Warning: This list contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Spider-Man: No Way Home features Doctor Strange in a big way, with the Sorcerer Supreme at first helping and then fighting Peter Parker as he tries to put his life back together after his identity is revealed to the public. The new movie features several new great quotes from Doctor Strange, which add to his many iconic lines from throughout the entire MCU.
Doctor Strange has been at the center of many iconic moments in the franchise to date, like the Snap and its aftermath. His commentary on major moments in the MCU has given him some great lines that also reveal key aspects of his character. Spider-Man: No Way Home is no different, with a few important new quotes.
When Doctor Strange Is Keeping It Real
"In the grand calculus of the multiverse, their sacrifice means far more than their deaths."
No Way Home quickly becomes a conflict between Spider-Man and Doctor Strange once Peter Parker realizes that returning the villains to their respective universes means their deaths. Doctor Strange reveals his cold pragmatism when he says "In the grand calculus of the multiverse, their sacrifice means far more than their deaths."
At this point, Doctor Strange seems to believe that the infinite multiverse is still somehow strict in its construction, and can't be altered or adjusted. His cold logic regarding the issue evolves by the end of the movie, though he still believes everything comes with a cost.
When Doctor Strange Is Being Human
"Call me Stephen."
Comic book fans know Doctor Strange can be a prickly figure. He reveals his softer side at the end of the new movie when tells Peter Parker, "Call me Stephen." This comes after an awkward series of exchanges in which Peter fumbles over calling Strange "Sir" or "Stephen." At one point, Strange angrily tells Peter to call him Doctor.
This softens considerably and Strange reveals his genuine affection for Peter when he's about to cast a spell to make everyone forget his existence. He tells Peter to call him by his first name, showing that he considers Peter a true friend.
When Doctor Strange Is Exposing His Own Flaws
"The multiverse is a concept about which we know frighteningly little."
Doctor Strange conveys a lot of certainty about the multiverse and the need for the villains to play out their fates, but he also says something that exposes his own ignorance about the very thing he's messing with. "The multiverse is a concept about which we know frighteningly little," he says, despite using spells that potentially complicate it.
Doctor Strange's arrogance is well known and usually not well hidden, but in this instance, his admission reveals how uncertain even he is about what is happening. He tries to compensate, but without the Time Stone, Strange is an arena he barely understands.
When Doctor Strange Is A Jerk
"Scooby-Doo this crap."
One of Doctor Strange's best quotes in the new movie was previewed in the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home. He tells Peter Parker, MJ, and Ned to "Scooby-Doo this crap" (though in the movie "crap" is a less nice word). The quote is great because it reveals a less than heroic side to Strange's character. Despite being mostly responsible for the spell and its consequences, he expects Peter and his friends to clean up the mess.
MJ at least doesn't go in for it, politely responding that she knows some magic words, too. One of them is "please," which gets Doctor Strange to at least try a more polite way of asking the kids to do his work for him.
When Doctor Strange Is Protective
"If I tell you what happens, it won't happen."
Doctor Strange isn't always surly. One of his best quotes in the MCU reveals that he is actually pretty flexible and humane. "If I tell you what happens, it won't happen," Strange says during the final battle of Avengers: Endgame after Iron Man asks Strange if the battle is the one positive outcome that Strange saw when he used the Time Stone on Titan.
This quote is to protect the necessary outcome of course, but it's also to protect Stark from the knowledge of what Strange likely knows is certain to happen. He's so certain that he ultimately gives away the truth, signaling Stark at a critical juncture that this is the one moment.
When Doctor Strange Is Single-Minded
"There was no other way."
One of the things Avengers: Infinity War got wrong, at least initially, is Doctor Strange willingly handing the Time Stone over to Thanos. "There was no other way," Strange says to Iron Man, right before he joins countless others in being dusted. The quote reveals Strange's complex feelings of doubt and certainty, as well as an arguably egotistical belief that his idea is the only valid idea.
Allowing Thanos to complete his horrific mission did end up being the only way to undo it, though the journey for the Avengers could have gone wrong at any one moment and Doctor Strange himself ultimately intervened directly in the final moment.
When Doctor Strange Is Insightful
"We're in the endgame now."
One of the biggest questions for fans after Infinity War was what would the title of the next movie be? Doctor Strange actually telegraphs by saying "We're in the endgame now." Thanks to the Time Stone, which makes him one of the most powerful magicians in the Marvel Universe, Strange has unique insight into the future or a number of likely futures.
This insight likely also plays a role in his thinking in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Though he now operates without the Time Stone, Doctor Strange understood the inevitability of certain events and the need for them to occur.
When Doctor Strange Is Funny
"Wong. Just Wong? Like Adele? Or Aristotle. Drake. Bono... Eminem."
It might be a stretch to label Doctor Strange and Wong as one of the best bromances in the MCU, but the two share a strong bond that is full of playful ribbing. This starts right away in their first meeting and shows Doctor Strange's playful and humorous side.
When he first meets Wong, he gives him a little bit of a hard time by saying "Wong. Just Wong? Like Adele? Or Aristotle. Drake. Bono... Eminem." It shows that the often serious and stuffy Doctor Strange actually has a sense of humor.
When Doctor Strange Has Nothing To Lose
"Sacrifice? That would imply I have nothing to lose."
Given the multiversal direction of the franchise, the evil Doctor Strange from What If..? is a character likely to appear in the live-action MCU. That could be bad, as this Doctor Strange has nothing left to hold on to. In his battle against the Infinity Stone-powered Ultron, he revealed his utter lack of restraint by saying "Sacrifice? That would imply I have nothing to lose."
This Doctor Strange cannot be intimidated or compromised with, as he's already destroyed his entire universe absorbing dark magic. Though he works with The Watcher to defeat Ultron, he was left with extraordinary power in the Infinity Stones.
When Doctor Strange Is Misunderstood
"It's 'Strange.'"
To his frustration, Doctor Strange is often misunderstood in explaining his name to others. One of the best quotes depicting this is his first real exchange with the villain Kaecilius in the 2016 Doctor Strange movie. The quote and the entire exchange are great for showing the brilliant Stephen Strange's trouble with basic communication.
The funny exchange begins with Kaecilius asking "How long have you been at Kamar-Taj, Mister...?" Strange corrects him with "Doctor," leading to a humourous "Who's on first?" routine. "Mister Doctor?" Kaecilius says. The answer is "It's 'Strange,'" and Kaecilius ends the bit with "Maybe. Who am I to judge?"