Doctor Strange 2: How Is The Eye of Agamotto Back After Thanos Destroyed It?

New art from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness shows Stephen Strange wearing the Eye of Agamotto - but how has he recovered this mystic artifact given it was destroyed by Thanos? In the MCU, the Eye of Agamotto was created to house the Time Stone. The Masters of the Mystic Arts used the Infinity Stone to protect Earth, with the Ancient One peering into the future to identify countless threats and figure out how to prevent them. "I've spent so many years peering through time," she noted on her deathbed, "looking at this exact moment. But I can't see past it. I've prevented countless terrible futures. And after each one, there's always another. And they all led here, but never further."

In Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange used the Time Stone to peer through over 14 million different timelines to determine the one in which Thanos was defeated. He carefully orchestrated everything, putting up enough of a fight on Titan to slow Thanos down - stalling the Mad Titan for just the right amount of time, and even intervening to prevent Tony Stark being killed. The Eye of Agamotto was apparently destroyed by Thanos during that battle - but now it seems to be set to return. Official art for Doctor Strange 2 has shown Strange wearing it once again, but how has it come back, and what does its return mean?

Thanos took the Eye of Agamotto from Doctor Strange because he believed it contained the Time Stone, and he destroyed it with a contemptuous snarl when he realized it was just a diversion; Strange had taken the Infinity Stone out of its container and had concealed it using magic. But given Doctor Strange was depending on manipulation and misdirection there, it's entirely possible Thanos took something that was a fake in every way - not even an empty receptacle, but just something Strange had conjured up. Amusingly, this would fit with what seemed to be an error in some shots in Avengers: Endgame's final battle, with Strange inconsistently shown wearing the Eye again.

Time Stone Eye of Agamotto in Doctor Strange

That is probably the most likely explanation, but there are others; perhaps this isn't the Eye of Agamotto from the MCU timeline at all, but rather is a variant Doctor Strange has picked up on an interdimensional jaunt. If so, it's worth noting he's unlikely to have taken the Time Stone with it, because in Avengers: Endgame, the Ancient One suggested any timeline without Infinity Stones would be a dark one indeed.

The real question, however, is not necessarily how the Eye of Agamotto has returned; rather, given the MCU's version of the Eye is a container for magical artifacts, what does it now contain? The MCU's Time Stone was destroyed in Avengers: Endgame, and in the art the Eye is closed, meaning there's no hint of the traditional green energy associated with that particular Infinity Stone. It's possible Doctor Strange is now using the Eye of Agamotto to contain another item of mystical power, perhaps one he has picked up from another dimension. Marvel could even be pivoting towards the Eye of Agamotto from the comics, where the artifact grants Strange the ability to peer through illusions, to perceive the thoughts of others, to reveal the truth of any situation, and even to explore different dimensions. Strange's general costume is a lot more comic-book-accurate in the art, so that would fit well with the direction the studio is taking with Doctor Strange 2.

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