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dr strange in the multiverse of madness
is a dense movie with new characters
from the comics old friends from other
universes internet breaking cameos and
most importantly bruce campbell these
are all the little things you may have
missed warnings spoilers ahead
when america chavez arrives on earth 616
in the multiverse of madness she's
followed by a monstrous creature under
scarlet witch's control the one-eyed
mini tentacled beast makes a mess of
downtown new york city but it's
ultimately dispatched by the combined
efforts of doctor strange and sorcerer's
supreme wong merchandising for the movie
calls this creature by the name
gargantos which in the comics is the
name of a sea monster that serves the
sub-aquatic conqueror naga in truth the
design of the mcu's gargantos is much
more similar to schuma roth an eldritch
being of immense power who's a major
player in the comics shuma gorath is of
particular significance to dr strange
being a consistent foe for the sorcerer
and even causing the death of the
ancient one in marvel premiere back in
1973.
unfortunately marvel studios was unable
to use the schumacher roth name and
multiverse of madness due to a rights
issue according to online reports still
the fusion of the old one's visual
design and gargantus's name is a fun
combo and it makes for an exciting
battle
america chavez is something of a queer
icon in the comics where she's openly
gay that aspect of her identity isn't
really addressed in doctor strange in
the multiverse of madness where america
spends most of her time running from
monsters and trying to evade capture
however she does sport a bit of visible
queer pride in the form of a pride flag
pin specifically the more modern version
designed by daniel quasar which includes
additional colors representing the
transgender community and queer people
of color marvel studios boss kevin feige
has confirmed that she's still
canonically queer in the mcu
after escaping from scarlet witch at
comartage doctor strange and america
chavez fall through a portal that hits a
number of different alternate universes
on the way down it's a visually stunning
montage that demands to be re-watched if
only because of the many little easter
eggs sprinkled throughout it some of the
worlds glimpsed in the portal scene are
pretty explicit in their weirdness
people are paint people are made of
blocks people are cartoons but others
may be winks and nods to some different
places in the marvel comic multiverse
among the many dimensions that strange
and america plummet through are a black
and white world reminiscent of marvel's
noir comics a sci-fi cityscape
reminiscent of the 2099 timeline and a
prehistoric looking universe that could
be a reference to the savage land which
to be fair is a part of earth 616 in the
comics there's also a very brief shot of
what appears to be a looming cosmic
figure none other than the fearsome
living tribunal
doctor strange in the multiverse of
madness takes viewers to a lot of
different dimensions but most of the
movie's run time is spent in two primary
realities the main mcu timeline and the
one where the illuminati rule a variant
of dr christine palmer designates the
first of these worlds as earth-616 and
the second one the one she lives in is
earth-838
she also mentions that she works for the
baxter foundation a foreshadowing of the
fantastic four reveal that follows soon
thereafter since the super team's
classic headquarters in the comics is
the baxter building if you're a fan of
the marvel comics to any extent 616
barely counts as an easter egg it's the
primary universe of the comics canon
where most of the main action takes
place with that in mind it makes total
sense that the mcu would give its own
primary universe the same numerical
designation but it's still fun to hear
the number actually spoken out loud
though to be fair this isn't the first
time we've actually seen this mentioned
back in thor the dark world dr eric
selvig has 616 universe written on a
chalkboard in the background and in
spider-man far from home mysterio
mentions it too there are multiple
realities peter this is earth dimension
616. i'm from earth 833
how the con artist mysterio managed to
get that number right is something of a
mystery
lucky guess
if you're a fan of director sam raimi
chances are good that you're a fan of
bruce campbell too ever since playing
ash in the evil dead films campbell has
been a favorite actor among horror movie
fans in particular as well as a prolific
actor all around those who haven't seen
evil dead may know campbell from his
co-starring role as sam axe on burn
notice or as autolocus and xena warrior
princess or maybe you know him from one
of his multiple guest roles in the tobey
maguire starring spider-man movies which
also happened to be directed by sam
raimi ah
[Music]
hello
campbell and raymie first met his kids
and they've remained close friends and
collaborators ever since the two rose to
fame together with the original evil
dead trilogy and campbell has continued
to appear in small roles throughout the
director's filmography in doctor strange
in the multiverse of madness campbell
plays a sidewalk restaurateur by the
name of pizza papa on earth 838 he only
appears in two scenes an early moment
after doctor strange and america arrive
in his universe where he yells at them
for stealing one of his pizza balls and
the second and last post-credit scene in
the film where he's shown being
tormented by strange's self-slapping
spell a callback to a similar bruce vs
hand scene in evil dead too
even in that brief time though campbell
quickly reminds audiences why he's such
a beloved talent
while wandering through earth 838 with
doctor strange america chavez happens
upon a device that turns your most
important memories into projected video
clips when she uses the machine it shows
a tragic moment from her childhood when
she accidentally opened a portal for the
first time and her mothers were sucked
into it never to be seen again the scene
isn't elaborated on much in the film but
