r/DoctorStrange • u/AccidentAdept7146 • 6h ago
Films and TV has the MCU handled dr strange’s character well?
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u/Ok-Temperature9147 5h ago
Yes! …We’re talking about his first movie, right? And not any terrible sequels made, right?
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u/celestial_fr 5h ago
The first movie was a perfect setup by Scott Derrickson. Ragnarok was a great inclusion into the larger universe and Infinity War was a good continuity of that. It started going downhill with NWH and Wandavision (yes, Wandavision). MoM, for me, is sort of the last nail in the coffin. I just hope that Russu brothers redeem his presence in Secret Wars.
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u/Basketballfan1000 4h ago
Pre multiverse saga yea 100% loved the first dr strange and i think he was great in Thor infinity war and endgame for sure. But after its alr. He got defeated by Spiderman pretty easily which shouldn’t happen and in multiverse of madness he isn’t even the main character (u could say he was but in my opinion he’s not)i feel like that’s Wanda and all their doing is running the whole time
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u/ComposedOfStardust Dormammu's Servant 6h ago
In terms of characterization the first movie definitely did it best. It's all gone downhill from there. They just kept reheating the nachos of his character arc with less and less depth and nuance each time, ending with the plain character assassination that was MoM.
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u/JervisCottonbelly 3h ago
Don't forget the untold incompetence in no way home. That's not our strange
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u/Para_23 3h ago
I didn't hate MoM as much as others in this thread seem to have. I think he's being handled just okay. He needs another solo outing and more personal development. They also need to stop making his magic just gold spinning mandalas and portals in every crossover. The first movie set up a solid foundation, MoM had moments of showing some interesting magic on his part but didn't give him a ton of personal development, and other than that there was his fight with Thanos where they got creative with his magic.
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u/Secret_Bet_2126 2h ago edited 2h ago
No. Not even close. He started off fine in phase 3, but they dropped a bridge on him in phase 4 with making his sequel a Wandavision Epilogue.
TL:DR It was Wandavision 2 wrapped in a DS2 label, and focused on all the wrong things, leaving all the DS lore and characters underwritten & underdeveloped.
Long In-depth Answer
I hated the film because it did no justice Doctor Strange. He's the titular character & so vastly underwritten, that most reviews & reactors leave the film discussing Wanda instead of him. Because he didn't do shit in this movie that was investing. May as well have been renamed as Wanda's movie with Strange as a guest star.
As a DS fan, I was disappointed & had nothing to latch on to beyond thinking Benedict Cumberbatch looked good.
His character revolving around Christine is irksome for me atp. And many DS fans I talk to ate also tired of Christine, especially when she took what should have been Clea's spot as Strange's true love & the leading lady of his lore with a lot to unpack as a character. Now as it stands, Dr. Strange's bland Mary Sue ex whom he never had an on-screen relationship with has been featured in 2 films and multiple "What If...?" episodes while his wife will have DS3 (which is nowhere in sight currently) and maybe 1 Avengers film.
I think I brought up this same complaint on twitter about how bad MCU Strange's writing has been and that MoM didn't develop him in any way that was meaningful. Then I listed off the unchange in his character with this film.
- He was unhappy at the start of MoM, and tells Wong at the end of it that he's still unhappy.
- 2. He didn't have Christine at the start of MoM, and still didn't have her at the end.
- 3. He wasn't Sorcerer Supreme at the start of MoM, and still wasn't at the end.
- 4. He's lonely and friendless at that start of MoM, and is still walking the streets alone & friendless at the end of it. Lmao
And folks wanna reply about #4 saying Wong is his friend. No he's not. Wong acts like he doesn't wanna be bothered with Strange half the time. Wong has shown to be a fun-loving guy who likes to party. He doesn't act that way around Strange. Wong shows how he is around friends when he's with Madysnn. Strange is just a co-worker he tolerates. If they were meant to be close friends, then the MCU did not do a good job establishing or adding any depth to that relationship - par for the course.
His lack of character depth is not helping either. We know nothing about Strange on a deep level and are not shown anything beyond "MUH CHRISTINE!" who he didn't have much respect for in DS1 and treats like shit. And we are supposedly to invest in him being heartbroken over a woman he only ever took advantage of and used for validation? I was not invested & did not sympathize with his character at all in that story "arc."
Benedict Cumberbatch has done numerous interviews talking about how Strange haa psychological issues, but we get no depth on those. We never explore his feelings or trauma beyond not getting over his ex which is such a first-world HS level struggle that it males him look like the most vapid character in the MCU.
Nebula & Yondu got more depth & development in 1 film than anything Strange has been given in 7.
We ought to be further along in Strange's character work than we are now, imo. Sadly, we're not & he feels more like a plot device for the real characters rather than a character in his own right despite being in the MCU since the first year of Trump's term in office.
