Doctor Strange was integral to the plot of Spider-Man: No Way Home, and but the film, unfortunately, insulted the once-and-future Sorcerer Supreme in three major ways. No Way Home not only ties the two previous Spider-Man films together but the two previous Spider-Man franchises as well, thanks to a bungled reality-altering spell by Doctor Strange. The circumstances leading to the film’s undeniably crowd-pleasing villains and alternate Spider-Man appearances, however, weren’t entirely respectful of the way Doctor Strange was characterized in previous films, as were two other moments in the otherwise phenomenal No Way Home.

With his life turned upside-down due to Mysterio’s posthumous outing of his secret identity, Peter Parker seeks Doctor Strange’s help in making the world forget that he’s Spider-Man. Unfortunately, in his haste, Parker forgot to mention several people who he didn’t want the spell to affect, leading to the multiverse-melding conflict of No Way Home. Disagreeing with how to handle defeating five multiverse supervillains, Spider-Man later subdues Strange, taking his sling ring and giving it to his friend, Ned Leeds, who uses it to summon two Spider-Man variants.

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While Doctor Strange was a welcome (and essential) addition to No Way Home, his decision to cast the reality-altering spell was reckless in context, even if it was in character for him to use his talents to help a friend. His defeat in the mirror dimension highlighted Peter Parker’s intelligence but unfortunately made Strange look weak. While Ned’s use of Strange’s sling ring led to some of No Way Home’s most satisfying surprises, it, unfortunately, cheapened Strange’s long and arduous origin in 2016’s Doctor Strange.

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It’s not out of character at all for Doctor Strange to try to repair Spider-Man’s life with his magic abilities, but the circumstances of the spell seemed reckless for the normally-pragmatic Strange. Though he chastises Peter Parker for never considering reaching out to MIT before opting for a reality-warping magic spell, Strange never discussed the intended parameters of the world-altering spell before casting it. Going by his behavior in previous films, Strange’s haste and lack of pre-planning in No Way Home were oddly impulsive.

The following two moments cheapen Strange’s magic expertise and the years he took to become a Master of the Mystic Arts. Although Spider-Man’s quick thinking during the mirror dimension fight was a phenomenal demonstration of Parker’s brilliance from the comics, Strange should have been aware of Parker’s potential strategy, given his intelligence and years of studying the mystic arts. While Ned Leeds using the sling ring for portals fits The Ancient One’s description of magic use (needing to believe in it and ignore preconceived notions), it also cheapens Strange’s years of study in Kamar-Taj.

All of these moments, unfortunately, prioritize the needs of the plot over adhering to the characterization of Doctor Strange. While No Way Home deserves its acclaim among critics and viewers alike, the film should have been more careful with Strange and found more creative ways to have the botched spell, Strange’s defeat, and Ned’s use of the sling ring. In an otherwise excellent film, Spider-Man: No Way Home does, unfortunately, make three rather insulting errors concerning Doctor Strange.

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