The film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been available for viewing since May 4, in dark rooms. We let a whole week pass, so that you could go see it, before offering you a summary of all the references, details and easter egg that you had to see in this film. And the least we can say is that it is full of them, the proof with the following 37 points !
WARNING: this article contains spoilers concerning the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Do not continue reading if you do not want to read it.
1) america chavez outfit
First of all, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness introduces us to America Chavez, who can travel the multiverse. If you look closely at America’s denim jacket, you can see a starwhich depicts the star-shaped portals she creates, an LGBTQ+ pride pin, which is a nod to her moms (and in the comics, America Chavez is gay), and several sentences, including “Amor es Amor“, which means “love is love“.
2) stephen strange’s watch
Stephen Strange’s watch, despite its broken glass dial, accompanied him in all his film appearances. Fans already knew it was a gift from Christine Palmer, but they may not have noticed an interesting detail about him. The cracks in the glass are almost exactly the same as the pattern of the Eye of Agamotto lines and lines present on the window of the Sanctum Santorum.
3) Dr. Nicodemus
In case you haven’t watched the film Doctor Strange since its release in 2016, the character who sits next to Stephen at Christine’s wedding is Dr Nicodemus, who is the surgeon who saved his life after his car accident. In the comics, “Nic” is racked with guilt for not being able to fix Stephen’s hands after his accident.
4) a first interesting reference to wandavision
In Wanda Visionbefore the Westview bubble returns to normal, Wanda tells Tommy and Billy: “Family is forever. We can never really leave each other, no matter how hard we try.” The Wanda of Earth 838in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesssays the same to Billy and Tommy when she tucks them in their bed (in Scarlet Witch’s dream).
5) an indirect reference to Baron Zemo?
When Doctor Strange visits Wanda Maximoff in her “orchard”, the mailboxes are marked “Volkers”. Although it may be a coincidence, there is indeed a character named “Wendell Volker” in the Marvel Universeand the latter is related to Baron Helmut Zemo, last seen in the MCU within the series Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Belgian graduate student Volker searches for Zemo in the 2007 comic book series Thunderbolts Presents: Zemo – Born Better (by Fabian Nicieza, Tom Grummett, Gary Erskine and J. Brown). Zemo being a Soviet citizen in the MCU, like the Maximoff family, could there be a connection between him and Wanda, through Wendell Volker? All hypotheses are possible.
6) The darkhold and the book of vishanti
Two different books play a key role in the plot of the film. The first is the Darkhold, a powerful tome written by the Elder God Chthon and filled with dark magic spells. This book can corrupt the spirit of the wizard or witch who dares to use it. In the comics, the Darkhold has been a coveted mystical artifact since Marvel first introduced it in 1972.
He made his first appearance in the television series Agents of SHIELD by Marvel, where his power was used to create an elaborate virtual reality. He then appeared as a plot element in Runawaysand finally, it appeared in Agatha Harkness’ lair at the end of Wanda Vision, before Wanda recovers it to use it in turn, in order to find her children. The film also features the Book of Vishanti, another book whose history dates back in the 1960sand which is the equivalent of Darkhold in terms of “white magic”.
7) the place where the book of vishanti is located
the “Gap Junction” in VO is a space between universes which Stephen-838 creates in order to allow a user of magic to access to the Book of the Vishanti in case of emergency. It’s also very similar to what a Nexus would be in the comics. The Nexus of Realities is a multiversal cosmic phenomenon which consists of a set of interdimensional portals allowing access to any other reality, parallel, divergent lands or the mystical dimensions or any other space-time; somehow, it is a point in multiversal spacetime where all realities converge.
8) Gargantos
Yes, it is indeed the same Gargantos (or a variant) of the one presented to us in the series What If…?.
And yes, it’s also Shuma-Gorath in the comics, but from what we know, Marvel Studios ran into a legal issue with the use of that name. Dans Doctor Strange 2, so we are talking about “Gargantos”, not “Shuma-Gorath”. Incidentally, the moment America Chavez is taken hostage by Gargantos as she climbs, the building in question resembles the famous scene from spider man 2, with Doctor Octopus and Aunt May. It even seems to be the same building! A pretty easter egg to spot.
