Spoiler-free-ish journey into the Multiverse of Madness

NOTE: This review discusses the author’s thoughts of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and will touch on other MCU titles prior to this film. Spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen them yet.

Easily one of the biggest projects to come out from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is finally here and it is taking viewers on a journey across universes.

Doctor Stephen Strange

Last time we saw Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) was actually quite recent — trying to fix and prevent further convergence of universes in Spider-Man: No Way Home (NWH). This is actual, solid proof that the Multiverse truly exists and you get to see more of it in the Multiverse of Madness. How or in what shape or form? Well, you just have to watch and see for yourself.

From the trailers, you could already assume that it really isn’t a happy ending for Dr. Strange and Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) as we see her walking down the aisle, about to marry someone else. This somehow coincides with the What If…? episodes, which unfortunately saw her death in multiple rewinds of time.

While things aren’t looking so good for Doctor Strange’s love life, the same can or can’t be said about the fate of the Multiverse, depending on which universe you’re looking at. What we can confirm, though, is you’ll see more than one Doctor Strange in this film, and you’re in for a magical treat.

Wanda Maximoff

If you’ve been following the MCU titles religiously (it’s OK if you haven’t), you’d know that Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) draws much of her powers from her emotions. This has been evident time and again, but especially when she destroyed the Mind Stone in Avengers: Infinity War, and when she avenged Vision by taking on Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. She was even able to rewrite reality in Westview, New Jersey and have a complete family of her own as seen on the MCU’s first-ever TV series WandaVision.

When it comes to the timeline, Multiverse of Madness likely succeeds the events that transpired in WandaVision and NWH. After we learn of Wanda’s discovery of her children Tommy and Billy in other universes, and see the fabric of the current universe split open in NWH, this is where we are at now.

Owning her identity as the Scarlet Witch and taking hold of the ‘Book of the Damned’ or the Darkhold, you can see Wanda more determined than ever to find her happiness and be with her children. And Olsen brilliantly captures and conquers the very core of Wanda, delivering a performance like no other since the birth of the MCU — a bold claim or the truth? Find out!

America Chavez

Little is known about America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) as she only makes her MCU debut in this film. In the comics, Marvel describes America as someone from the Utopian Parallel, a realm outside conventional time and space. When she was six years old, mysterious forces permeated the Parallel and threatened their existence. America’s two mothers sacrificed their lives to seal the rifts, while she created an interdimensional portal to flee her home realm into the larger Multiverse to emulate her mothers’ heroism in other universes.

Days before the premiere of Multiverse of Madness, Marvel released a backgrounder on America in the MCU. Still hailing from the Utopian Parallel, she opened her first portal as a child and has since traveled across 72 universes by accident. She is also being hunted down because of her ability to travel through the Multiverse into other realities.

More about America’s backstory will be revealed in the film, but in essence, she is one of the many focal points of this narrative. She may still be struggling with her power, but it seems like she could serve a greater and even bigger role later on in the MCU.

The Illuminati

In the comics, Marvel describes the ‘Illuminati’ as a secret organization comprised of Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange; Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans; Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men; Reed Richards, founding member of the Fantastic Four; Namor the Sub-Mariner, King of Atlantis; and Iron Man (Anthony Stark), founding member of the Avengers. They are responsible for molding and shaping the status of the superhuman world and the world around it.

For the Multiverse of Madness though, not much has been shown in the trailers. But having seen the film, this is as major as it gets for the MCU and its crossovers, all because Peter Parker decided it was best to use magic to get him, Ned and MJ admitted into MIT.

If you remember several trailers ago, the Internet went crazy upon hearing the familiar voice of Patrick Stewart who once again reprises his role as Charles Xavier. You can’t blame fans for reacting this way because this could be the X-Men’s gateway into the MCU (I need to see Storm and her stand-alone film, OK?). However, we can’t confirm nor deny if this Charles is the same Charles we’ve seen at the end of X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) and Logan (2017).

Also, he’s not the only member of the Illuminati so keep your eyes peeled. All we can share is that the cinema went wild.

Horrors of the Multiverse

There’s no doubt that films featuring Doctor Strange is going to be a visual treat. That said, you also need to remember that the Multiverse of Madness is in fact a horror film, a first for the MCU. Probably not in the sense that you would expect it to be, but in essence it is.

Taking the helm is Director Sam Raimi who’s made a name for himself in the horror genre with the Evil Dead franchise (1981-present) and Drag Me to Hell (2009), to name a few. He shared in an interview that he was able to use his experience making horror films in “building suspense sequences, titillating the audience, and when to deliver the scares, and apply that in the spooky sequences in this film.”

It was also interesting to see Raimi’s creativity in stretching the limitations of this film to deliver that horror experience, but still ensuring that it remains PG-13. These elements certainly made for an exhilarating watch, so brace yourself.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now showing worldwide and you surely wouldn’t want to miss it. But again, it’s also important to remember that there’s still an ongoing pandemic so take all the necessary precautions if you want to watch in cinemas. We did, too, of course. Or you can also just wait for the official digital release, which is likely to come out in a couple of months. Maybe some time before the premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder.

And so, we leave you with this question: Are you happy? *wink*

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