and ever-shifting, composed of living shadow and dark energy. This made him nearly impervious to conventional physical harm, as his body could dissolve into tendrils of shadow or reform after being struck. His form was mutable, allowing him to stretch, constrict, or engulf his enemies with his tar-like essence. (Doctor Strange v4 #10)
Mister Misery could channel suffering as both a weapon and a source of sustenance. He thrived on the pain of others, feeding on anguish to empower himself. His touch could spread torment, overwhelming victims with waves of agony both physical and emotional. He was capable of constricting foes with his tendrils, draining their vitality and leaving them broken in both body and spirit. (Doctor Strange v4 #11)
As a being tied to Doctor Strange, Mister Misery possessed a deep metaphysical link to the Sorcerer Supreme. His existence was directly bound to Strange’s own suffering, making him a reflection of his creator’s burdens. This bond ensured that while Strange could weaken him, he could never completely destroy him, for as long as Strange endured hardship, Mister Misery would always persist as his shadow. (Doctor Strange v4 #20)
In one instance, he was shown as shapeshifting into a coat allowing him to hide in plain sight from others. (Strange Academy v1 #12)
He could encase his substance around another and take them as a host body. It was shown that the process was incredibly painful to the host but did grant them Mister Misery's mystical powers. (Doctor Strange v4 #10)
In some cases, he willingly offered to give them magic in exchange for them hosting him and feeding him their misery. (Strange Academy v1 #12)
Notes
- Mister Misery was created by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo where he made his first appearance in Doctor Strange v4 #8 (July, 2016).
In other media
Video games
- In Marvel Duel, Mister Misery appeared as a playable card in the setting of the video card game.
- In Marvel Future Revolution, Mister Misery appeared in the setting of the mobile video game.
Appearances
- Doctor Strange v4: (2016)
- Strange Academy v1: (2021)
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
