Characters / MCU: Masters of The Mystic Arts

Main Character Index > Heroic Organizations > Masters of the Mystic Arts (Stephen Strange | Wong)

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Spoilers for all works set prior to Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame are unmarked.

The Masters of the Mystic Arts

Appearances: Doctor Strange | Thor: Ragnarok | Avengers: Infinity War | Avengers: Endgame | What If...? | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Spider-Man: No Way Home | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

Christine Palmer: Where have you been?
Doctor Strange: Well, after Western medicine failed me, I headed East, and I ended up in Kathmandu. [...] I went to a place called Kamar-Taj and I talked to someone called the Ancient One, and...
Palmer: Oh, so you joined a cult.
Strange: No, I didn't. Not exactly. I mean, they did teach me to tap into powers that I never even knew existed.
Palmer: Yeah, that sounds like a cult.

An international group of Sorcerers dedicated to protecting the world from magical threats. They are trained at Kamar-Taj, a secret monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal.

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In General

• Badass Bookworm: Most sorcerers given that learning the craft takes "study and practice; years of it".
• Barrier Warrior: Their preferred method of combat is fighting with shields made out of Instant Runes. This becomes pivotal in the climactic battle in Endgame after Thanos orders his ship to fire on the battlefield, shielding the allied heroes who were otherwise defenseless against the aerial bombardment.
• Big Damn Heroes: They are among the many armies who answer the call to arms to fight Thanos at the end of Avengers: Endgame.
• Identically Powered Team: Justified, given that all of the members have either been taught by the Ancient One or have been taught by students of the Ancient One.
• Instant Runes: Shield spells take the form of orange geometric shapes laid into each other in complex patterns that manifest over the sorcerer's hands. When using the Time Stone, similar geometric shapes manifested, but green.
• Kung-Fu Wizard: The sorcerers and students of Kamar-Taj use Supernatural Martial Arts in tandem with their spellcasting abilities. Additionally, they also use magically-imbued weapons and gear or "Relics" in combat.
• Magical Gesture: Magic does not technically require these to function, but almost all sorcerers use them to focus their powers.
• Magical Library: Stuffed with many a Spell Book and Tome of Eldritch Lore.
• Magical Society: The Masters of the Mystic Arts are pretty much a benevolent order of magic practitioners dedicated to protecting Earth from supernatural threats, studying magic, and occasionally helping individuals through magic (one student specifically came to heal his broken back).
• Our Mages Are Different: Here, they draw magical energy from the different planes of existence to manipulate reality itself, and their spells take the form of Instant Runes.
• Reality Warper: Sufficiently advanced sorcerers can use their powers to shape reality in many ways: alter the direction of gravity, transform rooms or even entire landscapes into impossible Alien Geometries, and more. It's slightly downplayed, as these techniques are restricted only to the Mirror Dimension, not the real world. For Kaecilius after the Dark Dimension ritual, this restriction no longer applies.
• The Shangri-La: A secret temple that is hidden in the Himalayas and only open to acolytes seeking wisdom and enlightenment? Oh yeah.
• Squishy Wizard: Despite the massive amount of power at the disposal of sorcerers, they still have human vulnerabilities, as seen when more than a few of them are taken out through stabbings, crushing, or other forms of death.
• Supernatural Team: The Masters of the Mystic Arts are the only team in the MCU that has no members that are science heroes, scientifically advanced individuals or aliens, being humans able to wield magic.
• Thinking Up Portals: With mastery of the Sling Ring, any practitioner of the Mystic Arts can conjure a spinning portal made of sparks to go virtually anywhere on Earth, or elsewhere for that matter. This proves instrumental in Avengers: Endgame, as the sorcerers allow all members/armies aligned with the Avengers to assemble from numerous points on Earth, as well as different planets, allowing them to reach the battlefield at the same place and time. Though the Sling Rings are unique to them, the type of portal they summon is not, since Robbie Reyes can conjure one as well by spinning his chain in a wide circular motion.
• Wizarding School: Kamar-Taj is a temple Hidden in Plain Sight in Kathmandu, Nepal where the Ancient One and the Masters of the Mystic Arts live and Supernatural Martial Arts and various other forms of sorcery. Students are allowed the option to leave with what they learned if they want (as was the case with Jonathan Pangborn) or stay and defend Earth's dimension from anything that seeks to threaten it. Kamar-Taj is one of the rare examples of the trope that is a school for adults. It is also heavily implied their larger numbers in Avengers: Endgame, in contrast to Strange and Wong's relative poverty despite being in the middle of New York during Avengers: Infinity War, is directly related to the global upheaval caused by the Snap.

