Philipp Berghofer is a Ph.D. candidate and lecturer at the University of Graz, Austria. He works primarily on phenomenology, epistemology, and the philosophy of physics, focusing on the concept of evidence. He is a recipient of a DOC Fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Recently, he acquired the Eye of Agamotto at a local gift shop, and since then he has made many bargains.

Armond Boudreaux is the only assistant professor of English at East Georgia State College with a Captain America shield on his office wall. He has published three books, including Titans: How Superheroes Can Help Us Understand a Polarized World (with Corey Latta). He often regales his four children with tales of the superheroics of his youth—and they believe every word. Really.

Matthew William Brake is a graduate student at George Mason University pursuing a dual master’s degree in philosophy and interdisciplinary studies, and has a Master of Divinity degree from Regent University. He has published numerous entries in the series Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Reception, Resources, volumes 15–18, from Ashgate, and blogs at www.popularcultureandtheology.com. Like Doctor Strange at Kamar‐Taj, he banged on Mark White’s door for hours to be allowed into this volume.

Skye C. Cleary teaches at Columbia University, Barnard College, and the City College of New York. She is the author of Existentialism and Romantic Love, managing editor of the Blog of the American Philosophical Association, and an advisory board member of Strategy of Mind. Her work has been published with TED‐Ed, Los Angeles Review of Books, Aeon, Huffington Post, The Conversation, Business Insider, New Republic, The New Philosopher, The Philosophers’ Magazine, and others. While her favorite power of Doctor Strange is being able to pop into the library and borrow books without having to do the whole check‐out thing, she wouldn’t turn down the ability to fold time and space, especially when writing and grading deadlines loom over her like dark dimensions.

Paul DiGeorgio is an adjunct professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He researches and writes on existentialism and phenomenology, and is very upset they’ve changed the wifi password at Kamar‐Taj.

Sarah K. Donovan is an associate professor of philosophy at Wagner College in New York City. Her teaching and research interests include community‐based, feminist, social, moral, and continental philosophy. She was one of the top three candidates for the position as Doctor Strange’s new librarian, but was rejected for not tempering her philosophy with science. The position was eventually taken by Zelma Stanton.

George A. Dunn is a writer on philosophy and popular culture. In addition to contributing essays to numerous books in the Wiley‐Blackwell series, he has edited or co‐edited six books on philosophy and pop culture, most recently The Philosophy of Christopher Nolan (Lexington Books, 2017) with Jason Eberl. George shares with Stephen Strange the fact that both have visited Mount Everest, though George made it only as far as base camp, and he only got that far as a passenger in an older van that was ill‐equipped to absorb all the shocks of those winding, gravel‐covered Himalayan roads, all the time wishing he had packed his sling ring.

Christopher P. Klofft is an associate professor of theology at Assumption College Worcester, MA. He is the author of Living the Love Story: Catholic Morality in the Modern World (Alba House, 2008) and lectures widely on issues of Catholicism and culture as well as marriage, family, and sexual ethics. He blogs at www.christopherklofft.com. Christopher prefers the Summa Theologiae to the Book of the Vishanti, but he might be willing to trade a copy of his dissertation for the Darkhold.

Dean A. Kowalski is professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin‐Waukesha, and regularly teaches philosophy of religion, Asian philosophy, and ethics. He is the author of Classic Questions and Contemporary Film (2nd edition, 2016) and Moral Theory at the Movies (2012). He is the editor of The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy (2012), The Philosophy of The X‐Files, revised edition (2009), and Steven Spielberg and Philosophy (2008), and the co‐editor of The Philosophy of Joss Whedon (2011). He marvels at all the classic tomes he could read by mystically dislodging his astral form from his body, but he (sheepishly) admits he would probably just watch more Marvel movies.

Corey Latta is a writer, teacher, and public speaker who has written on subjects such as C.S. Lewis, philosophy, and the intersections of religion and literature. Corey holds master’s degrees in religion and English as well as a Ph.D. in 20th Century Literature. He is the author of C. S. Lewis and the Art of Writing, When the Eternal Can Be Met: The Bergsonian Theology of Time in the Works of C. S. Lewis, T. S. Eliot, and W. H. Auden, and co‐author of Titans: How Superheroes Can Help Us Make Sense of a Polarized World (with Armond Boudreaux). Corey is currently Writer‐in‐Residence at Kamar‐Taj, but he refuses to tell Paul DiGeorgio the new wifi password.

