Great question moywar. I certainly don't consider myself an expert on the subject but it seems that Marvel have never really clearly defined their magical world, which is part of what makes the Marvel universe so interesting. Like the Marvel universe and the multiverse it seems that magic is this great,, unexplored domain where anything can (and does) happen, which is very different to the DC world of magic which is far more defined and is usually portrayed as a secret society or cult that needs to be negotiated to build character (which is also not a bad thing, see BOOKS OF MAGIC, HELLBLAZER, SANDMAN, etc). Just like the Fantastic Four were used as conduits to explore the never ending amazing stories the world of science could create i nthe 60's, Dr Strange was the used as the mystical equivalent to explore the new age world of mysticism which was also very popular in the birth of the counter culture of the 60's.
As to what the boundaries and rules are of Marvel magic? Well, like i said, Marvel play hard and fast with these rules and i don;t think they have ever been defined. In the very early Dr Strange tales, there was probably more effort to establish some form of structure to the use of magic, but in recent years there seems to be less. The Scarlet Witch confused matters even more by being an adept at magic, whilst also being a witch and no one really being able to ascertain where one begins and the other ends. She was capable of fairly minor feats of 'chaos magic' at certain points whilst at other times being able to perform magic that wiped out the vast majority of hte mutant population and conjur undead enemies for hte Avengers. Dr. Strange, Magik, Mephisto, Dormammu... all have fluctuated between being all powerful and being merely conjurers in their time (depending on who was writing them) and it ahs never really been explained why or what hte circumstances of their power was or is.
Magic is like the unexplored universe in the Marvel universe it seems; a great playground for stories that will (hopefully) defy the imagination of the reader.
Hope that wasn't too rambling and helped somewhat, moywar.
If anyone else can answer the question more clearly, i too would love to hear the answer.
Log in to comment