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Longtime fans of Spider-Man have been looking forward to No Way Home for a while, anticipating the return of several fan favorites. Audiences were not disappointed, as heroes and villains from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy and The Amazing Spider-Man both make a comeback in an explosion of color, nostalgia, and emotion.
This apparent dream come true doesn’t come without a price. The crossover is made possible by a spell cast by Dr. Strange – one that goes badly awry. Strange seems to make unusual choices throughout No Way Home, some of which don’t even fit his previous characterization. He outright makes some big mistakes, but the movie does go out of its way to show that the Dr. Strange fans know is still present.
10 MISTAKE: He Casts A Dangerous Spell To Help Peter
The first act of No Way Home revolves around the overwhelming problems Peter has to face after his identity as Spider-Man is revealed by Mysterio. While he is cleared of all charges in Mysterio’s death, his life is in shambles as both he and his closest friends – Ned and MJ – are rejected from their dream school MIT. Peter resorts to asking Dr. Strange for help, though his original idea involves time travel.
Dr. Strange explains that time travel as Peter suggest isn’t possible, and it would be too dangerous even if he did have the Time Stone. However, he agrees to cast a spell that will make people forget Peter’s secret identity. It’s a good alternative, but it comes with some very real ethical considerations. In this instance, Strange may have had good intentions, but his plan still involved brainwashing the world.
9 WAS RIGHT: He Believes Peter Deserves Better
Strange is not completely wrong when he believes Peter deserves better. He’s only a teenager, and yet he is vilified and attacked in the street. His naivete and insecurity were taken advantage of by Quentin Beck. Peter may have made mistakes, but he needed time to mature. Dr. Strange understands that much of this is out of Peter’s control.
8 MISTAKE: He Fails To Communicate The Memory Spell’s Stakes To Peter
One would think that Dr. Strange would take some precautions with casting a spell that will have such a big effect on Peter’s life. He should have also realized that Peter isn’t in the best place mentally as people don’t usually resort to time travel to solve their problems unless in apocalyptic circumstances.
He doesn’t, and as a consequence, Peter goes into the situation unprepared. As the adult, the person in charge, and the one with real knowledge of the spell’s implications, Dr. Strange should have been responsible and had a frank conversation with Peter beforehand.
7 WAS RIGHT: He Tries To Capture The Multiverse Villains
After Peter’s departure, Stephen realizes the miscast spell has pulled people from the Multiverse who know the truth about Spider-Man’s identity. He pursues these unwelcome visitors and even manages to capture the Lizard. He also acknowledges the severity of the situation and the fact that it needs to be immediately fixed. He prepares a method to detain them and return them to their proper place in the Multiverse.
6 MISTAKE: He Leaves Too Much Up To Peter And His Friends
Despite Stephen’s apparent urgency, he delegates much of the work to three teenagers. While Spider-Man is a superhero and has his own fair share of the blame for spell’s failure, it seems unrealistic that he would be better equipped to capture Multiverse villains than Strange and the Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj.
To give him credit, Peter does succeed in tracking everyone down, but much of it comes down to luck – particularly in the case of the Green Goblin, who actually tries to do the right thing on his own.
5 WAS RIGHT: He Prioritizes The Multiverse Over Villains
After the Multiverse villains’ capture, they soon realize that most of them are dead in their respective universes. Peter is understandably horrified and wants to help them. Stephen reasons with the young superhero, pointing out that some things are just more important than others. Strange should have shown more interest in helping their unlikely visitors as a doctor, but this doesn’t mean he’s wrong.
The villains’ fates are sad, but taking a chance on them and endangering the Multiverse in the process is simply too reckless. It is exactly what happened in Infinity War when Captain America prioritized saving Vision over the destruction of the Mind Stone. If he’d been able to make the hard choice, the Snap would have never happened. The consequences in NWH aren’t quite as devastating, but it’s a close call.
4 MISTAKE: He Brings Peter Into The Mirror Dimension
Peter decides to fight for the lives of the Multiverse villains and steals the magic box containing the spell that will send them home. In the ensuing confrontation, Dr. Strange eventually takes them to the Mirror Dimension, where he has a clear advantage over Peter. However, he underestimates the younger Avenger.
Using his knowledge of geometry, Peter is able to interpret the workings of the Mirror Dimension and quickly immobilize Dr. Strange with his webs. This was likely only possible because Dr. Strange never thought Peter could overpower him, let alone steal his sling ring and leave him trapped.
3 WAS RIGHT: He’s Angry At Peter For Exacerbating The Problem
Dr. Strange is finally able to return to the real world when Ned uses his sling ring to create a portal. By that point, the situation has grown significantly worse. The villains are out of control, with the insane Green Goblin leading the charge, Electro empowered by an arc reactor, and the Lizard and Sandman on a rampage. Strange is understandably angry with Peter.
Considering the situation, the first thing Peter should have done after the villains’ escape was to retrieve Stephen from the Mirror Dimension. He didn’t, because he prioritized his own stubborn quest to help the villains over the state of the Multiverse. This is a huge mistake. During the final climactic battle, the boundaries between universes begin to crack and other villains begin to make their appearance.
2 MISTAKE: He’s A Bit Too Eager To Erase Peter From Everyone’s Minds
With the Multiverse unleashed, Dr. Strange struggles to keep the rift from fully opening. It is Peter who provides the ultimate solution – make everyone forget about his existence entirely. While this is perhaps the best approach considering the situation, it could be argued that Dr. Strange is a little eager to go through with it.
Once again, he prioritizes the Multiverse over Peter’s feelings, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But it also seems unfair that Peter would have to be the only one to pay for this mistake when he is a teenager and it’s Stephen who cast the spell. Even if coming up with an alternative wasn’t possible, he could have at least prepared Peter for the experience or instructed him to seek him out later for help. Instead, Peter is left all alone with his aunt May now dead in a world that doesn’t know him.
1 WAS RIGHT: He Turns To Wanda Maximoff For Help
If there’s anything Dr. Strange’s final choices prove, it’s that he is genuinely frightened by the consequences of his actions. To give him some credit, he realizes he is out of his depth. In the post-credit scene, he seeks out Wanda Maximoff and asks for her help.
It’s then that the presence of a darker version of Strange is revealed. Viewers of the What If…? Disney+ series are familiar with Doctor Strange Supreme, and have already begun speculating about what it all means – and about the possibility that Doctor Strange may have been evil all along. It would certainly explain his previous behavior and mistakes.
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