Marvel stalwarts debate missed opportunity for potential ‘Doctor Strange 2’ villain

Marvel fans have gathered online to debate a missed opportunity for a potential villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Taking to Reddit to float their ideas for who “should’ve been” the antagonist in the Doctor Strange sequel, one user suggested that Chthon — the master of black magic who appears numerous times within Marvel comic books — would have been a suitable candidate for Stephen Strange’s ultimate foe. 

Discussing the potential fan-casting in post’s comments, one Redditor wrote that including Chthon as the Doctor Strange villain would have “fixed 70% of my problems with the movie,” given that, much like Strange and fellow main character Wanda Maximoff, Chthon is “an uber powerful telepath.” Elaborating on these connections, fans suggested that Chthon could have served multiple purposes for the sequel, including as an explanation regarding Wanda’s brother Pietro, as well as “fit[ting] in the ‘horror vibe’” of the movie.

While some users lamented Chthon’s absence in Multiverse of Madness, others rushed to defend the film’s actual antagonist of Wanda Maximoff, saying the Scarlet Witch “works better as the villain.” Other Redittors echoed these sentiments, praising Elizabeth Olsen’s performance “as the villain [as] the best thing in the entire MCU.” They continued: “I think what was awesome was showing her powers vs some of the most powerful beings.” 

The film’s decision to make Wanda, who was once an Avenger, an all-out antagonist was likewise praised. “I kind of liked that they had the balls to make one of the avengers a villain,” one user wrote. Taking umbrage with that opinion, one user said “changing [Wanda] from antihero to full on villain in the span of 1 project was insane.”   

Elsewhere in the debate, fans suggested a third villain who also could have appeared in Multiverse of Madness, declaring that the comic book supervillain Nightmare would’ve been an easy fit for the big screen. “Especially since [Nightmare is] an actual Doctor Strange villain,” one Redittor quipped, with another holding hope that Marvel will one day “introduce someone like Nightmare and say that he was pulling the strings all along.” 

In any case, Marvel fans are seemingly in agreement that “a lot of things about [Multiverse of Madness] could’ve been different,” with one user quipping that the very discussion of Chthon itself is evidence that “fan theories were better than this movie.” Eloquently summarising the debate, one Redittor wrote: “Any character could have been picked to be the villain… it all hinges on how it’s written.”