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There is a point in the SNES game Marvel Super Heroes In War of the Gems where you arrive at a volcano, and the only way to proceed forward is to fly over the magma field.

At that point in the game, some kind of red coated magician appears, levitating above the magma. Then he uses his power to create a flying platform for us to stand on, after which he simply teleports away.

Screenshot depicting Iron Man standing on the left next to a magma field, with a red coated magician floating above the magma on the right

This is the only time we see that character in the entire game, and he does not say a single word, he simply spawns a platform to help us.

Who is he?

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    Looks like Dr. Strange to me.
    – Valorum
    Jan 27, 2021 at 18:14
  • 2
    What's wrong with the default assumption that it's Dr. Strange? Giant collar and reddish cloak...
    – DavidW
    Jan 27, 2021 at 18:16
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    @DavidW - I refuse to post it as an answer without proof. I mean, c'mon, it's clearly him. But prove it.
    – Valorum
    Jan 27, 2021 at 18:18
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    @Valorum I found a couple of play-throughs that identified him, plus identification of that specific image on a fandom page for the game, but nothing, you know, canonical.
    – DavidW
    Jan 27, 2021 at 18:33
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    @WernerCD Also this game long predates any of the MCU movies, so the source would have to be from the comics, and there's hundreds (thousands maybe?) of characters in the comics that haven't yet featured in any movie, so that's not quite enough to narrow it down.
    – Darrel Hoffman
    Jan 28, 2021 at 18:08

2 Answers 2

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I believe that is Dr. Strange with the look he had in the comics circa 1996, the year the game was released.

Cover page for Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme Vol 1 #82. We can notice the similarities with the screenshot's magician, between the coat, the goatee, the haircut (with white hair pattern) and also what looks like a yellow waistcoast

Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme Vol 1 #82

This page lists him as having a cameo in the game.

Strange also had a supporting role in the various Infinity Gem-related mini-series' published during the 1990s, such as Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity War, and the game appears to draw heavily on these storylines for inspiration.

A page depicting Dr. Strange's involvement in Infinity Gauntlet Vol 1; he's seen aiding the heroes (Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Silver Surfer, etc.) for an upcoming battle

Infinity Gauntlet Vol 1 #3

A page depicting Dr. Strange's involvement in Infinity War Vol 1

Infinity War Vol 1 #4

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    Suddenly, I feel very stupid for not trying to search the game on the wikia page.
    – Clockwork
    Jan 27, 2021 at 18:26
  • Also the TVTropes page for the game lists Doctor Strange's cameo (under the heading "The Cameo"). tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Videogame/…
    – Graham
    Jan 28, 2021 at 11:01
  • This is the kind of situation I wish I could accept more than one answer.
    – Clockwork
    Mar 18, 2021 at 8:56
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That’s Doctor Stephen Strange, more specifically it is the Earth-30847 version. Here’s Strange as he appears in Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme Issue 84, note it’s the same outfit.

page from the above comic showing Strange’s matching outfit

There doesn’t appear to be any (easily found) “canonical” evidence that this is Strange that I can find. However, lots of online guides and walkthroughs all identify him as Strange. And for interest here’s the sprite sheet that someone uploaded online for the game that also identifies him as Strange.

Strange sprite sheet

The game’s instruction manual does not include anything about this character that I can see.

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    FWIW I was going to try and look through the game's files but I don't think the *.SMC file contains any names for the sprites, they're just located at addresses within it so that won't be helpful.
    – TheLethalCarrot ♦
    Jan 27, 2021 at 20:21

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