In Marvel’s What If…? episode 4, Doctor Strange absorbs mystical inter-dimensional monsters to gain their powers in an ill-fated quest for control – but who or what are these mystical creatures? Rather than small changes to the timeline or switching roles between heroes, What If...? takes its darkest turn yet by showing Stephen Strange losing not his hands, but Christine Palmer, the love of his life. Potentially foreshadowing events in Phase 4 of the MCU, this episode reveals what could happen if the Sorcerer Supreme insists on reversing an irreversible point in the timeline. And along the way, it leaves viewers with more than a couple Marvel Easter eggs.
Easily the biggest among them is O’Bengh, the keeper of Cagliostro’s books. After failing to stop Christine’s death, the Ancient One explains that her death is “an absolute point in time,” as it triggers Strange’s path towards being the Sorcerer Supreme and an Avenger. Defying these warnings, Doctor Strange travels to the Lost Library of Cagliostro for answers, and there he meets O’Bengh.
In the comics, O'Bengh is Cagliostro himself and an adversary of Doctor Strange. While O’Bengh seems harmless in What If...?, he allows Strange free access over dangerous knowledge and lets him summon and absorb mystic creatures in the Lost Library. After Strange fails to control his first monster, O’Bengh explains that “Mystic beings do not bargain,” indirectly suggesting a darker path. Whether or not O’Bengh is Cagliostro – which would explain why he let Strange go over the deep end – is just one of the many unanswered questions in episode 4 of What If...? Moreover, who or what are the beasts that Doctor Strange summoned and absorbed on his path to becoming Strange Supreme?
Garden Gnome
The first unfortunate creature in Strange’s path is a living garden gnome. He quickly and unceremoniously absorbs the monster. The gnome could be a reference to either Elseworlds or Asgard, or just the fact that fans have been known for painting garden gnomes as tiny versions of the Avengers and other Marvel characters.
Caped Cockroach
Rather than absorbing the giant caped cockroach – remarking that he draws the line at bugs – Strange instead steals the creature’s cloak, which becomes this strange doctor’s Cloak of Levitation. While the bug is unfamiliar to Marvel comics fans, others have noticed that the creature bears a striking resemblance to the noble cockroach Kyouhukou, which appeared in the anime series Overlord.
Six-Eyed Black Bird
While the giant bird with six eyes and blue flames does bear a resemblance to the Phoenix Force, which possessed mutant telepath Jean Grey, it’s highly unlikely that they are one and the same. If Strange manages to summon the Phoenix Force, it would most likely happen further down the menagerie, rather than right after the comic relief. That being said, absorbing this mystic bird is Strange Supreme’s first real taste of vampiric power.
Red Dragon
The massive red dragon that Strange summons to the circle could be Shou-Lao the Undying, an immortal dragon from the comics which Iron Fist had to defeat to complete his final test. There’s a chance that this could foreshadow Phase 4 of the MCU bringing Iron Fist back into the fray.
Two-Headed Ram
Although the two-headed ram with glowing green eyes and mouths doesn’t appear in the comics, it could symbolize one of Marvel’s Heliopolitans, Atum, also known as the supreme Egyptian god Amon-Ra. In ancient sculptures, Amon-Ra is often represented as a two-headed ram, and is known as a protector.
Flying Skull With Antlers
The flying, caped, and glowing green skull attached to an unnamed sorcerer’s body is quickly absorbed as it attempts to attack Strange Supreme. Old Marvel comics fans have remarked that this creature is reminiscent of Suma-Ket of the Unforgiven Dead, an old nemesis of Namor the Sub-Mariner. And it could foreshadow the potential involvement of Namor in Black Panther 2.
Giant Bat
This creature might be a reference to Jimmy Santini, also known as Batwing, an enemy of Spider-Man. The character first appeared in Untold Tales of Spider-Man. After absorbing the creature, Strange overhears The Watcher weighing the consequences of intervening with his dark path – his first and last warning.
Moose
Ignoring The Watcher’s warnings, Strange Supreme goes on to summon more mystic beings to absorb. This includes a moose spirit, which could be a reference to Oranah, also known as The Stag God, who appeared in Marvel’s Savage Sword of Conan comics.
Fire Dragon
This serpent is also reminiscent of Shou-Lao the Undying. However, the creature also looks very similar to the dragon that escaped Muspelheim and tried to attack Thor during the crazy opening of Thor: Ragnarok.
Wolf
The wolf with a blue flame above its head is possibly a reference to the Capcom video game character Okami Amaterasu, which is based on the Japanese celestial sun goddess Amaterasu. It wouldn’t be that strange, as Okami is a playable character on both Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Snake
The snake could represent Fu-Hsi, the King of the Vipers from Marvel Premiere Comics. It could also be Set from Conan the Barbarian, or even the demon Sligguth, whom Strange has faced in the comics.
Dark Dimension Demons
Strange also summons a number of demons which appear to be from the Dark Dimension, which explains why some of them resemble Dormammu from the Doctor Strange movie. This could also be a reference to Marvel’s Lovecraftian Old Gods, which perfectly sets up the last creature.
Tentacle Monster
Bearing a resemblance to Red Skull’s Tesseract monster from What If...? episode 1, the tentacle monster is actually the first mystic being that Doctor Strange summons in episode 4. But while it overpowers him during their first encounter, Strange is more than ready to absorb the mystic being the second time around, which almost completes his transformation as Strange Supreme. As fans have theorized, this monster could be Shuma-Gorath, an eldritch god whose reality-altering powers are congruent with what Strange Supreme aspired – yet ultimately failed – to accomplish.