10 Powers Doctor Strange Hasn’t Used In The MCU

Doctor Strange has a wide array of powers in Marvel Comics, so many that, despite all the spells he casts in the MCU, he barely scratches the surface of what he can do. This is likely due in part to the MCU not having as many magical threats yet as the comics do. Strange is often facing off against incredibly powerful foes in the comics that require him to be equally powerful. In contrast, if he was as powerful in the MCU, conflicts between him and someone like Spider-Man would be far less of a fair encounter.

Another possible explanation for Strange not having used as many powers in the MCU timeline is that he simply hasn’t had to yet. Strange defeated Dormammu with a relatively simple trick, and when he fought Thanos, he already knew that the only way to win in the long-term was to lose in that moment, so he likely wasn’t trying his hardest. Future appearances may give Doctor Strange more of his comic book powers to utilize, especially if rumored characters like Mephisto turn up in the MCU’s future.

10
Doctor Strange Can Hypnotize People

Doctor Strange’s Hypnosis Can Be Seen In Strange Tales #110 (1951)

Doctor Strange has been shown to be able to hypnotize people both by mundane methods and magical ones. Originally, Doctor Strange learned hypnosis from the Ancient One. Though he was good at it, there were still limits to his ability. This is especially true when going up against a foe with magical abilities. Luckily, Doctor Strange has more than just general hypnosis that he can rely on.

In the MCU, the Eye of Agamotto is basically just used as a storage container for the Time Stone. However, in the comics, it possesses some very powerful magical abilities of its own. Strange can use the Eye to enhance his natural hypnosis abilities, giving him an even greater control over others, even those that would normally be able to resist him. It’s possible that the MCU avoided focusing on Doctor Strange’s hypnosis, as mind control is often seen more as a villainous skill.

9
Doctor Strange Can Send People To Other Dimensions

Doctor Strange’s Ability To Send People To Other Dimensions Can Be Seen In Strange Tales #120 (1964)

Perhaps one of Doctor Strange’s most powerful abilities is a spell he uses to send people or objects to other dimensions. This power was potentially demonstrated in the MCU when Doctor Strange plucked the Time Stone out of the air, though it wasn’t quite clear if it was coming from another dimension or if it had just been cleverly concealed in some other way. Besides, the power isn’t just effective for hiding things, but also sending enemies away.

As long as an opponent Doctor Strange is fighting isn’t more skilled with magic than him, Strange can send them away to another dimension. This power has been called the Vapors of Vishanti in the comics, but has appeared in other forms as well. The closest the MCU gets to depicting something like this is with Strange sending people like Thanos or Spider-Man to the Mirror Dimension, but Strange usually ends up going along with them. In the comics, Strange can simply send people away with a quick spell without much risk of them coming back.

8
Doctor Strange Can Enter People’s Minds

Doctor Strange’s Ability To Enter Minds Can Be Seen In Doctor Strange #80 (1986)

The MCU showed that Doctor Strange was able to leave his body via astral projection. However, Strange can take this a step further in the comics by entering someone else’s body in the process. This means that, instead of having to instruct Christine how to operate on him, he could have simply taken over her body and done the procedure himself. Strange has actually performed surgery on himself before in the comics by taking over someone’s body.

While this is a useful skill, it is also very dangerous for Doctor Strange to possess someone for too long. When he enters someone’s body, Doctor Strange also has access to their thoughts and memories. This means, if he isn’t careful, he can start to have trouble remembering where Stephen Strange ends and where the person he’s possessing begins. The MCU came close to this with Strange possessing the body of his variant self in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness, but given this iteration of him was already dead, it wasn’t quite the same as his comic power.

7
Doctor Strange Can Travel In Dreams

Doctor Strange’s Dream Travel Can Be Seen In Strange Tales #110 (1951)

In general, the MCU has strayed away from many of Doctor Strange’s mind-based powers. This might be because they are more difficult to make visually interesting. One such power is the ability to travel into other people’s dreams. There, Strange has provided aid to the sleepers, and sometimes fought off the villain known as Nightmare, who attacks people in their sleep.

Hilariously, when this power was first introduced in the comics, it showed an astral projection of Doctor Strange leaping into a pink dream cloud over the heads of the people sleeping. Though this is probably far too silly for the MCU, it is still fun to imagine Benedict Cumberbatch soaring into a fluffy pink cloud that transports him to a dream world. Perhaps if Doctor Strange ever teams up with someone like Deadpool in the MCU, Marvel can explore some of these older powers in a more tongue-in-cheek way.

6
Doctor Strange Can Shoot Pure Energy

Doctor Strange’s Use Of Energy Beams Can Be Seen In Doctor Strange #32 (1978)

Plenty of MCU characters have been shown shooting energy blasts during battles. Iron Man has his Repulsor Beams, Wanda has her crackling red energy, and Vision has shot steady yellow beams out of the Mind Stone. Perhaps this is why the MCU decided it would be better to show Doctor Strange using more unique attacks like the glowing whips he uses against Thanos. However, in the comics, Doctor Strange has several spells that basically amount to shooting energy beams.

