Doctor Strange 2 Is Hiding Its True Villain – Theory Explained

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may well be hiding its true villain – is the Elder God Chthon the real foe facing Doctor Strange and the Scarlet Witch? Excitement is building for the next Marvel Studios movie, the Doctor Strange sequel – the continuation of the multiversal epic that’s been running through Phase 4 of the MCU. The Doctor Strange 2 trailer appears to tease that the multiverse will be broken open as a result of the spells Stephen Strange cast in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is surely ironic given they included erasing Strange’s own memory of Peter Parker.

The Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer eemed to set up multiple villains. It features a shot of Doctor Strange in battle against Shuma-Gorath – one of his most fearsome enemies from the comics, although apparently renamed Gargantos in the MCU. Alternatively, the Doctor Strange 2 trailer suggested Stephen Strange himself could be the main villain, with a glimpse of the dark Doctor Strange from Marvel’s What If…? and ominous dialogue pointing to the idea Strange is up against an evil variant of himself from another dimension. Either would fit well with the film’s multiversal themes, and it’s easy to see why Marvel would be attracted to either story. A rogue variant of Doctor Strange would be the ultimate mirror image villain, while in the comics Shuma-Gorath has consumed countless realities, and Doctor Strange proved himself worthy to become the Sorcerer Supreme when he defeated Shuma-Gorath in battle.

But Marvel Studios is known for its secrecy, and it’s unlikely the Doctor Strange 2 trailer has actually revealed the film’s real main villain. Instead, it’s likely this is all misdirection, with Marvel Studios teasing numerous potential stories – and then throwing a curveball. What’s more, there is one notable Doctor Strange enemy who’d be perfectly suited to the sequel – and who’s already been set up in the MCU’s Phase 4.

Doctor Strange 2’s Trailer Appears To Be Deceiving Viewers

Marvel’s trailers have traditionally been designed to conceal as much as to reveal. Sometimes they’ve done a good job; the trailers for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame were notably deceptive. On other occasions, the twists have been easy to predict, with the true identity of Jude Law’s character in Captain Marvel an open secret ahead of the film’s release. It’s likely Doctor Strange 2‘s trailer is another deceptive one, simply because its villains don’t really fit; Shuma-Gorath may be powerful in the comics, but the creature is shown simply tossing a bus at Doctor Strange in the trailer, a weak physical attack that is effortlessly dismissed by Strange. The trailer hardly sets Shuma-Gorath (or Gargantos) up to be a major enemy, rather seeming to imply it is just a creature that has attacked this dimension – a similar role it played in What If…?

Meanwhile, the supposedly evil Doctor Strange is no such thing. That character was introduced in animated form in Marvel’s What If…?, and he was redeemed by the end of season 1, returning to the ruins of his own dimension to spend eternity guarding the pocket dimension that contains a never-ending battle between variants of Killmonger and Ultron. Rather than an enemy, he’s more likely to serve as a mentor, especially given he’s learned secrets of sorcery the MCU’s Doctor Strange has not – having discovered the Library of Cagliostro, which contains dark magic the prime Strange has never encountered. The line of dialogue in the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer suggesting Strange is the villain is unlikely to point to this variant of Strange, but rather to the MCU’s Doctor Strange using magic that has shattered reality. The so-called “Multiverse of Madness” is therefore his fault, because of his poor judgment.

The Real Villain Of Doctor Strange 2 Has Already Been Foreshadowed

If the Doctor Strange 2 is all misdirection, then that naturally raises the question of just who the villain really is. The most likely is the Elder God named Chthon, who’s already been strongly foreshadowed in the MCU – most notably in WandaVision. A Lovecraftian monster, Chthon and his fellow Elder Gods ruled Earth long before the dawn of humanity, but were banished from this plane of existence. Chthon foresaw the banishment, though, and left behind a dark gift for humanity – a collection of scrolls that ultimately became the book of forbidden magic called the Darkhold. It’s striking that WandaVision officially introduced the MCU’s version of the Darkhold, with Scarlet Witch claiming it from the defeated witch Agatha Harkness and learning magic from its pages.

The Darkhold – sometimes known as the Book of Sins, or the Book of the Damned – is not to be trifled with. Every time a sorcerer uses a spell derived from the Darkhold, the very fabric of reality is damaged – and the Darkhold doesn’t contain any warnings about the consequences of using its magic, because in truth that is the real purpose of every spell contained within its pages. What’s more, anyone who reads the Darkhold is corrupted by its baleful influence. The Doctor Strange 2 trailer shows Scarlet Witch’s costume turning blacker as though corrupted by dark magic, while another shot shows Doctor Strange using the Darkhold as well.

But the connections run deeper than this. Having read the Darkhold, Agatha Harkness recognized Wanda Maximoff as the Scarlet Witch – and her magic as Chaos Magic. In the comics, Chthon is the true source of Chaos Magic, with any sorcerer who uses this legendary power acting as a conduit for Chthon himself. Chaos Magic is known for its scarlet hue, as seen in WandaVision, and teased by the title screen of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The more Wanda Maximoff taps into Chaos Magic, the more she would distort reality and prepare the way for Chthon’s return. In some comic book arcs, she even became a host to his power – an arc that’s recently been turned upside-down, with the Scarlet Witch imprisoning Chthon within her body. Concerningly, it’s worth noting that in the comics Chthon named mystical beings and creatures within the Darkhold because to name then is to gain a degree of control over them – and thus the Darkhold’s pages on the Scarlet Witch should be viewed as very ominous indeed.

Marvel has clearly set up the potential MCU debut of Chthon – and, given Scarlet Witch and the Darkhold look set to play major roles in Doctor Strange 2, it’s reasonable to assume this is where the monstrous villain will appear. If that’s the case, then the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer is another of Marvel’s deceitful ones. Rather than point to the real villain, it serves to distract viewers with two red herrings.