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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Movie

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

2022 • Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Woke Score
7
out of 10

Plot

After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Dr. Stephen Strange continues his research on the Time Stone. But an old friend turned enemy seeks to destroy every sorcerer on Earth, messing with Strange's plan, causing him to unleash an unspeakable evil

Overall Series Review

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a dark, horror-tinged sequel that centers on the heroic Doctor Strange protecting America Chavez, a multiversal traveler, from the villainous Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff. The narrative is heavily driven by the new teen hero, America Chavez, a young Latina character who explicitly represents the LGBTQ+ community. The film showcases her as the crucial individual with an unparalleled, multiversal power that Doctor Strange must help unlock through self-belief. Wanda Maximoff's motivation is driven by an all-consuming, destructive maternal desire to find her lost sons in another reality. A significant plot point involves the brutal and humiliating defeat of the all-male, all-powerful multiversal council, the Illuminati, by Wanda, suggesting that established male power is brittle and incompetent. The movie is less focused on traditional spiritual themes and more on the corruption of power through dark magic, which Strange must learn to overcome through moral restraint.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics8/10

The movie introduces America Chavez, a young Latina character whose casting and identity are openly promoted as providing crucial minority representation. Her primary narrative is a forced progression where she, without significant prior training or struggle, learns to master her nearly boundless power solely through an appeal to self-belief. The white male protagonist, Doctor Strange, shifts to a protective and guiding role for this powerful new figure. The dismantling of a council of powerful white male heroes, the Illuminati, by the female villain, serves to delegitimize that established power structure.

Oikophobia3/10

The central conflict revolves around personal moral failure and the temptation of dark power, not hostility toward Western civilization. Doctor Strange's flaw is personal—his egotism and willingness to make difficult sacrifices—rather than a critique of his culture or nation. The story respects the institution of the sorcerers at Kamar-Taj and does not depict America's ancestors or Western heritage as inherently corrupt or inferior.

Feminism8/10

The core of the movie features a powerful teenage girl, America Chavez, whose raw, multiversal power surpasses the knowledge of the experienced, older male sorcerer. Her power is unlocked through a single act of emotional self-acceptance. The climax features the systematic and violent obliteration of the world's most powerful, all-male superhero council (the Illuminati) by the female antagonist. While the villain, Wanda Maximoff, is motivated by motherhood, her portrayal reduces her to a 'Mad Queen' whose emotional power is destructive, an old narrative trope some view as misogynistic.

LGBTQ+8/10

America Chavez is explicitly an LGBTQ+ character (lesbian) in the film. Her background includes a brief, clear reference to her two mothers in her home dimension. This inclusion was a publicly defended and promoted element of the movie's marketing and cultural discussion, framing her identity as necessary representation against 'repressive regimes.'

Anti-Theism3/10

The film's spiritual elements focus on the corruption inherent in dark magic (the Darkhold) and the need for moral restraint. The narrative does not critique or vilify traditional religion like Christianity; rather, it presents a clear moral law where seeking forbidden, evil power leads to destruction, reinforcing a form of transcendent morality. The antagonist's corruption is explicitly due to a magical, demonic text, not religious belief or practice.