Karl Mordo

"The bill comes to you. Always."

- Karl Mordo

Karl Mordo is a former member of the Masters of the Mystic Arts and a close ally to the Ancient One, assisting her with recruiting and training their new soldiers. When Mordo encountered Stephen Strange, he invited him into Kamar-Taj despite the Ancient One's objections and later aided him in battle against Kaecilius and the Zealots. During this battle, Mordo learned that the Ancient One drew her own power from the Dark Dimension, which had been forbidden from all other Masters. Following the death of the Ancient One at the hands of Kaecilius, who was eventually defeated before he could bring Dormammu to Earth, Mordo was so mortified by this betrayal that he turned his back on his allies and chose to use his skills to restore balance by stripping other sorcerers of their powers.

Early Life
He came to the Kamar-Taj some years before Strange and has stated that he too was 'disrespectful'. He was trained by the Ancient One in the Mystic Arts and became a Master.

Recruiting Doctor Strange
In Nepal, Mordo overhears Stephen Strange asking people for directions to the Kamar-Taj. He follows him through the streets and then saves him from three muggers who were after his watch. Mordo takes Strange to the Kamar-Taj telling him to "forget everything that he thinks he knows".

He supports Strange's physical body when the Ancient One pushes his Astral Form out of his body. He also calls attention to Strange's spiking heart rate as the man is pushed through multiple dimensions but the Ancient One says he looks fine and sends him back.

Convincing the Ancient One
"There is a strength to him"

- Karl Mordo

After the Ancient One refuses to teach Stephen Strange, Mordo convinces her that Strange could help them defeat Kaecilius and the Zealots. He points out that he was once proud and brash like Kaecilius but was taught a better way by the Ancient One and eventually she lets Strange back into the Kamar-Taj to train. Mordo brought Strange to his room in Kamar-Taj and explained that they would begin their training first thing in the morning. Mordo then handed Strange a piece of paper which Strange questioned if it was his mantra, only for Mordo to explain that it was actually the Wi-Fi password, joking that the Masters of the Mystic Arts were not savages.

Training Doctor Strange
"You're ready when the relic decides you're ready... For now, conjure a weapon. Fight! Fight like your life depended on it! Because one day it may."

- Karl Mordo to Doctor Strange

Mordo began teaching the Masters of the Mystic Arts students how to use a Sling Ring a device to help Sorcerers travel great distances quickly and notices Stephen Strange's difficulty in using them, which he blamed on his damaged hands being to shaky to do as he wished. When he returns to the courtyard, he discovers that the Ancient One has left Strange on Mount Everest as 'encouragement'. Although Mordo considered collecting Strange, fearing for his safety, the Ancient One ordered him to wait and eventually Strange succeeded in returning to Kamar-Taj. Mordo helped to teach Strange in hand-to-hand combat and explains that magic can be channeled through objects and relics to create more advanced weapons and spells, such as his own Staff of the Living Tribunal. When Mordo and Wong discovered Strange experimenting with the Eye of Agamotto, the pair attempt to explain to him the cause the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj serve. As Strange struggles with the realization of his training's true purpose, the temple is raided by Kaecilius and he was separated from Mordo as he was knocked into a portal towards New York City's Sanctum Sanctorum where Kaecilius was going.

Battle Against Kaecilius
Mordo and The Ancient One eventually reunited with Doctor Strange in the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, where the budding sorcerer accuses the latter of drawing power from the Dark Dimension, and of tricking him into entering their metaphysical war. Furious, Mordo accuses Strange of cowardice and presumptuousness. The pair is soon attacked by Kaecilius once more, where despite attempting to confine Kaecilius in the Mirror Dimension, the two are held at a disadvantage by his extensive powers. The Ancient One arrived and confronts Kaecilius as the situation grows dim, revealing that her powers do indeed stem from the Dark Dimension, horrifying Mordo. She manages to rescue her students and allow them to escape, but is mortally wounded in the process. After her death, Mordo becomes deeply disillusioned about his master and her cause, believing her bending of the laws of nature made her responsible for Kaecilius' eventual fall. Despite this, he follows Strange to stop Kaecilius from destroying the Hong Kong Sanctum and summoning Dormammu.

Defeating Dormammu
They arrived to find Wong dead and the Hong Kong Sanctum already destroyed, and Dormammu materialized over the city. Doctor Strange attempted to use the Eye of Agamotto to reverse the Sanctum's destruction, while Mordo temporarily subdues Kaecilius and his Zealots. However, Kaecilius managed to stop the reversal process by tampering with the Eye and stopping time, forcing Strange to make a bargain with Dormammu instead, who leaves taking Kaecilius and his followers with him. While Strange and Wong are in the celebratory mood, Mordo finds himself further disillusioned by Strange's breaking of nature's laws to dispatch of Dormammu, much like the Ancient One had. Mordo concluded that sorcerers abuse their power and were responsible for the world's imbalances, deciding that his best cause of action was to leave the Masters of the Mystic Arts.

