The MCU Shows Why Doctor Strange Isn’t Iron Man's True Replacement

Tony Stark and Doctor Strange may both be egotistical and arrogant, but ahead of Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness, Doctor Strange has so far fallen short in supplanting Iron Man. In the MCU, both characters greatly contributed to saving the world. They each played vital roles in the battle against Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Nevertheless, since the beginning of the MCU, Tony Stark has been the face of the cinematic universe – a position to which Doctor Strange has yet to ascend.

Tony Stark officially kicked off the MCU in his debut film Iron Man. After escaping his kidnappers and realizing the error of his weapon-making ways, it didn't take long for Stark to become a fan favorite. Even when he made mistakes like creating a worldwide threat in Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tony Stark still managed to win over hearts with his wit and charisma. Iron Man’s legacy in the MCU solidified itself at the end of Avengers: Endgame when he snapped away Thanos and his army. As a result, Iron Man has been viewed as the heart and soul of the MCU, making him an incredibly hard act to follow even for the now-former Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange.

Although Doctor Strange had the potential to replace Iron Man, the MCU hasn't given Strange the one component he needs to step into Iron Man's shoes – namely, a sense of empathy for others. Doctor Strange has proved to be indifferent because his focus is based on a utilitarian perspective. For instance, he was willing to sacrifice everyone in Avengers: Infinity War, just to protect the Time Stone. Unlike Iron Man, Doctor Strange consistently needed others to push him into caring for others. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange made a mistake in his judgment when he interfered with Peter's issues. Strange lacked empathy for the villains who were going to be sent back to their inevitable doom. Peter Parker pushed the sorcerer to understand that the villains’ lives mattered. Furthermore, in the What If...? series, audiences saw just how twisted Doctor Strange became. His variant was so selfish (due to his love for Christine) that he destroyed his entire reality – not to mention the fact that his motivations led him to become increasingly power-hungry. This darker version of Strange inadvertently highlights just how unfit all versions of the character are as an Iron Man replacement.

Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and Iron Man in Endgame

Tony Stark, on the other hand, was shown in the same What If...? series and possessed an inevitable spark for goodness. When Stark was manipulated by Killmonger to create an army, Tony tried to stop Killmonger. In the live-action films, more examples of empathy were shown through the many lessons Tony Stark taught Spider-Man when he took on Peter Parker as a protégé. Tony also gifted a kid a science lab in Iron Man 3 and funded grants for MIT students in Captain America: Civil War. Unlike Doctor Strange, empathy allowed Stark to better himself and resist any selfish desires that could tempt him to the dark side.

With all of Doctor Strange's shortcomings, that doesn't mean there's no hope for him to eventually become a true replacement for Iron Man. The conclusion of the first What If...? season, for example, did show the darker Strange redeeming himself. To date, Doctor Strange has only received one solo movie compared to Iron Man's trilogy which fully fleshed out the latter's character. There's still an opportunity for Doctor Strange to develop in such a way in the upcoming Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness that could compel him to be more empathic and heroic. It may be that Doctor Strange 2 sends off Iron Man in a way that brings the sorcerer closer to being a true Iron Man replacement. One way or another, if Doctor Strange can't think of others in a more empathic way, he'll have to do more than just protect the MCU's reality to step into Iron Man's shoes.

Next: How The MCU Can Avoid Making Reed Richards A Tony Stark Replacement