Real Name: Dorian Murdstone (see comments)
Identity/Class: Human magic user
Occupation: Man of leisure (i.e. unemployed)
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Imps from Pandora's Box
Enemies: Human Torch (Johnny Storm), unidentified neighborhood kids
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: His mansion in Glenville Woods, New York, USA
First Appearance: Strange Tales I#109/1 (June, 1963)
Powers/Abilities: The Sorcerer claimed to possess the world's greatest collection of old books on spells and charms, and had some knowledge of black magic.. The only time he actually demonstrated any abilities was when he possessed Pandora's Box. He did have the proper knowledge to open the Box and control the Imps. The Box was the legendary one given to Pandora by the Olympian Gods, and contained "All the evils that flesh is heir to."
By releasing the Imps of his choice, he could affect the emotions and behavior of other people, as well as alter elemental conditions of the surrounding environment.
While holding the Box, he could mentally command the Imps--this was presumably not an innate ability, and he did not normally possess telepathy himself.
Without the Box, he's just a crotchety old man.
Height: 5' 6"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Eyes: Dark brown
Hair: Gray-black (balding)
History:
(Strange Tales I#109/1 (fb) - BTS) - His
past largely unrevealed, Dorian Murdstone was an eccentric old hermit
who lived in a mansion outside the town of Glenville. He supposedly
spent years studying the art of black magic, and had amassed a large
collection of occult books and arcane artifacts--because of his peculiar
interests, the people of the town nicknamed him "The Sorcerer". Murdstone hated visitors, and he often had to chase away
curious and annoying youths from his mansion.
(Strange Tales I#109/1) - While the Human Torch was flying overhead, he spotted the Sorcerer running off some neighborhood kids with his pack of guard dogs. The Torch stopped him from threatening the kids and mocked him, then tried to teach him a lesson by temporarily surrounding the Sorcerer's mansion with a wall of flame, so he could have his "privacy"; but when the Sorcerer complained that the encircling flames would prevent him from coming and going as well, the Torch pointed out that he couldn't have it both ways, and if he wanted freedom of movement, others must have it as well. The Sorcerer begrudgingly asked the Torch to extinguish the wall of fire, but warned him that he wouldn't forget about this humiliation.
After the Human Torch left him, the Sorcerer decided it was time for the whole world to pay. Since he possessed a library of arcane lore, and had recently managed to obtain the legendary Box of Pandora, he began his plan for revenge. His studies enabled him to perform the proper incantations to open the box and control the Imps within it.
With the assistance of the demonic Imps, the Sorcerer began a career of robbing banks, art museums, and jewelry stores. He even doused the Human Torch by having one of the Imps splash the young hero with a tidal wave.
However, the Sorcerer fell victim to the Torch's plea to allow him to choose which Imp would kill him; the Torch chose Flame, which quickly rekindled the Torch's own flame. An instant later, the Sorcerer realized that he'd been tricked, and just as he was about to unleash all the Imps of the Box upon the Human Torch, the Torch quickly snagged the mystic container and welded it shut... but not before the Imp of Fear partially emerged and affected only the Sorcerer himself. The Torch flew away with the sealed Box and dropped it in the deepest part of the ocean.
But as the Torch returned, he found that the Sorcerer was overcome with fear, and the crotchety old man was now too terrified to ever threaten anyone again.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee, R. Berns, and Jack Kirby.
The Box is just sitting there in the ocean waiting for anyone to get it.
