Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: Biggest WTF Questions We Have

Warning: Full spoilers follow for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (read our review) has arrived, and yes, it has lots of Doctor Strange in it – like, several Doctor Stranges, actually. And it has lots of Multiverse, too. As for the Madness part, well… do WTF Questions count in that regard? Because it has plenty of those too.

Look, any Marvel movie dealing with the cosmic craziness that Multiverse of Madness does is gonna leave us scratching our heads over a few things. That’s part of the fun – getting to dissect all the little details afterward, and make articles and videos about them too! But the Doctor Strange sequel’s questions do occasionally lead into head-exploding terrain. Literally, in fact. Let’s dig in!

What’s Up With Doctor Strange’s New Third Eye?

As the film comes to an end, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange seems to be moving on with his life, fixing his long-broken watch that his ex Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) had given him before heading for a cheery walk outside his Sanctum Sanctorum. But then suddenly he collapses in pain as a third eye appears in his forehead – just like the third eye sported by his multiversal counterpart Sinister Strange (as he’s called in the marketing for the film).

It’s kind of an odd way to end the film if only because, after this shocking reveal, Doctor Strange seems fine when we see him a couple of minutes later in the mid-credits scene, where he’s still walking around the streets of Manhattan (more on that below).

But back to the eye, “our” Strange used the magical book known as the Darkhold when attempting to defeat Wanda Maximoff in the film’s final battle. And while he avoided being overcome by its dark power as Wanda and Sinister Strange did, he apparently did use it enough to become perhaps a teensy bit affected by it. Enough to trigger the appearance of his new body part, the third eye? Maybe! But that wouldn’t explain why Wanda didn’t also have a third eye.

All that said, in the comics the Eye of Agamotto can manifest in this very way. It’s one of Strange’s magical tools, an ancient talisman that will reveal truth to its user and can see through deception. (It’s an actual eye from a guy named Agamotto who was once a Sorcerer Supreme himself!). In the MCU, the Eye of Agamotto is a bit different and used to contain the Time Stone, but maybe we’ll be seeing the full power of that particular piece of Strange mythology moving forward now.

Who Was That Purple-Clad Lady Played by Charlize Theron?

This one is easy! In the mid-credits scene, Strange – apparently recovered from that eye-popping up out of nowhere – encounters a mysterious new player in the MCU: Charlize Theron’s Clea!

Clea is a core character from the Doctor Strange comics, a Sorcerer Supreme herself who hails from another dimension and a love interest to Strange. Indeed, the two eventually marry in the comics, so her appearance here likely indicates that Christine Palmer’s time in these movies is truly over after the apparent closure the characters achieved here (well, kind of). Learn more about Charlize Theron’s Clea and what her arrival here could mean for the MCU in our full explainer at the link.

What Happened to Doctor Strange’s Ensemble Cast?

You know, life as a supporting player in the Marvel movies isn’t always easy. For every Pepper Potts who is taken along for the ride for years and years, there’s a Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross who is barely mentioned again. It seems that in the case of Doctor Strange’s cast, the time between movies (it’s been six years since the first film) was just too much and there was multiversal stuff to focus on!

And so Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Karl Mordo, who was teased at the end of the first film as a new baddie after being an ally to Strange for most of that movie, just isn’t in this film. His Earth-838 counterpart does get what isn’t much more than a cameo, however, as part of the Illuminati. McAdams gets some good stuff to do as the Earth-838 version of Christine Palmer, but the OG Palmer is left at her wedding in the film’s opening minutes, never to be seen again (and presumably the wedding was also ruined by the superhero battle raging outside!). Benedict Wong’s Wong has obviously fared better over the years, but let’s not even get started on Michael Stuhlbarg’s Nicodemus West, who played Strange’s rival surgeon in the first film. Hey, at least he got a wedding invite!

Why Doesn’t Wanda Want to Find a Universe That Has Vision and Her Kids? And Where Was White Vision?

Let us not forget that WandaVision introduced White Vision – a rebuilt version of the OG Vis, though one lacking the emotions of his predecessor. Last we saw him, he was heading out to find himself, basically. Like, in a spiritual way, man. But one has to wonder why he didn’t want to get involved in the Wanda situation that was unfolding here? Maybe he just didn’t care (see: no emotions), or perhaps he didn’t even know about it.

But speaking of Wanda, I don’t know about you, but I’d be kinda bummed if my wife went universe-hunting to find her long-lost children but didn’t even think to say, hey, maybe out of the infinite timelines I have access to, I should find one that also has my dead husband, only of the not-dead variety. Just saying.

Is John Krasinski the MCU’s New Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in the Fantastic Four Movie?

We don’t know! Some fans have been vocal about wanting The Office and A Quiet Place star John Krasinski to play the leader of the Fantastic Four in that Marvel movie, which is in development. And they also, of course, want his wife in real life, Emily Blunt, to play Reed’s wife in the comics, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman. (Side note: Krasinski came very close to being cast as Captain America before Chris Evans landed the role, and Blunt was cast as Black Widow before dropping out, which allowed for Scarlett Johansson to inhabit the part.)

And so Krasinski does show up in Multiverse of Madness as the Earth-838 version of Reed, who is part of the Illuminati in that world. As with his buddies who don’t last much longer than an extended cameo, Reed buys the farm. After Black Bolt’s head explodes, but before Captain Carter is cut in half by her own shield and Captain Marvel is apparently crushed to death, Reed is sliced into a Fantastic salad topper by Wanda. But of course, it’s the multiverse, baby, so Krasinski could come back as a different version of the character in the future. But as Loki the TV series showed us, sometimes variants just don’t look the same. Basically, we’re waiting to see on this question. But learn more about the past and future of the Illuminati and where Reed Richards, Black Bolt, and the rest could go next in our explainer at the link…

Was What If…? Actually Required Viewing for Multiverse of Madness After All?

Nope. We all assumed it was because Captain Carter was hinted in the trailer, as was Strange Supreme. But it turned out these were just variants from similar but different timelines. Oh well, we still can’t wait for Season 2 of the animated show anyway.

Who Remembers the Events of Spider-Man: No Way Home?

Doctor Strange references the last Spidey movie when he mentions having some multiverse experience. But beyond that, does anyone else remember that multiversal mishap of that movie? Strange’s spell erased everyone’s memory of Peter Parker, we know that. But what about Spider-Man himself, and that whole big fight at the Statue of Liberty with, you know, other Spider-Men?

Also, Spider-related: Why wasn’t Ned at Kamar-Taj? Did all his wizard in training stuff go out the window because of Strange’s spell in No Way Home? Does he remember Ned had a knack for magic? And does America Chavez’s unfamiliarity with Spider-Man mean that not only does no one remember who Peter Parker is, but no one aside from Strange remembers who Spider-Man is? She’s been to a bunch of universes but seemingly never encountered a Spider-Man yet?

Those are all the WTF questions we have around Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but what did we miss? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to also check out our Multiverse of Madness ending explained. And of course, like and subscribe to us wherever you like to watch!