Strange Doctors (Pt. 2!)

Just look at that beauty... and it’s a great painting too!

I’m kidding.

Mostly.

Anyway, WE LIVE.

Or at least I do, I might have killed Clarissa off with my endless tangents and rabbit holes.  Clarissa, you still alive?

Hehehhh…. I’m holding on…….

MORE TANGENTS THEN!!  ONWARDS!!

*weak cheering* ALLONS-Y! …. :D

So last time, if you missed it, we talked about a doctor.  NO NOT DOCTOR WHO.  WE ARE NOT MAKING THAT JOKE TWICE.  Specifically Doctor Strange, who has been featured in his own standalone film recently.  This has quickly become one of my favourite Marvel movies...although Black Panther and Homecoming aren’t out yet, to be fair.

It has the classical Marvel quips that we love so much, spiritual references (more later), and that one actor:

However, I think my favourite part of this movie is how visually stunning it is.  The painting from earlier ain’t got nothing on the set design, the drugged-up purty colours, and the gorgeous CGI.  Marvel did an excellent job of combining traditional Asian imagery and futuristic prettiness that words cannot explain.  Not only is the movie beautiful, but the artwork it has inspired it amazing:

(artist)

(done by one of my all-time favourite artists and somebody I’m pretty sure is a dedicated Bumblesnuff Crimpysnitch fangirl)

(artist)

Dormammu I’ve come to bargain

Besides the ‘Dormammu I’ve come to bargain’ memes that I’m sure y’all have seen floating about the interwebs and the amazing artwork (I mean just look at those they are beautiful), we’ve talked about his powers, history, and what exactly the infinity gems are.... but now… muahahaha.  Let the carnage begin.

Wait no this isn’t Dear Adults.  Wrong blog series. *snort*

I mean, let the theories begin.

There are a lot of weird things about Dr. Strange. (Did the name tip you off?  The name should have tipped you off.) During my research (haha research, I’m so professional) I stumbled across some interesting things that I doubt they’ll work into the movies, but are still a possibility.  His first and only cinematic appearance, while amazing- and very trippy- only brushed the dust off of that giant treasure chest that is Dr. Strange.  And whatever Marvel has planned for him, you can be sure there are strange times ahead.

Heh.

Geddit? Hilarious. That you are; so hilarious. *slow clapping*

Anyway, I’ve got quite a few half-baked theories on the subject, so might as well dive in.  

Theory #1:  Dr. Strange’s placement in the MCU (shorthand for Marvel Cinematic Universe, in which all marvel movies and shows are linked) is difficult to figure out.  Except for the mention of a ‘patient injured with experimental armour,’ (DUDE YOU NOTICED THAT TOO?! Sweeeet.) there’s really no way of placing how Strange is lined up with the universe.   While a lot of people naturally assume that’s Rhodey, with his injuries in Civil War, but we can’t be certain.  This isn’t like ant man, where Falcon made several direct appearances.

OO OO OO I have ideas about this. Many. I think they need his help dealing with the spiritual realm and the infinity stones (don’t forget that the Eye of Agamotto is an infinity stone. That will definitely become pertinent in Infinity Wars!)

I talked about a mention of Dr. Strange in CAtWS.  During an interrogation, a HYDRA agent admits that HYDRA has been keeping an eye (heh, keeping an EYE) on this doctor.... but why?

dUDE THAT IS SO COOL I DIDN’T KNOW THAT

*pretends I didn’t just figure that out (mid-post writing, of course) before continuing with narrative*

He SHOULD just be neurosurgeon-ing about at this point, not bothering anybody (except being mean and arrogant and all that)  So either this was just a shameless name drop or Dr. Strange takes place earlier in the MCU than expected.  But then again, we see Thor mid-to-post Ragnorok in the post-credits scene and I just... I need more information.

So basically a question we can draw from this is: can Doctor Strange time travel? Or is this just the regular confusion that happens when you transcribe from comics to the television?

