Nightmare (Earth-822)

*"Darkness. It consumes you. It consumes you until your old life dissolves into nothing. And the worst part? You can’t live without the darkness."*
―Victor Strange
Victor Strange, later to be known as Nightmare, was an evil sorcerer and the brother of Stephen Strange.

Stephen and Victor were extremely close, and constantly practiced magic shows that they would perform for their parents. One day, Stephen discovered a book of magic spells known as the Book of Vishanti. Victor, being just as big a fan as magic as Stephen, asked if he could borrow it. However, Stephen refused, saying that only he knew how to handle the book. This made Victor jealous and confused, tearing a rift between the brothers.

One day, Victor was diagnosed with cancer. In order to rid him of his illness, Stephen cast a spell on him. However, Stephen’s sadness and frustration clouded his concentration during the spell, and the spell went wrong. The result was Victor’s cancer being cured, but with him taking on an evil and chaotic personality. Things took a turn for the worse when he was arrested for armed robbery. With Victor showing no shortage of chaos and destruction, things came to a halt when he suddenly disappeared.

A few months later, Victor was reportedly spotted causing a fire in the streets of London. Stephen went to go pursue him, but froze once they came face to face, resulting in Victor escaping. Stephen’s parents pleaded for him to undo the spell, but he refused, saying that he couldn’t bare the thought of losing his brother.

In order to contain Victor, Stephen teamed up with Moon Knight. They followed him to New York City where they stopped him from killing Eric Brooks, also known as the vampire hunter Blade. Thor Odinson joined the fight, which came to a halt when he impulsively killed Victor. This would prove to be a turning point for Stephen, who later killed Thor in an act of vengeance.

## Biography

### Early Life

Victor had a brother named Stephen Strange. The two of them grew up together, creating an unbreakable bond. Both of them loved to do magic, and would put on magic shows for their parents.

### Jealousy

When Stephen was sixteen, he discovered the Book of Vishanti, a mystical book full of magic spells. Though Victor pleaded to borrow it, Stephen refused, saying that only he knew how to handle the book. This made Victor confused. After all, the two were brothers. They had a bond. Why couldn’t Stephen trust him? Jealous, Victor barely spoke to Stephen. It had appeared that the Book of Vishanti had cast a spell so powerful that it tore a rift between the brothers.

### The Spell

Everything changed one day when Victor was diagnosed with an untreatable type of cancer. Now a powerful sorcerer, Stephen cast a spell to rid him of his illness. However, Stephen was so clouded by sadness and frustration that the spell went wrong. While Victor’s cancer was gone, his personality changed. He became mischievous and chaotic, even to the point of him being arrested for armed robbery. Stephen thought of reversing the spell, but the thought of losing his brother to cancer was too much to bare, and he abandoned that plan. Meanwhile, Victor, now named Nightmare, was wreaking havoc across the world. Their parents pleaded for Stephen to reverse the spell, saying that he needed to accept Victor’s cancer. However, Stephen refused, saying that there must be another way.

### Death

Stephen, now known as Doctor Strange teamed up with Moon Knight in order to capture and contain Nightmare. They went to New York City, where they stopped Nightmare from killing Blade. Thor joined the fight, but things went terribly wrong once he acted on impulse and killed Nightmare, making Stephen furious.

### Aftermath

Victor’s death proved to be a turning point for both Thor and Stephen. Thor, for the first time in his life, felt ashamed and shocked by his own actions. Stephen, on the other hand, was furious, and killed Thor in an act of vengeance.

## Personality

Victor used to be fun, playful, and kind. He was inseparable from his brother. The two of them helped each other with homework, and they loved to practice and perform magic shows for their parents. However, when Stephen discovered the Book of Vishanti, Victor became cold and jealous. He would rarely speak to his brother, breaking their bond. Victor finally broke once Stephen cast a spell on him, becoming mischievous and chaotic. At first, it seemed that these feelings would pass, but they only became stronger. He even went as far as to attempt murder.

## Appearances

1. Doctor Strange & Moon Knight #1
2. Doctor Strange & Moon Knight #2
3. Doctor Strange & Moon Knight #3