SPOILERS AHEAD: Next to Spider-Man, Doctor Strange may be artist Steve Ditko’s greatest Marvel Comics contribution. Ditko let his early sixties horror/fantasy style run wild, and this 2016 MCU adaptation does not hold back with the crazy, surrealistic visuals.
Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a top neurosurgeon — vain and boorish, disconnected from his patients and wrapped up in his reputation and wealth. He shows off during operations by playing “Name That Tune” with the attending staff. So, of course, he loses everything due to severe nerve and bone injuries to his hands during a car accident. He crumbles psychologically and turns to drinking and wallowing in self-pity.
He winds up in Tibet meeting the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) when traditional science-based remedies fail. Strange still holds onto his arrogance, and Swinton pops his astral self out of his physical self and sends him on a psychedelic trip through multiple planes of existence, in one of the most stunning visual sequences ever created.
To make a long story short, she does wind up accepting him as a student and he uses his brilliant memory and analytic mind to learn quite a bit about the mystic arts in a relatively short amount of time. Good thing too, as Strange is forced into action against corrupted former student Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) and eventually the big bad, Dormammu.
Strange ends his character arc realizing his old life is gone forever, but he has a new purpose to help protect the world against bizarre and dangerous threats.
Doctor Strange was not one of the more famous Marvel heroes, so this origin story fills in some character development notes for newcomers and introduces supporting figures that play a part in later movies. Cumberbatch looks the part of the comic book version and his American accent is passable, but I think they still have a ways to go in exploring his depth. Hopefully the sequel rounds him out more.
