Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Scarlet Witch’s bid to break through the multiverse brought in a lot of conflict in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Everyone from the titular protagonist to the Illuminati, Masters of the Mystic Arts, and multiple variants fought against Scarlet Witch and amongst themselves in an incredible display of fighting skills.
Whether it was someone like Scarlet Witch who steamrolled through opposition using chaos magic or military-trained heavy-hitters like Captain Marvel and Captain Carter, Doctor Strange 2 has a diverse set of fighting styles. It’s interesting to stack up all the characters’ skills here based on how they acted during combat and the creativity they used to try and defeat their opponents.
Professor X, Black Bolt, & Mister Fantastic
Apart from Karl Mordo, the male members of the Illuminati didn’t get to showcase any of their fighting abilities. It was also clear that they didn’t possess much of them anyway since Professor X only relied on his telepathy, Black Bolt on his sonic-based voice, and Mister Fantastic was mainly known for his intellect.
The three were clearly out of their element against Scarlet Witch and had no strategy or fighting plan, unlike Captain Marvel and Captain Carter. Although they did beat Thanos in the past, they had also used the Darkhold to do so, meaning the three characters’ fighting abilities were lacking from the beginning.
America Chavez
There are some great America Chavez stories in Marvel Comics that display her wide-reaching powers and abilities. But Doctor Strange 2 firmly showed her as a kid who’s only just learning what her multiversal capabilities are. America didn’t get around fighting much apart from punching through the multiverse.
She was still quick on her feet, as America could dodge attacks from the likes of Gargantos that not even Defender Strange could. Her multiversal punches turned out to be strong in their own right since America was able to counter Scarlet Witch’s magic through them.
Karl Mordo
Mordo’s fighting prowess was needed in just one sequence against Doctor Strange, where he ended up losing. He had some skill with the conjured weapon in his possession and could have taken down Strange had the latter not been more creative in their fight.
Mordo’s style was to rely on power moves, as he took to swinging his weapon toward Strange in an attempt to eliminate him straight-up. He didn’t have much technique since Strange was able to use the magic-removing handcuffs against Mordo to leave him trapped.
Defender Strange
He might not be the most powerful Doctor Strange variant in the multiverse, but Defender Strange knew how to handle himself. The only time he was shown alive was when he and America were evading Gargantos, which is when Strange put up a fight.
Strange used his magic to block out the creature’s attacks, eventually creating a shield around it to temporarily restrain Gargantos. He was likely quick in his attacks on a usual basis since he was so agile against such a monstrous being, but Strange also didn’t possess as much wherewithal as Gargantos impaled him while the former wasn’t looking.
Sinister Strange
Sinister Strange locked horns with Doctor Strange near the climactic moments of the story. They were evenly matched for the most part, with Sinister Strange using a darker variant of Doctor Strange’s abilities. His offensive maneuvers packed more of a punch, as Doctor Strange was briefly overwhelmed.
Sinister Strange was a touch less skilled than his counterpart since he didn’t account for the pushback from their encounter and was flung outside to be impaled to his death. His fighting style was a mix between sneak attacks and power moves with more focus on the latter.
Doctor Strange
Following his heroic role in saving the multiverse, this might just be considered the greatest adaptation of Doctor Strange in movies and TV. Strange went up against Gargantos, Scarlet Witch, Sinister Strange, and Karl Mordo, putting on a great show against them all.
He needed the assistance of Wong and America to fight Gargantos and Scarlet Witch but it was Strange who did most of the heavy lifting like throwing around bisecting spells and using magical hands to carry out powerful attacks. He wasn’t all that quick, though, and this got him knocked out on a few occasions.
Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel had powers intrinsic to her being, capable of shooting out projectiles that would destroy things in her path had she not fought someone even powerful like Scarlet Witch. Her military training came into play when she used the tactic of confusing Scarlet Witch by flying around her while throwing down projectiles.
Captain Marvel appeared to have made this strategy her go-to maneuver, however, seeing as Scarlet Witch was able to assess her pattern to defeat her. Captain Marvel was the last one standing against the villain, although she was still bested through Scarlet Witch’s quickness.
Captain Carter
Many consider Peggy Carter’s Captain America to be better than Steve Rogers, with Doctor Strange 2 bringing on an Earth-838 variant. As far as fighting skills, agility, use of weaponry, and evasion are concerned, Captain Carter was easily above the other Illuminati members.
She used the shield to her advantage by throwing it at Scarlet Witch in order to distract her long enough for Captain Carter to attack the villain directly. Captain Carter used stealth to hide from her opponent and was able to blindside Scarlet Witch. It ultimately came down to the villain’s greater powers and creativity during fighting that got Captain Carter bisected by her own shield.
Scarlet Witch
Not only did Scarlet Witch turn out to be the greatest in terms of magical ability, but she was also the best fighter in Doctor Strange 2. This was best seen during her clash against the Illuminati, where Scarlet Witch used the environment to separate Captain Carter and Captain Marvel, in addition to using it to block out both of their ranged-based attacks.
Scarlet Witch knew how to use her enemies’ moves against them, such as turning the Kamar-Taj forces’ attacks into explosive variants to rain down on the fortress. Scarlet Witch also used stealth to sneak up and eliminate opponents like Professor X, while her aggressive fighting technique meant the likes of Black Bolt and Mister Fantastic were killed without even getting the chance to think.
