WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Doctor Strange Annual #1 by Tini Howard, Pornsak Pichetshote, Andy MacDonald, Lalit Kumar Sharma, Sean Parsons, Triona Farrell, Jose Villarrubia and VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.
Halloween is a celebration of the night when the veil between the material and spirit worlds is at its thinnest, allowing all sorts of supernatural activities to arise. In his role as the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange guards the Marvel Universe from all manner of metaphysical threats that defy conventional explanation -- and, on Halloween, the Master of the Mystic Arts finds himself working overtime. Fortunately, the good doctor isn't working alone, as he maintains his vigil from the Sanctum Sanctorum in Greenwich Village.
The main story in Doctor Strange Annual #1, by Tini Howard and Andy MacDonald, depicts Stephen Strange recruiting Scarlet Witch, Brother Voodoo, Talisman and Agatha Harkness to form an impromptu team of heroic magic users. Within the Sanctum Sanctorum, the five figures form a pentagram and simultaneously cast an incantation to prevent Earth from being invaded by evil spirits. The process is apparently a lengthy one, requiring all five of the participants' full attention as they recite the spell.
Each of Strange's recruits has his her own storied magical history: Scarlet Witch is one of the most prolific magic users on Earth, both on her own and as a longtime member of the Avengers; Brother Voodoo temporarily replaced Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme; Talisman has been a vital member of Alpha Flight, and revealed her ancestors have mystical links to the land upon which New York was founded; and Agatha Harkness was one of the witches persecuted during the Salem Witch Trials, surviving through magic-fueled immortality before going on to mentor Wanda Maximoff and serve as a governess to Franklin Richards.
The quintet's incantation is interrupted as a relic within the Sanctum Sanctorum awakes and unleashes havoc, with snake-like demons poised to invade the Marvel Universe. With the protective spell broken and Halloween in full swing, Strange turns to an age-old magical tradition from the holiday to save the day instead: the true nature of jack-o'-lanterns. According to legend, they are lit by souls visiting Earth for the night, and serve as a means to ward off evil spirits.
Drawing upon that legend, Strange summons the souls housed within jack-o'-lanterns across Manhattan to materialize as ghosts within the Sanctum and drive the invading monsters from the mortal realm. With plenty of time left for celebration, Strange and his friends are now stuck with a building full of ghosts until midnight, while trick-or-treaters prowl the streets, unaware of what just transpired.
It's unclear whether the same group of five sorcerers assemble each Halloween to protect Earth, especially given Scarlet Witch's rocky relationship with her former mentor and Strange's own tumultuous history retaining his position as Sorcerer Supreme. But, in drawing from Halloween legend, the Master of the Mystic Arts has his own team of fellow magicians, witches and wizards to aid him in his ongoing quest to protect the Marvel Universe from paranormal forces.