For a movie that promised a lot of capabilities, “ Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” remains within the classes of the MCU and its intermittent themes. It's only because of director Sam Raimi that the movie can engage the followership in an else predictable plot. Honestly speaking, after you watch the film, you'll realize that it's a combination of all the teasers, campers, and Television spots that Marvel released for the film, with the only surprise being the Illuminati. Maybe, what makes us suppose that commodity is missing in the movie is the excitement that we've been drained of, thanks to the nonstop hail of data, rumors, and elevations. Keeping effects under wraps could have added to the secretiveness that was, in turn, an intended aspect of the film. But that didn’t be, as we did get casts and hints of the multiversal characters indeed before the movie came out, i.e., Charles Xavier, Captain Marvel, and Captain Carter.
The movie is really character-driven, and the new generalities introduced to add further to the film’s strength, both as a standalone adventure and as one that acts as another step towards the disquisition of the supernatural in the MCU. Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda deserves a special citation due to her capability to shift between her positive and negative side and for being suitable to “ supplicate” the feelings, independently. Still, for the “ uninitiated” millions, watching “ WandaVision” is important to understand Wanda more, especially in an emotional position. But indeed if they don’t, “ Mama” does make it clear that Wanda’s rage and pain stem from her incapability to be with her children. Benedict Cumberbatch as Strange also speaks a lot with his expressions that prove his alarm about himself as well as his pain of not being suitable to be with the love of his life. As for the bijous, they fail to bring any depth to the film.
Altogether, it's Raimi’s vision that makes “ Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” worth watching and enjoying. The illustrations, the horror rudiments (where he was easily pulling his punches due to Marvel’s apparent commitment to PG-13 and no further), and the engaging action prove that Raimi hasn’t lost his touch. Still, despite this, the film struggles to prove itself good of its content, much of which was edited out from the final cut. The first cut, according to Raimi, was roughly 2 hours 40 twinkles. So a lot of effects were removed, and we will noway know what they were. Maybe it's time for another Twitter crusade to release the#RaimiCut.
Plot Summary
Long story short, “ Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” takes Strange on a trip across the multiverse in his bid to cover America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) from Wanda Maximoff, AKA Scarlet Witch. Wanda, who's hopeless to meet her children (whom she drafted into actuality in WandaVision) in another macrocosm, wants to steal America’s powers to travel to that macrocosm.
Wanda goes full-on wrong in the film, trying to achieve her ideal in any way possible. This brings us to the MacGuffins in MoM America Chavez herself, Darkhold AKA the Book of the Damned, and the Book of Vishanti.
Darkhold allows one to “ Dreamwalk,” i.e., take control of himself or herself in a different macrocosm. But the use of Darkhold also corrupts its stoner, which, in this case, is Wanda. To go deeper, the spells in the Darkhold belong to Chthon, the God of Chaos, an Elder God. In the comics, Chthon was trapped in Mount Wundagore ( also mentioned in the film) after being banished by Atum (AKA Amon Ra or Ra), “ King of the Gods” and “ God of the Sun.” He's also the father of Khonshu, God of the Moon.
The Book of Vishanti also has a deep history in the comics. Known for its strong white magic spells, the book was created by Agamotto. He was also the one to produce the Eye of Agamotto. Agamotto is the world’s first Sorcerer Supreme and son of Oshtur, who in turn is another Elder God just like Chthon. In fact, both Chthon and Oshtur, along with Set and Gaea, were the four original Elder Gods spawned by Demiurge, Earth’s veritably life force, after the earth came into being.
Characters & Cameos In‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’ Explained
“ Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” has garnered high prospects due to the characters that were supposed to show up. These included the largely- anticipated bijous and variants as well. Then are the characters that we see in the film ( other than the supereminent characters, i.e., Strange, Wanda, Wong, America).
Defender Strange This is the Strange variant we see in Doctor Strange’s dream on the morning of the film as well as at the end when he's revivified as a zombie. Remember What If? Defender Strange and America Chavez are being chased by a satanic monster. This monster is Cyttorak, who in the comics is both a god and a demon. He owns the Crimson Gem, an artifact that can transfigure a person into a Juggernaut. It's indeed the very power source of the notorious-Men villain Juggernaut, AKA Cain Marko.
Nicodemus West During the marriage form of Christine Palmer, Strange sits beside Nicodemus West (Michael Stuhlbarg). In the comics, Nicodemus West respected Strange’s surgical bents and capacities. He was, in fact, the one who operated on Strange after his accident and was suitable to save his hands (although he was unfit to help whim-whams damage). Filled with guilt for depriving the world of Strange’s capacities, he too followed Strange to Kamar-Taj after the ultimate had completed his conjurer training. Still, Nicodemus departed from Kamar-Taj after learning some Jeremiah mending ways, leaving his training interior.
Gargano's AKA Shuma-Gorath The monster with tentacles is a Goliath (like Thanos, who also hails from the earth Titan) who was suspected to be Shuma Gorath, a common Doctor Strange villain in the comics.
