Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on Thursday and it’s doing pretty well for Marvel Studios, posting its biggest 2022 opening to date and claiming the 11th-best domestic box office of all time. Critically, it’s more divisive than one might guess, with many dismissed by the way “Sam Raimi” Sorcerer Supreme the sequel is or is completely ruined with it due to the style of the Evil Dead director.
If you’ve seen the movie, you’ve probably noticed how unique it is in the sanctuary of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. It has more horror elements than ever, and it introduces a lot of new concepts and ideas to the MCU. In fact, I think Madness’s Multiverse establish where the final MCU will work later in Phase 4 and beyond. However, to talk more about this requires you to dive into the movie, so take note: There will be a lot of spoilers ahead.
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If you haven’t seen Madness’s Multiverse yet but intend to, I highly recommend you soak now.
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Last Chance… SPOILERS AHEAD!
The name tell everythings, Madness’s Multiverse is all about the multiverse, being infinite. If you can think of one, there’s a universe out there to host ideas. There’s a universe where Doctor Strange mostly speaks Spanish and runs with America Chavez as a duo. There is a universe where Wanda Maximoff lives peacefully as a single mother – without Vision for some reason – with her two children, Billy and Tommy. There’s even a universe where a naked Wong is chased by a creepy clown. Doctor Strange, Christine Palmer and America Chavez learn all this and more in Madness’s Multiverseincluding having a group called the Illuminati made up of different elements of the MCU – the Avengers like Captain Marvel and Captain Carter, The Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards, the X-Men’s Charles Xavier and the Inhumans’ Black Bolt.
However, the most important thing they learned was something in the MCU called “intrusions”. These things happen when two universes collide, which can happen in a number of ways. Perhaps someone from one universe brought a piece of another into their own. For example, if Wanda had succeeded in completely commanding the other universe’s Wanda to become the mother of Billy and her Tommy, she might have created an invasion of some kind. If Doctor Strange and Christine from Earth-838 he meets later in the film decide to live the rest of their lives together, they will create an invasion, which Christine refers to in the final moments end of the movie. Seems like intrusions might be minor in the MCU, but like Madness’s Multiverse displayed on the screen, they can also wreak havoc and even end the world
Elsewhere in the film, we learn that Doctor Strange of another universe was responsible for an invasion that killed trillions of people. It’s a pathetic way of merging two universes. For now, we don’t know what the MCU’s next Thanos-level threat is. Many thought it would be Kang, who we saw last Loki where he educates Loki and Sylvie on how the multiverse works. Others predict the arrival of new heroes like The Fantastic Four that could bring with them the new big threats of Galactus or Doctor Doom. After watching Madness’s MultiverseHowever, I think the next big danger to the Avengers and the rest of the MCU is themselves.
Meaning, the next big threat to Captain Marvel would be Captain Marvel and the next big threat to Spider-Man could be Spider-Man. That’s because I think Madness’s Multiverse establish Secret War.
Marvel Comics
Secret War
The unspoiled version of this very good Marvel Comics story (we’re talking about the 2015 story here) is invasions that create a scenario where one universe crashes into another, with both Both are threatened with total destruction. In this case, Earth-616, Marvel’s main universe, crashed into the Ultimate Universe, the alternate reality spawning its own comic line in 2000. A makeshift Battleworld was created and the movie will open here. Ultimately, it led to the destruction of essentially the entire universe (Ultimate Comics ended due to Secret War). It’s a big deal, and it could present a new moral dilemma unlike anything our MCU heroes have faced to date.
Our heroes fought villains intent on killing trillions of people in order to “help” the rest of the universe, i.e. Thanos, but how would they handle the situation that had to be killed. trillions of people to save trillions of people? It’s an ethical conundrum and one that will challenge the relatively high position our heroes have enjoyed for more than a decade. Plus, multiverse travel and travel allows us to see the old heroes return as parallel universes. Would I like to see Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. come back anytime soon or really, after his wonderful trip in Avengers: Endgame? No, but if he does return in a parallel universe way to fight another Iron Man (perhaps one played by Tom Cruise as many theories have suggested), I will be able to swallow that pill much easier.
Marvel Comics
Clea
Simple usage of the word “intrusion” in Madness’s Multiverse However, that’s not how I think we get to Secret Wars in the MCU. The birth of Clea in the first part Madness’s Multiverse I think the post-credits scene is directly related to this. If you’re not familiar with Clea, she’s played a number of roles in Marvel Comics. She is the niece of Dormammu, whom Doctor Strange defeated in his first solo film, and she also becomes Doctor Strange’s lover and successor. You can read our more detailed analysis of Clea this. inside Madness’s Multiverse However, the post-credits scene is still unclear what role Clea will play in the MCU.
She told Doctor Strange that she needed help with an infiltration, using a special blade to rip through the multiverse and opening a window directly into the world where we last saw Dormammu (or at least, that’s what I see). She asks Doctor Strange if he’s afraid to help, and, tying Christine’s last words to him in the film’s climax, he accepts the quest while also revealing that he seems As his third eye control appears in the last part of the movie set.
Doctor Strange and Clea are headed straight for an invasion and it will likely be the first of many. Clea could be a teammate in the MCU, someone who really wants to end the ongoing invasions with Doctor Strange’s help, or she wants to learn about Doctor Strange’s power to carry out invasions. new entry (perhaps she’s planning to grow close to Doctor Strange to later gain the trust or power of America Chavez’s dimensional dance…)? Only time will tell, but it’s clear that Marvel Studios is ready to dive into invasions and if that’s where these movies are headed, I foresee. Secret War will go down the line at some point.
That the use of infiltrations in the MCU could enable future re-appearances of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man is a cherry at the top. I just hope that the incursions get the attention and storytelling they deserve in future MCU movies (especially the big team-based ones) and that they not only is something Madness’s Multiverse used to advance its plot, Secret Wars or not.
What do you think about this theory? Let me know in the comments below!
