Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

The twenty-eighth film, though thirty-fourth overall entry, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the sequel to both Doctor Strange and WandaVision.

Opening some time after Spider-Man: No Way Home, Stephen Strange is a reluctant guest at Christine Palmer's wedding when he observes a demon hunting the young America Chavez, a girl with the ability to open portals throughout the Multiverse that he saw in a dream. After learning that the "dream" was a vision of an alternate version of himself who was trying to protect America, Stephen takes up his counterpart's quest to safeguard America from the one who sent the demon: Wanda Maximoff.

Tropes used in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness include:

• Actually Pretty Funny: Mr. Fantastic is genuinely amused when Stephen compares the name "Fantastic Four" to a 1960s band.
• Adaptational Wimp: Earth-838 Wanda doesn't seem anywhere near as powerful as her Sacred Timeline self.
• Adult Fear: Poor Earth-838 Wanda has to deal with a lunatic stalking her and her children.
• Advertised Extra: Sinister Strange. The trailers suggest that he may be the Big Bad but he's closer to a Plot Irrelevant Villain.
• All There in the Manual: According to the guidebook Marvel Studios' The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline, Wanda really did die.
• Alternate Self: Doctor Strange, Christine Palmer Mordo, Ultron, Peggy Carter, Maria Rambeau, Thanos, Black Bolt, Wanda, Billy and Tommy all have counterparts on Earth-838. Defender Strange and Sinister Strange also show up.
  • Averted for America Chavez who notes that she's a one-off in the multiverse. She's also never encountered a counterpart to Spider-Man.
• Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: Per Word of God, the Tony Stark of Earth-838 succeeded in creating a benevolent Ultron.
• An Aesop: Don't be a Control Freak. Strange learns to trust others to do things and accept that he doesn't know everything, growing as a person. Wanda clings to being a Control Freak and is ultimately left with nothing.
• And the Adventure Continues...: The Stinger has Clea beckon Strange into the Dark Dimension to stop another Incursion.
• Arc Words: "Are you happy?"
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Wanda wants to reunite with Billy and Tommy. America gives her that and they freak out at how Obviously Evil she is.
• Become Their Own Antithesis: Between WandaVision and this film, Wanda has become exactly what she damned Agatha for being.
• Bizarro Universe: Part of the film takes place on Earth-838, a warped version of the Sacred Timeline. On Earth-838, red lights mean "go", pizza comes in ball form, technology is much more advanced, Ultron is good, Christine Palmer is a scientist, Wanda Maximoff appears to be nothing more than a soccer mom and rather than the Avengers, Earth is protected by the Illuminati who managed to kill Thanos before he Snapped and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is a popular cartoon character.
• The Cameo:
  • As they fall to Earth-838, Strange and America pass by the Living Tribunal.
  • In the great Sam Raimi tradition, Bruce Campbell makes one. This time as a Pizza Poppa vendor on Earth-838.
• Didn't Think This Through: Strange and Wong try and make Wanda see this about her Evil Plan to no avail.
• Dimensional Traveler: America can open star-shaped portals to traverse the multiverse.
• Double Standard: Lampshaded by Wanda. She broke the rules in WandaVision and was deemed a villain. Stephen broke the rules by giving the Time Stone to Thanos and he was celebrated as a hero. It's part of her Motive Rant so the Insane Troll Logic is intentional.
• Dragged Off to Hell: America tries this, punching Wanda into a portal that leads to a land of fire and brimstone only for Wanda to manage a Punch Catch.
• Evil Counterpart: Wanda is a subtle one to Strange, being a Shadow Archetype of where his Control Freak tendencies might one day lead if he doesn't learn to fully divest himself of them.
• Evil Feels Good: Wanda's satisfied smile when Stephen notes the Darkhold's corruptive influence says it all.
• Evil Makes You Ugly: The more Wanda uses the Darkhold, the more her fingers visibly rot. It's even implied that she's something of a Walking Wasteland.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: Strange does manage to open the Book of Vishanti before Wanda destroys it. Before the last page burns up, eagle-eyed viewers can see the page shows America's star indicating that she's the key to defeating Wanda.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Most people's reaction to Wanda. Her motives are understandable but her actions range from delusional to outright murderous.
