When universe-hopping America Chavez stumbles upon Doctor Strange, the former Sorcerer Supreme is thrust into a conspiracy that puts all universes at peril - with this new adventure truly earning the nameDoctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. And while this film finally converges the story arcs of Peter Parker’s forgetfulness wish inNo Way Homeand Wanda Maximoff’s grief inWandaVision, it’s alsoMultiverse Of Madnessthat may start setting up bigger things on the larger scale of theMarvel Cinematic Universe.RELATED:Marvel: Comic Characters So Powerful They Would Break The MCUWhile fans of theMarvelseriesWandaVisionwill appreciate the way Wanda’s story arc is further explored in the film, there are still elements of this MCU flick that doesn’t seem to add up in the context of its plot. And for eagle-eyedMarvelfans, just what parts ofMultiverse Of Madnessdon’t necessarily make sense?Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers forDoctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness!
10How Did No One Sense The Disturbance?
InWandaVision, it’s made apparent that Wanda Maximoff is in fact the “Scarlet Witch,” an all-powerful being with no creed or coven that can cast spells without components. As such, not only does Agatha Harkness imply her powers are vast, but the fact that Wanda has used the Darkhold as her primary “study” material implies her first formal foray into magic was unfortunately the darkest of arts.
Considering the infamous reputation of the Scarlet Witch - with an actual temple dedicated to her that Sorcerer Supreme Wong is apparently aware of - how come no one’s sensed a magical disturbance? The same question could be asked when Wanda conjured Westview. After all, ifthe Ancient Oneback inEndgameunderstood the implications and risks of giving Bruce Banner the Time Stone - it’s perfectly possible to be able to sense something wrong with Wanda.
9Where Is The Father?
Scarlet Witch and her pursuit of happiness remain an extremely focal point in the film - she wanted to be in a world where she could be a mother to her kids, even if it could mean outright possessing or killing its version of herself. However, this does lead to the question: where is the father of the children?
InWandaVision, Wanda “willed” her children into reality through her chaos magic, forcing her pregnancy to occur despiteVision being a machine. Giving up her illusory children and seeing real versions of them in other universes can certainly send Wanda over the edge. However, it’s interesting to wonder where the kids’ father could be in all of this. If it was indeed the Vision, where could he possibly be? And if he died while Wanda was carrying the children, does this mean the Vision was human and not a synthezoid in these universes?
8Why Were Mystic Artifacts Flammable?
During Wanda’s dream-walking sequence to the Illuminati Universe, Sorcerer Sara sacrificed her own life to destroy the Darkhold in Scarlet Witch’s possession. This led her on a rampage, almost killing the surviving sorcerers of her initial assault until Wong told her of the Temple of Chthon, the creator of the Darkhold, and the spells etched on the tomb that were the same in the other Darkhold copies.
Much to the surprise of fans, not only did Scarlet Witch not anticipate an attack on the outside world but also that the Darkhold itself - seemingly the “darkest” and foulest magical book - was destructible. Not only that, but the Book of Vishanti, located in the nexus of all the universes and can bestow to its user “the power they need to defeat any threat,” is also apparently flammable. ForMacGuffin artifactsalmost on par with the Infinity Stones, how come they’re so vulnerable? In speaking of which -
7Why Did Doctor Strange Not Retrieve Infinity Stones?
It seems the time-travel heist inEndgamebecame such a difficult thing to plan for Tony Stark and the others because of the absence of sorcerers like Doctor Strange since Stranges in other universes seem to have thought of boththe Darkholdand the Book of Vishanti as immediate solutions to the threat of Thanos. With dream-walking capable of sending one to the body of any other version of themselves, couldn’t there be a timeline where Doctor Strange and the other Avengers were able to keep the Infinity Stones?
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Under the threat of a reality-warping Scarlet Witch, it seems the Infinity Stones could become a reasonable way to deal with her. After all, if the past timeline had its own versions of the Infinity Stones, it makes sense for other universes themselves to have their own copies. And if each post-Thanos timeline had the Infinity Stones destroyed so they are irretrievable, then -
6How Come The Multiverse Is Only The Present?
Another interesting element in the film is how the idea of time travel andmultiversal travelseem separate from each other, as though “time” and “space” are two separate concepts. If the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange are able to dream-walk into versions of themselves in the present, it should make sense for them to use it to dream-walk into instances in the past or even in the future.
