Top 10 Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness Moments

The MCU’s New York City has seen its fair share of otherworldly beings but when Gargantos shows up to capture America Chavez, even Doctor Stephen Strange is taken aback. At first, the squid monster is invisible, which is pretty terrifying itself. But then Strange works his magic and reveals the enormous one-eyed creature causing all this destruction. Strange and Wong defeat Gargantos, saving the young multiverse-hopping heroine. We find out later that it was trying to get its tentacles on America at the behest of the Scarlet Witch. And this is just the beginning of their magical and monster-filled journey.

Using the Darkhold comes with consequences, something Stephen Strange already knew. But fans were still shocked when Strange collapsed while walking down the street, screaming as an eye manifested on his forehead. Just like Sinister Strange, this seems to be the price he has to pay for dream walking and possessing a deceased variant, even though he did so with good intentions - saving America Chavez’s life. However, in a mid-credits scene, Strange seems more comfortable sporting his third eye, so…maybe he’s cool with it?

After America opens a portal, she and Strange fall through a series of alternate dimensions, ranging from a bee-dominated world to an oceanic one. It’s a beautifully trippy sequence that provides just a taste of all the bizarre worlds out there. Both Strange and America may be multiversal pros, but nothing could have prepared them for this disorienting tumble. They briefly come across a skeletal hell, a land of dinosaurs, and various futuristic landscapes. The two even experience dimensions that change their physicality, including transforming them into brightly colored splashes of paint. It’s truly a wild ride.

When two Stranges go head-to-head on screen, there’s a world of possibilities in terms of how they could fight. But Sam Raimi wanted to give audiences something we haven’t seen before. With the help of his longtime collaborator Danny Elfman, Raimi created an epic musical battle. Strange vs Sinister Strange became Beethoven versus Bach with the two sorcerers launching literal musical notes at each other. They go back and forth, one-upping the other with larger, more powerful notes, making for a jaw-dropping melodic duel. It’s as funny as it is inventive. This is the first time we’ve seen musical notes used as weapons and we hope it’s not the last.

As we saw in “WandaVision,” Wanda’s immense grief has led her down a path of questionable decisions. She lost her parents, her twin brother, the love of her life, and now her children. We shouldn’t be surprised that she’s reached her ultimate breaking point. After Wong and Doctor Strange foiled her attempts to capture American Chavez, Wanda, in full on Scarlet Witch mode, dream walks in another dimension. Raimi employs a horror-style, voyeuristic view of this reality where Wanda gets to be with Billy and Tommy. Her time here is cut short, but on Mount Wundagore, she possesses the body of her Earth-838 counterpart and wreaks havoc in that universe.

When a possessed Wanda Maximoff brings her chaos magic to the Baxter Foundation, most members of the Illuminati throw down with her before she gets past the lobby. Obviously, they don’t survive the altercation. But never one to give up on a troubled mutant, Charles tries to save the Earth-838 version of Wanda from the psychic grip of her villainous variant. While he’s in her mind however, Scarlet Witch violently kills the telepath, tearing his face in half, simultaneously ending his physical existence. Among the many jump scares in the film, this is undeniably one of the film’s most memorable and disturbing moments.

In her pursuit of America Chavez’s powers, Wanda, or rather the Scarlet Witch, comes to the Kamar-Taj ready to fight. The sorcerers manage to hold their own with an impenetrable shield. That is, until the Scarlet Witch appears to one weak-willed sorcerer, advising him to run. This breaks down their defenses, allowing the powerful witch to lay waste to the sacred temple and most of its defenders. This is the moment when Strange realized just how far she’d go to get what she wanted. Well, he can’t say she didn’t warn him.

When Earth-616’s Stephen Strange was brought before the Illuminati, fans were treated to some long awaited cameos. Anyone familiar with the MCU series “What If…?” will remember Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter. We also see Lashana Lynch’s Maria Rambeau as Captain Marvel in place of her BFF Carol Danvers. Anson Mount reprises his role as Black Bolt, which he played on ABC’s “Inhumans.” And our prayers were finally answered when John Krasinski was revealed to be the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards (aka Mister Fantastic), after years of fan-casting. But of course, the return of Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier was the icing on the Illuminati cake. Though Marvel fans were expecting some of these cameos, the ultimate reveal was still exciting.

“What If...?” showed us zombified Marvel characters but “Multiverse of Madness” actually brought one to the big screen. Doctor Strange uses the Darkhold to dream walk and possess another version of himself, who happens to be dead and buried. But that doesn’t seem to slow down the deceased Defender, and the rotting corpse heads to Mount Wundagore. Cloaked in a horrifying horde of damned souls, Zombie Defender Strange unleashes the demonic phantoms on the Scarlet Witch to save America. Sam Raimi was definitely in his element when it came to Zombie Strange, giving us major “Army of Darkness” and “Drag Me to Hell” vibes.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

The Opening Chase
A Trippy Beginning to a Trippy Flick

Wanda Escapes the Mirror Dimension
Strange’s Attempt to Trap the Powerful Witch Fails Spectacularly

Bruce Campbell Cameo
Sam Raimi’s Callback to “The Evil Dead”

The Sorceress Clea Arrives
Strange Gets a Surprise Visit & We Get a Surprise Charlize Theron Cameo

In what’s possibly the most brutal takedown in MCU history, a possessed alternate Wanda Maximoff pays a visit to the Illuminati. Despite Doctor Strange’s warnings, the heroes approach the chaos magic-wielding witch, severely underestimating her. One by one, she destroys her adversaries, serving some killer lines in the process. After removing Black Bolt’s mouth and shredding Mr. Fantastic, Wanda turns her attention to the heroines as they give it their all. Captain Carter is bisected with her own shield, while Captain Marvel gets crushed underneath a giant statue. Wanda then kills Professor X while he’s in her mind. The sequence is surprisingly violent for an MCU movie, and all the more shocking since the Illuminati was just introduced moments before.