Master of the Mystic Arts: Doctor Strange Appreciation 2022

[Clea]

Okay, just got back from the movie, and wow! SO MUCH going on! Still trying to process all of it. I think that Dr Strange fans will appreciate this more than the regular MCU fan.

There's definitely some horror movie moments. I jumped several times.

Without spoiling anything, I think posters here will love the first post credit scene. So COOL! I was thrilled.

I hope you post a more detailed review of the film after you've had a chance to process it. I haven't seen it yet but I am thoroughly spoiled about the story and mid-credit scenes. I hope to see it for myself soon but it might take me a couple of weeks. I've read a few dozen fan reviews on Reddit and opinions vary a bit but mainly seem to be in agreement about what people liked and didn't like. I need to see it for myself before deciding if I like it or not.

[DigiCom]

Seeing it in about 2.5 hours. I'm not expecting much, really... the cast looks bloated.

[DigiCom]

Decent, but not great. I'd give it 3.5/5 stars. 4 if you are a fan of the Evil Dead franchise.

There's at least one major subplot that really brings nothing to the movie and drags it down.

[Berry]

Yeah like I think the writing was very messy but I think the acting and directing were all good. I have gripes with the character arcs that were chosen.

Very Vague Spoilers: spoilers:

It kinda sucks that this is probably the only adaption (kinda) of the Montesi Formula we're gonna get. Also all these "Are you happy Stephen?"s and not a single "What is it that disturbs you Stephen" smh haha.

end of spoilers

Mid credits was cute, kinda jarring and you can tell it was a last minute thing but I'm happy with it.

[Albert1981]

Pretty quiet on the Strange thread considering his latest movie has been out a week. Just found a fascinating video on the many different kinds of magic that exist in the MCU. To me, the "easiest" kind of magic for me to understand is Strange's Eldrich magic. It's obtained from other dimensions and it's definitely got this weird ghastly element to it that makes it more "scary" to me than the other kinds. And its use comes at a cost. VERY interesting to me. But this MCU phase has got SO much magic in it. I'm old enough to remember when Disney was hesitant to introduce more magic into the MCU:



I also like how Strange was TAUGHT how to use magic. I don't know if this was the case in the comic books, but it made me feel like he was a "scholar" in the mystical arts. It wasn't something born in him like other fictional sorcerers and wizards. People rag on Tilda Swinton playing the Ancient One because of the whitewashing stuff, but I thought she made Strange 1 better. Definitely liked her acting style. Serious and wise. Good chemistry with Benedict. I imagine her presence was greatly missed in Strange 2. Good Lord, Strange and Wong were total joke machines in that film. I honestly don't get why some folks HATE the quips. Just between Whedon, Gunn and Waititi alone, people should know there would no escape from the quips. It was so great.

I'm not even sure if the Eternals actually use magic. Aren't they more like Silver Surfer, Adam Warlock, Quasar and other "cosmic" heroes. I was not aware that cosmic characters used magic too.

[Reviresco]

Marvel has a new game, called SNAP!, which appears to be a digital card game. Obviously, there's going to be lots of art -- not sure if there's also going to be new art, but here's a nice example of some Dr. Strange cards:





https://www.cbr.com/marvel-snap-new-...mobile-and-pc/

[Doombot]

As the Sorcerer Supreme I would imagine it's Dr. Strange's job to understand and be able to use all of the types of magic mentioned above. He's not the master of one type of magic, he's the Sorcerer Supreme. Thor even went to Strange to have him remake Mjolnir when the hammer was previously destroyed. Thor himself is a being of magic, and comes from a realm of magic, whose beings themselves also wield primordial cosmic magic. And still he went to Stephen. The power and abilities of Dr. Strange are underrated in the MU and certainly in the MCU.

Wanda's Hex or Chaos magic has never made sense to me, and still doesn't. Marvel took years to try to define exactly what her powers were, and they're still unconvincing. To me at least, I know she has a large following. You can imagine my disappointment, after waiting for the film and not looking into any spoilers etc, finally watching Dr Strange 2, only to discover that there is no interesting inter-dimensional beings, Gods or entities like Nightmare, but the entire focus of the film is Wanda Maximoff as the villain and run off from her Disney+ series that I haven't even seen. Just a waste of time.

