Doctor Strange (film)

Based on the superhero of the same name, Doctor Strange is the 14th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was released in 2016.

After a car crash ruins his career, the arrogant New York surgeon Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) decides to find a cure. He finds his way to the temple of Kamar-Taj in Nepal where the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) offers to help him in exchange for him becoming the newest warrior in their Secret War against the forces of darkness.

The film received a sequel in 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Tropes used in Doctor Strange include:

• Adaptational Badass: In the comics, Dormammu was, while very powerful, just a Humanoid Abomination sorcerer. Here he's a full on Eldritch Abomination who has assimilated countless planets.
  • Rather than being Strange's bodyguard, Wong is now a Drill Sergeant Nasty to Strange and fights alongside him.
  • Kaecilius is Mordo's lackey in the comics. Here Kaecilius is the Big Bad and can fight off both Strange and Mordo at once.
• Adaptational Heroism: Mordo is usually Strange's Arch Enemy. Here he starts out as his friend and mentor and his descent into villainy seems more the Well-Intentioned Extremist route.
  • Nicodemus West was another of Strange's comic villains but is simply a well meaning surgeon here.
• Adaptational Wimp: Christine Palmer is just a surgeon and has no traces of the Night Nurses. Same for Nicodemus West. No powers, just a surgeon.
  • The Eye of Agamotto, for a given value of wimp. Per Word of God, its comic counterpart was too powerful for the plot so it was reduced to only having time powers before being made as the MCU's version of the Time Stone.
    • Even the Stone itself gets this. The Time Gem could radically alter time exactly how the user wanted based on a vague subconscious desire. The Time Stone requires intense concentration for even the most minor change to ensure that the user is not trapped in an endless loop.
• Adapted Out: The comics actually have three Eyes of Agamotto. Only the more famous first of them features here.
• Composite Character: Christine Palmer has some shades of fellow Night Nurse, Linda Carter.
  • The Cloak of Levitation takes on the Eye of Agamotto's status as the quasi-sentient magical artifact that whose mastery denotes Strange as the next Sorcerer Supreme.
  • A purple tinted Eldritch Abomination powerful enough to consume whole worlds. Are we talking about MCU!Dormammu or Galactus?
• Cool Car: Before he wrecked it, Strange owned a Lamborghini Huracán.
• Create Your Own Villain: The Ancient One drawing power from the Dark Dimension and Strange having to break the laws of nature to defeat Dormammu shatters Mordo's faith in the Masters and he goes on a one man crusade to rid the world of sorcerers.
• Evil Counterpart: Kaecilius to Strange. Their similarities, which Strange even acknowledges, were a reason why the Ancient One was hesitant to teach him at first.
• Expy: According to the VFX supervisor, the Cloak of Levitation is partially inspired by Carpet from Aladdin.
• Gender Flip / Race Lift: The Ancient One is now a Celtic woman instead of an Asian gentleman.
• Godzilla Threshold: Among the Masters, using the Time Stone at all, whose powers are said to be contrary to the nature of the universe. Even just manipulating time around an apple is a dangerous act.
• Hidden Depths: It's implied a few times that Strange has misophonia, needing absolute silence to focus.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: Dormammu is way beyond Strange's ability to fight and both know it.
• I Did What I Had to Do: How the Ancient One (drawing power from the Dark Dimension) and Strange (using the Time Stone) justify their breaking Kamar-Taj's rules. Mordo is appalled by their cavalier attitude.
• Mythology Gag: Master Hamir looks exactly like the Ancient One does in the comics.
  • One of Kamar-Taj's weapons is the Staff of the Living Tribunal.
  • Wong wields the Wand of Watoomb in the climax.
  • As Kaecilius and the Zealots are dragged away, they morph into what appears to be the Mindless Ones.
• Near Villain Victory: Kaecilius and the Zealots had won. Strange simply used the Time Stone to reconstruct the Hong Kong Sanctum enough to give the Masters a fighting chance.
• Obviously Evil: The exact reason why Strange won't join Kaecilius. He looks like a super-villain.
• Oh Crap: Kaecilius when Strange arms himself with a magical relic. Subverted when he realizes that Strange has no idea how to use it.
  • Mordo when Strange pulls them two into the Mirror Dimension with Kaecilius and the Zealots. The Mirror Dimension enhances their connection to the Dark Dimension and makes them more powerful.
• Reality Ensues: Driving while texting in bad weather, and while taking blind corners at high speeds, will only end in a car crash.
  • Strange spent money as soon as he got it and his Establishing Character Moment showed him to be a man of very expensive tastes. After his accident, he spends virtually all his money trying to fix his hands and is soon broke.
• Running Gag: The warnings for a dangerous act coming after the act. The end credits even feature a warning about the dangers of texting while driving.
• Superman Stays Out of Gotham: Wong says that the Masters fight off supernatural and mystical threats compared to the physical threats that the Avengers fight.
• These Hands Have Killed: Strange is horrified that he killed one of the Zealots. As he himself says, he took an oath to "do no harm."
• Thinking Up Portals: The Sling-Rings.
• Tragic Keepsake: Strange's broken watch. It represents not only his lost life of wealth but his failed relationship with Christine, the watch having been a gift from her.
• Wham! Line: At the end, Wong casually reveals what the Eye of Agamotto really is: the Time Stone.
• You Cannot Grasp the True Form: Per Word of God, Dormammu lacks a true form. His visage is a Mirror Match of Strange's own as some form of insult.