Sorcerers Supreme

Agamotto

Agamotto

Species: Unknown

Affiliation(s): Masters of the Mystic Arts

Appearances: Doctor Strange ^note  Mentioned only

"The Ancient One is the latest in a long line of Sorcerers Supreme, going back thousands of years to the father of the Mystic Arts, the mighty Agamotto. The same sorcerer who created the Eye you so recklessly borrowed."

— Wong to Doctor Strange

The father of the mystic arts and Earth's first Sorcerer Supreme.

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• The Ace: He was a sorcerer of such power and skill that he was able to create the Eye of Agamotto, an artifact not only powerful enough to contain the energies of an Infinity Stone, but to allow any sufficiently skilled sorcerer to safely wield its awesome power.
• Adaptation Species Change: In the comics Agamotto is one of the Vishanti, a triumvirate of powerful mystical extra-dimensional entities. In the MCU he is a mortal human sorcerer. What If…? (2021) sees Wong name-drop the Vishanti as part of a protective spell, which means they may still exist within the MCU.
• The Archmage: He invented/codified the system of magic that Strange's era of Sorcerers use and created the Sanctums they protect.
• Big Good: As Sorcerer Supreme, he was Earth's foremost defender against mystical threats.
• Crazy-Prepared: When creating the mystical shield to protect Earth from interdimensional Eldritch Abominations, he made sure to create multiple Sanctums to anchor it. Any one of them is enough to keep the shield in place.
• Founder of the Kingdom: He founded Kamar-Taj to train sorcerers to defend the Earth. He was also implied to have created the discipline of sorcery from scratch.
• Posthumous Character: He is long dead by the time Strange comes to Kamar-Taj.

The Ancient One

The Ancient One

"We never lose our demons, we only learn to live above them."

Species: Human

Citizenship: Celtic ^note Exact nationality unknown, Nepalese

Affiliation(s): Masters of the Mystic Arts

Portrayed By: Tilda Swinton

Voiced By: Patricia Palestino (Latin-American Spanish dub), Nuria Mediavilla (European Spanish dub), Françoise Cadol (French dub), Nathalie Coupal (Canadian French dub), Kanako Higuchi (Japanese dub), Miriam Ficher (Brazilian Portuguese dub)

Appearances: Doctor Strange | Avengers: Endgame

"The Infinity Stones create what you experience as the flow of time. Remove one stone and that flow splits. Now, this may benefit your reality but my new one, not so much. In this new branched reality, without our chief weapon against the forces of darkness, our world will be overrun. Millions will suffer. So, tell me, Doctor, can your science prevent all that?"

A Celtic mystic who trains Stephen Strange to be a Sorcerer.