[Reviresco]

https://twitter.com/vinartwork/statu...GuXdmF7TCaJbfg


by Vincenzo Riccardi

[GenericUsername]

As the Sorcerer Supreme I would imagine it's Dr. Strange's job to understand and be able to use all of the types of magic mentioned above. He's not the master of one type of magic, he's the Sorcerer Supreme. Thor even went to Strange to have him remake Mjolnir when the hammer was previously destroyed. Thor himself is a being of magic, and comes from a realm of magic, whose beings themselves also wield primordial cosmic magic. And still he went to Stephen. The power and abilities of Dr. Strange are underrated in the MU and certainly in the MCU.

Wanda's Hex or Chaos magic has never made sense to me, and still doesn't. Marvel took years to try to define exactly what her powers were, and they're still unconvincing. To me at least, I know she has a large following. You can imagine my disappointment, after waiting for the film and not looking into any spoilers etc, finally watching Dr Strange 2, only to discover that there is no interesting inter-dimensional beings, Gods or entities like Nightmare, but the entire focus of the film is Wanda Maximoff as the villain and run off from her Disney+ series that I haven't even seen. Just a waste of time.

I'm a Wanda fan that hates that they did this instead of just giving Wanda a solo or a second season to flesh out her stuff and left Stephen's movie to his own lore. Marvel decided to go cheap fan service, instead of good story. And it's really disappointing.

[Reviresco]

Love the sixties vibe on this tapestry throw.



https://www.boxlunch.com/product/mar.../17395170.html

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I started reading Ewing's Defenders miniseries. I liked Ewing's take on Stephen but thought the plot was too esoteric. Him flirting with Galactus's mom was pretty fun.

[Albert1981]

As the Sorcerer Supreme I would imagine it's Dr. Strange's job to understand and be able to use all of the types of magic mentioned above. He's not the master of one type of magic, he's the Sorcerer Supreme. Thor even went to Strange to have him remake Mjolnir when the hammer was previously destroyed. Thor himself is a being of magic, and comes from a realm of magic, whose beings themselves also wield primordial cosmic magic. And still he went to Stephen. The power and abilities of Dr. Strange are underrated in the MU and certainly in the MCU.

Wanda's Hex or Chaos magic has never made sense to me, and still doesn't. Marvel took years to try to define exactly what her powers were, and they're still unconvincing. To me at least, I know she has a large following. You can imagine my disappointment, after waiting for the film and not looking into any spoilers etc, finally watching Dr Strange 2, only to discover that there is no interesting inter-dimensional beings, Gods or entities like Nightmare, but the entire focus of the film is Wanda Maximoff as the villain and run off from her Disney+ series that I haven't even seen. Just a waste of time.

Hello Doombot! Sorry for the delay in replying. I didn't see this post. Thank you for responding to my comments about magic in the MCU. I agree with you. Stephen's magic mostly makes sense to me in the MCU. I love how in Strange 1 he was shown to be TAUGHT magic. And he had trouble mastering it for a while. I have always liked the fact that Strange was not born with magical skills, he learned how to use it through the dint of his hard work (and excellent memory). I know some folks on this thread won't agree with me, but I like how Strange uses "portals" in such a clever way in the movies. Portals are pretty OP in my opinion, but Disney has "nerfed" them to a degree that doesn't make Stephen, Wong, and Mordo TOO powerful. I understand in the comics, Strange's magic is described thus:

"In the comics, an important part of sorcery and the use of magic is balance. A cost is always paid for magic, and so part of Strange's "penance" for his use of sorcery is the effect it's had on his digestive system, which has been significantly altered by his magic use. The result is that the only food he can really eat are incredibly and increasingly disgusting and disturbing things. Eyeballs and tentacles and all manner of horrifying substance, likely from other planes or dimensions. He once described it as "like eating leprosy." Frequent jokes are made in the comics about his refrigerator, which is full of awfulness so that Strange can fuel his body and his magic. I always liked this weird part of Strange's story, this darker and eerie detail feels fitting." In NWH, this was briefly alluded to:



ROFL! So I consider Strange's magic to be more "relatable" to me. It's got clear costs, restrictions and limitations.

I thought WandaVision gave some rules to Wanda's and Agatha's magic.

According to Harkness: “These are runes, Wanda. In a given space, only the witch that cast the runes can use her magic. How do you not know the fundamentals?”