many of the details are strikingly
similar to america's comic book origin
story in the comics america is born in a
dimension outside of the normal
multiverse called the utopian parallel
she does tragically lose her parents in
that story as well who are both women
but it's due to an external crisis
instead of her own powers the more
interesting part of the utopian parallel
in the context of multiverse of madness
however is that it's directly connected
to the god-like being called the
demiurge also known as wanda maximoff's
son billy under the superhero name
wiccan billy gradually becomes one of
the most powerful characters in the
entire marvel comics universe even
matching his esteemed mother's magical
abilities his final form is that of the
nigh omnipotent demiurge whose power
sustains the utopian parallel doctor
strange too doesn't make any direct
connection between america chavez and
wiccan but the mcu could possibly
recreate that storyline somewhere down
the road
a big part of the story in doctor
strange in the multiverse of madness
revolves around the illuminati a
secretive group of super people who
guide earth 838 different versions of
the group are a major staple of the
comics including in famous storylines
like planet hulk and secret invasion
each member of the council and
multiverse of madness has some unique
connection to the rest of the marvel
universe which is what makes their role
in the film so intriguing you brought
this
on yourself
the first illuminati member met in
multiverse of madness is a variant of
carl mordo who while less evil than the
one from earth 616 still seems to be a
bit conniving and prone to anger captain
carter will be familiar to those who
watched marvel's what if which shows a
universe in which peggy carter not steve
rogers took the super soldier serum the
captain marvel of earth 838 is maria
rambo a close friend of 616 captain
marvel carol danvers anson mounts black
bolt may seem like a newcomer to many
viewers but he first debuted in the
short-lived tv series marvels and humans
and of course multiverse of madness
finally brings the fantastic four to the
mcu by introducing john krasinski's reed
richards last but certainly not least is
earth 838's variant of charles xavier
played as he is in the fox x-men movies
by patrick stewart
of all the illuminati members in doctor
strange in the multiverse of madness
patrick stewart's professor x is
arguably the most surprising addition
that's partly because the film franchise
that made steward's version of the
character famous was produced entirely
by a separate studio since disney's
purchase of fox the introduction of
mutants and the x-men to the mcu has
seemed inevitable and now doctor strange
and the multiverse of madness has
officially canonized them however the
film's professor x isn't surprising
simply because of the actor or because
of what his debut means for the future
of the mcu it's particularly interesting
because everything about him mirrors his
incarnation in the 1990s cartoon x-men
the animated series right down to the
massive golden chair and the pose he
strikes when using his psychic powers
the film even uses a bit of the animated
series theme music to herald xavier's
arrival
when his sorcerer's meddling ends in the
destruction of earth 616's darkhold
wanda demands that wong tell her
everything he knows about the book and
its magic he refuses at first but he
becomes more agreeable when she starts
torturing some surviving sorcerers one
of whom the green minotaur rintra is a
major player in the comics and an
eventual apprentice of doctor strange
himself huang reveals that the darkhold
was transcribed from ancient runes and
magical knowledge carved into the
mythical mount wondergore when he and
wanda journey there together they find
what seems to be a temple erected in
honor of the scarlet witch wanda's chaos
magic in the comics is directly tied to
mount wondagor which was the final home
of the ancient elder god turned demon
cathon before he left the human realm
for a parallel dimension wong mentions
cathon by name and multiverse of madness
albeit only briefly in the comics wanda
is brought to mount wondagor as a young
child and subjected to relentless
experiments with chaos magic a process
that binds her forever to kython and his
dark powers the eldritch monsters wanda
finds at the mountain in multiverse of
madness bow to her because they
recognize the chaos magic within her
which essentially makes her both their
ruler and their kin
sam raimi is one of the masters of the
modern horror movie genre so it only
makes sense that doctor strange in the
multiverse of madness pays tribute to
some of the greats of the past in
particular scarlet witch's bloody
crusade parallels her with a number of
prominent horror movie characters each
of whom relates to wanda's arc in some
way
during her brutal assault on camartage
wanda adopts some truly freaky
mannerisms in one shot she crawls out of
a mirror at america chavez but her body
is all contorted and twisted up in
impossible ways for many this moment
will bring back memories of demonic
possession films like the exorcist which
is appropriate given that wanda's soul
has been corrupted and overtaken by the
dangerous magic of the darkhold other
moments in the comatage sequence and
some later scenes also style wanda
similarly to the infamous character
kayako saigi from the grudge the 2004
american remake of which was produced by
sam raimi in that film there's a deadly
curse that's triggered by powerful
negative emotions and death two things
wanda maximoff is all too familiar with
later on after wanda successfully
dreamwalks into universe 838 her
blood-covered face and clothes and
violent behavior hearken back to stephen
king's carry just like carrie wanda has
fully realized her powers as the scarlet
witch and the results are quite
grotesque
once in the body of her 838 counterparts
scarlet witch infiltrates the illuminati
headquarters and makes short work of
their ultron robots which seem much more
mild-mannered and less dangerous than