Hunting Sorcerers
"Power has a purpose." "Why are you doing this?" "Because I see at long last what's wrong with the world. Too many sorcerers."

- Karl Mordo and Jonathan Pangborn

Sometime later, he confronted Jonathan Pangborn and stole his magic, reducing him to a paralytic once more, and declared his intention to cleanse the world of rogue sorcerers.

Personality
Mordo claims to have once been a lot like Stephen Strange during the latter's first visit to Kamar-Taj - arrogant and disrespectful. After years of training and becoming a Master of the Mystic Arts, however, Mordo became more humble and wise, with a great deal of respect towards both his mentor, the Ancient One, as well as the natural laws of the universe. As a warrior for the Masters of the Mystic Arts, Mordo was unafraid of conflict, or even of killing, as he was used to fighting for his life and to defend reality from rogue sorcerers. Upon learning that the Ancient One had secretly been harnessing energy from the Dark Dimension, and after Strange manipulated time to defeat Kaecilius and the Zealots (thereby going against the universe's natural laws), Mordo becomes disillusioned and embittered, and proceeds to leave the order. He began to believe his purpose was to rid the world of sorcerers who misused their power and broke natural laws, which lead to him attacking Jonathan Pangborn and stripping him of his power, which the latter used to make himself able to walk, ignoring the responsibility to defending reality.

Powers

 * Master Sorcerer: Mordo is one of the most powerful Masters of the Mystic Arts, possessing a considerable mastery of the mystic arts, which he uses to defend his native reality. With the help of numerous mystical artifacts and relics, in addition to his astral powers, Mordo is able to gain access to a multitude of mystical powers.
 * Eldritch Magic Manipulation: Mordo is able to create, shape and manipulate Eldritch Magic.
 * Teleportation: Using a Sling Ring, Mordo is able to open a fiery portal to another location, gaining ability to move tremendous distances instantaneously.
 * Inter-Dimensional Travel: Using the same Sling Ring, Mordo can travel between different dimensions and universes, crossing over different planes of existence or travelling across various forms of reality.
 * Power Absorption: After leaving the Masters of the Mystic Arts, Mordo demonstrated being able to strip sorcerers of magic and rob them of their abilities, notably performing this on Jonathan Pangborn, who channeled magically derived power to move his body despite being paraplegic. Mordo grabbed Pangborn's torso and summoned his magic in the form of a yellow, flame-like energy from the man's body, which instantly left Jonathan paralyzed once again.

Abilities

 * Master Martial Artist: Mordo is a highly skilled martial artist, in both armed and hand-to hand combat. He single-handedly defeated three Nepalese thugs, as well as bested Stephen Strange in a sparring session.

Equipment

 * Sling Ring: A mystical object which enables the wearer to open a fiery portal to another location.
 * Staff of the Living Tribunal: A pole weapon which is used by Mordo as a melee weapon. It is able to extend and become segmented like chain-links, allowing it to be used as a flail or whip. When in use, it radiates orange sparks and exerts extreme amounts of force, enough to send others flying though the air. Mordo even used it to swing from a structure while battling Kaecilius's followers on a scaffold, showing it can hold a person's weight without breaking.
 * Vaulting Boots of Valtorr: Boots imbued with a power to increase the wearer's leaping ability and are also capable of allowing the wearer to walk and run on air, as well as to nullify the adverse effects of impacts from high landings. When the boots' power is invoked, they emit orange sparks from the footfalls.

Allies

 * Masters of the Mystic Arts - Former Allies
 * Ancient One † - Mentor
 * Wong
 * Sol Rama †
 * Daniel Drumm †
 * Stephen Strange - Former Ally and Trainee turned Enemy

Enemies

 * Dragon Raiders
 * Jiãó ào Zhànshì
 * Dormammu
 * Zealots
 * Kaecilius † - Former Ally
 * Lucian † - Former Ally
 * Jonathan Pangborn - Former Colleague

Trivia

 * In the comics, Baron Mordo was a nobleman and a student of the Ancient One, until he betrayed and tried to kill him. He once served Dormammu in order to receive additional power in order to destroy Doctor Strange.

Behind the Scenes

 * Kevin Feige stated they did not make Mordo the villain of Doctor Strange because, "We wanted to play against in the comics. Because in the comics for as unbelievably creative and full of imagination as they are – we are desperate to recreate in cinematic form – there's some things that are too obvious for modern day audiences. The jealous rival named Baron Mordo, who turns against him when he shows any signs of talent – we specifically didn’t want to do that."