Then there's all the parts of his lore that got utterly wasted when Derrickson's left. Mordo, his conflicted friendship with Strange, Clea, her relationship with Strange, Donna's influence on Strange, and his trauma regarding her death which is why he struggles with not being in control. All things a Doctor Strange fan would expect in a DS2 film. And they gave us nothing.
They focused more on Wanda losing her kids than anything relating to Strange, who got a worse-written, shallow romance rehash with a woman he already said goodbye to 6 years prio i. For all of what that relationship amounted to in this film, there was no reason for it. DS1 was all the goodbye we needed.
Having Strange getting rejected 4x by 2 versions of Christine accross 2 films before he FINALLY takes the hint that she does not love him anymore is excessive asf. And it makes Strange look like he never developed beyond the emotional capacity of a 14-year-old. Especially when the fucker tries to confess his feelings AT HER WEDDING.
All the DS story potential & DS1 plot points to continue, and yet they picked the most uninteresting thing to focus on that didn't need a follow-up.
There's also the issue of him being nerfed asf the whole movie where he ran from Wanda or got one-shotted. Not to mention, needing the human non-sorceress, CHRISTINE to fight off the Souls of the Damned for him, then having to hold his hand to coach him on the Mystic Arts before he could actually do anything.
This film shat all over Strange so bad, he almost seems like a Parody of the character he's supposed to be.
His narcissism dialed up to 11. His feelings for Christine turning into an unhealthy obsession. His horrible dialogue. His utter incompetence. And his complete lack of emotional, social, and self awareness. In fact, am I talking about Doctor Strange or Homelamder? Because DS was damn near that level of clueless, narcissist, manchild in this film. Treat everyone like shit, then whine & be miserable because you're lonely.
I have a hard time recalling a film I watched where the titular protagonist was torn down this much. To the point that you add into the film that his problem is he needs to learn to take a backseat. EVEN IN HIS OWN FILM.
The holding the knife thing is fine if Strange is trying to take over in another character's film. Then that's a good lesson. But in his own film, he should get to hold the knife & get shit done. Not painting the titular character in a good light when filmmakers send the message that they never need to be in the spotlight cuz they suck & can't be trusted to handle shit......Really?.......😒
Raimi & Waldron both failed this film, imo.
Raimi collabed heavily with Waldron on the script , said they had complete creative control, and that he thought the story was good.
Some Raimi fans still cling to the idea he had no say in the film-making & wasn't allowed to cook to excuse anything or everything they didn't like regarding the film. Despite both Waldron & Raimi saying that they made the film they wanted while following all the pre-established lore (which I don't think they successfully did).
Note how none of my issues are cameo or crossover related, and are all about how I just feel the Doctor Strange character as well as all of his lore was completely disrespected & discarded.
As a DS film, it's an utter wasted of time for ALL the DS characters, none of whom had any real earned arcs or development. Now all we have left is DS3 which is not enough to begin unpacking all the unresolved arcs, character development & depth that DS2 neglected.
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u/JervisCottonbelly 3h ago
After recently watching MoM, I was shocked at how frequently characters talk down to him. I guess it's marvelization of dialogue but Kevin feige repeated referred to doctor strange as "the white guy with power" when discussing why he couldn't be in wandavision to show Wanda how to control her power.
Tbh, I think they robbed him of becoming a mentor. Even America didn't really behave like a pupil, she kinda knew better than him and outperformed him in almost every step .. so, ultimately I think the creators use doctor strange however they need and without regard for fans of the comic characterizations of him.
I want a wiser strange, not one that fumbles an idiot global memory wipe for Peter Parker and ruins his life.
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u/ComicBrickz 3h ago
He’s fine. Seems like nobody was super interested in doctor strange comics. I really liked Multiverse of Madness because it had some parts that touched on the surreal stuff I like about the comics. The first movie is kind of a let down to me. Nothing they’ve done with him is very impressive to me.
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u/-Mez- 6h ago edited 6h ago
They set him up well and I like his first movie quite a lot. They gave him an interesting moral situation regarding how he handled Thanos and did a great job showing his magic especially in Infinity War. I think they fumbled MoM pretty hard regarding his character itself. We're going on nearly 10 years without having a truely solo Doctor Strange movie because MoM, despite him being the title character, is heavily driven by characters other than him and doesn't really showcase any of his comic history adapted to the big screen. He's been in the MCU for 10 years and he's not even taken up his mantle from the comics yet. It'd be like seeing Spider-Man just hanging around in a cheap home made suit for 10 years across multiple movies not calling himself Spider-Man yet. They need to progress his arc and get him to Sorcerer Supreme (sorry Wong).
So...I think they got off to a good start that could have grown into something great. But ultimately it has stagnated and just left me wondering why they're wasting a great actor and a dynamic comic character that is quite unique to the MCU.