Sander H. Lee is professor of philosophy at Keene State College in New Hampshire. He is the author of Woody Allen's Angst: Philosophical Commentaries on his Serious Films (McFarland, 2013). Sander’s essay, “Primo Levi’s Gray Zone: Implications for Post‐Holocaust Ethics,” appeared recently in the journal Holocaust and Genocide Studies. He has also written numerous additional essays on issues in aesthetics, ethics, Holocaust studies, social philosophy, and metaphysics. He has Doctor Strange’s persistence but, unfortunately, none of his mystical abilities.

Michael Lyons is a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy at Trinity College Dublin. His work is predominantly in ethics, focusing on questions and problems of the more theoretical and fundamental variety. Having seen the 2016 film Doctor Strange, he thought it would be wonderful if he were able to say that Wong won a Wand of Watoomb.

Daniel P. Malloy teaches philosophy at Aims Community College in Greeley, Colorado. He has published numerous chapters on the intersections of philosophy and popular culture, including chapters on Spider‐Man, the Avengers, Iron Man, Batman, Green Lantern, and Deadpool. He tried to join the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, but failed the physical.

Tuomas W. Manninen earned his Ph.D. in philosophy in 2007 from the University of Iowa, and is presently a senior lecturer at Arizona State University, where he teaches courses in critical thinking, philosophy of mind, political philosophy, and other assorted topics. Although he doesn’t think he knows how the world works, he has internalized the lesson that not everything has to make sense. While he is not too keen about breaking the laws of nature, he thinks that learning about astral projection could help him immensely with his grading.

Carina Pape teaches at the University of Flensburg, Germany, and writes on moral philosophy, especially on gender and race, indignation, diversity, and philosophy of education. Instead of heading for Kathmandu to open her mind and change her reality, she decided to go to Kyoto University, Japan, where she’s been doing research on cultural diversity as a visiting fellow. She grew up with four male cousins and one brother—from whom she snatched her first comic books—and realized early on that women make pretty good fighters too. Her role models are Socrates, Gamora from the Guardians of the Galaxy, O‐Ren Ishii from Kill Bill, and of course, the (female) Ancient One, even though the latter conflicts with the Kantian within her from time to time.

Konstantin Pavliouts has a Ph.D in philosophy and works at Krasin Moscow State Vocational School, Russia. He is interested in the philosophy of space and time, and has published on the specific Indian comprehension of space and time problematics, as well as the philosophical foundations of social space and time categories in Western philosophy. He is also interested in the philosophical ideas in the literature of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. He’d like to experience Doctor Strange’s spiritual transformation in Kamar‐Taj as a philosopher, but would rather not become Sorcerer Supreme of the Earth, thank you very much.

Edwardo Pérez is an associate professor in the Department of English at Tarrant County College Northeast Campus in Hurst, Texas. When he’s not teaching, he’s writing essays, blogs, stories, poetry, and the occasional orchestral composition. When he’s not writing, he’s thinking about philosophy, rhetoric, politics, and the infinite possibilities of the multiverse. Edwardo spends his free time studying the Book of Vishanti and practicing with the Axe of Angarruumus, the Ebony Blade, and Dragonfang (because you can never have enough magical weapons).

Nicholas Richardson is a professor in the Department of Physical Sciences at Wagner College in New York City, where he teaches general, advanced inorganic, and medicinal chemistry. He was one of the top three candidates for the position as Doctor Strange’s new librarian, but was rejected for not tempering his science with philosophy. The position was eventually taken by Zelma Stanton.

Brendan Shea teaches philosophy at Rochester Community and Technical College in Minnesota, and is also a Resident Fellow at the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science. His teaching and research interests include the philosophy of science, biomedical ethics, logic, and the philosophy of religion. He’s contributed over a dozen chapters to books on popular culture and philosophy, including volumes on Alice in Wonderland, The Princess Bride, and Ender's Game. He's studied Doctor Strange’s work carefully in the hopes of picking up some magical skills, but his sorcerous talents (so far) are limited to an uncanny ability to make his socks disappear.

Chad William Timm is an associate professor of education at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. He teaches courses on the history and philosophy of education and specializes in examining ways to use pop culture as a vehicle to teach complex concepts. His work also appears in Wiley Blackwell volumes on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Game of Thrones, Ender’s Game, and The Hunger Games. While writing his chapter for this volume, he sought to embody the Socratic heroism of Doctor Strange, leading him to periodically blurt out exclamations in class like “By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!” and “By the Mystic Moons of Munnopor!” Unsurprisingly, his students gave him the highest course evaluations of his career.

Andrew T. Vink is a Ph.D. candidate in systematic theology at Boston College. He holds master’s degrees in philosophy and theology from Marquette University in Wisconsin, and his research interests include philosophical theology, political theology, liberation theology, and the thought of Bernard Lonergan. When not buried under a pile of books in the libraries of Kamar‐Taj, Andrew sits patiently waiting for the next Marvel Cinematic Universe film with popcorn in hand.