After all, in the infinite macrocosm of the multiverse, each universe should have its own timelines where different events occur. This is precisely why tampering with the multiverse was a dangerous thing, to begin with. While including time travel in the film could already be a cause of literal madness, why this wasn’t even debunked, to begin with (when weird ways to defeat characters like Black Bolt were explored) is odd.
5Why Did Strange Not Wonder About The Other Teams?
When Doctor Strange was brought forth to the rest of the Illuminati, Illuminati Mordo began introducing them one by one, including cameos of teams not present in the current MCU - such as Black Bolt of the Inhumans, as well as Reed Richards ofthe Fantastic Four. Aside from making a comment about Black Bolt’s real name and a joke about the Fantastic Four being a band, Doctor Strange doesn’t seem to wonder about the existence of other teams in other universes.
After all, if the Fantastic Four and Inhumans do exist in their universes, it’s implied that they also exist where Doctor Strange comes from. How come they haven’t involved themselves during Thanos’s invasion? While it makes sense for Doctor Strange to be more pressed about Wanda, a little interaction about his curiosity about their existence could help cement fan interest in the other teams. After all,Fantastic Fouris supposedly the final film in the Phase 4 roster.
4How Did Wanda Struggle Against The Illuminati?
While the Scarlet Witch “struggling” against the Illuminati was an oversimplification of the gorefest that transpired in the film, it’s interesting to note how there was even a power struggle, to begin with throughout her fight with the Illuminati. It’s perfectly possible for Wanda to still be “her being reasonable” during this entire fight, but how come Scarlet Witch didn’t just overload Captain Marvel and turn Captain Carter’s shield to dust, for instance?
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After all, Scarlet Witch did forceBlack Bolt to fire his dangerous screamfrom the inside and spaghettified Reed Richards in a span of less than a few minutes. While this can be an overreaction to an entertaining fight scene, the Scarlet Witch making the Illuminati seem severely powerless in the face of her wrath seems to be the more appropriate display of her terrifying power.
3Why Did Charles Xavier Not Recognize The Surname?
During the assault of Scarlet Witch-possessed Wanda in the Illuminati base, Charles Xavier becomes the last person standing between her and America Chavez. While Charles attempts to save Wanda from inside the Scarlet Witch’s mind, her magical self in the form of red mist overtakes the world’s most powerful telepath - snapping his neck both in the psychic world and in the real world.
While Professor X not standing a chance against Wanda when he’s able to place psychic barriers in her head in the comics is already a travesty forX-Menfans, it’s still interesting how he’s able to call her “Miss Maximoff” as though not recognizing her surname - considering Pietro shares the same surname as well. While this Illuminati Universe could simply have “a telepath named Charles Xavier” and not Charles Xavierof the X-Men, it’s still an odd detail to include in the film.
2Why Did Other Beings Not Interfere?
Going back to the first point of the Scarlet Witch being a rather infamous legend among spellcasters, how come other beings didn’t sense her presence and threat and begin acting toward stopping her from breaking the universe apart? After all, it’s already implied that the Celestials exist as an extraterrestrial force of nature, while Dormammu is an extra-dimensional entity with an interest in conquering reality. Surely, they would want the Scarlet Witch out of the equation.
And while Scarlet Witch intending to only accompany her children “and not conquer the world” might be genuine and make her seem less of a threat, it’s still interesting how even other spiritual entities like the actual Vishanti, Cyttorak, andother mythical beingsfrom the Doctor Strange universe do not make an intervention.
1What Was That Third Eye?
One of the most characteristic traits of Darkhold Strange in the ruined universe was this third eye, which wasn’t necessarily explained in the film. Given his assignment as the Darkhold’s protector in this ruined universe, fans can easily associate the third eye with the dark artifact. As such, when Doctor Strange himself is seen opening the same eye at the end of the film, one might wonder whether this is Darkhold Strange getting a hold of him or not.
Comic book fans say this is actually the Third Eye of Agamotto, a mystic eyeDoctor Strange in the comicscommonly used to sense spirits and the like. And while this theory is sound, the fact that the film uses visual indicators to separate multiversal Variants can easily mislead viewers into thinking otherwise. After all, the third eye is the one thing that separates Darkhold Strange from his other counterparts. It should make sense to think that Doctor Strange may have been corrupted in the end - especially when he asks Wong if he’s “happy,” the same question Darkhold Strange asked his Earth-616 counterpart.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madnesspremiered on August 04, 2025.
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