9) a michael waldron cameo
Michael Waldron is the author of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and series Loki on Disney Plus. He also made his acting debut in the sequel to Doctor Strangewhen Christine and her husband step out onto the balcony and watch Strange and Wong fight Gargantos. The latter stands next to them in the role of one of the wedding guests.
10) the spider-man joke
As you know, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness takes place after Spider-Man: No Way Home. And America Chavez once again made an age-old joke that Spider-Man Could Potentially Shoot Webs other than with his fingers. This is a self-reference by Sam Raimi, since the Spider-Man of his films, played by Tobey Maguire, had organic web-shooters, and not mechanical, as will be the case later. And besides, if you want to know why only Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man draws organic webs, we invite you to consult our previous article on the subject.
11) Somewhere in the mutlivers, morgan tony and pepper are reunited
America Chavez explains to Doctor Strange and Wong that dreams are essentially an open window to the multiverse, which makes a moment ofAvengers: Infinity War even louder: the moment when Tony tells Pepper that he dreamed of their future daughter Morgan, which means that he probably had a glimpse of a universe where the three of them were together and happy, finally reunited.
12) Master Hamir and Rintrah
In the sequence of Kamar-Taj, there are two recognizable characters among a thousand: Master Hamir and Rintrah. Master Hamir is the wizard who protects America while the other wizards are busy fighting Wanda. He also happens to be one of the first wizards encountered by Stephen Strange in the 2016 film.
Rintrah is the minotaur-like being seen fighting alongside the wizards. Although he doesn’t get a lot of screen time in the movie, he’s an interesting character. in the comics. He is actually from another planet, but has an innate ability for magic. He becomes Stephen’s apprentice for a time, and eventually, a teacher.
13) Ultron Sentinels
In Doctor Strange in Multiverse of Madnessrobotic guards restrain Stephen Strange, and take him to see the Illuminati. These guards were designed to resemble Ultron’s sentries in Avengers: Age of Ultron. In this universe, it seems Ultron never became a villain, or was reprogrammed, in some way. Sentinels even say “Ultron” aloud; it is therefore not an ordinary design choice.
14) the illuminati
The different trailers and promotional material from Multiverse of Madness kept bringing up this movie’s version of the Illuminati, a group of Marvel superheroes who work behind the scenes to help maintain order. The film reveals that the MCU Illuminati are a small group of heroes from Earth-838, one of the parallel universes Stephen visits during the film. Anxious to protect their world, the Illuminati bring together the best and the brightest of their universe. Among them are alternate versions of six characters :
- Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Doctor Strange’s friend turned nemesis
- Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell)
- The 838 version of Peggy Carter which, like its counterpart of What If…? ended up getting the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers
- Blackbolt (Anson Mount), the ruler of Attilan with the voice that can literally kill
- Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), Carol Danvers’ best friend who became Captain Marvel in this world
- Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), the telepathic leader of the FOX X-Men films, who has the same yellow chair as in the comics
- Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four (John Krasinski), an actor Marvel Studios nearly cast as Captain America a long time ago.
15) zoom on professor xavier
In Multiverse of Madnesswe don’t just have Professor Xavier, but indeed a version of him who gets around in a wheelchair that’s extremely similar to the one in the comics.
16) a joke that says it all
When Reed introduces himself as a member of the Fantastic Four, Stephen does not recognize his name, but he makes a comment about the team’s name. He jokes saying that they “marked the 60s”. It’s a nod to the origin of Marvel’s first Fantastic Four family. They made their comic book debut in August 1961, with the first issue of Fantastic Four.
17) The Baxter Foundation
Christine Palmer and the Earth-838 Illuminati are funded by the Baxter Foundation. Convenient, since one of the Illuminati is none other than Reed Richards from the Fantastic Four ! The Baxter Building is the historic headquarters of the Fantastic Four. It is a 35-story building…