While it’s unclear how the faculty of the Strange Academy will respond, their student’s mass walkout has sent a clear and undeniable message.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Strange Academy #17, available now from Marvel.
When Doctor Strange founded the Strange Academy he did so in the hopes that the school would serve as a safe place for the Marvel Universe’s next generation of sorcerers to learn the ways of magic. Unfortunately, Strange’s dream has transformed into a full-on nightmare in the aftermath of his death, with the school’s grief-stricken and inexperienced new headmaster Doctor Voodoo making a series of increasingly draconian decisions that have soured many students’ views of the school.
After witnessing the negative effect that her teacher’s actions have had on two of her closet friends, Emily Bright, one of the school’s most powerful and promising students, leads the majority of her classmates in a massive walkout protest in Strange Academy #17 (by Skottie Young, Humberto Roberts, Edgar Delgado, and VC’s Cory Cowles). Not only is this protest a timely and accurate representation of how effective student protests can be, but it also serves as a powerful symbol of the powerful sense of camaraderie found within Marvel’s next generation of magic users.
In the wake of Strange’s sudden and tragic passing, with his death leaving a gaping void within the school that Voodoo and the academy’s other teachers have struggled to fill. To make matters worse, recent events have caused many of the students to begin questioning Strange’s legacy and teachings. Shortly before Strange was murdered, the mysterious jacket that allowed Calvin Morse to use magic revealed itself to be the eldritch Mister Misery, who seized control of Calvin’s body and used it to lash out at the students before it was defeated and devoured by Calvin’s demonic classmate Dessy. Suddenly finding himself without the ability to use magic, Calvin formed a pact with a dangerous dark magic “dealer” known as Gaslamp, only to be expelled by Voodoo after his connection to the sinister entity was exposed. When Emily found out, her attempt to comfort a heartbroken Calvin forced her to miss her prom date with Doyle, causing the heir to the Dark Dimension to lash out at his roommate and rival Iric the next day before leaving the school.
While the rest of the students are quick to blame Doyle for his actions, Emily claims that the school’s faculty are to blame, and she’s not entirely wrong. As one of the academy’s most independent and free-thinking students, Emily was never afraid to question the lessons that her teachers have taught her and the methods they use to keep the school functioning. Recent events like the student’s battle with the magic-worshipping cult known as the Hollow and her rapport with the imprisoned anti-magic villain Imperator have only furthered her growing frustration with the academy and the secrets her teachers were keeping from her and her fellow students. Following Doyle’s outburst, Emily finally decided she’d had enough and organized a walkout that was joined by the vast majority of her classmates.
The creative decision to have many of the academy’s students walk out of their classes is a relatable and realistic one that reflects a growing trend that’s deeply relevant to both comics and education. In recent years, walkouts have become a somewhat common occurrence in many school districts in the United States, with many taking place within the past few months in response to a rapid upswing in attempted and successful book bannings within multiple states. Regardless of whether or not the Strange Academy’s students’ walkout is meant to be a reference to real-world events, it serves as a powerful show of unity amongst the next generation of sorcerers. While many of the faculty’s recent actions were done with good intentions, they’ve had an undeniably negative impact on their students’ mental and physical well-being, and their protest is a perfectly justified response.
The solidarity of the academy’s students is particularly noteworthy considering the gruesome fate that may be in store for them, the school, and the magical world. During a class on temporal magic, Doyle is accidentally pulled into a potential future where adult versions of himself and his classmates are fighting on opposing sides in a magical civil war. With this and the appearance of other ominous omens, it seemed as if the Strange Academy was destined to plunge the next generation of sorcerers into conflict with each other. However, the massive support that Emily’s walkout receives seems to imply that the mistakes of their predecessors are bringing the student of the academy closer together.
While it’s unclear how the faculty of the Strange Academy will respond, their student’s mass walkout has sent a clear and undeniable message. Having been put through a series of traumatic events and repeatedly punished for even questioning the teachings of their mentors, the students of the Strange Academy have turned the tables and taught their predecessors a lesson they won’t soon forget.
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