By the time the first “Doctor Strange” movie came out in 2016, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) had already been firing on all cylinders for close to a decade. But his late entry did not make Benedict Cumberbatch’s turn as Doctor Stephen Strange, the Master of the Mystic Arts, any less of a game changer.
Doctor Strange has since become one of the most important players in the cinematic universe, most recently seeming to fill the void left open after the departures of leadership-minded heroes Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. The good doctor has become someone other superheroes look to in times of crisis, thanks to his vast knowledge of magic, sharp mind as a onetime accomplished surgeon, and a natural (if, like Stark, occasionally bordering on narcissistic) air of authority.
He has also become something of a font of wisdom. No matter how you feel about the character, it’s difficult to deny that his words have helped shape the direction of the MCU — and now, with its newfound reliance on the multiverse, that seems likely to increase. Here are some of the most memorable, magical quotes uttered by the Master of the Mystic Arts.
“Teach me.”
Before finding a second life as the Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Vincent Strange M.D., Ph.D was one of the most talented neurosurgeons in the world. Unfortunately, he was also fully aware of his exceptional skills, allowing his talents to bring him to the point of repugnant arrogance.
It all came back to bite him when Stephen suffered an accident that severely damaged his nerves, robbing him of his livelihood. At first he was convinced he could find a cure for his condition through medical science. When that did not work, Stephen’s last-ditch option was to travel to Kamar-Taj to seek help from the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton).
Stephen’s arrogance almost cost him that chance as well, since he refused to believe the Ancient One knew actual magic. After the latter proved to him beyond a doubt that magic is real, Stephen’s entire worldview exploded. He finally set his arrogance aside and implored the Ancient One with this two word declaration. That was the first step in the former doctor’s journey towards becoming the Master of the Mystic Arts, and what a journey it has been in the years since.
“Wong. Just Wong?”
While Doctor Strange has oftentimes been a haughty, arrogant person who does not suffer fools easily, he does have a sense of humor. No one brings out this lighthearted side of Strange like his fellow sorcerer Wong (Benedict Wong). The two first met when Wong was the keeper of the sacred library at Kamar-Taj.
Back then, Stephen was still a newbie in the world of magic. A student by nature, he came to the library to get his journey as a sorcerer underway as soon as possible. That was when Stephen first met the librarian, who introduced himself as Wong. “Wong. Just Wong?” Stephen asked. “Like Adele? Or Aristotle. Drake. Bono … Eminem.”
Stephen’s attempts at humor did not seem to please Wong, who remained stone-faced while the former tried to think of more one-named celebs. But despite not laughing, Wong seemed to feel a measure of kinship towards Stephen, since he gave him plenty of books about magic to read — and was clearly impressed by the man’s abilities to devour such learning texts. Later on, the two would become good friends and partners-in-crime, and Stephen would discover that Wong also has a sense of humor — it just takes a while for someone to uncover it beneath his hardened exterior.
“I'm not ready.”
Doctor Strange’s first solo movie was as much about him learning humility through uncovering his limits as it was about him learning magic. Before coming to Kamar-Taj, Stephen had always been fully confident in who he was as a person, and of his place in the world.
But after becoming an apprentice under the Ancient One, Stephen’s mind was opened to worlds he had never known existed. He became aware of vast oceans of forces and energies and other planes of existence that made his former life feel like an insignificant drop of water in comparison. To top it all, Stephen was informed that not only was he supposed to learn about the world of magic, but then employ that knowledge to defend his realm of existence.
It was that last part that gave Stephen pause. He had never been a fighter, and could not comprehend entering into battle against such powerful forces. That is why, when the Ancient One passed on the mantle of the Sorcerer Supreme to him, Strange’s response was a desperate, “I’m not ready.” As later events would prove, Stephen was indeed the person most suited to the role — and undoubtedly, the Ancient One knew that.
“It's Strange.”
If Stephen Strange was the sorcerer’s apprentice who wanted nothing to do with the chaotic, dangerous side of magic, Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) was the apprentice who embraced it all too whole-heartedly. Kaecilius’s whole thing was he wanted to bring a monstrously powerful entity named Dormammu from its realm to ours to make everything one with itself.
With their opposing views on magic and its use thereof, Strange and Kaecilius were two forward-bounding steam trains on the same track, headed for an epic showdown. Yet their first meeting, instead of being epic, was downright hilarious. The two met initially when Kaecilius and his crew of renegade sorcerers invaded one of Kamar-Taj’s sanctums where Strange also happened to be present.
After detecting his presence, Kaecilius referred to Stephen as “Mr…?,” to which Stephen corrected him with “Doctor.” A slightly confused Kaecilius then called him, “Mr. Doctor.” When Stephen tried to correct him again with, “It’s Strange,” Kaecilius replied with, “Maybe. Who am I to judge?” It wasn’t the first time Stephen’s full name threw someone off in the MCU, but it was perhaps the funniest example of it.
