Dormammu () is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Dormammu first appeared in Strange Tales #126 (November 1964). He is the extra and inter-dimensional demonic entity and deity brother of Umar and the uncle of superheroine Clea who rules over the Dark Dimension. The character has endured as a recurring antagonist of the superhero Doctor Strange.
Dormammu has appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including films, animated television series, toys, trading cards, and video games. He made his live-action debut in the 2016 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Doctor Strange, performed through motion capture by Benedict Cumberbatch and voiced by a mixture of Cumberbatch and an unidentified British actor.
Publication history
Dormammu first appeared in Strange Tales #126–127 (Nov.–Dec. 1964), but had been mentioned previously in dialogue, along with his realm the "Dark Dimension".
Writer Mike Conroy said:
After being established as the ruler of an alternate dimension (later described as the god-tyrant of its denizens),Excalibur vol. 3 #14 (2005). Marvel Comics (New York). Dormammu became a perennial foe of Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, who until this time had dealt almost exclusively with off-beat "one-off" mystical threats in Strange Tales #110–125 (July 1963 – Oct. 1964). Strange's first encounter with Dormammu in the "Dark Dimension" also introduced Clea, eventually revealed to be the niece of the villain (like Clea's name, this was not initially revealed in Strange Tales #126; Nov. 1964), and the monstrous and imprisoned Mindless Ones.
Dormammu's major appearances include starring in an epic fifteen issue storyline in Strange Tales #131–146 (Apr. 1965 – July 1966); the discovery that Dormammu has a sister, Umar, and both are in fact mystical beings called Faltine in Strange Tales #150 (Nov. 1966); teaming with fellow villain Loki to instigate the "Avengers-Defenders War" in The Avengers #115–118 (Sept.–Dec. 1973) and The Defenders #8–11 (Sept.–Dec. 1973); Thor Annual #9 (1981); Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #1–2 (Nov. 1988 & Jan. 1989) and the limited series Doctor Strange: The Flight of the Bones #1–4 (Feb.–May 1999) and Hellcat #1–3 (Sept.–Nov. 2000).
After a major appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #498–500 (Oct.–Dec. 2003), Dormammu became the patron of small-time villain the Hood in New Avengers #46 (Dec. 2008).
Fictional character biography 1960s Dormammu is first mentioned by Karl Amadeus Mordo, senior apprentice of the Ancient One, who serves as the "Sorcerer Supreme" and protector of Earth. Secretly in the entity's service, Mordo attempts to slowly weaken the Ancient One as a means of enabling Dormammu to finally extend his rule to Earth, but is stopped when his fellow pupil Stephen Strange alerts his master to the betrayal.
Dormammu later appears in person when sending a messenger to boast his renewed intentions of conquering his universe before his aging adversary. In response, Doctor Strange travels to Dormammu's "Dark Dimension" as the Ancient One does not consider himself powerful enough to defeat Dormammu and manages to overcome all supernatural servitors sent against him. Dormammu engages Strange in mystic combat and shows himself to be far more powerful, but, when drawing upon the realm's energies, inadvertently weakens the barrier containing the horde of Mindless Ones. Since they threatened Dormammu's subjects, Strange helped his enemy to re-seal the juggernauts by letting power from his amulet flow into Dormammu. Indebted to Strange for his help, Dormammu ends the fight, and in return Strange demands a binding vow to never enter the "Earth realm" again and to not harm Clea. Dormammu complies, but gains a burning hatred against Strange for the humiliation.
Dormammu uses a loophole to his oath by granting Mordo vast power, whereupon the sorcerer leads his minions on a lengthy hunt for Strange and abduct the Ancient One as a bargaining chip. Dormammu's niece, Clea, assists Strange by weakening the barrier of the Mindless Ones, forcing her uncle to focus elsewhere. Dormammu learns of her betrayal, brings all three Earth sorcerers to a neutral realm, to let her see his disciple destroy Strange, and summons fellow "Lords of the Netherworlds" to watch the spectacle. When Strange begins to get an advantage against Mordo, Dormammu decides to face the sorcerer in a contest of pure hand-to-hand-combat. The physically stronger entity eventually falls to his foe's greater familiarity with martial arts. To Dormammu's humiliation, before the gathered Lords, Strange forces him to vow not to menace the Earth even by proxy. The villain strikes a parting blow by banishing Clea and inciting another lord to attack Strange.
In an apparent bid for power Dormammu engages the universal embodiment, Eternity, in single combat, but is defeated and banished.
Dormammu captures Clea, and overpowers and imprisons Strange. The sorcerer manipulates Umar into freeing him, and then surprises Dormammu by pushing him through a portal to the Earth. This makes the entity wither from the curse cast by his own power, when vowing to never enter the Earth realm, and he departs to his own plane.