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• The Ace: The best fighter among all the heroes.
• Action Girl: She's a powerful sorcerer and a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, using a type of Supernatural Martial Arts in combat.
• Ambiguous Gender: Kevin Feige says that she uses feminine pronouns, but her gender is ultimately up for interpretation. Tilda Swinton herself says she wasn't sure if she should play the character as male or female.
• The Anti-Nihilist: In direct contrast to Kaecilius, whose actions are fuelled by a belief that death renders life meaningless, the Ancient One expresses the view that mortality gives life meaning — though, as she admits, she finds herself clinging onto life as she's dying.
• The Archmage: The Sorcerer Supreme of the MCU, with Authority Equals Asskicking to boot.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: She's the leader of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, the Sorcerer Supreme, and extremely powerful and skilled as a result.
• Badass Long Robe: When she goes to fight, she puts on a long yellow robe with a hood that hides her face.
• Badass Teacher: She teaches students from time to time, and is able to whoop over a dozen of those students' asses in magic combat at once should they ever cross her, as the majority of Kaecilius's Zealots find out the hard way. Indeed, her entrance prior to the final fight with Kaecilius involves her effortlessly rearranging the Mirror Dimension to take the Zealots out of the fight and shuffle Strange and Mordo to safety before she even gets there, and during the fight, Kaecilius only wins through what amounts to sneak attack.
• Bald Head of Toughness: A powerful sorceress who has not a hair in her head, leaving scars visible on her exposed scalp consistent with some unspecificed neurosurgery in her past.
• Bald Mystic: The Ancient One, Strange's long-lived and powerful mentor, is a master magic user with a completely hairless head, which adds to the otherworldly look.
• Bald of Authority: Overlapping with Bald Mystic due to her supernatural abilities and role as Mentor Archetype to Stephen Strange, The Ancient One is depicted as the completely bald leader of the Masters of the Mystic Arts.
• Broken Pedestal: To Karl Mordo, especially when he learns that she draws power from the Dark Dimension, and previously to Strange, when he figures it out and calls her on her hypocrisy — their final conversation, including a Hypocrisy Nod from her, helps rebuild it sufficiently to see her as "complicated" but still doing what she thought was right.
• The Bus Came Back: Subverted, as she appears in Avengers: Endgame — but only when they revisit the events of The Avengers, five years before her death.
• Call-Back: When first meeting Stephen Strange, she demonstrates that the mystic arts are very real by palm-striking him in the chest, forcing his astral form out of his body. In Avengers: Endgame, she does the exact same thing to Hulk, forcing Bruce’s astral form out of his body when he tried to get the Time Stone from her.
• Combat Hand Fan: Whenever the Ancient One goes into battle, Her weapon is a pair of tessen-esque fans that she forms from magical energy. Sure enough, during select scenes at Kamar-Taj, she's seen holding a traditional wooden fan.
• Composite Character: She is said to be Celtic, a trait from Doctor Strange's predecessor in the comics, Dr. Druid (who combined Druid magic with Oriental enchantment).
• Dark Is Not Evil: She used the powers of the Dark Dimension. Unfortunately, this does not change the fact that such a practice is forbidden and has caused several of her followers to abandon the order.
• Dark Secret: Her immortality is fueled by the Dark Dimension. This revelation causes dissent amongst her followers.
• Deadpan Snarker:
  • She can lay down the snark with the best of them. This is seen after Strange waves off her teachings as things he could find in a gift shop:
    Ancient One: [having just sent Strange on a wild trip through dimensions] Have you seen that before in a gift shop?
  • When Strange asks her what was in the tea she gave him (assuming it contains psychedelic drugs after she pushes his astral form out of his body), her reply is that it was just tea... but it did have honey in it.
• Decomposite Character: Her comic book counterpart's look, including the cropped beard and robe, has been transferred to Hamir in the films.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: Here, the Ancient One is killed by Kaecilius. In the comics, the culprit was Shuma-Gorath, an extra-dimensional Eldritch Abomination who hasn't yet appeared in the MCU.
• Dies Wide Open: After her astral form passes on, we're treated to a shot of her dead body with its eyes fully open.
• Druid: She has a Mysterious Past, but what little is known about her is that she's a Celtic mystic with a radically extended lifespan, suggesting this trope. This is a notable departure from her comic-book counterpart, who is Tibetan, making her a Composite Character of sorts of the Ancient One and Dr. Druid.
• Face Death with Dignity: Unlike Strange, who returned to his mortal body after being badly wounded, the Ancient One's astral form doesn't try to return. She does slow down time to stretch out her final moments, but in the end she leaves Stephen with the same serenity as always.
• Gender Flip: From male in the comics to female (albeit ambiguously so) here.
• Good Is Not Soft: She is an easily approachable person, always with an air of serenity around her. Yet, she has few qualms with putting students through life-threatening situations to get them to learn quickly. Also, she is not afraid to bend and break her own rules to do what's right.
• Hero of Another Story: Endgame shows that she's protecting the New York Sanctum Santorum from the Chitauri's invasion while the Avengers are fighting in the city.
• Hypocrite: Kaecilius accuses her of being one since she draws power from the Dark Dimension just like him.
• Hypocrisy Nod: She acknowledges that drawing power from the Dark Dimension is wrong and she always hated doing so.
• Humans Are Flawed: Played for sympathy. Her last conversation with Strange mentions that no matter how ready she was to die and no matter that she could see her death coming, she still wanted to live a little longer. This Hidden Depths moment from her redeems her in Strange's eyes, and he defends her to Mordo afterwards, saying that "she was complicated".
  The Ancient One: We don't get to choose our time. Death is what gives life meaning; to know your days are numbered, your time is short. You'd think after all this time, I'd be ready. But look at me; stretching one moment into a thousand, just so I can watch the snow.
• I Did What I Had to Do: She's willing to bend, even break, the rules to protect the world.
• Immortals Fear Death: She confides to Strange that after all her centuries of life she expected to be prepared for its end, but she's not.
