Stephen Strange: Doctor Strange Appreciation 2021

[Clea]

I think it was PURELY a reference to remind folks that the Multiverse of Madness is coming out next year. But even to MENTION magic in such a grounded and somewhat political/military type series goes to show how much Disney cares about the magical component of the MCU. I also thought it was a way to re-introduce the snarky quippiness that the MCU is well-known for. I thought the Hobbit joke was hilarious. I totally laughed out loud at that one (but the author of this article is growing weary of the banter in Marvel movies these days):

https://www.theringer.com/2021/3/31/...winter-soldier

..SNIP...

I guess Strange never travelled much to the past for his adventures. I would have liked to see him get knee-deep into some Sword in the Stone type escapades. But you're right, his personality is definitely rooted in the modern world. But I'm pretty sure skirt-chasing was popular centuries ago too.

Yeah, you're right. Personal life stories just seem to THRIVE on the small screen in a way they can't in the movies. But has Strange ever had a "Vision" and/or "Demon in a Bottle" type story in his comic book past? Like strictly domestic and/or battling his own personal demons kind of things? If that's the case, I think Cumberbatch is MORE than capable of doing something like that for television. Doctor Strange was surprisingly grounded for such a trippy film. I wish his origin story could have been expanded on more in his debut, however. I would have absolutely cut out the romance in that film and focused more on that. I really liked Doctor Strange's first film, but even I acknowledge that in some ways it's Iron Man with magic.

And although most people probably don't pay much attention to this, I really REALLY appreciate the intricate way Strange and Wanda MOVE their hands to use magic. I even have read that Disney hired choreographers to help Cumberbatch and Olsen with their hand movements, and it just makes magic users look SO cool when they perform magical acts.

That is an insightful article. The author is correct that Marvel leans heavily on buddy-buddy humor and wise-cracking banter in its storytelling style. That's true in the comics and even more so in the movies. DC characters tend to be more serious. The MCU characters might feel a bit more like real adults if they didn't always crack jokes ever other line, and if they were able to show that even the heroes aren't all automatically friends. For example Doctor Strange should not be dropping jokes at the same rate and style as Peter Parker. Strange is a much more serious character. He's more of a loner than someone who's going to join groups and pal around.

Strange has traveled around in other dimensions, and through time, and to outer space, but he's mainly modern earth based because he is the modern protector of the contemporary earth dimension. They could always put him into a fantasy world setting for a particular story, but he's not Gandalf. That bit of dialogue you quoted above was really more to show Bucky's age -- he was around to read the Hobbit when it was just published, and also to add a bit more flavor to Bucky's own personality: he liked reading fun fantasy stories back before he was turned into an assassin, so the dark, tortured guy we see now used to be much more lighthearted and normal back in the day. Maybe that aspect of him is still in him and we'll see more of it over time. Who knows. Marvel likes to have little call-outs and hooks between their movies and tv shows, so maybe in an upcoming film, Bucky or Sam will be a scene with Strange and one of them will call him Gandalf.

As for Strange battling personal demons...Yes, that was a running refrain in the classic Strange series. His 'demons' were loneliness and a tendency to brood over the fact that he had to sacrifice his personal life because of his duty, to the point where he would not even share himself 100% with those closest to him (Clea, Wong, others).