NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Doctor Strange from the Marvel Cinematic film series. The mainstream version can be found here: Doctor Strange (Marvel). |
“ | Dormammu, I come to bargain. | „ |
~ Doctor Strange to Dormammu - his most famous quote. |
“ | Tony Stark: What is your job exactly, besides making balloon animals? Stephen Strange: Protecting your reality, douchebag. |
„ |
~ Iron Man and Doctor Strange. |
Stephen Vincent Strange, M.D. Ph.D is a superhero and a major character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He is a powerful sorcerer and leading member of the Masters of the Mystic Arts. He used to be brilliant yet arrogant neurosurgeon before suffering a car accident that resulted in his hands being crippled. When Western medicine failed to restore his hands, Strange embarked on a journey that led him to the Masters of the Mystic Arts as well as the discovery of magic and alternate dimensions. And after saving the world from Dormammu and Kaecilius, he became more polite, more calmer, very smart than ever before.
When the Asgardian gods Thor and Loki came to Earth looking for their father Odin, Strange aided them by revealing his location. A year later, the Black Order invaded Earth to retrieve the Time Stone from Strange to deliver to their master, the titan Thanos. Strange was defeated by Ebony Maw and taken to his ship, but he was rescued by Iron-Man and Spider-Man in space. They reached the planet Titan, where they joined forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy and confronted Thanos. Thanos overpowered Strange in a battle and took the Time Stone. Upon retrieving the rest of the Infinity Stones, Thanos performed the Infinity Snap and killed half of all life in the universe, including Strange.
Five years later, Hulk revived Strange by reversing the Infinity Snap, and he summoned the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Wakandan armies, the Masters of the Mystic Arts, the Einherjar, the Ravagers and all their allies in the final battle against the past version of Thanos and his armies. Strange signaled Iron-Man about the latter's sacrifice by disintegrating Thanos' army, having foreseen during the battle on Titan. Strange would later attend Iron-Man's army, but loose the Sorcerer Supreme title to Wong due to his long absence.
A year later, when Spider-Man's identity was exposed as Peter Parker, he approached Strange and asked him to make it so his identity was never revealed. During the spell, the death of He Who Remains resulted in the multiversal barriers breaking out, and several enemies of alternate Spider-Men from different realities arrived. Strange opted to send them back for them to meet their fates and die fighting their reality's Spider-Men, but Spider-Man refused and trapped Strange in the Mirror Dimension after a brief fight. By the time Ned Leeds brings Strange back, the Spider-Men from the realities of the villains have arrived to help Spider-Man stop them. Upon their defeat, Strange reluctantly makes everyone, including himself, forget about Peter Parker entirely upon the latter's request.
He is portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch, who also portrays and voices different versions of the character in the series, and also played Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock and voiced Classified in Penguins of Madagascar and The Grinch in the 2018 film of the same name.
Personality[]
“ | Doctor Strange: It is Doctor Strange. Not Master Strange, not Mr. Strange, Doctor Strange. When I became a doctor, I swore an oath to do no harm. And I have just killed a man! I'm not doing that again. I became a doctor to save lives, not take them. Ancient One: You became a doctor to save one life above all others; your own. Strange: Still seeing through me, are you? Ancient One: I see what I've always seen. Your over-inflated ego. You want to go back to the delusion that you can control anything, even death, which no one can control. Not even the great doctor Stephen Strange. |
„ |
~ The Ancient One calls out Strange for his ego- one of several examples in the film |
Prior to his accident, Strange had a massive ego that fueled his career. Strange only took on patients that he believed would help benefit his status, even refusing to heal a US Army Colonel's back. His work was also driven by a desire to control death and time, which led him to refuse even looking into any patient he perceived to have little chance of recovery. This, however, changed after the accident, which left Strange a broken man. After the accident, he blamed the doctors for ruining his life, refusing to accept that he did it to himself due to not paying attention to the road. Upon visiting Kamar-Taj, Strange initially maintained his narrow-minded arrogance and stubbornly refused to believe that the Ancient One was telling the truth, until she forcibly demonstrated astral projection and sent him across multiple dimensions to prove her point. He also disliked being called "Mister Strange", insisting that he be called "Stephen" or "Doctor Strange" depending on who he was talking to, despite the fact that, as the Ancient One pointed out, he technically wasn't a doctor anymore.
