Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness expands on everything Loki, What If…?, and Spider-Man: No Way Home explained about the Multiverse. Doctor Strange’s adventure finds him protecting America Chavez, a girl with the ability to jump through the Multiverse, from Wanda’s dark magic corruption. In doing so, Doctor Strange and America’s journey also works to explore and grow out the understanding of the Multiverse. What is similar between worlds? Different? What makes variants similar or different to versions Doctor Strange is familiar with? Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness understands its role in needing to push the next saga forward by explaining the Multiverse effect.

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Although Marvel has portrayed the Multiverse before in other pieces of content, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness takes the opportunity to take a darker approach to the story and introduce new details while using elements previously introduced. The film features variants of beloved characters such as Captain America and Captain Marvel, while also introducing new characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness even divulges different versions of Stephen Strange and how his character would have changed or been different based on various sets of choices.

New Variants

     Marvel Studios

What If…? presented several alternate realities of what could have potentially happened had things gone differently. Amongst the variant worlds, Peggy Carter takes the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers, leading to the world gaining a Captain Carter rather than Captain America. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, one of the realities offers that variant. The Doctor Strange sequel also provides a look at an alternate Captain Marvel, while the Illuminati seems to be an alternate version of the Avengers team. Finally, although Reed Richards’ appearance as Mr. Fantastic is not an alternate version of a previously seen MCU character, his appearance, along with Dr. Charles Xavier, acknowledges Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox by formally introducing those characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Importance Of Dreams

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Dreams are not just dreams. Instead, they are a look into the Multiverse and its variants. Stephen Strange realizes this when America reveals that Stephen’s dream, which had featured America, had not been a dream but had actually happened in an alternate universe. Dreams show a person what their alternate self is doing, and America reveals she knows there are no variants of herself because although she has searched, America has never found her variant. The other reason being that she never dreams. Recognizing how the Multiverse works also shows how Wanda knows her children from WandaVision exist in different worlds.

Alternate Doctor Strange Personas

Throughout the film, there are multiple Doctor Strange variants that play a role. Other than the version that MCU fans are familiar with, there is also the version America begins the movie with, who briefly appears on-screen, as well as one who had already passed away by Stephen’s arrival, and had a much darker take on the character. The late Stephen Strange had died due to his actions in trying to stop Thanos, which led to severe repercussions. The darker Stephen had been corrupted by the Darkhold book and had admitted to killing other variants of himself. By revealing alternate Stephen Strange variants, the MCU explores how different circumstances could lead the same person to severely different lifestyles or decisions.

America Chavez

     Marvel Studios / Disney

America Chavez is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe character with the ability to jump through the Multiverse. Although there may be no other variants of her, America seems far too powerful a character to never return to the MCU in the future. By the conclusion of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, America finally learns to control her abilities, but part of her storyline is unresolved. Although America finds a new home in Stephen’s universe by learning magic, she has still not been reunited with her parents years after accidentally sending them through the Multiverse portal to an unknown location.

Exploring Different Worlds

When asked, America reveals having visited more than seventy alternate worlds throughout the Multiverse. When she and Stephen initially jump through the portal, they go through several alternate realities before landing in one where they discover the Illuminati. People walk on red rather than green, and the outside environment is vastly different. In the darkness of another universe, things had taken a turn for the worst at some point. Exploring different worlds gives a glimpse into how similar, or different other worlds are. The Multiverse can have numerous alterations, but introducing so many elements could also significantly impact the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Any universes could come into play in a future film if the saga wants to have a massive ending like the Infinity Saga did when Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame came out.