WARNING: This contains r Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness continues to prove that the MCU doesn't have the proper adversaries for its Master of the Mystic Arts. Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff isn't a bad villain for Doctor Strange 2, but the Scarlet Witch's immense power far overshadowed Strange's and made it almost impossible for him to fight back. This continues a Doctor Strange trend where Benedict Cumberbatch's hero doesn't actually use any his abilities and knowledge of the Mystic Arts to fight.

In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the former Sorcerer Supreme is forced to protect fledgling superhero America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) from the Scarlet Witch who desires Chavez's powers for herself. Strange is forced to search for the Book of Vishanti as he and Wong (Benedict Wong) are way outmatched by Wanda with the Darkhold. While Doctor Strange eventually reads the Darkhold himself in order to Dreamwalk back to Earth-616, America is the one that helps Wanda discover the error of her ways.

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Ever since Doctor Strange ed Avengers-level ventures outside of his 2016 Doctor Strange debut, none of his appearances in the MCU have allowed him to display more than a fraction of his power. Instead, Strange has mostly been relegated to carrying out feats well below his paygrade or facing opponents much stronger than him. Neither situation does justice to Doctor Strange and makes the character less interesting. Despite his clearly impressive skillset, Strange is arguably yet to engage in the kind of 50:50 fight that has defined so many other Marvel heroes. In order for the character to live up to his potential, this has to change.

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Doctor Strange 2 not only lacked a true Avengers: Endgame he was forced to hold back floodwaters instead of fighting alongside all of the other Avengers. 

The MCU needs to let Doctor Strange live up to his potential opposite antagonists that can hold their own against him. Strange's best outings are versus Dormammu in the Dark Dimension and his solo fight versus Thanos in Infinity War. Despite Dormammu (also Benedict Cumberbatch) and Thanos (Josh Brolin) both ultimately outclassing Strange, the conflicts between hero and villain were satisfying because Doctor Strange was not arbitrarily tied down.

As Doctor Strange grows even more powerful, hopefully the bad villain trends seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have ended with the defeat of Scarlet Witch. Strange's new third eye and the introductions of America and Clea bring new and exciting to Strange's story and the MCU as a whole. And with the Multiverse, the Dark Dimension, and more coming up, Strange will need every tool in his arsenal to prepare for the problems coming in Phase 4.

Next: Everything We Know About Doctor Strange 3

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