the ultron of earth 616. the group of
heroes confronts her and reed richards
tries to talk her down from her assault
she asks him if he has any children and
if their mother is still alive mr
fantastic answers yes to both questions
and moments later wanda literally rips
him to shreds
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fans of the fantastic four comics will
know that the mother in question is
almost certainly sue storm aka the
invisible woman the children themselves
could be franklin and valeria the
couple's son and daughter in the comics
lore now that john krasinski has
officially been cast as mr fantastic in
the mcu the rumors of his real world
wife emily blunt playing sue's storm in
the future may have some newfound
credence only time will tell
when their plan to defeat wanda with the
book of ashanti goes awry doctor strange
and earth 838's christine palmer wind up
in a post-apocalyptic netherworld the
realm is the result of an incursion a
cataclysmic event that occurs when
multiple realities of the multiverse
come crashing together most of the
landscape is composed of ghostly haze
crumbling buildings and physical
phenomena that would be impossible in
our world one of these supernatural
details is a floating car and not just
any floating car specifically it's the
1973 oldsmobile delta 88 that sam raimi
includes in practically all of his
movies the vehicle first appeared on
screen as ash's car and the first evil
dead and it's also been driven by
spider-man's uncle ben among others like
bruce campbell's oddball cameo the delta
88 is a touch that raimi diehards will
quickly recognize and should be excited
to see
my mother gave it to my brother sam and
he wound up putting it in every single
movie he ever made
while trying to get back to earth 616
and save america chavez from the scarlet
witch doctor strange encounters a
strange foe a variant of himself who's
become intensely corrupted by the
darkhold when the two first meet strange
616 doesn't realize the extent of his
variant's villainy instead it's the
sinister doctor strange who demands
proof of the other's identity which is
provided in the form of a tragic tale dr
strange reveals that he had a sister
named donna who died as a child she fell
through the ice while they were playing
on a frozen lake and he was unable to
save her donna strange is also present
in the comics though her fate is a
little bit different she does experience
a medical emergency at the age of nine
but her brother is able to help her
through it later as a teenager donna
suffers a fierce cramp while swimming
and ends up drowning the original doctor
strange movie was meant to have a scene
showing this tragic element of steven's
past but it was ultimately cut from the
final version according to digital spy
in two different scenes multiverse of
madness shows the idyllic home life of
wanda tommy and billy on earth838 both
times the kids are watching some kind of
disney classic on tv the first time in
the scene where scarlet witch first
dreamwalks into her 838 counterpart the
boys are watching an old black and white
disney animated film viewers can make
out oswald the lucky rabbit a character
that walt disney created and lost the
rights to in the late 1920s oswald was
effectively replaced by mickey mouse who
went on to become a symbol for the
entire disney company disney reacquired
the rights to oswald in 2005 and the
character has since appeared in several
disney projects including multiverse of
madness the second time when wanda is
thrown back into universe 838 by america
during the film's climax tommy and billy
are watching snow white and the seven
dwarfs that could be seen as a
thematically relevant choice as it's the
scene where wanda wakes up from her
enchantment justice snow white
eventually wakes up from her own
at the end of doctor strange in the
multiverse of madness steven returns
home fixes the watch christine gave him
and seems to be getting his life back on
track it isn't long before the bizarre
strikes once again however while out for
a walk doctor strange is overcome with
pain and begins convulsing on the ground
the camera then zooms in to show a third
eye pop open on his forehead because the
evil doctor strange encountered earlier
in the film also had a third eye and
because he used the dark hole constantly
it's possible that strange 616's third
eye is tied to his own use of the book
things just got out of it
however a more likely possibility is
that his ocular addition has to do with
the eye of agamotto in the comics the
eye of agamotto has a wide range of
powers that have yet to be seen in the
mcu they mostly involve foresight truth
seeing and other abilities connected to
knowledge and vision these powers often
manifest in the form of a third eye
which dr strange can be seen sporting in
a number of marvel comics historically
agamotto has been one of the vashanti
three deities who aide the sorcerer
supreme and the authors of the book of
vishanti it's possible that strange's
exposure to the book unlocked the eye's
true powers
if you're not a comic book reader the
first post-credit scene of doctor
strange in the multiverse of madness
might not make a ton of sense the scene
shows a purple clad woman played by
charlize theron approaching doctor
strange on the street and recruiting him
to help fix an incursion that she claims
he caused when he agrees she slashes
open a ragged dimensional portal
theoretically beginning the doctor's
next adventure the credits revealed that
theron's character is clea an incredibly
important figure in dr strange's comic
book history clea is a powerful sorcerer
who lives most of her life in the dark
dimension where she frequently crosses
paths with dormammu her uncle she and dr
strange eventually strike up a romantic
relationship and even get married her
purple look immense power and
no-nonsense attitude and theron's
iteration are all faithful to the comics
that bodes well for the next doctor
strange movie which will likely feature
cleo working alongside dr strange check
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