Despite his initial arrogance, Strange is a very hard worker, which is how he is able to progress in his studies of the arcane arts so smoothly. He even admitted to the Ancient One that he became a successful neurosurgeon through years of study and practice rather than any natural talent. Strange has also shown extreme determination; he spent most of his money in seven different surgeries to attempt to heal his hands, then remained outside of Kamar-Taj's front door for five hours after being initially thrown out. He even allowed himself to be killed by Dormammu countless times until Dormammu gave into his demands.
Through his training with the Ancient One, Strange gained a newfound appreciation for the natural order of things due to his studies of the Mystic Arts, and became more humble. However, this is not to say he was a completely changed man; he retained a cocky attitude when dealing with people and things, as seen in how he behaved when he went to borrow books from Wong. This, coupled with his inquisitiveness and willingness to break rules, made him an odd one in Kamar-Taj and constantly an eyesore to many of his peers. However, due to this nature of his, he was also more willing to compromise and be somewhat flexible with his principles, quickly accepting that the Ancient One broke her own rules to do what was deemed necessary to protect the world, and he had to be willing to do so himself, which, when combined with his natural talent in the Mystic Arts, had the Ancient One name him as the Master of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, despite his relative lack of training and inexperience.
Having trained as a doctor, Strange is a pacifist and tries to avoid hurting people, as it goes against the Hippocratic oath. He was disgusted by his actions in killing Lucian, despite it being in self-defense and accidental, stating he became a doctor to save lives, not take them. However, neither the Ancient One nor Karl Mordo were especially sympathetic towards this, with the former stating it was his towering ego and delusion that he could control death itself that made him become a doctor and the latter simply calling him a coward for not having the spine to do what has to be done. Nevertheless, Strange claimed that there were other ways to defeat their enemies, a claim he ultimately proved correct by defeating both Kaecillius and Dormammu without killing either of them.
Ultimately, Strange has always had good intentions, despite coming off as arrogant and selfish. After his talk with Kaecillius, Strange began to see his own failings reflected in Kaecillius and started showing signs of self-improvement. He repeatedly and genuinely apologized for his past treatment of Christine Palmer and showed a newfound trust in former rival Nicodemus West. During his talk with the Ancient One before her death, he admitted that his fear of failure is what pushed him to be a successful neurosurgeon. However, the Ancient One stated that his fear is exactly what kept him from greatness, as well as learning the simplest and most important lesson of all; it's not about him. Strange took this very much to heart, and when he faced Dormammu, he showed strong selflessness, allowing himself to be killed over and over in order to keep Dormammu trapped in the time loop so mankind could live and came to stop fearing failure.
Despite his tremendous maturity, Strange maintains some of his old habits such as making sarcastic comments and jokes when talking to others, similar to Tony Stark and Peter Quill. Whilst he compensates his lack of experience by further using the powerful magical relics at his disposal and his intelligence allows him to imagine unorthodox solutions to problems, Strange has also learned to comprehend his limits, and despite his success at the hands of Dormammu's defeat, he has begun to realize the natural order should not be entirely disturbed, the same reason why Mordo left the Mystic Arts and vows to never use the Eye of Agamotto until he is fully prepared. This was his second greatest lesson to learn - that time is beyond even his control. He also retains his meticulous and diligence by forming a watchlist of individuals that might pose a threat to Earth. However, his flexibility is his greatest strength in this regard as, even though he wants to be rid of these individuals, he was willing to help Thor locate Odin so he and Loki would return to Asgard.
Powers & Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Master Sorcerer: As the present guardian and master of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, Strange, despite his relative inexperience, is one of the most powerful Masters of the Mystic Arts, possessing a considerable mastery of the mystic arts, which he uses to defend his native reality. Indeed, despite only having two years of experience in the ways of the mystic arts at the time, an impressed Karl Mordo claimed that Strange's prodigious skills mean that he was "born for the mystic arts", and the Ancient One herself noted that Strange has tremendous potential as a sorcerer. With the help of numerous mystical artifacts and relics, in addition to his astral powers, Strange is able to gain access to a multitude of mystical powers. Strange was able to make a stand and lasted the longest of all the heroes against the nearly complete Infinity Gauntlet wielding Thanos. His mastery of the magical arts even earned him the praise of Thanos himself.