“Dormammu, I've come to bargain!”
MCU movies have sometimes been accused of following set formulas, particularly when it comes to origin movies. You have the wisecracking hero who discovers a new source of power. You have the villain, who is like the hero in many ways but evil, and you have the big battle at the end where most of the heavy lifting is done by CGI instead of actors.
“Doctor Strange” ticks the first two boxes on the list, but it manages to do something quite unique for its grand finale. Strange arrives in another dimension to confront Dormammu, an eldritch abomination that seeks to take over our dimension and absorb everything in existence. Since Strange has no chance of beating Dormammu one-on-one, he resorts to trickery using time magic.
With the now-iconic line “Dormammu, I’ve come to bargain,” Strange keeps approaching the otherworldly demon. Every time Dormammu kills Strange, the two go back in time a few minutes and begin the whole scene again. In the end, Dormammu grows frustrated at being trapped in the time loop, and finally relents, agreeing to leave Earth alone if Strange releases him. With that, the good doctor proves his most formidable weapon isn’t sorcery skills, but his mind.
“The warnings come after the spells.”
“Doctor Strange” ended with the Sorcerer Supreme beating Dormammu in a battle of wits. As a result, the eldritch deity agrees to leave Earth alone, at least for now, and return to his own dimension. One person unhappy with the development is Kaecilius, the renegade sorcerer.
Kaecilius had lost his wife and child earlier in life. Filled with grief, he arrived at Kamar-Taj seeking to understand the meaning of life. Despite years of training to become a sorcerer under the Ancient One, Kaecilius eventually grew disillusioned with her teachings. He concluded that the only way to escape the curse of dying was to steal the pages of a sacred book, use it to summon Dormammu to their dimension, and let him absorb everyone and everything into one eternal being.
When Dormammu was defeated by Strange and agreed to return to his dimension, he took with him Kaecilius and his followers. They were to become one with Dormammu for eternity, but suffer unending torment as a result. When Kaecilius realizes his mistake and desperately tries to escape, Strange remarks dryly, “You really should steal the whole book because the warnings come after the spells.”
“I keep a watch list.”
While Doctor Strange had an entertaining adventure in his own solo movie, his true significance for the MCU was revealed in the places he popped up in other heroes’ movies. Case in point, “Thor: Ragnarok,” which begins with the God of Thunder meeting Strange in his sanctum.
At first Thor (Chris Hemsworth) does not take Strange too seriously, dismissing him as an ordinary wizard. But it soon becomes clear that Strange is too powerful and knows too much to be taken for granted. Strange takes command of the situation, and at the same time stakes a claim over Earth when he tells Thor, “I keep a watch list of individuals and beings from other realms that may be a threat to this world.”
With that line, Strange makes it clear that the Avengers are not the only superheroes watching over the planet any more, and any future malcontent threatening humanity will have to contend with the Master of the Mystic Arts. Even Thor acknowledges Strange’s authority when he asks for help with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and finding their father Odin (Anthony Hopkins).
“All right, bye-bye.”
Before Doctor Strange came on to the scene, the most powerful magician in the MCU was generally understood to be Loki. As the God of Mischief, Loki had a whole bunch of enchantments at his beck and call that he frequently employed to take down not just ordinary humans, but fellows gods like Thor and Odin as well.
That was why meeting Strange was a humiliating experience for Loki. The Sorcerer Supreme considered the God of Mischief a threat to Earth, what with the whole “attempting to take over the planet with the Chitauri army” angle that Loki tried to play in 2012’s “The Avengers.” Before entrusting Loki in Thor’s safekeeping, he wanted to first have a chat with the God of Thunder.
To give himself time to talk with Thor, he sent Loki falling through a blank expanse for thirty minutes. When Strange did bring the thoroughly incensed Loki back, he did not seem even slightly bothered by his anger. When Loki tried to attack Strange, the latter sent him and Thor packing with a simple gesture, and the words, “All right, bye-bye.” Way to establish dominance over gods, Doctor.
“Protecting your reality, douchebag.”
Of all the superhero meetups that fans were looking forward to in 2018’s super-combo offer “Avengers: Infinity War,” few were as highly anticipated as a meeting between Doctor Strange and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Both heroes were known for being rich, quick-witted jerks with hearts of gold who could banter with the best of them.
Sure enough, some of the best character moments in the movie occurred between Tony and Strange. Both were determined not to give an ounce of control to the other, and engaged in some childish sniping at each other’s expense as a way to establish dominance. Tony got in a good salvo when he asked Strange what his main job was, suggesting it was to make balloon animals for children’s parties.