• Heel Face Door Slam: Months with the Darkhold have turned Wanda back to who she was in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Wanda seemingly pulls one to destroy every copy of the Darkhold across the multiverse. According to Marvel Studios' The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline, it really did kill her.
• I Never Said It Was Poison: When Stephen approaches Wanda for help, she already knows America's name. Strange has a visible Oh Crap moment as he realizes that she's the Big Bad.
• Interdimensional Travel Device: America's powers.
• Insistent Terminology: Everyone is adamant that Billy and Tommy are not Wanda's children. They are the children of her Earth-838 counterpart.
• Invincible Villain: Nothing anyone does can hold Wanda back for long. Even the full power of Captain Marvel just slows her down.
• It's All About Me: Wanda takes her usual attitude towards this trope and turns it Up to Eleven. She will kill anyone and risk everything if it means she can get what she wants. Wong even asks what she intends to happen to the counterpart she intends to Kill and Replace and it's clear she hasn't thought that far ahead.
• Logical Weakness: The Darkhold and the Book of Vishanti may hold great magical secrets and be Amplifier Artifacts but at the of the day, they're still books. And a book is very easy to set on fire and destroy.
• MacGuffin: The Book of Vishanti, which will grant Strange enough power to defeat Wanda. Turns out to have been a Fauxshadow.
• Magic A Is Magic A: Recognizing the glyphs as witchcraft and not sorcery, Strange seeks out Wanda for help.
• Mama Bear: How Wanda identifies. Everyone calls BS on it. To be this, she'd need to have kids.
• Mook Horror Show: Wanda unleashes an utter Curb Stomp Battle on the Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj and it's all Played for Drama.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Wanda is ultimately defeated by America sending her to Earth-838 Billy and Tommy. Seeing how scared the two are of her finally lets her understand how monstrous her actions are.
• Mythology Gag: The inhabitants of Earth-838 denoted the prime MCU timeline as Earth-616, the designation of main continuity of Marvel Comics.
  • Like in the comics, the Illuminati prevented a collision between universes.
• Never Trust a Trailer: The trailers heavily tease that Strange's actions in Spider-Man: No Way Home affected the Multiverse and let loose Sinister Strange, causing Strange to seek out Wanda (whose Earth-838 self is shown in the trailers) to be a big gun to aid him. Wanda herself is the Big Bad and Strange is trying to save the Multiverse from her.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Lampshaded by America. Stephen sought out help from Wanda and even told her where America was. Telling the hunter where her prey was. To his credit, he accepts the blame.
• Noodle Incident: Strange has "buried worse" than an alternate version of himself.
• Obviously Evil: Wanda is dressed in red and black, has a high crown, crazy eyes and has rotted fingers. When Billy and Tommy see her, they call her an evil witch.
• Reality Ensues: Wanda attacks the Illuminati barefoot. And she ends up cutting her feet on all the shattered glass, slowing her down.
• Sanity Slippage: Not that she was ever the picture of sanity but reading the Darkhold has shattered what little sanity Wanda had.
• Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Trailer: Earth-838 Christine is edited out of the trailers.
• Stating the Simple Solution: As Wong points out, why doesn't Wanda just ask America to send her to a perfect reality? Wanda claims to need America's power as a multiversal way to solve any problem she comes across in her new life.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Downplayed. Strange clearly has some sympathy for Wanda given all the losses she's endured and the Darkhold's influence but at the same time, she's also a danger to the Multiverse so it doesn't have a huge impact on their interactions.
• Took a Level In Badass: Wanda. Her new Hex is only the tip of it.
• Truer to the Text: Earth-838 Xavier is a much more comic accurate than the one seen in the X-Men Cinematic Universe.
• Underestimating Badassery: The Illuminati smugly dismisses Wanda's threat. In their defence, the one from their universe doesn't seem anywhere near as powerful.
• Villain Has a Point: Subverted. Wanda thinks she has one in orchard, see Double Standard, but it merely convinces Stephen that she's totally insane.
• Void Between the Worlds: The Gap Junction.
• The Worf Effect: After it's established that the Illuminati managed to defeat Thanos with little to no bloodshed, Wanda demolishes them. Calling it a Curb Stomp Battle is being generous to them.