Strange Tales #146
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeStrange Tales #146 is one of the most loaded single issues of the Silver Age — a true end-of-an-era marker that packs several franchise-defining events into one 36-page package. On the Doctor Strange side, Steve Ditko's final chapter on the character he co-created closes out the long-running Eternity War arc with the second appearance of Eternity, the name-reveal of Clea (first introduced without a name back in #126), and a decisive confrontation with Dormammu that tied off virtually every open subplot — a narrative neatness that historians have read as a conscious farewell from Ditko. On the Nick Fury side, writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby debuted A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) in the same issue — a criminal think-tank of rogue scientists dedicated to world domination through technology — a villain organization that went on to become a cornerstone antagonist of the Marvel Universe, responsible in-universe for creations like the Cosmic Cube and MODOK, and in media for its prominent role in Iron Man 3 (2013). The issue thus marks both a closing parenthesis on Ditko's groundbreaking mystical run and an opening door for one of Marvel's most durable institutional villains.
In "When the Unliving Strike!", Stephen Strange finds himself caught in a cosmic clash when Dormammu, wielding dark mysticism, dares to challenge the very essence of Eternity. With Steve Ditko’s signature surreal art and a cover by Ditko himself, this 1966 Marvel classic delivers a mind-bending duel across dimensions, where even the universe’s oldest guardian is not immune to chaos.
In "When the Unliving Strike!" from Strange Tales #146, SHIELD's Nick Fury finds himself trapped aboard the Heli-Carrier Count Royale, where a tense standoff unfolds after an A.I.M. representative takes offense at SHIELD's security. With electric energy waves sealing his path and fission bombs in his hands, Fury must outthink both the androids that break free and the shadowy forces manipulating the chaos—leading him to suspect A.I.M. is behind the attack.
In "The End -- At Last!" from Strange Tales #146, Doctor Strange faces off against Dormammu in a high-stakes battle across dimensions, only to find himself caught in the wake of a far greater cosmic force when Eternity awakens. As the clash between Dormammu and the personification of time itself erupts in a flash of destruction, Strange is cast adrift—only to be pulled back by the Ancient One. The story closes with Strange setting right his past mistakes, releasing those he once banished, including Baron Mordo and Clea, in a moment of quiet resolution.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Ditko turned in his final pages for both Amazing Spider-Man #38 and Strange Tales #146 in late November 1965, and both issues appeared on newsstands on April 12, 1966, with July 1966 cover dates — meaning his departure was already a fait accompli when the issues published. Marvel announced the news in the Bullpen Bulletins of that month, citing 'personal reasons,' and the true cause of the split — a combination of creative disagreements with Stan Lee, philosophical divergence rooted in Ditko's growing Objectivist convictions, and unresolved credit and compensation tensions — was never publicly detailed by Ditko himself, who refused interviews for the rest of his life. The Doctor Strange story in #146 was scripted by Denny O'Neil over Ditko's plot and art, while the Nick Fury half was written by Lee and drawn by Don Heck and Jack Kirby; the cover itself is composed of images lifted directly from interior Ditko pages, which collector lore has long interpreted as evidence that Ditko left before producing a dedicated cover image.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First team appearance of A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics), the rogue science collective created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, who debuted as the mysterious organization known only as 'THEM' before being named in the Nick Fury story.
- A.I.M. was subsequently revealed in Strange Tales #147 to be a branch of THEM, and in #149 to be connected to a new incarnation of HYDRA — a retroactive organizational web built directly from this debut issue.
- Second appearance of Eternity (first was Strange Tales #138, November 1965) and Eternity's first appearance on a cover; the cosmic entity created by Ditko went on to become a fundamental pillar of Marvel's metaphysics.
- Clea is named for the first time — she had appeared without a name since Strange Tales #126 (November 1964), making this the issue that formally identified Doctor Strange's eventual love interest.
- Steve Ditko's final issue as penciler/plotter on the Doctor Strange feature, and simultaneously his last work for Marvel in this initial tenure (alongside Amazing Spider-Man #38, published the same day); Bill Everett succeeded him on Doctor Strange starting the following issue.
- The Doctor Strange story, titled 'The End — At Last!', was scripted by Denny O'Neil over Ditko's art; the Nick Fury story was written by Stan Lee with art by Don Heck and Jack Kirby.
- The cover is assembled from interior Ditko panels rather than original cover art — widely attributed to Ditko having departed before producing dedicated cover artwork.
- The Doctor Strange story 'The End — At Last!' was reprinted in Marvel Treasury Edition #6; the Nick Fury stories from #146–155 were later collected in the S.H.I.E.L.D. reprint series; the issue has also been collected in Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Vol. 2 and the Doctor Strange Epic Collection Vol. 1.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Terrific! #34 (1967), SHIELD [Nick Fury and His Agents of SHIELD] #1 (1973), Eclipso #46 (1974), Marvel Treasury Edition #6 (1975), Vengeur #13 (1975), Essential Doctor Strange #1 (2001), Marvel Visionaries: Steve Ditko #[nn] (2005), Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #2 (2005), Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 (2007), Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #2 (2013), Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #2 (49) (2013), The Ultimate Graphic Novels Collection - Classic #3 (2014), S.H.I.E.L.D. by Lee & Kirby: The Complete Collection. #[nn] (2015), S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Complete Collection Omnibus #[nn] (2015), Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов #73 (2016), Doctor Strange Omnibus #1 (2016), Doctor Strange Omnibus #1 (2016), Doctor Strange Epic Collection #1 (2018), Marvel Visionaries: Steve Ditko #[nn] (2019), Ditko Is... Strange King-Size #[nn] (2020), Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #2 (2022), Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #2 (19) (2022), Doctor Strange #[nn] (2023), Agente Internacional #12
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