Despite Dr. Strange’s The Multiverse of Madness grossing nearly a billion dollars at the box office, executives at Disney have to be wondering where they’ll go next with the MCU – at least it feels that way.
Yes, DSMM sits at a positive 74% on Rotten Tomatoes (it’s fresh), and yes, again, the film added another $914 million to Disney’s war chest. But if anyone at Disney is like me, they surely see the warning lights flashing.
Warning: Spoilers
Plot synopsis for The Multiverse of Madness
When America Chavez (a.k.a Ms. America) and Dr. Strange seemingly appear to open up the multiverse (only to find out later that it was in fact Scarlet Witch), the pair team up to stop Wanda Maximoff’s alter-ego before she can destroy the fabric of the universe, literally.
Strange meets The Illuminati
After traveling across the universe and landing on Earth-838, Strange is taken into custody by that Universe’s Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Strange’s nemesis, Kal Mordo, and presented to The Illuminati, which consists of Peggy Carter (Captain America), Blackagar Boltagon (Black Bolt), Maria Rambeau (Captain Marvel), Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), and Charles Xavier (from the X-Men series).
Dr. Strange attempts to warn the group about Scarlet Witch, but The Illuminati isn’t receptive to his input due to his history in their universe.
Ultimately, Dr. Xavier manages to convince some of them that this Strange should be trusted, but the alliance is short lived as Scarlet Witch eliminates Illuminati headquarters and the entire council.
John Krasinski joins the MCU, and…he’s gone
It’s actually a wasted bag of cameos because many fans were looking forward to John Krasinski’s take on Reed Richards. However, that’s over in short order as Scarlet Witch makes the council look like an absolute joke of a super group.
There’s actually a funny moment where Richards tells Scarlet Witch to stop because Black Bolt could destroy her with the sound of his voice and…she blows up Bolt’s head. Richards’ demise follows. For the “smartest man in the world,” it wasn’t a good look.
Ultimately, Strange escapes and regroups with America, concluding later that the only way to beat Scarlet Witch is to become undead.
A lot of special effects, a lot of foreshadowing, but where exactly is all this going?
Since the release of Iron Man MCU fans have had an idea of an overarching narrative taking shape across all of the connected films. But in Phase 4, viewers are not getting the type of cohesive story-telling they’re accustomed to.
From The Eternals to Shang-Chi, much of what we’ve seen since Avengers: End Game appears to be geared toward wrapping up old narratives up rather than setting the stage for what’s next. And then there are the power levels of these characters at this point.
How silly will this new MCU get?
In a world where every supe introduced is “the strongest” just to build hype around a diverse cast of new characters, the question is: when does this start to become ridiculous? The answer: Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
Everyone remembers (the intentional) hype around Captain Marvel – she was supposed to be the strongest supe out there – she’d give it to Thanos. But of course she didn’t, it was Iron Man who dealt the final blow, not because he was the most qualified, it was his arc, something that was built over a decade and appropriate.
When the MCU began building momentum Marvel knew they had to diversify so as to not put all their eggs in one overpaid, yet out-of-this-worldly bankable star, Robert Downey Jr. Still, they did so with narrative about the characters and backstory, took the time to introduce them, make them human – even if they weren’t.
With the passing of Chadwick Boseman, the retirement of RDJ, and the break up of the Guardians after GOTG 3, however, Marvel appears to be throwing things at the wall, and it isn’t clear at this point what is intended to stick or what will.
Thankfully, we got Taiki Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder last week.
Guess we’ll have to see what else Marvel is up to this November 11th, when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is released.