MCU Theory: Doctor Strange 2 Will Reveal Mordo Was Dusted By Thanos

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will feature the return of Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Karl Mordo and may explain why he wasn’t present for the cosmically significant events of Avengers: Endgame. Known in the comics by his title of Baron Mordo, the sinister sorcerer is one of Doctor Strange’s most iconic foes as well as one of his earliest, with an attempt on the Ancient One’s life by Mordo being the catalyst for Strange’s mastery of the mystic arts.

Similar to the approach Spider-Man: Far From Home takes with Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio, Mordo was made to be an ally of Stephen Strange throughout the first Doctor Strange film, with both earnestly following the Ancient One. Mordo absconds after learning that the Ancient One draws her power from the Dark Dimension, and the last time he is seen is in Doctor Strange‘s post-credits scene in which he voices his vengeful intention to purge the world of sorcerers. For most of the preceding movie, this title is specifically applied to practitioners of magic, but within the wider context of the MCU, there are myriad other supernatural sources that could be targets of this threat.

In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos uses the power of the Infinity Gauntlet to erase half of all life in the universe, which the (remaining) Avengers respond to in Endgame by traveling through time. Both of these actions are massive alterations to the fabric of reality with extreme, far-reaching effects, so it seems safe to assume that they would have attracted Mordo’s attention. His powers are not inconsiderable and he appears to have committed to using them to prevent such careless tampering with existence, so his complete absence suggests that he was Snapped.

If this is the case, Mordo would have been returned at the end of Endgame along with all of the other victims of the Snap, but with a new sense of purpose to fuel his anger. His disillusionment with the Ancient One came not only from her utilizing the Dark Dimension, but also from his long-standing obliviousness of the fact, so being erased by powers unknown to him and left ignorant of the next five years would surely grate on Mordo. Additionally, his passionate hatred of the perceived hypocritical duplicity of those whose actions conflict with their professed morals means he would certainly be inclined to see shades of the Ancient One in both Thanos and the Avengers.

Mordo will almost certainly be a villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but that doesn’t mean his motivations are incorrect. While the Avengers did manage to effectively reverse the effects of the Snap, they messed with the multiverse quite a bit in the process; look no further than Loki escaping with the Space Stone. Those are just the kinds of consequences that Mordo is concerned about, and given the title of the sequel, perhaps he’s right to be.