Doctor Strange and the Unworthy Fall of Wanda Maximoff

Csak angolul!

My Dear Readers,

Although it is not a movie blog once again I wish to give some of my thoughts about a major blockbuster just as I did with Dune and The Matrix: Resurrections before. Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to the cinema and watch „Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” with a friend. First I have to be honest and admit that I am not a typical MCU fan, I would not even label myself as a fan. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the great mythologies of our time it is just natural that I am interested in it, and always use it as a tool and example in the classroom, otherwise I am not that deeply fond of the characters or else, so please keep this in mind while you read. Also this text is going to be filled with spoilers that I will indicate with a huge SPOILER ALERT „sign”.

But before getting into some of the details of the named film I wish to give my personal insight to the main characters, namely Doctor Stephen Strange and Wanda Maximoff a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch. Doctor Strange is one of my favourite characters. Why? First of all the concept that he is a sorcerer gives almost endless possibilities for advancement in abilities and new ideas. Secondly how awesome is that being previously a real life doctor he does not take down this epiteth, but stay the Dr. Stephen Strange as always but with a new profession – being a sorcerer. Somehow I feel much of the 19th century Gothic literature’s academic sorcerers echo behind his figure with all the occultistic elements too. My dear Reader my assume that the very alias of this blog, Doktor Metal was inspired by hime too, but it is only a mere coincidence, but a welcomed one!

Wanda Maximoff or since WandaVision the Scarlet Witch is amongst my favourites as well, much for the same reasons as Doctor Strange is favourable for me, but we must also see that the figure of Wanda is one of the most tragic ones in the MCU. She loses early her parents to war, having Pietro, her brother to be her sole companion and he dies also. She finds true love with Vision, but Vision is brutally murdered by Thanos, breaking Wanda’s heart for the third time in just a few years. Seen in WandaVision her mind is becoming twisted in pain, reviving Vision in an illusion and „creating” children of their own whom she in the end has to let go. Being tortured by loneliness and her abilities to the most extreme ends she turns to the darkest of magics and utilizes the Darkhold, falling down a downward spiral. Her tragedy invokes the deepest sympathy for me, and if I am correct she is the MCU character whom we see the most times crying – with this backstory one should not be surprised by that. A perfect standing point from which a huge character arch could be created either up or down. And this is where we arrive to the current movie and wish to say good bye to all who have not seen it yet.

SPOILER ALERT

I do not wish to give a full scale analysis of the movie and its place in the MCU but only to focus on the closure of the central conflict. But first let me highlight a few things that made this movie quite awesome, mostly outside its narrative. Since we came back from the US, lived New York City and visited San Francisco I am more and more enchanted by the movies that take place in these now familiar cities. This is why I am fascinated by the two Venom movies and why I love the fact that Doctor Strange lives on the border of the Soho and Village of New York. The opening sequence made me smile many times as the fight happening with the octopus like monster is taking place on the corners of Greene and Spring street, a corner we crossed many time last year! But this is not really a trait of a movie, so let’s see some other elements.

Well renown horror and comic book movie director Sam Raimi mixed in this movie all his abilities and created an action filled, comic book based horror movie for the masses! I would like to state this also as a trait, mostly as the narrative is working with typical Raimi-esque topics, such as demonic/magical possession, witchcraft, and necromancy. Not typical elements in blockbuster movies, followed by an almost cruel cinematography of jump-scares and the dark music of Danny Elfman. If you loved the Tim Burton movies’ music made by Elfman, then you may feel it oddly familiar yet strange (pun intended). One of my favourite sequences in the movie is when Wanda possesses her other version in the Multiverse, kills all the heroes there and tries to catch our heroes in a tunnel, with glowing red eyes, painted red by blood, acting like an absolute demon. Truly horrifying!

The overall atmosphere was great, the action was ok, everything would have been aligned for a great closure but this is what we were rejected of. The thing why I started to write this post is the closure of the main conflict and its motif’s wider problems. First of all throughout the movie we get that Dr. Strange cannot be with his love interest, Dr. Palmer, as it is always Strange who wants to hold the scalpel, but closing to the end, he disregards many important rules and stresses this feature that seems to be hurting him when told. This is how he also utilises the Darkhold and reanimates the dead body of his version coming from another universe, although it is forbidden, stated by the Damned Souls as well (yet another thumbs up goes for the Tibetian Book of the Dead inspired figure of the undead Strange seen below). Nevertheless, he becomes a necromancer who uses the named Damned Souls to break the powers of Wanda to restore order in between universes.

This last duel from the first moment echoed for me the cover of German thrash metal legend Kreator’s „Pleasure to Kill” album, showing us a demon with horns (don’t forget that the headdress of Wanda imitates horns) battles the undead (Strange, the necromancer).

So the demonic power of Wanda is broken by the necromancy of Dr. Strange and the multiverse is opened up to force Wanda to face her mistakes. Her mistake is being broken and being obsessed with her imaginary children. This is the moment where utter fall or salvation can be reached by the antagonist…

… but the plot takes the most toxic turn I have ever seen in an MCU movie. She realizes that she cannot take the place of her other version in another universe as it would destroy the main concept she built up for herself, so in agony she commits suicide. Please? All you who know me is aware of that I am not a political activist but to give the place for the male hero to commit even the worst crimes for the sake of saving the universe on the one hand and to deny the antagonist to remain evil or to face her mistakes and gain redemption but giving her the only resolution of suicide on the one hand is extremly problematic or even outrageous! At the end of the day a man can do as he wish, can hold the scalpel always while a woman can only solve her situation by suicide. Once again we see Wanda cry, as so many times before. Beyond the tears there is her constant struggle with herself with this nefarious struggle. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is going to be the movie I will bring to my classes as an example of failing narratives in a cinematic universe that is so huge it is a role for young people. What kind of message does this project? The same thing should be arisen in case of this movie as was with Joker in 2019 and its features of romanticising psychopathy (although that movie is not that controversial as this one) but now suggesting that women cannot solve their problems nor can stick to their principles.

Last but not least, I cannot remain silent on the new protagonist, the young girl who has the ability to travel within the multiverse. Her name is America Chavez, is from a clearly Latin-American origin and opens portals in the form of a five pointed blue star. I know, that John Fiske attested in the 1980s that popular culture’s two greatest attributes are the „obvious” and the „excessive” but this is more than I can swallow. It is even worse than the Rainbow scene of The Matrix: Resurrections, where I felt like the movie’s creatores thought everyone is just dumb who watches the film. They build up an allgory of the transgender struggle/experience in symbols and metaphors that are perfectly understandable by the masses but at the end it should be forced upon in an obvious scene. I felt the same with America Chavez. On the one hand it gives space for a minority hero, who is America herself saving the universe but on the other hand it denies basic elements of a character arch. I am so disappointed and feel as Wanda Maximoff was robbed from what she would have deserved. Even if she remained evil and was ultimately destroyed by Strange would have been satisfactory.

I hope I could formulate my thoughts clearly enough, thus thank you for your time my dear Readers, if you wish to engage into a converstaion about my opinion feel free to do it on my Facebook page, below the post of this text.

Best,

Doktor Metal or the Metal Mythologist