The MCU is about to get a lot bigger with the release of Doctor Strange, as the Benedict Cumberbatch film looks to delve into a previously untapped (on the big screen) aspect of the Marvel comics -- the realm of magic and the supernatural.
This darker, sometimes scarier side of the Marvel Universe has long been a major part of that world on the printed page, and in fact there have already been some seeds planted in the MCU movies and TV shows that can be capitalized on once Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme makes his long-awaited debut. So let’s take a look at five of the most notable supernatural doors Doctor Strange opens for the Marvel Cinematic Universe…
The Marvel Universe is a big place! Not only do our heroes traverse every corner of the earth -- including locales like Atlantis and the Savage Land -- but they often journey through space and time as well. But Doctor Strange is also a veteran when it comes to travelling to other dimensions.
The CW Arrowverse shows -- particularly The Flash -- have done a good job of bringing the concept of the multiverse to the mainstream, but the fact is Marvel also has a multiverse. (Technically speaking, Marvel and DC actually co-exist in the omniverse, but that’s a discussion for another time.) Going back to the earliest days of Doctor Strange in print, creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko were imagining other dimensions and realities (and pocket dimensions and planes of existence) that were very alien when compared to our own… or to that of Marvel’s world, known as Earth-616. Ditko’s out-there psychedelic art only drove home the otherworldliness of these realms more.
Doctor Strange enters a parallel dimension...
We’ve already seen that Marvel is introducing this concept in the Doctor Strange movie, but it remains to be seen how far they’ll take it. Not only could Strange spend entire sequels in one or more of these weird dimensions, but alternate earths could also eventually be established. The Miles Morales Spider-Man, for example, originally hailed from the Ultimate Universe, while other popular realities have included Marvel Zombies, the New Universe, Old Man Logan (yes, that will be a Fox property on the big screen) and so many others. Heck, Marvel could even launch a What If…? series of movies or a TV show based on that beloved comic that introduces different one-off concepts set in other worlds like “What if Captain America had been elected president?” or “What if Loki had found the hammer of Thor?” Those were both actual issues of the comic, and hey -- if they got turned into movies, I’d watch them both!
This kind of falls into the idea of other dimensions (see above), but the depiction of hell-like worlds -- and battles with the demons who lord over them -- is a fairly frequent Doctor Strange occurrence. One of Strange’s greatest enemies is the fiery (like literally -- his head is on fire) Dormammu, who hails from the not-so-nice place known as the Dark Dimension. And actually, Strange’s chief love interest in the comics is Clea, the niece of Dormammu, though fortunately she has lovely silver hair rather than a crown of flames.
One of Doctor Strange’s greatest enemies is the fiery Dormammu.
While the Dark Dimension is, strictly speaking, not hell in the biblical sense, it is frequently depicted in a very similar fashion. And there are several other notable stand-ins for the Devil and representations of death itself in Marvel Comics, including the demon Mephisto in the former case and the Asgardian goddess of death Hela in the latter, both of whom rule over their own underworlds. In fact, Cate Blanchett will be playing Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, and there is a rumored Doctor Strange connection to that film. Hmm…
Dormammu and Clea reportedly are not in the first Doctor Strange movie, but Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has said we will get a glimpse of the Dark Dimension. And surely sequels, if they happen, will explore these characters and settings more.
Continues
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