With Phase Four complete, it’s fair to say that Thor: Love and Thunder has risen up — or sunk down, rather — to be proclaimed the direst disappointment of 2022’s Marvel efforts. Well, if that’s the case then the second most significant MCU letdown of the year has to be Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which not only failed to really capitalize on the promise of its title but also failed to deliver on actually being a Doctor Strange movie.
At least, that’s what many fans would argue. And now they’re arguing that all over again following a spirited attempt to defend the sequel on Reddit. One user attempted to make the case that Scarlet Witch’s domination of Doctor Strange 2 was comparable to Killmonger stealing the show in Black Panther, a film that is widely acclaimed, seeing as the two antagonists share similar amounts of screentime.
Unfortunately, responding Redditors didn’t agree that this take held water as they hit back with critical comments that made it clear the only thing the OP had done was reopen some barely healed wounds. Everyone seemed to agree that screen time wasn’t the problem with how the movie handled Wanda.
For some, it’s all about how the hero in question reacted to their enemy. T’Challa obviously stood his ground and fought for his kingdom against his twisted cousin while Strange… not so much.
It’s not the size of the screentime that matters but how you use it.
Of course, there are other MoM fans out there. It seems it’s all a matter of perspective.
Naturally, this thread led to at least one person pitching an alternate idea that has been floated many times before since the sequel came out: save Wanda’s descent into darkness for another project.
Phase Four might be done and dusted, but it’s clear that the Doctor Strange 2 discourse isn’t going to wrap up anytime soon.