Theory #2:  This doesn’t have to do specifically with Dr. Strange but more as the MCU as a whole.  If you remember last time (pt. one) we talked about infinity stones, and I mentioned that one hasn’t been shown in the MCU as of right now.  It’s known as the Soul Stone, and I… don’t actually know what it does.

BUT THAT’S NOT THE THEORY.  The theory is that when Thanos (the purple guy that appeared at the end of the Avengers) said, “I’ll handle it myself,” he really did, managing to acquire the soul stone.  He sends minions to Asgard, wreaking havoc there, and travels to find these ‘Avengers’ that defeated Loki and kept the infinity stones thereof.

But that’s just me ^.^

*Marvel sweats nervously in the distance*

Might I add, that with the addition of the recent Thor: Ragnarok trailers, Marvel is already agreeing with this theory quite nicely. These new invaders of Asgard, who have captured Thor and are in shaky cooperation with Loki, could be tied to Thanos. Although we definitely don’t have enough evidence to base this theory on, it’s still an intriguing thought. I think the soul stone might be revealed to be within Thor’s hammer, because as we all (hopefully) know, Mjolnir judges the worthiness of a wielder’s soul.

Theory #3:  This is sort of/REALLY hopeful, because it’s NEVER been done before (in Marvel or otherwise) but I’m really hoping that if/when they make a Dr. Strange 2, Morgan Le Fe is the villain.  Because, yes, minus the man-eating, I do consider myself a feminist and I support content that supports women (to a limit).

I agree! As long as it agrees with the canon, I would love to see a new female antagonist!

Captain Marvel is definitely taking new bounds, finally becoming the female starred movie that we were promised, and if Marvel wants to continue down that route, they should take one of Dr. Strange’s oldest original rivals to go against him.

Still waiting for that Black Widow movie, Marvel.

Theory #4:  Dr. Strange and Scarlet Witch.  While their powers are very different, and as of right now there’s no direct connection between Dr. Odd and our favorite CGI-blasting witch, both of their powers have one thing in common - infinity stones.  Scarlet Witch was mutated by the Mind Stone, which is that gold thing that powers Vision, and Dr. Unusual uses the Time Stone to...well...manipulate Time (as mentioned before!  Thanks for that, nearly slipped my mind)

Omggg I wanna see Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange be super confused with whatever is happening to each other. Like, "Wow your aura is.... what even is that."

“It’s the aura of science, you wouldn’t understand.  JAWN WHERE IZ YOU- wait wrong franchise.  I SMELL HOBBITS.  Wait no.  My name is KHAN.  Wait what movie is this again?”

Meme for reference, because Benderdoodle Cumbersnitch is all over the place now:

….I think it’s just fantastic how confused we like to think Benedict would be with all these roles. And it doesn’t help that he and Martin Freeman always follow each other into different universes. Sherlockian, Shakespearian, Tolkien, and now Marvel…. You get the idea. But back to Dr. Strange and Scarlet Witch!

It's not really a theory, I guess, more of wishful thinking, but since they’re both newish to their powers, I’d really like to see them help each other and train with each other.  Can Scarlet Witch enter the mirror dimension?  Is she a sorcerer or just a witch?  Who is more powerful, and DOES THE CAPE HAVE A SENTIENT MIND?!

YES I love that thought. I stay up late pondering that thought. It also makes for an enjoyable shower thought.

All very important questions that directly affect your daily life.

Oh, definitely.

Last theory, and this still has to do with Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Doctor Strange.  We’ve gotten a lot of infinity stones in the MCU now, almost enough to start a war (heh)  And I highly doubt this will be much of a thing, but it was in the Avengers Assemble cartoon (yes, I’m scraping the very bottom of the bucket) …

Do you remember that scene in the Avengers where Black Widow realizes Loki’s plan is to release the Hulk, rushes to the lab to warn everybody, but instead, it becomes a major argument (thereby just sealing Loki’s plan)  No?  Ok here’s your refresher, it’s the scene that started this meme when Civil War was announced:

(and it’s jif not gif or G.I.F.) THANK YOU.

