Friday finally hits theaters ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’one of the flagships of the so-called Phase IV of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (UCM), started in January 2021 with the wonderful series ‘Scarlet Witch and Vision’. Set just after the episodes reported in ‘Spider-Man: No way home’, in which, remember, Doctor Strange would open the doors of the multiverse to a large collection of villains from other dimensions due to a failed spell, the sam raimi movie recounts the efforts of the Sorcerer Supreme to restore the old order of the universe.
The appearance in its very title of concepts such as ‘multiverse’ and ‘madness’ it already puts things in their place: we have to apply ourselves carefully if we don’t want to get lost in the many folds of time and space. Also, ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ tends numerous bridges with previous MCU titles. It is true that, as a rule, it is not necessary to be an expert in Marvel to enjoy its impeccable audiovisual products, but this can always be useful little guide about links between characters, plots and concepts.
‘Doctor Strange (Doctor Strange)’ (Scott Derrickson, 2016)
First appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe of the character created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee in 1963. Before, in 1978, she had been seen in a forgotten telefilm from 1978 that was supposed to be the pilot episode of a series that, finally, was not developed. the psychedelic movie Scott Derrickson It introduces us to the famous and arrogant neurosurgeon Stephen Strange, who loses the ability of his hands after suffering a terrible car accident. In his desperate attempt to recover, he discovers the magic at kamar-tajan isolated community in Nepal, eventually becoming Sorcerer Supreme with mystical powers to protect the Earth from evil dark forces. Available on Disney+.
‘Scarlet Witch and Vision’ (Matt Shakman, 2021)
Of essential viewing not so much for the figure of Stephen Strange but for that of Wanda Maximoff, also known in the Marvel Universe as Scarlet Witch, as it is one of the key characters of ‘Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness’. The great Disney + series investigated Wanda’s trauma after the death of the Vision synthezoid in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, to the point of building her own world (the falsely idyllic town of Westview) in which her beloved is still alive and forms with him a family with children. After defeating the witch Agatha Harkness, Wanda ends up living in a cabin in a remote forest, where she studies the Darkhold, the great book on black magic, and hears his children cry for help from… another dimension. Available on Disney+.
‘Loki’ (Kate Heron, 2021)
There is no direct mention of Strange, but there is multiverse. The imaginative Marvel series recounted the adventures of the God of Deception in the so-called Temporal Variation Authority (AVT), a mysterious organization in charge of monitoring the multiverses and controlling the order of the time lines, where he had ended up after having stolen the Tesseract in ‘Avengers. Endgame’. The viewing of ‘Loki’, with its amazing resolution in the End Times Citadelis a perfect lesson to understand the complex concepts of ‘parallel universe’, ‘timeline’ or ‘version of oneself’, fundamental in ‘Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness’. Available on Disney+.
‘What if…’ (Bryan Andrews, 2021)
The Disney+ animated series it posed alternative scenarios if different events had occurred in the history of the Marvel characters. Each episode was self-contained, but the fourth opened promising doors for fans after an evil version of the former surgeon appeared in the first trailer for ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’. Because… that episode, titled ‘What would happen if… Doctor Strange lost his heart instead of his hands?’showed precisely that: an alternate reality in which the doctor was seen in two versions: the Strange known to all and the very dark, and antagonist, Supreme Strange. Available on Disney+.
‘Spider-Man: No way home’ (Jon Watts, 2021)
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There, in the latest installment of the Spider-Man adventures, we are warned of the dangers of messing with space-time. They’ll Remember: Peter Parker wants the world to forget he’s Spider-Man and asks his ‘avenger’ friend Stephen Strange for help. The spell, however, goes wrong, which opens the door to various villains from many other parallel universes. The only solution to protect the multiverse from chaos is for Humanity to forget that Peter Parker ever existed and Strange will launch a last spell which will allow the apparent return of all the villains to their respective universes. Nothing, however, is that easy in the Marvel world, as evidenced by the unexpected appearance of Eddie Brock and Venom in the post-credits. Available for rent on Apple TV+, Google Play, Microsoft Store, Movistar Plus+, Prime Video and Rakuten TV.
who has completist desire, you can do an intensive with all the appearances, minor, of Doctor Strange in the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It has been seen, for example, in ‘Thor: Ragnarök’ (where he helps Thor and Loki find their father, Odin), in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (where he is part of the half of Humanity exterminated by the Snap of Thanos) and in ‘Avengers: Edgame’ (where he comes back to life). Available on Disney+.