Strange’s lip curled in annoyance for a moment, but then he came back with the equally snappy line, “Protecting your reality, douchebag.” It was clear that this was one person Tony would not be able to intimidate on the strength of his wealth or his status as Iron Man. Fortunately, the two were able to put their differences aside and work together when the forces of Thanos came knocking on Earth’s door.
“I went forward in time, to view alternate futures.”
When Strange took on Dormammu using a time loop, it was a major highlight for the character in the MCU. But “Avengers: Infinity War” gave him a moment somehow even more memorable.
After taking control of their enemy’s ship, Strange arrived on the planet Titan, along with Tony Stark and a few other heroes. There they waited for the arrival of the Mad Titan. While waiting, Strange went into a deep trance. When Tony asked him if he was all right, Strange explained his strategy. “I went forward in time,” he revealed. “To view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict.” As it turns out, Strange had witnessed more than 14 million possible outcomes of their fight against Thanos that day — and only saw one instance where they won.
From that point on, every move made by Strange was designed to turn that sole outcome where the Avengers win into a reality. During the darkest moments after “The Snap,” the assumption that things were following Strange’s blueprint (which he insisted he could not divulge, lest it not occur) were all that kept Marvel fans from deepest despair, as they eagerly awaited “Endgame” to provide a resolution.
“I think you will find our will equal to yours.”
Despite the movie being filled to bursting with major superheroes, the character that stole the show in “Avengers: Infinity War” was the Mad Titan Thanos. Josh Brolin imbued the CGI alien with such heartfelt sincerity and indomitable willpower that you could not help but respect Thanos, even as he plotted to destroy half the universe.
One of the best scenes with Thanos takes place during his first confrontation with Doctor Strange. On the planet Titan, Strange waits, seemingly alone, for Thanos to show himself. When the villain finally appears, he does not try to attack Strange at first, despite knowing the latter is responsible for the death of his loyal soldier Ebony Maw.
Instead, Thanos calmly lays out his plan for the infinity gems, and his reasons for wanting to destroy half of all life. There is no joy in Thanos’ voice while he explains his plans, only a weary determination that threatens to overwhelm any show of power. But Strange makes a good case for those standing in opposition to Thanos when he declares: “I think you will find our will equal to yours.”
“Tony, it was the only way.”
Even since the two first met, Doctor Strange and Tony Stark found themselves at odds. They disagreed over strategy, over the extent of the threat to Earth, and even whether or not they should sacrifice a few heroes to save the rest of the universe. By the time they arrived on the planet Titan, the two had come to an uneasy understanding.
Strange had already made it clear to Tony that he was willing to let him and the other heroes die if it meant keeping the time stone safe from Thanos. So when Thanos attacked Strange and the other heroes, and stabbed Tony through his heart, it was clear to the latter that his life was at an end. But then Strange played his ultimate gambit, giving Thanos the stone in return for sparing Tony’s life.
As Tony watched in horror, the Mad Titan added one more infinity gem to his gauntlet and went off to Earth to find the rest. When the heroes marooned on Titan began to dust away one by one, Tony knew the worst had happened. As Strange disappeared, all he could say was: “Tony, it was the only way.” Tony had to live with those words for the next five years, until Strange’s risky move finally paid off in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
“The multiverse is a concept about which we know frighteningly little.”
Even though Strange and the rest of the MCU heroes managed to bring back the part of the universe’s population that was dusted by Thanos, the franchise is already laying the groundwork for its next big calamity. An infinite number of them. It all has to do with a word increasingly teased in various MCU properties: Multiverse.
The multiverse is an infinite number of universes that all exist in the same space but within different dimensions. This allows characters from one dimension to hop into another one. That was at the center of 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” when a spell Doctor Strange created for Peter Parker (Tom Holland) destabilized the fabric of reality.
With major villains from other universes dropping into the MCU, Strange makes the ominous proclamation, “The multiverse is a concept about which we know frighteningly little.” The inference is clear. While Spidey might be able to clean up this particular mess with the help of Strange, the true threat from the multiverse remains as ominous as a ticking time bomb.
“Things just got out of hand.”
Six years later, the Sorcerer Supreme finally gets his sequel with the Sam Raimi-directed “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” a film heavily invested in the idea of alternate realities.
These manipulated realities feature eldritch abominations that Strange battles in the middle of a city, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) dealing with the consequences of her actions in Westview, a new hero named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), and a re-appearance by Strange’s old flame Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams).
But the most exciting moment might revolve around a Doctor Strange doppelganger, who appears before the Sorcerer Supreme. Whether an illusion, an evil clone, or the staggeringly powerful Strange Supreme, when he ominously declares “Things just got out of hand,” it seems the Master of the Mystic Arts may have finally met his match.
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