Is Marvel Trying to Make Doctor Strange the Next Tony Stark?
Iron Man was undoubtedly one of the fans' favorite superheroes in the MCU, and it wasn't easy to say goodbye to him. And so, it seems, the studio decided to create some sort of an alternative.
Warning: the article contains spoilers for 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' and 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'.
Even back in the time when Tony Stark was alive, many fans noticed the similarities between him and Stephen Strange: both smart and sarcastic, the two all but competed to be the father figure of Peter Parker… oh, wait.
Both had to tame their ego in order to pose themselves as heroes; both are edgy and undeniably good at what they do for a living – is that just us, or does it seem like Marvel actually just tries to replace one sassy and clever character with another?
In fact, even Benedict Cumberbatch who portrays Strange admitted it. Speaking with KCRW, the actor said that he sees a lot of similar things in Strange and Stark, but mostly when it comes to negative traits.
"I mean, the trademark snarkiness, the kind of off the cuff wit and put down, the sort of the ego behind that, but also the enjoyable aspect of that, which is something we've seen very prevalent with Tony Stark, and especially Downey's incandescent encapsulation of that, in his performance over the last decade," Cumberbatch explained. "There is a way that they have difficulty with other people or a manner in which their egos get the better of them. And their wit is something that comes up full score on many occasions."
The way Strange fills in the notably empty slot of Peter Parker's mentor and somewhat father figure in 'Spider-Man: Far From Home', effectively trading places with Iron Man, only fuels the impression of what appears to be a subtle attempt by Marvel to offer an alternative to Tony Stark.
It doesn't look like many fans are fond of this idea, though.
However, it just never stops: in 'Multiverse of Madness', Strange appears to drop a certain line that many fans immediately paralleled with Stark's iconic "I love you 3000".
In 'Multiverse of Madness' Strange tells his ex-girlfriend Christine Palmer "I love you in every universe". Yeah, we definitely heard something like that before.
Whatever the future holds for Doctor Strange – and, judging by the end of 'Multiverse of Madness', he might have to deal with his demons triggered by dark magic – hopes are that Marvel creators have already come up with a journey that is different from that of Tony Stark.