Doctor Strange has considerable work ahead of him. Everything seems to indicate that he is the only indispensable hero in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But not only because he is in charge of protecting our reality, as he has made clear, but because he is the only one with the ability to analyze what happens.
And although it may seem obvious, it is not so obvious. Strange before wearing a cloak and opening portals was a reputed doctor. That makes him the only one of the Avengers to understand what is about to happen and its consequences. It is because your mind can establish patterns and also understand the situation in its entirety.
To understand the role of Doctor Strange in everything that will happen, it is worth doing a review of the character, his personality, and his abilities. Because beyond the Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange is a scientist. One with access to magical resources and who at the same time can delve into random concepts with ease. Does it seem like a play on words? We assure you that it is not.
From medic to Supreme Sorcerer
If we stick to the plot of Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme (2016) by Scott Derrickson, the character played by Benedict Cumberbatch is more than a hero. Also, and like Tony Stark, he has a privileged intelligence that allows him to become a superhero from a combination of several things.
To give a bit of context. The first scenes of the film show Doctor Strange solving medical cases of considerable complexity with a detective method. It’s not just about your significant medical knowledge or skill. Strange studies patterns and searches for complicated issues to demonstrate his ability to solve complex medical situations.
When Ancestral begins his training, and after the first problems, it is evident that Strange is skilled by nature. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Mordo makes it clear. Doctor Strange is naturally gifted with magic.
But it combines his scientific temperament, curiosity, and ability to understand seemingly random phenomena that make him different. Strange discovers the operation of the Eye of Agamotto by pure deduction rather than by an epiphany or much less enlightenment. The doctor in Strange is becoming more and more important as the movie progresses.
So this scientist who has enormous magical abilities often mixes both. He did it in Avengers: Infinity War and at the critical moment in Avengers: Endgame. Doctor Strange uses the time stone to assess what will happen critically. And that is its greatest strength.
And without a doubt, that is your advantage in whatever happens next. Because Strange, who will have to face an increasingly strong Scarlet Witch and a fragmented universe, will have to understand the origin of everything that happens. An issue that the future script of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness will have to solve intelligently.
Doctor Strange, a little Sherlock
The final chapter of the first season of Loki raises three immediate problems. And all of the considerable size for Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. First of all, as was made clear in the first chapter, nobody knows about the existence of the TVA.
Second, no one knows what is going on in her or her power. But even more complicated: no one suspects the implications of what Sylvie did. For now, the One Who Remains has been in the shadows creating dogma and a battalion of agents with no other memory than to serve the TVA.
How is Strange supposed to know what is happening? It may be that the Westview anomaly is public or at least more or less accessible information. But the death of one of the Kang variants in a Citadel in Limbo is an inexplicable event. So much so that not even Mobius or Agent B -15 know what awaited Loki and Sylvie beyond Alioth.
More complicated still. Sylvie sent Loki to a different timeline than his own, with a Mobius that does not recognize him and a Kang in full power. The only thing Dr. Strange will conclude is that a cataclysmic event is occurring or has already occurred. But how can you analyze the repercussions? Will magic help him? Is there a spell that allows him to understand the ramifications of events he knows nothing about?
Strange, who could deduce a dangerous spell by dint of observation, most likely has to understand what he’s up against.
This is where Strange’s deductive ability will be of enormous value. As Ancestral deduced that giving Thanos the time stone, it is likely that Strange must put pieces together. Which? Perhaps the Westview anomaly? The transformation of the Scarlet Witch?
A popular and consistent theory suggests that He Who Remains could sense Wanda’s rise to her most potent version. Could Doctor Strange walk the other way and understand that what happened on Earth has more implications?
They can look like abstract reflections. But the Marvel Cinematic Universe depends from now on how the secret of what happened in Loki is handled. In fact, for now, there are two witnesses to the identity of the One Who Remains (and its variants), and only one of them knows what happened. Sylvie knows that she killed one of the many faces of a multiversal enemy and opened the door for a mass attack. Loki knows the story behind the event. But neither of them has anyone to tell.
Strange, who could deduce a dangerous spell by dint of observation, most likely has to understand what he’s up against. And do it through your ability to build a theory. While he manages to get in touch with the God of Lies, who, as already announced, will be part of the film’s cast.
For now, Doctor Strange will have to rely on his considerable capacity for the deduction as reality looms over him.