Dr. Strange and the Marvelous Michelle Yeoh (1 of 2)

So I have seen two movies that made use of the multiverse as a key element in the narrative, Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Sam Raimi, 2022) and Everything Everywhere All At Once (Daniels, 2022). I enjoyed watching both movies and, like Yet to Come and Run BTS, each serve a purpose and intent of its own.

The allure of DSMM rests on the storyline of its lead character, Dr. Strange who, like any of the Marvel heroes after the rapture, is adjusting and easing into a "new" life. In this universe (the one we know), Dr. Strange is the hero who fought Thanos along side the Avengers. He is still haunted by his failed relationship with Christine and dreams about a battle in a different realm.

When America Chavez jumped into his universe, with a space octopus running after her, Dr. Strange deep dived into the struggle with himself. In the multiverse, he met a few versions of himself who have all succumbed to the darker side of sorcery and magic. The Dr. Strange of universe 616 is the best hero of his many versions not because he refused to use the linits of magic and dabble in the darkness of sorcery but because he used them to defeat the lesser good. 

And this is what I love about Marvel movies. It is unafraid to delve into the gray areas of life and galaxies big and small. It push its heroes to the ground making them dirty and pitiful. In the end, these imperfect heroes are all the more lovable, if not, easier to forgive. They are heroes who get to keep their humanity.

Even Scarlet Witch was for me, a character I empathize with. Grief is something we live with. Vizion's wise words still echo in this movie. Grief is love persevering, he said to Wanda in WandaVision. In DSMM, Wanda hangs on to the last palpable proof of her attachment with Vizion. 

It drove her to madness.

 Again, the movie begs its audience to think about desires; how atatchments can destroy the psyche; and that discernment is difficult because it requires indifference to what matters to us the most. When Dr. Strange told Christine, "I love you in all the multiverses" then went off to save an entire reality, it validates his mastery of light and the dark arts, also the knowledge of his own fallabilities.  

Source of image: https://pin.it/156j6Ps