Ok, now that you’ve got that scene in your head, remember later when we found out that Loki’s scepter was run on an infinity gem, specifically, the mind stone?  No?  Well it is.  Take my word on it.

You can take my word for it, too! Because… science… too… ? Just remember that it turns people’s eyes weirdly ice-blue and turns them into brainless slaves for a time. That’s the power of the mind stone.

In one Avengers Assemble episode (I don’t know which, sorry), the Infinity War is already complete, everybody survived and the Infinity Stones have been hidden away in the Avenger’s Mansion basement (a very safe place to put them mind you.  We’ve got flying people, the Hulk, and Jess. You just have to work RMS into this, don’t you? xD Of course I do.  Shameless advertising is what I do for fun, Clarissa)

Anywho, as the episode goes on, it becomes more and more obvious that Tony has become obsessed with the gems, to the point where it’s not about keeping them safe - it’s keeping them to himself.  Recognizing this, Black Widow forms a plan to steal them away, for his own protection, but she gets caught and has to flee from the team.  I forget some of the details after that but suffice it to say that because of the pure lure of the infinity stones, the Avengers are now essentially evil, and get this - Dr. Strange shows up, not to specifically stop them, but to stop Dormammu.

Wait really? That is such a cool parallel!

Yup, it is.  The bestest kind of parallel.  THE ONE THAT ACTUALLY COULD COME TRUE (it’s right up there with my Black Widow movie and season 5 of Sherlock)  Dormammu, “I’m here to bargain” Dormammu, who was the main villain in Dr. Strange, shows up to claim the infinity stones.

Also there’s a happy ending but I don’t remember it, I was mainly thinking about how Jess could take care of this very quickly, Black Widow kinda claimed the stones and went all super-death witch on everybody.  I think the- HEY WAIT A MINUTE.  The Guardians of the Galaxy showed up too to fight for the Infinity stones, essentially creating a MASSIVE, four-to-five way fight!

....did I just accidentally find the script to Infinity Wars.

What. Wow. No kidding.

Side-note: I wonder what kind of relationship Thanos and Dormammu have, if any. Do they know they each exist? Are they in league with each other? Mutually unobtrusive? Or do they have some kind of grudge? I need answers. But please, proceed.

Anyway, to sum up all that gobbledygook, too many infinity stones in one place affects people, specifically people driven by power.  Looking at you, Tony “we need to be put in check” Stark. WOW that is SO true! Maybe he’s heading toward that possessive Avengers Assemble Tony! Sad, but exciting theory.  So what’s going to happen when things crash on Thor’s side of the world (with Thor: Ragnarok), roping the Avengers into the action?  We’ll end up with three infinity stones in one place and that.... is never good.  If the GotG shows up, we might have four.  And if Jane Foster/dark elves, with their magic red pixie dust, shows up, then five and - crud stuff is about to go down in the Marvel universe.

Oh my. No kidding.

….And with that, I’ll leave you with this hilarious Facebook Live video by Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland, breaking the news that yes, Spider-man will be participating in all the madness of Infinity War, as well! Starring Joe and Anthony Russo, the masterminds behind this whole production! Also Chris Pratt… at the end… there…

There we go!  Theories, cinematic and character information, puns and rambling, we’ve covered all of it.  But there is one thing that we wanted to talk about that hasn’t really been brought up before (to my knowledge): the spiritual aspects of Dr. Strange.

Yes! Doctor Strange is a great movie not only because of its involvement in the MCU, or because it successfully, artfully depicts a comic character, or even because of its epic graphics; it's a fantastic standalone movie because there’s a complex character development and spiritual morale captured. A great movie is finely animated, edited, and compiled. But a good movie affects your heart's own understanding of the world. (See what I did there? Sherlock? Understand that reference?)

So anyway, I'll be posting about that aspect of Doctor Strange! Keep an eye out for it in the next week or so!