The Marvel Comics History of IRONHEART’s Zelma Stanton

In the comics, Zelma Stanton first appeared in 2015’s Doctor Strange #1, and was created by writer Jason Aaron and artist Chris Bachalo. In that issue, Stephen Strange discovers Zelma, a young librarian from the Bronx, at the front porch of his Sanctum Sanctorum. She tells the Sorcerer Supreme she discovered a bizarre rash, but when it grew literal teeth, she definitely knew something supernatural was going on. Doctor Strange describes her affliction as a supernatural wound, and that the creatures infecting her are mind maggots. Those are the grossest-sounding things ever.

Zelma Stanton, the Sanctum Sanctorum Librarian

Doctor Strange, with the assistance of Wong, was able to cure her of the mind maggots eventually. Now faced with intimate knowledge of the supernatural, Zelma was changed. As a result, Doctor Strange offered her a job as his personal librarian in the Sanctum. The two had several adventures together, and at one point, the pair became stranded in the mystical dimension known as Weirdworld. Because of the time she spent there, it altered Zelma’s physiology, making her more perceptive to all things magical. When she returned to Earth-616, she officially became Doctor Strange’s new apprentice.

Zelma Becomes an Instructor at the Strange Academy

Zelma’s knowledge and powers grew at a rapid rate, learning all she can from Strange’s incredible library of books. She used these ancient tomes to cast spells, and has been able to cast mystical energy from her hands. Doctor Strange and other powerful mystics like Doctor Voodoo later founded the Strange Academy. This was a magically hidden school in New Orleans for students with a propensity for the mystic arts. Zelma’s official role at the Academy was as “keeper of arcane and magical items.” When Doctor Doom replaced Stephen Strange as the Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme, she became part of the staff of his new Doom Academy, although she doesn’t trust Victor von Doom at all.

The MCU Zelma Stanton in Ironheart

In the MCU, Zelma appears a bit younger than her Marvel Comics counterpart. Although she seems well-versed in all things magic, it’s unclear if she has ever met Strange or Wong. Her mother Madeline, however, studied at Kamar Taj, giving up her mystical studies to raise Zelma. She passed on her magical knowledge to her daughter Zelma. It seems Zelma knows things that the high-level sorcerers of Kamar Taj know. Those things include the existence of Dormammu and the Dark Dimension.

Zelma’s mother Madeline has a store called Stanton’s Sweets, Reads, and More in Chicago, which sells magical items. However, Zelma is able to master a transportation spell, which can transport her and anyone she chooses into an apothecary room in the Western Cortex of Neverish, a parallel dimension. She ultimately is able to help guide Riri Williams into a world of magic, and use that magic to defeat the Hood. We’re not sure what the future holds for Zelma in the MCU, but there are rumors of a Strange Academy series in the works. We think she’d be the perfect character to headline such a series, should it ever happen. The Marvel Comics history of Zelma Stanton has plenty to mine for future MCU adventures.