Mark D. White is chair of the Department of Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY, where he teaches courses in philosophy, economics, and law. He has edited or co‐edited six other volumes in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series, including ones on Iron Man and the Avengers; contributed chapters to many more; and authored books on Captain America and Civil War. Someday he hopes to find a woman wearing Clea’s awesome leggings, for then he will be sure he has found the one.

Bruce Wright is Regional Associate Dean of the Island Medical Program at the University of British Columbia, and Head of the Division of Medical Sciences at the University of Victoria. He has a research interest in medical education which has led to over fifty peer‐reviewed publications in the areas of medical student career choice and medical school curriculum development. Of the many teaching awards he has received over the years the ones he cherishes most are those bestowed on him by medical students. He is trained in family medicine and has a special interest is geriatrics. He aspires to be like Doctor Strange and not simply strange, which appears to be what others think, while rockin’ a perfectly coiffed Doctor Strange beard.

E. Paul Zehr is an award‐winning science communicator, professor, author and martial artist at the University of Victoria. His popular science books Becoming Batman, Inventing Iron Man, Project Superhero, and Chasing Captain America use superheroes as metaphors exploring the science of human potential. In 2015, he won the Science Educator Award from the Society for Neuroscience, and Project Superhero won the Silver Medal for Juvenile fiction from the Independent Book Sellers of North America. He secretly wishes he had a real life Sanctum Sanctorum within which he could train with Wong.

I would like to thank Sian Jones at Wiley‐Blackwell for guiding this book up the snowy mountains to the promised land of publication; the Series Editor Supreme, William Irwin, whom I would never dare call the Ancient One if he weren’t so slow; and the contributors to this volume, without whom it would simply be a list of clever names of spells I made up while sculpting my goatee in the mirror on a Saturday night.

In all seriousness, I wish to thank all the brilliant creative minds that gave us this fascinating character and his world, including Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Roy Thomas, Gene Colan, Steve Englehart, Frank Brunner, P. Craig Russell, Peter B. Gillis, Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martin, Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman, Devin Grayson, Robbie Thompson, Javier Rodriguez, Jason Aaron, and Chris Bachalo. Thanks also go to everyone involved in making the 2016 film that brought this marvelous world to life, including Scott Derrickson, Kevin Feige, Jon Spaihts, C. Robert Cargill, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, and all the other talented people in front of and behind the camera.

In 1963, comics legends Stan Lee and Steve Ditko added a unique figure to the expanding Marvel Universe: Doctor Stephen Strange, a brilliant neurosurgeon turned Sorcerer Supreme, who stood as the Earth’s sole defender against mystical threats from strange dimensions. (Their other famous creation, Spider‐Man, was just a warm‐up.) Combining Lee’s affection for astonishing alliteration—“By the Mystic Moons of Munnopor!”—with Ditko’s psychedelic panoramas, Doctor Strange was unique in a growing stable of heroes mostly based on the promise of science and the fear of radioactivity.

Since then, Doctor Strange has been a mainstay of the Marvel Universe, if not often a featured player, an appropriate position for a loner who prefers to serve his role in thankless solitude. With faithful Wong always at his side, and occasionally teaming up with Defenders, Avengers, and fellow mystics such as Clea and Brother Voodoo, Strange added a welcome maturity and stability to a world full of superpowered teens, impetuous Norse gods, and gamma‐fueled rage machines.

In 2016, audiences outside the strange realm of comic book conventions and Wednesday pull‐lists were exposed to a cinematic vision of Doctor Strange, deftly portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch alongside Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, and the enigmatic Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One. Ditko’s startling visions of alternate universes were reflected in dazzling color and three dimensions in front of our very eyes, and Lee’s arrogant doctor came to life on the big screen where he was brought down a few pegs before being rebuilt as a noble self‐sacrificing hero.

Fifty‐plus years of comics adventures and a brilliant feature film provide us not only with tales of mind‐bending mysticism and self‐sacrificing heroics, but also a wealth of philosophical inspiration. How does Doctor Strange reconcile his belief in hard‐boiled science with his mystical training? What does he mean when he tells the Ancient One they’re just “tiny momentary specks within an indifferent universe”—and why was he wrong? What does his astral self say about the relationship between mind and body? And why is he always so alone? Two dozen of our dimension’s Philosophers Supreme stand ready to help answer these questions and many more.

So don your Cloak of Levitation, light the Flames of the Faltine, and travel with us to the strange and marvelous world of magic, wonder … and philosophy! (And despite the subtitle, there is no forbidden knowledge here, we promise!)