This article contains information about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness gives fans everything they wanted, but then blows it up and slices it in half.
And you know what? It rules.
Multiverse of Madness is the grossest, goriest, goopiest ride yet, thanks to director Sam Raimi. The sequence in which Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlet Witch, brutally kills the members of the Illuminati is the most clear example. The impact of the violence in the movie is huge because of who makes up the Illuminati.
Baron Mordo is an enemy of Doctor Strange, Reed Richards is the head of the Fantastic Four, and Charles Xavier is the leader of the X-men. They are toast after meeting them, with the exception of Mordo. Their deaths are shocking because fans were so excited to see many of these heroes in the MCU.
Fans realized that the Fantastic Four and the X-Men could enter the MCU after Disney acquired Fox. Krasinski was cast to play Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards. When it came to the X-Men, there were questions about who would reprise their roles in the MCU. What better place to do it than in a film with the title Multiverse of Madness?
There was a lot of speculation when trailers for the new Doctor Strange were released. Stewart's voice suggested a Professor X appearance, and a flash of a shield suggested that Captain Carter would be in live-action after her introduction in What If...
Does Marvel really introduce a pantheon of fan service only to rip it to shreds moments later? They sure do, and it's a brilliant choice.
We got what we asked for. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness gives us all the fan service we could have wanted. The movie gives us Captain Carter and Maria Rambeau's Captain Marvel and even an Inhumans appearance in Black Bolt. The sound of fans' wishes finally being fulfilled was the sound of applause and whispers in my theater.
Those sounds became gasps of horror and shocked laughter as Wanda began her killing spree. Does this pantheon of fan service really come in the form of a pantheon of fan service? It is a brilliant choice. It keeps in line with Raimi's gonzo tone, and Wanda looks like a monster straight out of a horror film.
It's rampage time, Wanda. Credit: Marvel Studios 2022
On the heels of the triple Spidey team-up in No Way Home, the announcement of the Illuminati simply can't compare. It feels like more of the same, but without the build-up. The movie is shouting at you, and in the back of your mind, you know that this isn't going to last.
It feels inevitable when the carnage arrives. Correct, even. Having Wanda destroy an entire squad of powerful heroes is a great way to show how strong she is. She turns their powers against them in a satisfying twist. Black Bolt blows his head up with his lethal voice, Reed becomes an elastic pile of man spaghetti, and Maria is crushed by a statue because of Wanda. When Professor X is in his element, Wanda snaps his neck. She pulled the rug out from under the fans feet in order to reverse-card the Illuminati.
The antithesis of No Way Home is Multiverse of Madness. We were all expecting Andrew Garfield to show up in No Way Home. Along with so much more, we got it. We celebrated their victory together. Nothing could have prepared us for the level of carnage and gore that would follow, or the surprise and delight that came from watching it unfold.
The level of violence in Wanda's rampage is a refreshing change from the sanitized approach to bloodshed in the comics. The most explicit violence in this franchise ranges from the low-lit decapitation of Loki to the snapping of his neck. Watching a skull explode from the inside or a man being reduced to spaghetti is nothing compared to it.
It barely feels like you are watching a movie. It is similar to the opening beach massacre in The Suicide Squad, in which a team of antiheroes are introduced and immediately killed in gory, R-rated fashion. The Wanda-Illuminati face-off is very similar to the beach fight. It is exactly what the MCU needs.
The Wanda-Illuminati face-off is pulpy and deranged and impossible to look away from. In short, it's exactly what the MCU needs after becoming increasingly homogenous.
Don't worry, anyone who is unhappy about watching the Illuminati die after waiting so long for a Fantastic Four or X-Men version, don't worry. The multiverse is a cheat code. The members of the Illuminati may be dead, but they may still be alive. They may not be the same as the next time we see them.
This sequence provides us with some of the most insane, off-the-wall moments in the history of the MCU. Multiverse of Madness subverts the fan service we think we need, before giving us something awesome, brutal, and unexpected that we didn't know we needed. Taking risks and leaning into them works wonders. Who knew?
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a movie.
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