So I "get" Wanda's "rune magic", but the rest of her Chaos magic confuses the hell outta me. How large can her hexes get? How many "lives" can she create through her magic? These things are not really explained in the MCU and probably not in the comics, which really frustrates me. Why does she use "lightning bolts", "energy blasts" and "fireballs" almost exclusively when her magic is capable of literally warping reality? I read that in the comics, whenever Wanda uses her magic, her soul "ages". I have no idea what that actually means though.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the MoM. I think it'll be a while before we get Strange 3. Cumberbatch says he's gonna be taking an acting break so we might have to wait for some time before we get any news about Stephen.

[DigiCom]

I understand in the comics, Strange's magic is described thus:

"In the comics, an important part of sorcery and the use of magic is balance. A cost is always paid for magic, and so part of Strange's "penance" for his use of sorcery is the effect it's had on his digestive system, which has been significantly altered by his magic use. The result is that the only food he can really eat are incredibly and increasingly disgusting and disturbing things. Eyeballs and tentacles and all manner of horrifying substance, likely from other planes or dimensions. He once described it as "like eating leprosy." Frequent jokes are made in the comics about his refrigerator, which is full of awfulness so that Strange can fuel his body and his magic. I always liked this weird part of Strange's story, this darker and eerie detail feels fitting."

That's only been a thing recently, thanks to Aaron's fetish for "the price of magic", which only seems to bother Stephen.

So I "get" Wanda's "rune magic", but the rest of her Chaos magic confuses the hell outta me.

Both the rune thing and this particular take on chaos magic are unique to the MCU. Rune magic seems relatively limited, but chaos magic is described as flat-out reality manipulation.

I don't know about the whole "soul aging" thing, but there was an interesting take on her witchcraft in the Robinson run.

[Albert1981]

That's only been a thing recently, thanks to Aaron's fetish for "the price of magic", which only seems to bother Stephen.



Both the rune thing and this particular take on chaos magic are unique to the MCU. Rune magic seems relatively limited, but chaos magic is described as flat-out reality manipulation.

I don't know about the whole "soul aging" thing, but there was an interesting take on her witchcraft in the Robinson run.

I don't mind Strange having to eat disgusting things in order to use his magic. I think it's hilarious actually. I think the MCU could do a lot of jokes about it that the kids would love. I do have a problem with Stephen being basically the only magic user in Marvel Comics having to go on such a diet. It doesn't seem fair at all. When's the last time Mephisto or Nightmare had to basically consume poison in order to use THEIR magic?!

The rune thing is VERY easy to understand. It's an interesting spell and can be used quite creatively. And the runes look great. I have no problem if rune magic is not part of Wanda's magical repertoire in the comics. The reality manipulation stuff IS pretty OP though. Hopefully they'll define the Scarlet Witch's powers more clearly in future MCU entries. I like the soul aging idea in theory, even thought I don't really understand what it means. I presume that whenever Wanda uses her powers her hair gets a little bit grayer. I was very sad to hear that Strange 2 received such mixed reviews. I was hoping people would like it more like the first one. I do think there could be some fan backlash as more "Marvel movies begin to stray evermore into weird, cosmic territory that, although not uncomfortable for comic book fans, may be increasingly off-putting to conventional movie-goers." I feel "science-based" characters like Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Spider-Man, and Daredevil are a little bit more "palatable" to general audiences in that regard:

https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/...rse-of-madness

https://movies.mxdwn.com/reviews/doc...-movie-review/

[DigiCom]

I do have a problem with Stephen being basically the only magic user in Marvel Comics having to go on such a diet. It doesn't seem fair at all. When's the last time Mephisto or Nightmare had to basically consume poison in order to use THEIR magic?!

Precisely my problem with it.

I was very sad to hear that Strange 2 received such mixed reviews. I was hoping people would like it more like the first one. I do think there could be some fan backlash as more "Marvel movies begin to stray evermore into weird, cosmic territory that, although not uncomfortable for comic book fans, may be increasingly off-putting to conventional movie-goers." I feel "science-based" characters like Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Spider-Man, and Daredevil are a little bit more "palatable" to general audiences in that regard:

I found MoM a bit bloated, myself. There's one entire subplot that could have been trimmed without impacting the plot. And some of the character arcs are either thin or nonsensical.

(I'm also not a fan of the literal third eye, but that's more of an aesthetic thing.)