- Eldritch Magic Manipulation: Strange is able to create, shape and manipulate Eldritch Magic. He demonstrated the ability to form Eldritch Whips and Mandalas of Light. During the battle with Thanos, Strange demonstrated being able to conjure platforms for his allies to walk upon, as shown when Peter Quill jumped across them to attack Thanos. Additionally, he was able to craft a sword from Eldritch magic, as well as create powerful mystical energy bolts.
- Flight: By using the Cloak of Levitation; Strange is able to levitate, hover and fly in the air even without the presence of wind. The Cloak can greatly lessen the impact of falling from great heights by effortlessly reducing his speed. In regards to speed, Strange was able to fly above the Hong Kong skyline to reach the portal into the Dark Dimension in a matter of seconds.
- Teleportation: By using a Sling Ring; Strange is able to open a fiery portal to another location, gaining ability to move across both the physical world and the dimensional Multiverse. He can also make portals small enough to reach through and grab several books from Wong's library. Additionally, while in the New York Sanctum, he was able to seamlessly transport himself and Thor around the building with ease, which was heavily disorienting to the Asgardian.
- Interdimensional Travel: By using a Sling Ring; Strange can travel between different dimensions and universes, crossing over different planes of existence or traveling across various forms of reality.
- Astral Projection: Strange is capable of separating his astral spirit from his body, gaining access to the Astral Dimension, with him thus notably managing to assist Christine Palmer in operating his physical body, and to speak to the Ancient One's spirit before her clinical death. He also had Christine defibrillate his body to cause his Astral form to send out a blast of energy while grappling with Lucian's Astral form, which killed him.
- Transmutation: Strange can alter the forms of other objects or matter. During Strange's meeting with Thor, he was able to turn a cup of tea, into a mug of beer, after Thor said he does not drink tea. The mug, which Thor suddenly found in his hand in the place of the tea cup, was also able to magically refill itself, much to the pleasant surprise of Thor. Strange was also able to transmute a singularity sent by Thanos, with the Space Stone, into multitudes of blue butterflies.
- Conjuration: Strange was able to hide the Time Stone after (secretly) removing it from the Eye of Agamotto and later made it appear between his fingers to give to Thanos.
- Dimensional Warping: Strange was capable of conjuring a construct of the Mirror Dimension in the form of crystalline fractals that acted as a shield, absorbing an energy beam from the Power Stone and was also able to send the fractals at Thanos.
- Wind Spell: Strange was able to conjure a wave of golden light that cleared the street of smoke and debris after Ebony Maw's Q-Ship landed in Greenwich Village, while also stopping the destructive windstorm the ship was causing. The smoke was expelled from the street and towards the sky. Strange once again used this spell to hold back the lake outside the Avengers base from rushing into the battlefield after its foundations were breached, gathering the water into a funnel and pushing it away.
- Protection Spell: Strange was able to cast a protection spell on the Eye of Agamotto in order to prevent it from being stolen by Ebony Maw, so it will burn anyone that attempts to take it, making it impossible to remove it, unless the spell was removed, even if he was killed.
- Binding Spell: During the Battle of Titan, Strange conjured dark red metallic bands to restrain Thanos's hand so he couldn't use the power of the Infinity Gauntlet. The bands were much stronger than the usual Eldritch Whip he uses to restrain enemies, notably able to restrict Thanos's use of the Gauntlet for a considerable period of time.
- Duplication Spell: During the Battle of Titan, Strange was able to create dozens of copies of himself to attack Thanos with their Eldritch Whips.
- Earth Swallowing Spell: During the battle with Thanos' army on Earth, Doctor Strange opened up numerous chasms in the earth, producing glowing purple tendrils of energy that forcefully lifted up Thanos' Outriders and dragged them into the ground before resealing themselves and vanishing.
- Reality Warping: Doctor Strange was able to perform a spell to make everyone forget that Peter Parker was actually Spider-Man, one that cracked open the multiverse itself when it was corrupted, resulting in villains who knew Spider-Man's true identity to arrive from two different alternate realities as well as two alternate Peter Parkers. After the corrupted spell was later released by the Green Goblin, it resulted in everyone who knew Peter's identity starting to cross over, although Strange managed to contain it briefly. Later, Strange cast a spell to make everyone forget the existence of Peter Parker, something that affected Strange himself. The spell was so powerful that, in Strange's own words, it was as if Peter Parker had never existed at all to the rest of the world.
