We're near the end of Strange's '90s ongoing series, a particularly tumultuous 30+ issues where his approach to magic and his look changed almost as often as his writers. An ongoing thread has been Wong's inability to let go of his beloved Imei, who died at some point. So Strange brought him to a place between Earth and the afterlife to say good-bye.
Then fucked off who knows where, leaving Wong floating alone in a swirling void of souls after he and Imei say their good-byes. Wong considers trying to enter the column of light that carries souls into eternity to follow her, but the living aren't allowed, Stephen reminds him, after Wong gets the bejeezus shocked out of him.
They return to Earth, to the Tempo building that housed the tech company a shade of part of Stephen's soul started during an earlier stretch of the aforementioned tumultuous run. Stephen was going to dismantle it, but changed his mind. Wong, who been swinging between being Stephen's pal and wanting to kill him, thanks Strange for helping him see Imei one more time. Strange, looking really damn goofy, is happy to have Wong's friendship again.
And then Stephen Strange bursts from his own skull like Athena from Zeus. He got ambushed something and nearly absorbed. The creature, which calls itself Afterlife, hates the living, but Stephen's too strong, so Afterlife decides to melt through the floor and go hunting. Strange, rather than give chase, summons the Eye of Agomotto to better understand his opponent.
By the time he catches up, Afterlife has stolen the energy of several people, and Strange's attempt to contain him in a field of 'white light, drawn down (at no small effort) from the seventh plane', doesn't seem to work, as its tongue punches through and tags him. Wong jumps in, trying to buy his friend time, and Stephen gets back on his feet. He and Wong use the magic deep in their souls, where they are highest and purest, and Afterlife changes into a gold cocoon.
It hatches, all the stolen energy return to its victims, and Afterlife is now some shiny golden thing. No, not a Super Saiyan, it's got butterfly wings and brown hair and is generally androgynous. Apparently it was an angel that used to walk the Earth helping those in pain, but prolonged exposure to all our crap poisoned it, and made it into Afterlife. It thanks them and disappears, having trashed the building. So much for keeping the business going.
Oh, and Victoria Montesi, who's been in some sort of slow-time bubble Strange made 30 issues ago so she wouldn't give birth to Chthon, is visited by someone who intends to speed the pregnancy along. See what happens when you put shit on the back burner, Strange?
{4th longbox, 30th comic. Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #89, by J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Mark Buckingham (penciler), Kev Sutherland (inker), Kevin Somers (colorist), Jim Novak (letterer)}
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