The Doctor Strange that we know today is actually a white-washed version of the original, and, honestly, it might be preferable. Strange is stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one. On one hand, white-washing is pure garbage and removes the already limited representation of people of color. On the other hand, the original portrayal wasn’t much better, given that the first appearances of Doctor Strange were pretty racist and encompassed every Asian stereotype that was available in the 1960s. Which, as we know, was a peak period for racism in the United States. At the time when Strange first appeared in the #110 issue of Marvel’s Strange Tales, mystics were typically portrayed in one of two ways: A grey-haired near-osteoporotic white Merlin-type or stereotypical Asian embodying the secrets of the Far East. Marvel went with the latter.

To be fair, Doctor Strange’s origins weren’t mentioned back in those days, so we can’t even say for certain that the character was meant to be Asian. He was, however, drawn with the slanted eyes and deep-in-thought eyebrows that were typical of Asian caricatures from the time. A new story would shortly be released and with it, Strange’s origin. From then on, Strange was a former surgeon who hailed from New York. And, you know, white.