Former Powers[]
- Chronokinesis: Via the Time Stone; Strange can manipulate the timeline. He is able to control the flow of time, be it on a small or massive scale, notably to turn back something to a previous state, to accelerate its time in order to apply changes that have not happened yet, or to lock it in a time loop, resetting its state until he stops its effect. He first tested the ability on an apple, rewinding time on it to make it whole and then forwarding time to make it eaten down to its core, despite not actually eating it to that point before hand. He even used it to make an almost holographic reconstruction of the stolen page of the Book of Cagliostro and read from it, though he seemed to be unable to make the page real and only could reveal what had been their before. He notably used this ability to trap even Dormammu himself in the same moment, which would reset each time Dormammu killed Strange and keep Dormammu from leaving his dimension to invade Earth.
- Precognition: Strange was capable of looking into the future and seeing millions of possible timelines in order to predict how a situation would turn out. However, he could not reveal his knowledge of what the future he saw where victory was achieved as Strange told Tony Stark or it wouldn't come to pass.
Abilities[]
- Master Physician: Strange is one of the world's most renowned neurosurgeons. His skill allowed him to perform nearly any form of operation with little to no mechanical assistance flawlessly. He perfect record and reputation with the craft reached such a point that ultimately, he developed a penchant for undertaking only the most challenging of operations, in order to boost his huge ego. Indeed, his skills are so impressive, that Stange was targeted by HYDRA's Project Insight as a potential threat long before he ever became a sorcerer.
- Multilingualism: Strange is is capable of fluently speaking English and Sanskrit; which made him able to read the Book of Cagliostro.
- Eidetic Memory: Strange's photographic memory and perfect recall had originally greatly aided him in medical school, helping him earn his MD and PhD simultaneously. During his mystic arts studies in Kamar-Taj, Steve managed to master entering the Astral Dimension despite Wong not believing him to be ready, and Strange later greatly impressed Karl Mordo with how quickly the former was able to understand how to use the Eye of Agamotto after reading a portion of the Book of Cagliostro's instructions only once.
- Master Tactician: Strange is also quite skilled at being able to manipulate his enemies and take advantage of the terrain. He utilized the shock paddles via Christine Palmer to channel deadly amounts of electricity from his physical body into his astral form into the astral form and consequently the body of the Zealot he was battling, electrocuting and killing him in the process. He even managed to successfully defeat Dormammu without killing him by continuously trapping him in a time loop until the demon gave into his demands. This shows Strange's ability to think on his feet, a talent he likely developed during his days as a neurosurgeon.
- Expert Hand-To-Hand Combatant/Martial Artist: Strange, after being trained by both the Ancient One and Karl Mordo, gained some skill in martial arts, able to ultimately defeat and kill the Zealot Lucian, and to even hold his own relatively well against the far more experienced Master Kaecilius and Thanos.
- Expert Swordsman: Strange displayed considerable skill in swordsmanship, as he chose to craft a sword with Eldritch Magic to use as a melee weapon to combat Thanos and alongside Drax using his knives, proved to be able to fight against the Titan, fending off Thanos longer than Drax.
Equipment[]
- Cloak of Levitation: A mantle that enables Doctor Strange to levitate and hover in the air. It appears to be sentient and can move on its own power, causing it to move and flap in the air without the presence of wind. Offensively, the cloak's ability to move and fly with or without a wearer allows it to grab, lift, tackle or send opponents flying through the air. The cloak often assists Strange in combat by protecting him from enemy attacks.
- Eye of Agamotto: An ancient relic with a number of mystical properties, especially time manipulation in the user's immediate vicinity and on specific areas or targets. It is able to do so since it contains the Time Stone.
- Sling Ring: A mystical object which enables the wearer to open a portal to another location.
