It’s been almost two months since the theatrical release of the highly-awaited Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Directed by Sam Raimi and starring Benedict Cumberatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Xochitl Gomez, Benedict Wong, and Rachel McAdams, the MCU sequel received mixed reviews from audiences and critics. Despite the mixed reception, of course, the movie destroyed the box office, becoming the highest-grossing domestic film of 2022 (so far) and nearing $1 billion worldwide.
Per GamesRadar, Doctor Strange 2 is now available to stream on Disney+. Before heading to your screen, it’s necessary to refresh yourself with the MCU’s Multiverse storyline by catching up on Spider-Man: No Way Home, What If…?, WandaVision, and Loki. Indeed, it’s the latter Disney+ series that introduces the concept of variants in the MCU, which, throughout Multiverse of Madness, proves pivotal. In fact, here’s every variant in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 Karl Mordo (Earth-838)
Marvel Studios / Disney
The departure with Mordo’s character in the Doctor Strange origin movie was quite an unpleasant one. After working as a right-hand man for the Sorcerer Supreme for such a long time, it was only natural he would learn to hate Strange, who had ungratefully barged in and eventually became the successor. As a number one hater of Doctor Strange and his abilities, it was logical for Strange to stay skeptical upon arriving to Earth-838 with America and encountering Mordo. Appearing friendly at first, we come to learn that Mordo drugged both of their teas. As it turned out, the 838 variant of Mordo works for the Illuminati, which was created to protect their universe from the actions of Doctor Strange himself.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 Zombie Strange
For some, the inclusion of Zombie Defender Strange at the end of the movie may feel a little odd, but if you’re familiar with Sam Raimi’s work, you’d understand and accept the oddness. You can’t help but admit that he looked awesome, and the gothic elements of the black, gooey soul-cape only elevated the horror portions that were enhanced with the great animation. Who would have thought that Zombie Strange would be the one to defeat the Scarlet Witch? Maybe it’s just us, but we’re personally obsessed with this variant.
6 Defender Strange
We meet the variant of Defender Strange right in the opening sequence of Doctor Strange 2. He and America are running from an unknown monster that is presumably trying to kill them, but we don’t really get the context of the situation explained until a while later. At first, it appears that Strange is ready to sacrifice America’s life, but when he gets impaled, he makes sure to cut America loose from the ribbon monster. Only after Stephen in the main timeline wakes up from cold sweat that we find out it was probably a dream or a scene from another universe. After we discover Defender Strange really existed, his dead body gets dreamwalked in by Stephen to once again save America’s life and the universe. As the character said: “His sacrifice was worth more than his life.”
5 Supreme Strange (Earth-838)
When Stephen and America arrive to Earth-838, their mission is to find the Doctor Strange of that timeline. But, as they come across a statue of Supreme Strange, they find out that he apparently sacrificed his life in the war against Thanos — or did? You can’t deny that the Supreme’s backstory was superb. As we later discover, Supreme Strange wasn’t the hero of the story, but the villain who got consumed by the Darkhold and almost destroyed the universe, if the Illuminati didn’t get rid of him. Although his cape design was cool, it still feels cursed to look at him without a beard.
4 Christine Palmer (Earth-838)
Christine Palmer of Earth-838 had a similar story to the Christine we know in the main MCU timeline, at least when it comes to her relationship with Doctor Strange. They both had feelings for each other, but broke up due to Strange’s selfishness and went their separate ways. She became an important employee at the Baxter Foundation in Earth-838, in charge of researching the Multiverse. Multiverse of Madness didn’t really replace the Earth-616 Christine with the 838 variant, but rather used her for Doctor Strange to realize his true feelings. Including her served as a cathartic moment for Strange to move on with his life and finally admit that he, in fact, is not happy.
3 Billy and Tommy (Earth-838)
Billy and Tommy were a crucial part of the storyline, given the fact they’re the main reason Wanda turned to the Darkhold and got consumed by its power. She wanted to use America’s ability to travel through the Multiverse to find a reality where she’d have her boys and could finally live a happy life with them. Such reality was found in Earth-838, where Billy and Tommy were happily living with another variant of Wanda.
2 Wanda Maximoff (Earth-838)
The Wanda variant of Earth-838 was happily living her dream life when the Scarlet Witch decided to use her to dreamwalk and commit mass murder. Everyone has been wondering what’s the real reason there was no Vision in Earth-838, whether he was killed during the battle because of the Soul Stone or was never created at all. We also know that in all possibility she did not become the Scarlet Witch and didn’t go through all the turmoil because, per Inverse, the Thanos events never happened. We also don’t really know who’s the real father of Billy and Tommy in Earth-838 if Vision never existed. All in all, once Wanda woke up from the trance of dreamwalking, she had to be traumatized after seeing her bloodied clothes and face.
1 Sinister Strange
Last, but not least: Sinister Strange. When Doctor Strange first meets him in the Sanctuum, the audience probably felt empathetic towards him upon the mention of their sister Donna drowning and the fact he was the only one left in the universe. As it turned out, it was him who destroyed his universe with the help of the Darkhold. The creepy gothic elements surrounding him, with the classical music used for his scenes, were the perfect match for his character. He gave off strong murderer and stalker vibes, given how he was willing to trade the DarkHold for Stephen’s Christine and believes all of their variants are miserable without her.
