Patti LuPone revealed yesterday that she will be playing Lilia Calderu in the upcoming Agatha: Coven on Chaos, but even if you’re a veteran comics reader that name might not ring any bells. The character has appeared in just four comics over the last 50 years – and one of those was a single-panel flashback! Still, it could be that this little-known character is key to the plot of the new show…
Calderu was first introduced in 1973’s Marvel Premiere #12, which, in that issue, starred Dr. Strange. Premiere was a peculiar book, an anthology series designed as a way to test out characters to see if they were popular enough to dedicate entire titles to. The comic ran for 61 issues between April 1972 and August 1981 and included stories featuring everyone from Ant-Man and Iron Fist to Doctor Who (who has numerous surprisingly strong connections to Marvel continuity) and, uh, Alice Cooper.
Despite the seemingly throwaway nature of Premiere, some quite big events happen within its pages. In #10, Strange is forced to kill his master, the Ancient One, after he is possessed by the demon Shuma-Gorath. He’s still feeling the pain of that when we catch up with Strange at the start of #12, as well as a greater sense of responsibility. With the Ancient One gone, he is now Sorcerer Supreme of the cosmos! After instructing Clea that she will become his new apprentice, Strange takes off on a mission to try and make peace with Baron Mordo.
Unfortunately, he’s waylaid along his journey and ends up in Transylvania. Attacked by the locals, he is rescued by a man named Stavros who leads Strange back to his camp and introduces him to Lilia, the self-proclaimed witch queen.