How about a team-up of the Human Torch with Dr. Stephen Strange [his old Strange Tales co-star] to battle..."The Return of the Sorcerer!"--Ron Fredricks
The Sorcerer has an entry in Marvel Legacy: The 1960s Handbook; although his name was never revealed in the story, he received his real name in the Marvel Encyclopedia Vol.6: Fantastic Four (2004)
Profile by Snood. Expansion by Ron Fredricks.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Sorcerer (Dorian Murdstone) should not be confused with:
The Imps from Pandora's Box should not be confused with:
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Located on the outskirts of Glenville, this large and dilapidated structure was the home of Dorian Mudstone, aka the Sorcerer. Inside the mansion, Murdstone kept his collection of occult books and artifacts. After the Sorcerer frightened some neighborhood kids away with his fierce guard dogs, the Human Torch tried to teach the anti-social old man a lesson by temporarily surrounding his mansion with a wall of fire. --Strange Tales I#109/1 |
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Numbering in the hundreds (as per the Sorcerer), they were supernatural demonic creatures who represented the various ills of mankind. They were mystically imprisoned within what was apparently Pandora's Box. According to the ancient Greek myth, the gods warned Pandora not to open the Box; however, her curiosity was so great that she disobeyed, and all the evils that flesh is heir to flew forth to afflict the world. But supposedly, the greatest sorceress of ancient times, Circe, used her fantastic magic to force all the evils to return to the Box. In the early Modern Era, Dorian Murdstone (aka the Sorcerer) had obtained the Box when an explorer from Athens had unwittingly sent it to him in a crate full of Greek artifacts. Using his occult knowledge, Murdstone freed the Imps from the box individually while he committed a series of thefts; the Imps included: |
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Hatred, which caused a civil disturbance among the patrons and employees of a bank; while everyone argued and fought with each other, the Sorcerer cleaned out the cash drawers and collected all the money he could carry. After he exited the bank, the Sorcerer telepathically summoned Hatred to return to Pandora's Box; he then released... |
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Forgetfulness, which made everyone in the bank unable to recall what had happened, so the crime couldn't be traced back to the Sorcerer. |
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Sleepiness was released days later at a wealthy social gathering; when all the party-goers fell asleep, the Sorcerer robbed them of their valuable jewelry. |
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Paralysis was released the following day at an art museum; while all the visitors and guards were immobilized, the Sorcerer stole some priceless paintings. |
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Cold froze the owners of a fur warehouse, and the Sorcerer stole all the furs in the vault. |
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Disease was released by the Sorcerer when he was confronted by the Human Torch; but the Torch's intense heat sterilized the area, killing any harmful viruses and microbes. The Sorcerer next released... |
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Flood, which formed a tidal wave that drenched the Human Torch and extinguished his flame. But moments later, two policemen arrived on the scene; they pointed their guns at the Sorcerer and ordered him to surrender, so he released two more Imps... |
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Foolishness, which caused the policemen to collapse to the ground in hysterical laughter after they fired their guns, and... |
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Laziness, which caused the policemen's bullets to crawl through the air at a fraction of their normal speed, which allowed the Sorcerer to merely seize them in his hand. |
The Sorcerer turned his attention back to finishing off the Human Torch (who was almost dry following his dousing by Flood); stalling for time, the Torch requested that he'd like to die as he lived, by the power of flame, so the Sorcerer released the fiery imp of...
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Flame, which the Human Torch absorbed into his body and reignited his own flame. |
The enraged Sorcerer was about to unleash all the evils in Pandora's Box against the hero, and the next one was...
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Fear, which had only partially emerged from the Box before the Torch welded the container shut and dumped it in the deepest part of the ocean. But Fear had affected the Sorcerer with an overwhelming sense of dread, and he he was too frightened to be considered a threat. |
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--Strange Tales I#109/1
(Comment: The four Imps depicted on the cover [see first image of this sub-profile] were never actually seen in this story, although that green one had a slight resemblance to Hatred.)
images: (without ads)
Marvel Legacy: The 1960s Handbook, Sorcerer profile (main image - Sorcerer; refurbed version of Strange Tales I#109/1, p12, pan7)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p5, pan3 (headshot - Sorcerer)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p7, pan4 (Sorcerer with Pandora's Box)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p4, pan5 (Sorcerer's mansion [exterior, background]; Sorcerer using dogs to chase off neighborhood kids)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p5, pan6 (Human Torch surrounds Sorcerer's mansion with fire)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p7, pan3 (Sorcerer's mansion [interior])
Strange Tales I#109/1, cover (Sorcerer releases Imps at Human Torch)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p8, pan4 (Hatred)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p9, pan4 (Forgetfulness)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p10, pan1 (Sleepiness)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p10, pan3 (Paralysis)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p10, pan5 (Cold)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p11, pan5 (Disease)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p1, pan1 (Flood)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p12, pan3 (Foolishness)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p12, pan4 (Laziness)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p13, pan3 (Flame)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p13, pan4 (Sorcerer begins to release Fear at Human Torch)
Strange Tales I#109/1, p13, pan7 (Sorcerer feels the effects of Fear; Human Torch [right])
Appearances:
Strange Tales I#109 (June, 1963) - Stan Lee (plot/editor), Robert
Bernstein (script), Jack Kirby (pencils), Dick Ayers (inks), Stan
Goldberg (colors), Marty Epp (letters)
First posted: 09/01/2001 (so early there wasn't even a date at the bottom)
Last updated: 10/31/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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