1970s Dormammu enters into an alliance with the Asgardian Loki and tricks superhero teams the Avengers and Defenders into fighting each other for components of the artifact known as the Evil Eye of Avalon. The Eye is reassembled, and allows Dormammu to merge his own universe with all the planets of the "regular" Marvel Universe without breaking his vow. Dormammu imprisons the traitorous Loki and effortlessly overwhelms all of his other opponents, leaving only the Scarlet Witch. When Loki escapes and distracts Dormammu, the Scarlet Witch casts a hex on the Eye that causes it to absorb Dormammu, and costs Loki his sanity."Avengers/Defenders War" from:
After being seen in flashback, Dormammu manages to reintegrate himself on Earth, but is recovering slowly to full strength. Together with Umar, Dormammu captures the elder goddess Gaea, and seeks revenge against the Scarlet Witch by kidnapping her and her mentor Agatha Harkness from her wedding to the Vision. After Wanda and Agatha remove the heat needed for his regeneration, he departs for his own realm. Immediately afterwards, he attempts to destroy Doctor Strange and Clea. He is betrayed by Umar, who steals his power and allows Dormammu to be banished from Earth.
Dormammu tricks Strange into battling both the demon Ghost Rider and the Bounty Hunter in an unsuccessful attempt to kill Strange. Dormammu appears in a "What If...?" alternate universe story as Strange's master in that reality.
1980s Dormammu acts as the envoy of Lord Chaos and plays against Odin in a cosmic chess match whose outcome decides the universal balance of chaos and order. Umar attempts to rig the game in her brother's favor by manipulating Odin's son Thor unsuccessfully, and the game ends in a draw.
Dormammu's agent Baron Mordo travels back in time to London in the year 1943, where he allies with the aristocrats Viscount Krowler and Sir Anthony Baskerville. Dormammu possesses Krowler, and begins to manifest on the Earth plane by absorbing power from the destruction of World War II, but he is banished by Doctor Strange.Doctor Strange vol. 2 #49–51 (1981–1982)
Dormammu reappears during the "Inferno" storyline. Strange, following an arduous confrontation with Shuma-Gorath, heals through a process that takes him through various mystical realms. This allows Dormammu to attach himself to his foe, and possess the sorcerer's body, which exempts him from the vow to not directly enter the Earth-realm. Summoning extraterrestrial sorcerers as his lieutenants, Dormammu vows to "burn" and replace the Celestials as the greatest power in the Earth's universe, but is distracted and tricked by Clea and Strange (his consciousness occupying a rat), while their ally Topaz exorcises Dormammu's presence.
1990s Dormammu reconstitutes again, regains control of the Dark Dimension from Clea by subverting her will, and summons her parents, Umar and Orini, from exile. Umar and Baron Mordo join forces with Clea and Doctor Strange. The enraged Dormammu threatens to completely destroy the "Dark Dimension" in retaliation, but Umar convinces him to accept a compromise as the ruler of a sub-realm, whereas his sister takes over rulership from Clea, with Mordo as her consort. Clea agrees to abdicate rather than see all of her people killed, but promises to return if Umar becomes a tyrant again. Dormammu finds that he has been tricked into becoming the ruler of the realm of the Mindless Ones.
After two brief appearances, Dormammu, in the guise of another of the Faltine, manipulates Clea into recruiting allies from the Lords of the Netherworlds to depose her mother. This frees Dormammu to reclaim his realm. He absorbs Umar and Mordo into himself, becoming more powerful than ever before, and he disintegrates the assembled entities.
Strange, at the time weakened without support from the "Principalities", confronts Dormammu with his allies Clea, the Silver Surfer, Hulk, and Ghost Rider, but they are unable to cause any injury to the villain. Strange journeys into the core of Dormammu's essence and uses the Eye of Agamotto to strip away his self-delusion, and make him acknowledge that his thirst for chaos, power, and conquest are unworthy of a being of his stature. Dormammu is momentarily shaken, and appears to be defeated, but this is only a mirage. The villain gloats that he has not shown "one tenth" of his true power against the heroes, but that he now realizes that rulership of "one puny" universe is beneath his notice, as he now has far greater and "more interesting" ambitions, and contemptuously dismisses the "insignificant mortals".
Dormammu observes the Guardians of the Galaxy—adventurers from the 31st century of Earth-691—travel to the mainstream era of Earth-616. Dormammu follows them back to their dimension, merges with his counterpart in this timeline, doubling his power, and attacks their headquarters, demanding the presence of the Doctor Strange of their time. Strange, now called the Ancient One, arrives with his disciple, the alien Krugarr, and battles Dormammu, assisted by the Guardians, the "Galactic Guardians", and the Phoenix Force. Dormammu kills the elderly Strange, and almost overwhelms his other foes, but is defeated when Krugarr summons the spirit of Strange, and they channel the combined power of everyone in the assembly to banish Dormammu to his home dimension.
Dormammu appears as the guiding force behind an attack on the self-titled Goddess during "The Infinity Crusade" storyline. During The Flight of the Bones storyline, Dormammu is revealed as the instigator behind a series of spontaneous combustions of criminals and an attack on an ally of Strange by cultists.
2000s Dormammu uses the demon lord Satannish (revealed as his creation) and warlock Nicholas Scratch to lead his Demonic armies to capture five of the inter-dimensional places of Hell, in a plot to eventually conquer all life and afterlife. Dormammu, however, is thwarted when the heroine Hellcat rallies the powers of Hell to weaken Dormammu by engineering a complete absence of mystic flame. Dormammu also allies with the entity Mephisto to drive an attacking force out of their respective dimensions.