Stephen Strange (Earth-21399)

Early Life
Not much is known of the early life of Doctor Stephen Strange, but what is known is that he had a younger sister named Donna whom he loved immensely. When Donna was diagnosed with an unknown terminal illness, Stephen vowed to perform a surgery on her as soon as he finished medical school, disregarding the ethics of his own profession. Donna unfortunately died before anyone could attempt such a treatment, and Stephen blamed himself for not being able to save her.

Strange grew to become one of the most skilled and successful surgeons of his time, but was widely viewed with annoyance by his coworkers – he was cold towards his patients, arrogant about his medicinal abilities, and generally only interested in his paycheck or treating unusual injuries.

The Accident
One day, however, Strange was humbled once again when he encountered the most difficult case of his career - a young girl named Clea Lake came to the hospital exhibiting similar symptoms to those of the mysterious disease Donna suffered back in Strange's college years. Strange managed to stabilize Clea's condition, but was deeply disturbed by the case and left the hospital shortly thereafter under the guise of "going on sabbatical".

While driving home, Strange's car was wrecked by a drunk driver. Strange survived, but the nerves of his hands were damaged beyond repair, leaving him without the fine motor skills necessary to perform surgeries - he was effectively put out of work. Strange was distraught, and he spent nearly his entire fortune on numerous experimental surgeries in a desperate attempt to restore the use of his hands, but all of his efforts proved fruitless. Too vain to accept a position as a consultant, Strange eventually isolated himself in his home as the plague continued to spread.

Second Chances
At one point, he attempted suicide by jumping off a bridge, but was stopped at the last minute by a mysterious passerby calling himself Wong, who offered him a map through Tibet that he promised would lead to help.

Believing that Western medicine had failed him, and with nothing left to lose, Strange pawned the last of his possessions off to pay for a flight to Tibet. Once he arrived, he was greeted again by Wong, who guided him through the vast mountain ranges to an old monastery, led by a mysterious old man who called himself the Ancient One. Strange was initially disappointed that the Ancient One's treatments depended more on mysticism than any actual medicinal knowledge, but eventually agreed to the Ancient One's apprenticeship.