Strange’s arc is more subtle but crucial. Across the multiverse, variants of Strange (Sinister Strange, Defender Strange) all cause incursions—destruction of entire universes—because they cannot accept loss. Our Strange learns to surrender. He uses the Darkhold to dreamwalk, knowing it will damn him, but only to buy time for America. In the final battle, he does not defeat Wanda; he reasons with her and enables her self-sacrifice. The film thus critiques the “I’m the only one who can fix this” toxic masculinity of earlier Strange iterations. True sorcerer supremacy is not power but the wisdom to step back.
Marvel then made a bold choice by hiring horror icon Sam Raimi, the mastermind behind the original Spider-Man trilogy and The Evil Dead . Raimi brought his signature filmmaking style to the project, including: doctor.strange 2