The most standard type of energy beam Doctor Strange uses in the comics is known as the Bolts of Balthakk. These were depicted in earlier comics as a standard energy beam, but more recently have been shown to look more like lightning. Though Strange uses a spell that could be the bolts in Avengers: Infinity War, they hop between rocks before, instead of being shot directly from Strange’s hand. It also seems in the comics that Strange generally has to verbally say the spell’s name to cast it, meaning it’s unclear if these really are the bolts in the movie.

5
Doctor Strange Can Create Money With Magic

Doctor Strange’s Ability To Create Money Can Be Seen In Strange Tales #151 (1966)

Doctor Strange has the ability to conjure all sorts of things with his spells. One very useful item Strange can conjure is money. While it won’t help him take down a supervillain, it does ensure Strange can always afford what he needs, and he has even used this to pay off his debts in the past.

It would seem like sorcerers can’t conjure money in the MCU. This is evidenced by Wong not having enough money to give to Doctor Strange to get him lunch in Avengers: Infinity War. With Wong being the Sorcerer Supreme in the MCU, audiences would expect that he would be able to conjure up a few dollars if this power was canon in the MCU.

4
Doctor Strange Can Time Travel Without The Time Stone

Doctor Strange’s Time Travel Abilities Can Be Seen In Doctor Strange #17 (1976)

In Marvel Comics, Doctor Strange has spells that allow him to manipulate time in a variety of ways. Not only can he travel through time, but he can also freeze time on a global scale. Though Strange has been shown manipulating time in the MCU, it was made very clear that this is not an innate ability that he possesses.

In the MCU, Doctor Strange is reliant on the Time Stone to do any time-based magic. Without it, Strange isn’t seen doing any sorts of temporal manipulation in his MCU appearances. Given how much of an issue time travel can be for storytelling purposes, it is understandable why the MCU would want to put a hard limit on how much Strange can mess with time. Still, the result is that he is much less powerful than he is in the comics.

3
Doctor Strange Can Detect Anyone Who Would Meddle With Time

Doctor Strange’s Ability To See Beyond The Mundane World Can Be Seen In Doctor Strange #1 (2015)

Doctor Strange has the ability to sense a magical world that exists on top of the mundane one. This means seeing magical creatures or traces of spells that other people wouldn’t see, despite them being close by. When Strange enhances this ability with the Eye of Agamotto, he can even sense any major changes to time. If MCU Strange had this power, someone would likely have mentioned it in Loki.

Both seasons of Loki revolved heavily around timelines and variants. Finding those who meddled with the Sacred Timeline was the entire point of the TVA. If Doctor Strange could have easily sensed these disturbances, it’s likely the TVA would have sought him out. The TVA is clearly not against recruiting heroes, as they will seemingly be trying to enlist Deadpool in Deadpool & Wolverine. Even if Strange refused to work with the TVA, a throwaway line could have explained this. That said, Strange may develop this cosmic awareness in a future movie, now that he has gained his third eye.

2
Doctor Strange Can Phase Through Objects Like Vision

Doctor Strange’s Phasing Appeared In Strange Tales # 119 (1964)

In earlier Doctor Strange comics, Strange showed off some powers that have since become less common in his repertoire. One of these powers was the ability to phase through walls or other solid objects. Strange could also phase other people through solid objects in addition to himself. This is similar to what Vision does in the MCU, but Strange’s phasing seems limited to his astral form in the MCU.

There could be a few reasons why Doctor Strange’s phasing was left out of the MCU. One could be they just wanted to keep the power unique to Vision, allowing the MCU characters to feel more different from one another. Another reason could just be that it isn’t exactly a major power of Doctor Strange’s in the comics, so Marvel may have just decided it wasn’t necessary to include it in the MCU.

1
Doctor Strange Can Enter Other Dimensions On His Own

Doctor Strange’s Interdimensional Travel Can Be Seen In Doctor Strange #71 (1985)

In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Doctor Strange needed the help of America Chavez to travel between different dimensions. However, if Strange’s powers were true to the comics, this is something he could have managed all on his own. Strange can also travel to magical dimensions, like Dormammu’s Dark Dimension and Mephisto’s Realm.

An easy explanation for the MCU deciding not to give Doctor Strange these powers was that they wanted to keep America Chavez integral to the plot of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Though Doctor Strange clearly has the ability to influence the multiverse in the MCU, as seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home, it seems he hasn’t yet mastered the ability to travel there himself. If the MCU continues the Multiverse Saga, Strange may learn to develop the ability to travel between worlds for the sake of storytelling.