While the villains of Marvel's movies are often well-known bad guys drawn from the comic books, this isn't always the case. Kaecilius, the character that Mads Mikkelsen will play in the upcoming Doctor Strange isn't technically new, but very little is known about him. Now a new prequel comic has revealed some of his backstory.

As reported by ComicBook.com, the prequel comic is written and drawn by Will Corona Pilgrim and Jorge Fornes, and takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At that point in the story, Kaecilius was not a villain. He was a high-ranking Master of he Mystic Arts, working alongside the Ancient One, who will be portrayed by Tilda Swinton in the film.

The comic shows the Masters in pursuit of a rogue member of their order, to retrieve a powerful staff he has stolen. Kaecilius is very much in charge, and unlike the other members of the Order, carries two small bladed weapons:

A character called Kaecilius did appear in the Doctor Strange comics of the 1960s, but in a largely forgotten role seemingly different to the one that has been created for the movie.

Last month, Mikkelsen spoke about film, and how it would differ from previous Marvel movies. "You have all the action, all the good ingredients you get in a Marvel film, but it will have a different flavour," he told Yahoo! Movies.

"If you look at the comic books, [they] are quite different [to other Marvel stories]. I think that the film will be different from the other [Marvel] films that we've seen, but not as different as the books are, because that was basically the '60s and '70s. It was more like an acid trip.

"We've taken that fascination of the time into something we can relate to today. So you still have the energy, you still have the colours, you still have the madness, but you also have something you can identify with."

Doctor Strange stars Benedict Cumberbatch as mystical sorcerer Stephen Strange, and also also features Chiwetel Ejiofor and Rachel McAdams. It is directed by Sinister's Scott Derrickson.

The first trailer was released in April--check it out here. The film hits theaters on November 4, 2016.