Warning! Spoilers ahead for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Marvel Studios’ latest highly anticipated tentpole movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, has finally arrived in theaters. Fans and critics are divided on whether it’s one of the best MCU movies, but they can all agree that it’s one of the weirdest MCU movies. The concept promised shameless weirdness and the film delivered it in spades.
There are some pacing and storytelling issues in the script, but ultimately, Multiverse of Madness’ greatest strength is that Kevin Feige allowed it to be a Sam Raimi movie before an MCU movie. The Doctor Strange sequel is filled with the legendary horror director’s signature bizarre humor and off-kilter “splatstick.” The end result is, appropriately, one of the MCU’s strangest outings to date, with dozens of delightfully zany moments.
Strange Ripped Out An Octopus Demon’s Eyeball
When America Chavez first arrives in the Earth-616 universe, she’s followed by a Lovecraftian octopus demon determined to extract her lucrative multiverse-hopping superpower on behalf of a witch.
Since Raimi got his start in the “splatter” subgenre of horror, this sequence – which culminates in Strange ripping the octopus’ eyeball out of its socket – feels like a throwback to the director’s gory roots.
Wanda Became A Mass Murderer
One of the main story threads hidden by the Doctor Strange trailers was Wanda’s role as the film’s main villain. As it turns out, she’s the witch trying to extract America’s power and she’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants so she can travel across the multiverse to one of the worlds where her sons Billy and Tommy are real.
Within minutes of her introduction, Wanda has wiped out legions of sorcerers at Kamar-Taj in brutal fashion. By the end of the second act, she’s eviscerated the entire Earth-838 Illuminati line-up (minus Mordo). This storyline tears down her redemption arc from WandaVision and turns her into a full-blown villain.
Strange And America Chavez Traveled Through A Universe Where They Were Made Of Paint
In one of the film’s most mind-bending sequences, Strange and Chavez pass through a bunch of different alternate realities in quick succession. One is just an entire universe of falling paint droplets.
When Strange recalls his brief jaunt through a universe made of paint, seasoned interdimensional traveler Chavez tells him it’s a bad idea to get stranded in that universe because it’s tough to figure out a way to eat in a world made of paint.
Strange Cursed A Pizza-Ball Vendor To Punch Himself For Three Weeks
Raimi’s frequent collaborator Bruce Campbell was expected to have a cameo in the Doctor Strange sequel and his inevitable appearance didn’t disappoint. It takes advantage of Strange’s near-unlimited magical abilities to give Campbell plenty of scene-stealing slapstick to chew on. He plays a pizza-ball vendor on Earth-838 who confronts Strange when Chavez steals a portion of his multiversal pizza product.
To get rid of him, Strange places a curse on the pizza-ball salesman that forces him to punch himself in the face repeatedly for about three weeks. In the hilarious post-credits stinger, Campbell reprises his role as the pizza-ball vendor at the end of his three-week curse. He realizes he’s no longer doomed to keep punching himself and cries out, “It’s over!”
Strange And Chavez Were Arrested By A Real-Life Illuminati
As promised by the trailers, Multiverse of Madness introduces an MCU Illuminati. Like the popular conspiracy theory, this Illuminati is a secret society controlling the world from the shadows. This version of the secret society has an advanced awareness of the multiverse (they’ve even got someone naming all the universes).
Patrick Stewart’s return as Professor X and Hayley Atwell’s live-action debut as Captain Carter were revealed in the trailers. In the movie, the roster also has Anson Mount as Black Bolt, John Krasinski as Reed Richards, and Lashana Lynch as a version of Maria Rambeau who became Captain Marvel.
Strange Learned That Every Other Version Of Himself Is Evil
When he’s brought before the Illuminati on Earth-838, Strange learns that he’s the biggest threat to the multiverse. Every other version of Stephen Strange across the multiverse – including the one fans saw in What If...? – turned out to be a monster.
But the movie hammers home the idea that Earth-616’s Strange is the exception that proves the rule. America has bounced from universe to universe and she assures Christine Palmer that the 616 Strange is “not like the other Stephens.”
Wanda Sealed Black Bolt’s Mouth Shut
When the Scarlet Witch confronts the Illuminati on Earth-838, Reed Richards warns her that Black Bolt can kill her with his superhuman mouth. This turns out to be a grave mistake, as he reveals the team’s most valuable weapon to a magical supervillain.
Wanda morbidly quips, “What mouth?” and it’s revealed that Black Bolt’s mouth has been sealed shut by her dark magic. Since his superpower was already loaded up, he ends up caving in his own head from the inside. This brutal kill kicked off the most shocking set-piece in the movie: Wanda’s slaughter of the Illuminati.
Strange Fought His Evil Self With Musical Notes
At the turn of Multiverse of Madness’ second act, the MCU’s Strange finds himself stranded in a universe where yet another evil Doctor Strange has caused an incursion that destroyed the world. Strange confronts his other self in that universe’s dilapidated Sanctum and realizes he’s been corrupted by the Darkhold.
In one of the most visually engaging scenes in the movie, the two Doctor Stranges fight by magically throwing musical notes at each other off the pages of sheet music.
Strange Embodied His Own Corpse For The Final Battle
Not only is the Doctor Strange sequel’s witch-powered-by-an-evil-book-versus-zombie-powered-by-the-souls-of-the-damned finale the Raimi-est sequence in the movie; it’s also a great example of plant-and-payoff screenwriting. When America first arrives on Earth-616, she brings a multiversal Doctor Strange corpse with her.
That universe’s Strange promptly buries his own body in the middle of New York, which plants a Strange corpse in Manhattan ahead of a third-act payoff. When Strange needs to dreamwalk into a 616 body in the final battle, he sets up that payoff with a perfect Raimi-style one-liner: “Who says it has to be alive?”
Strange Grew A Third Eye In His Forehead
In the final shot of the movie (before the credits scenes, that is), Strange breaks down on the street and grows a third eye on his forehead, just like the Darkhold-corrupted version of himself had. All the Darkholds across the multiverse were destroyed by Wanda’s sacrifice, but according to the third-eye scene, Strange isn’t out of the woods yet.
The mid-credits sequence, in which Clea invites Strange to the Dark Dimension to investigate a possible incursion he caused, suggests that Strange has decided to embrace this third eye as a new superpower.