As a rule, comic book super heroes usually come complete with a back story so tragic, it would no doubt get them shortlisted through the first few rounds of the X Factor without them having to sing a note. But the whole point of this focues trauma normally acts as a proving ground for a character’s… well, character – butvwhat happens if those harsh life lessons don’t ultimately take.
Burdened with enough arrogance and self belief to even rival Tony Stark, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Stephen Strange has always teetered on the precipice of being so convinced that he knows best, so the fact that he is (or was) the Sorcerer Supreme has always come with some unique challanges. For example, what would happen when a diligent perfectionist repeatedly failed to save the one he loves?
It’s time one again for the multidimensional slaphead known as the Watcher, to take us by the hand and show us, what if…
As we join this branch of the multiverse, we find that this version of Stephen Strange is very much like our Stephen Strange. He visited Kama-Taj after a horrendous car accident altered his life, he learned the mystic arts geom the Ancient One and eventually saved our realm from evil after defeating Kaecillius and outwitting the dread Dormammu of the Dark Dimension. However, where our Stranges differ is that this Stange still has the use of his digits and that it’s Dr. Christine Palmer who is killed after his fateful bout of careless driving.
However, instead of moving on with his life after his adventure, Stephen starts to obsess about what he could have done differently that night and starts abusing the time travelling Eye of Agamotto in order to Groundhog Day that shit into a more acceptable conclusion. However, after endless tries, something fatal always strikes Christine down and after an intervention from the spirit of the Ancient One, he discovers that her death is an “absolute point” in the timeline and cannot be changed and is subsequently split into two, divergent forms by his former teacher.
The dogier half ultimately stumbles across the Library of Cogliostro and discovers that if he starts draining the powers of other mystical beings, he could grow strong enough to alter that absolute point and save Christine.
However, after absorbing all manner of magical beasties and whatzits, the only thing that will make the Sorcerer Supreme supremer is to absorb his other half and finally remake the timeline into something far more bearable.
Disaster will no doubt follow…
While the numerous episodes of What If… have toyed with various, iconic moments of the MCU, none have thus far screwed with the morality of one of the main players (a homicidal Hank Pym in the previous episode doesn’t technically count), but here we dive right in and pick apart the complex morality of one of Marvel’s most dickish heroes. Super powered protagonists being a bit of an arsehole is nothing new, especially considering that both Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark have completely different, yet still completely defective personality issues, however, in a universe of egotism, Strange’s self belief is utterly staggering as, in his old life, we was willing to barter as to which patients he was willing to help in order to maintain his perfectionism.
It’s a fascinating mindset to pick apart, and while episode presents us with with a tale that goes pretty much where you’d expect, it’s probably one of the most complete, Doctor Strange stories the MCU will ever give us. Indulging in a story of time manipulation, obsession, loss and gaining power-ups from various, Lovecrafian entities, this is the most like Ron Serling’s The Twight Zone What If… is ever likely to get and as such, we get an appropriately freaky experience.
It’s all held together as tight as the crimson bands of Cyttorak chiefly by the fact that Cumberbatch dives into the role with all the gusto that he reserves for a feature appearance and you can really tell how much he loves the character and all the range it allows him to explore. Never one to overlook a voice-only performance (also see Smaug in The Hobbit), the actor keeps all the pain and tragedy as raw as the format allows in order him to portray Strange’s spectacular fall from grace and he’s nicely backed up by fellow MCU alumni Benedict Wong, Tilda Swinton and Rachel McAdams as they all reprise their movie roles.
Matching the power of the vocals are the visuals which offsets some of the slight-uncanny valley nature of the animation with some gleefully arcane imagery as lights, spells, runes and all the Kirby crackle you could wish lights up the screen as Strange Harvest froman array of eldritch creature that lead to his very form temporarily morphing into a beastial nature. And yet, with all the grim subject matter on display, the episode doesn’t shy away from the MCU’s trademark brand of humor and punctuates this tale of destructive grief, addiction and grand theft magic with such moments as this “sinister” Strange sourcing a new cape of levitation from a chittering, magic cockroach or the usual cutting zinger from Wong.
We even get a Strange vs. Strange battle that predates Sam Raimi’s Multiverse Of Madness and even though these guys don’t battle with weaponized music, it’s still quite the sight to see.
However, the most fascinating aspect of the episode (and further cementing the Twilight Zone inspirations) is how dark the episode ultimately goes with Strange not only bettering his better half, but causing his entire reality to collapse after he achieves his goal. This leads to something that hasn’t occured in the series before: someone actually reaching an elevated power level to converse with the Watcher himself and as Strange begs the smooth-domed entity to intervene, Utau callously refuses. This is almost like reaching the end of an episode of The Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents and then having the host actually stride onto screen and tell their hapless characters “I told you so” as they struggle with the consequences.
In fact, the only issue this episode has is with its treatment of McAdams Chritine Palmer, who, while hardly the most well rounded female lead in the MCU, here is almost utterly reduced to a constantly dying macguffin and you are hardly surprised that she never returned much.
Continuing the suprisingly downbeat mood established by the previous episode, What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead Of His Hands, nevertheless still enchants with its devastating fall from grace.
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