Every Time Doctor Strange 2 Breaks Marvel's Own Rules

Doctor Strange 2 is Marvel's most ambitious movie yet, but the sequel also retcons some big MCU rules and creates some major plot holes along the way.

WARNING: Contains Spoilers For Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is one of Marvel’s most ambitious efforts to date and is an exciting trip into uncharted territory for the franchise, but that doesn’t stop it from breaking of few established MCU rules along the way. Acting as both an extension of the titular hero’s story as well as a continuation for Wanda Maximoff after WandaVision, the sequel pushes the limits of what a Marvel movie can be on many levels. The highly anticipated blockbuster offers up a unique spin on the MCU formula from a tonal perspective, adding a flavor of genuine horror that sets it apart from any installment before it.

Directed by Sam Raimi, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sees Stephen Strange protecting a new superpowered ally, America Chavez, from an increasingly threatening Wanda, as the Scarlet Witch, in a wild journey through various parallel universes. The multiverse has become a well-established concept in the MCU at this point in the franchise, having been introduced through the series Loki as well as the previous MCU movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home. While it is only now being explored by the heroes of the MCU, the concept of the multiverse has been present for a while, even being loosely teased at the end of Phase 3 in Spider-Man: Far from Home.

By introducing the multiverse so late into the mainline story of the MCU, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness creates some definite continuity errors, retconning certain ideas present about the multiverse in previous films, as well as established rules of previous MCU movies in general. These retcons come in many forms, be it geographical errors or concepts that raise questions about prior installments, going all the way back to early MCU entries such as Phase 2’s Iron Man 3. These retcons come with the territory of building long-lasting franchises, but the devil is in the details, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness contains a handful of odd adjustments about the multiverse and how the MCU operates.

How Did Wanda Chase America Through The Multiverse?

The first time Doctor Strange encounters America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is when an octopus-like creature, later revealed to have been deployed by Wanda/Scarlet Witch, attempts to kidnap her. This implies that Wanda has already been chasing America through the multiverse, despite not having transplanted herself yet. Wanda wants America for her power of multiverse travel, yet she has been doing nothing more than casting spells across worlds to achieve this feat, so it’s unclear how Wanda is pursuing America in the movie, or even how Wanda found out about her existence, to begin with.

Why Is Wanda’s Location Different From The End Of WandaVision?

At the end of WandaVision, Wanda is shown to have holed up in a remote cabin in what appears to be a mountainous region. However, at the beginning of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, her location seems to have drastically changed. While it is shown that the shiny and happy orchard she’s surrounded herself by is not all that it seems, her location is still clearly different from the one she had last been seen inhabiting, begging the question of why this would be. Perhaps she alternated the environment herself, or she simply switched hideouts, but if any of these explanations are applicable, they are still not clear when Wanda appears in Doctor Strange‘s sequel.

Dreams Are Multiverses In The MCU

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness proposes a mighty fascinating concept, that of dreams not being made up in the imagination but rather being glimpses of one’s life in other universes. This is an ambitious idea that on paper is a very clever way to flesh out the MCU and the many little details that make it so lively and detailed. But with that being said, it does create some continuity errors looking back at characters’ dreams in previous entries. For example, in Iron Man 3, Tony Stark is suffering from PTSD and is having nightmares about the events of The Avengers. These are clearly not another universe but rather the direct events of that movie. So while it’s a solid concept for this particular story, as Stephen discovers that every dream of him falling is really Evil Doctor Strange killing him in another universe, it does raise a handful of questions.

The MCU Is Earth-616

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness confirms that the main timeline of the MCU is labeled as Earth-616 in other universes, as alternate universe Christine Palmer says. This is a fun little nod to the Marvel Comics timeline but raises an odd plot hole looking back at Spider-Man: Far from Home. In that movie, Mysterio calls the Earth that they are currently on Earth-616, whereas he claims to be from Earth-833. However, it is revealed that Mysterio made this story up as a means to persuade Peter Parker into handing E.D.I.T.H. over to him, so there is no way that he could know that the MCU’s main Earth is 616. It is odd that this little lie made its way into being canon within the MCU via the Doctor Strange sequel.

How Was The Multiverse Opened In No Way Home?

While it appeared that Doctor Strange’s spell backfiring and traveling across multiverses in Spider-Man: No Way Home was how the various villains of the other Spider-Man movie universes were brought into the mainline MCU, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness seems to retcon this idea a bit. America Chavez is the way that the multiverse is opened to Doctor Strange in this movie, whereas in No Way Home, his spell opened up these different universes, bringing in Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Peter Parker/Spider-Man as well as their respective villains. This creates some inconsistencies for how multiverse travel works in the MCU, as there are now a few different ways this has occurred, going back to the Loki series where Loki and Sylvie unleashed the multiverse themselves. It’s unclear if all of these are connected or not, but as of now, this creates a plot hole that the MCU needs to address.