Relationships[]
Family[]
Allies[]
|
Enemies[]
|
Quotes[]
“ | You've ruined me... | „ |
~ Strange to Nicodemus West on the surgery on his hands. |
“ | I reject it because I do not believe in fairy tales about chakras or energy or the power of belief. There is no such thing as spirit! We are made of matter and nothing more. You're just another tiny, momentary speck within an indifferent universe. | „ |
~ Strange to the Ancient One. |
“ | I don't know what my future holds, but I can't go back. | „ |
~ Doctor Strange. |
“ | Dormammu, I come to bargain. | „ |
~ Doctor Strange to Dormammu - his most famous quote. |
“ | Actually, I can. This is how things are now. You and me, trapped in this moment, endlessly. | „ |
~ Doctor Strange to Dormammu. |
“ | Tony Stark, I'm Doctor Stephen Strange. I need you to come with me. Oh, congratulations on the wedding by the way. | „ |
~ Doctor Strange to Tony Stark. |
“ | You have to understand... if it comes to saving you or the kid or the Time Stone... I will not hesitate to let either of you die. I can't, because the fate of the universe depends on it. | „ |
~ Doctor Strange to Iron Man. |
“ | You're much more of a Thanos. | „ |
~ Doctor Strange to Thanos on Titan. |
“ | Tony. There was no other way. | „ |
~ Strange to Iron Man as he turns into dust. |
“ | Please. We saved half of the universe together. I think we're beyond you calling me "sir". | „ |
~ Doctor Strange to Spider-Man. |
“ | That feels weird, but I'll allow it. | „ |
~ Doctor Strange to Spider-Man on calling him "Stephen". |
“ | The entire world is about to forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. | „ |
~ Doctor Strange to Spider-Man. |
“ | The multiverse is a concept about which we know frighteningly little... The problem is you, trying to live two different lives. The longer you do it, the more dangerous it becomes. | „ |
~ Doctor Strange explaining the multiverse to Peter. |
“ | Parker, don't you realise that in the Multiverse there are an infinite amount of people who know that Peter Parker is Spider-Man? And if that spell gets loose, then they're all coming here! | „ |
~ Doctor Strange to Spider-Man during their fight in the Mirror Dimension. |
“ | We are going to kick that witch's ass. | „ |
~ Strange encourages America Chavez |
Trivia[]
- Strange's origin in the comics is the same as the film, in which his hands get injured in a car accident, prompting him to seek out the Ancient One.
- In the Japanese dubbed version, he is voiced by Satoshi Mikami.
- He apparently exists in the Raimiverse as J. Jonah Jameson mentioned that the name Doctor Strange was taken when it was suggested as a villain nickname for Dr. Octopus.
- Joaquin Phoenix, Ethan Hawke, Johnny Depp, Jared Leto, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Hardy, Collin Farrell, Oscar Isaac, Ewan McGregor, Keanu Reeves, Ryan Gosling, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Matthew McConaughey, Jack Huston, and Justin Theroux were all considered for the role before Benedict Cumberbatch was cast.
- He was considered to appear in WandaVision, but the idea was scrapped.
- Many fans questioned how complete Strange's spell was in erasing Peter's identity affected his memory in No Way Home. In Multiverse of Madness, it's noted Strange remembers being Spider-Man's ally and how his powers worked, along with the fact the Multiverse was in danger, meaning that he remembers casting the spell, but not the reason why.
- This version of Strange was mentioned by Miguel O'Hara in the non-MCU animated film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Also, he's the only non-Spider-Man superhero mentioned in the movie.
External Links[]
- Doctor Strange on the Wikipedia
- Doctor Strange on the Disney Wiki
- Doctor Strange on the Marvel Wiki
- Doctor Strange on the Marvel Movies Wiki
- Doctor Strange on the Near Pure Good Wiki
- Doctor Strange on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki
[]
Heroes | ||
Stark Industries United States Armed Forces S.H.I.E.L.D. Culver University Asgardians Frost Giants Howling Commandos The Avengers Guardians of the Galaxy Ravagers Nova Corps The Defenders PYM Tech/X-Con Security Consultants Wakandans Midtown School of Science and Technology Masters of the Mystic Arts The Revengers/Sakaaran Rebellion House of Agon Runaways Skrulls S.W.O.R.D. S.A.B.E.R. Time Variance Authority Red Room Ta Lo Armed Forces The Eternals Avatars Freedom Fighters The Marvels Assorted Variants Others (Films/Disney+) Others (Pre-Disney+ TV) |
Heroes | ||
Comics Television Movie |
World of Taika Heroes | ||
Eagle vs. Shark (2007): Jarrod | Lily |