For a week now, it has finally been possible to dive into the multiverse of madness with Doctor Strange 2, available in dark rooms. The opportunity to finally learn more about this famous concept of mutlivers and a very specific element that is directly linked to it: incursions. Particularly dangerous, they should play a crucial role in the rest of Phase IV.
!!! SPOILERS for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness !!!
Incursions: A concept introduced to the MCU by Doctor Strange 2
If he hasn’t absolutely convinced everyone, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness still knew how to stand out from previous MCU productions in many ways, from his few scenes inspired by horror cinema to his very own production by Sam Raimi, while further exploring the concept of the multiverse. Given the name of the film, fortunately it is. But one of the most interesting things introduced with the 28th Marvel Cinematic Universe movie is the concept of incursion. A concept that has already been in place for a few years in comics, but brand new for those who only follow movies and television series.
In Doctor Strange 2, Scarlet Witch (spoiler Wanda Vision !) tries to invade another universe because she hopes to find her children there. For his part, Doctor Strange is stopped on Earth-838 by the Illuminati, who explain to him that their role is to protect their universe against threats such as incursions. This is what prompted them to put an end to the days of Doctor Strange in their universe, the latter having caused several billion deaths in a parallel universe after being corrupted by the Darkhold.
But how is this possible? We explain in more detail everything we know about the concept of incursion into the Marvel universe.
The foray to save the multiverse
To fully understand what incursions are, you basically have to look at the crossover comics Secret Wars (2015), in which the planet of Battleworld presents several aspects of the different existing universes. We learn there that all the universes (an infinity) have their own destiny, but that it largely rests on the same lines and extends from its creation to its inevitable destruction. Somehow, these are also somehow connected, and events occurring on one may very well have a strong impact on the other.
We thus learn that a universe has been completely destroyed by Molecule Man, an enemy of the Fantastic Four, creating a chain reaction. When a universe is destroyed, the multiverse contracts and sometimes two universes collide. It turns out that, we don’t know why, the Earth of each universe is absolutely always the point of impact. It is precisely at this moment, that of the impact between two universes, that the incursion, i.e. a period during which the different Earths of the multiverse can be seen from each other.
In Secret Wars, this period is only eight hours, window during which it is possible to prevent the destruction of a universe. In this specific case, the Avengers call on the power of the Infinity Stones to avert catastrophe. But how will Doctor Strange, in the MCU, manage to end the incursion? In effect, the post-credits scene of Sam Raimi’s feature film sees the character of Clea appear, a powerful Witch informing the former Sorcerer-Supreme that he has started one and that he must put an end to it. If this promises thrilling adventures for the sequel to the MCU’s Phase IV, we hope that Doctor Strange will not need to make too extreme decisions: according to the comics, the destruction of one of the two Earths involved makes it possible to prevent the incursion… At the cost of billions of human lives.
Either way, theorizing fans are already seeing the introduction of the concept of forays into the MCU as the beginnings of a “secret war” involving all the iconic Marvel characters from different universes, which would allow the passage to introduce the X-Men, Venom, and more!