Master Mordo, This isn't the Mordo we know. This one belongs to Earth-838 and is also a member of the Illuminati. At the end of “ Doctor Strange (2016),” Mordo putatively becomes a Strange antagonist after he warns Strange of the issues of him intruding with time. In “ Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness,” Master Mordo has passed that stage and believes that Strange is the topmost trouble to the multiverse. He's the one to bring Strange and America to the Baxter Foundation, where Strange is introduced to the Illuminati. He does this by making them drink tea that has the Beach of Nisanti mixed in it.
The Beach of Nisanti work more like a power-dampening collar from “ Deadpool 2.” They help one by using his or her powers for a certain period (3 twinkles, if we go by the comics). The Baxter Building, in the comics, is the headquarters of the Fantastic Four. And the Illuminati is a secret group of super-powered individualities aimed at the forestallment of other-worldly pitfalls. In the comics, the group was created by Tony Stark and had Doctor Strange, Charles Xavier, Reed Richards, Black Bolt, and Namor. In the film, Marvel has extemporized by concluding for addict pets and bringing in Charles Xavier (Sir Patrick Stewart), Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell), and Reed Richards (John Krasinski), along with Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) as Captain Marvel and Blackagar Boltagon aka Black Bolt (Anson Mount).
Still, all these prolusions turn futile as Marvel gets them all killed by Wanda. This sounded gratuitous as it would easily allow Marvel to spread its branches to two veritably popular votes on par with the Punishers, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. Still, keeping in mind that this would also take a risk on Strange’s narrative in the film, it presumably had to be done. Nonetheless, their bare appearance is evidence that they live in the multiverse of the MCU. So, that’s a commodity to look forward to, especially since we formerly know that both are in the channel.
Supreme Strange After Strange and America arrive on Earth-838, they reach the Sanctum Sanctorum, which has the statue of Strange Supreme in front of it. While the statue was erected to recognize him for his immolation while facing Thanos, the verity is that he was executed by the Illuminati for misusing the Darkhold (of that macrocosm). Yes, each macrocosm has a Darkhold. So this means that there are multiple performances of the Book of Visanti too, right?
Sinister Strange Sinister Strange is the one we see towards the end of “ Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness,” the one with the third eye. From the aesthetics of it, his expansive use of the Darkhold is what may have led to this state. Maybe this is the Strange we came across in What If, who smelled the powers of monsters for glories to make himself able of turning back time and changing an Absolute Point (the death of Christine).
Wanda of Earth-838 Wanda of Earth 838 is a replication of the Wanda we saw in WandaVision; the loving and caring Wanda Maximoff for whom her children are the world. She's used by the Scarlet Witch to dream walk and kill the Illuminati. In the end, still, she's the one who reassures the Scarlet Witch that her children are safe and will be loved.
Other than the below-mentioned characters, we also get Billy and Tommy Maximoff, children of Wanda and last seen in “ WandaVision.” We don’t see them use their powers, but they're implicit Youthful Punishers. Bruce Campbell returns from the Raimi- verse to bring the old smile back on our faces. This time, he's Pizza Poppa of Earth-838 and is penalized by Strange, who throws him into a circle of punching himself for presumably three weeks ( according to Strange). He gets caught in the circle after Strange and America arrive on Earth-838 and comes out of the circle at the end of “ Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness.” This suggests that all the significant events in the film took place over 21 days or so, isn’t it? Last but not least, we've Rintrah, the MCU’s first minotaur, and yet another Strange abettor from the comics.
‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’ Ending Explained – What Happed To Wanda? Who Is The Purple Lady?
At the end of the film, as MCU’s Doctor Strange comes out of his Sanctum Sanctorum, a third eye appears on his forepart, just like that of Sinister Strange. This proves that the Darkhold has gained its hold on him to a considerable extent. We don't know the impacts of this, but we do know that Wanda isn’t dead. And with her being the Scarlet Witch, it won’t be tough to gain control of Strange presently. Or so it seems.
The themed-credits scene of “ Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” shows Charlize Theron as Clea. In the comics, Clea is Strange’s love interest, whom he ultimately marries. She also becomes a Sorcerer Supreme after Strange is killed by Kaecelius (who, in the MCU, has been taken interned by Dormammu). Clea has come to Strange to ask for his help to handle an “ irruption” problem. An irruption occurs when two resemblant worlds collide, ultimately leading to the destruction of both. When Clea opens a portal, we get a clear view of the Dark Dimension. This, too, has significance.
Clea’s mama is Umar, who's the family of Strange’s “ old friend” Dormammu, who rules over the DarkDimension.However, Dormammu, her meeting with Strange has the implicit to bring him face-to-face with Dormammu after so numerous times, If Clea shares a good relationship with his uncle. Alternatively, it was an irruption that led to “ Secret Wars,” which is the dominant plot possibility for MCU Punishers 5.