• Immortal Genius: While it isn't established how old she is, she's learned more about magic than any other character in the film. Essentially the epitome of the "wise eternal sage" version of this trope, she comes across as practically omniscient thanks to her study of the future — to the point that she's not even surprised when a time-travelling Bruce Banner shows up on her doorstep in Avengers: Endgame.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: This is how Kaecilius kills her (through his own Zealot, no less), though the long fall and impact that followed may have finished the job.
• Lady of War: This is best seen in the opening, where she fights Kaecilius and his Zealots in her yellow robe, using a wide array of graceful blows.
• Legacy Character: She is the Sorcerer Supreme, and the whole film is the origin story of her successor, Doctor Stephen Strange.
• Made of Iron: The fall she suffered would have instantly killed a regular human, even without the stab wound she received beforehand. Justified, as she can not only reinforce her body with sorcery but also draws upon the powers of the Dark Dimension, which help ward off death.
• The Mentor: The Ancient One teaches the residents of Kamar-Taj the art of sorcery.
• Mentor Occupational Hazard: She gets killed by Kaecilius; Strange and Christine are unable to save her life, despite their efforts.
• Mentor's New Hope: Strange is hers, following Kaecilius' Face–Heel Turn, though she worries that he's not so different from Kaecilius — a brilliant and gifted student who has suffered a tragedy and is dead-set on fixing that wrong at all costs — and initially refuses to take him on because of that (and even worries after she's taken him on, though continues to have faith in him).
• Merlin and Nimue: A Genderinverted example with Karl Mordo.
• Mysterious Past: As Mordo notes, all he really knows about her is that she's Celtic and that she's been around for a long, long while. Other than that, she apparently doesn't talk about her past.
• Not So Similar: Kaecilius considers her a hypocrite for opposing him, despite drawing power from the Dark Dimension herself, but the Ancient One expresses shame for using the Dark Dimension's power to stay alive, while Kaecilius has fallen far enough that he believes allowing Earth to be assimilated by Dormammu to be a good thing. The fact that she doesn't draw so much power that it would disfigure her face also helps.
• Not So Stoic: Occasionally small cracks will appear in her usual calm demeanor, such as nervously fiddling with her wooden fan while waiting for Strange to return from Everest.
• Old Master: As her title suggests, she's very old, despite not looking it.
• Omnidisciplinary Scientist: In addition to her vast knowledge of the Mystic Arts, she also demonstrates an impressive understanding of medicine, as seen in her first conversation with Strange.
• One-Hit KO: Nonlethal, but one hit of her palm strike will send your astral body away, leaving your physical form unconscious and helpless. Considering she takes out the Hulk this way, it's evident that physical might is irrelevant.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Her name and origins are kept mysterious, as befits her persona.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The Ancient One is usually cheerful and confident, with a playful sense of humor. So if she looks worried, or serious, there might be a problem.
• The Paragon: Subverted. She is given the air of one, teaching Strange and the other disciples that magic is built from within and practice, dedication, and respect for the teaching will make them all greats. However, she gets called out even at the very beginning of the film for misusing the things she warns her students against and eventually Strange makes the same accusations, gradually fracturing Mordo's view that she abides by her principles. Eventually it all comes out and ruins Mordo's faith in the teachings of Kamar-Taj.
• Race Lift: From a Tibetan man to a Celtic woman. Screenwriter C. Robert Cargill admitted that the reason for the Race Lift was so that the film wouldn't get Banned in China.
  Cargill: The Ancient One originates from Tibet, so if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place and that he's Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people who think that that's bullshit and risk the Chinese government going: "Hey, we're one of the biggest film-watching countries in the world and we're not going to show your movie because you decided to get political."
• Really 700 Years Old: Possibly. Mordo says she's Celtic, which means she's over a thousand years old or from one of the Celtic nations such as Ireland (which would be more likely to use the more precise term Gaelic).
• Seen It All: This should come as no surprise given her incredible lifespan and her abilities, but it still says something that she wasn't surprised at all to meet a future Bruce Banner during the events of Endgame.
• Sink or Swim Mentor: She gets Strange to master the Sling Ring by abandoning him halfway up Mount Everest, where he would only have a matter of minutes to open a portal back home before freezing to death. A comment from Mordo makes it clear that this is not the first time she's done something like this to a slow pupil.
• Super-Reflexes: She spends both of her fights against the Zealots dodging all their attacks with grace, with Kaecilius having to use a treacherous move in order to land a fatal blow on her.
• Training from Hell: She makes Stephen undergo one of these, leaving him to freeze to death in the Everest until he learns how to make a portal that will lead him back to the temple.
• Tranquil Fury: When Strange reveals that he knows she draws power from the Dark Dimension, the Ancient One is clearly angry, but keeps her voice dead calm.
  Ancient One: Measure your next words very carefully, doctor.
• Trickster Mentor: The Ancient One is an enormous troll to obstinate students who need a wake-up call, in both magical and non-magical ways, and Mordo implies that Strange isn't the only person to see that side of her. May God help if you are outright disrespectful — she might up the "trickster" part and need some convincing to take up the "mentor" part.
• Troll: She seems to thoroughly enjoy messing with Strange, and helps him find his magical breakthrough by nearly killing him. She also shows him the wonders of the Multiverse and then promptly kicks him out.
• The Trope without a Title: The Ancient One has no known name.
• Vague Age: Due to identifying her as "Celtic" and not narrowing things down, she could have been born anywhere from the time of Julius Caesar to the Tudor Conquest of Ireland. She could be even younger than that.
• We Would Have Told You, But...: She has a habit of keeping information to herself, which causes resentment amongst her students. The Reveal that she draws power from the Dark Dimension causes two of her most devoted students to turn on her.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: When Strange despairs the fact that he spent his last dollar chasing a hope of a cure for his nerve damage that turns out to be mystical mumbo-jumbo, she shows him in no uncertain terms that magic is actually real, then refuses to help him and has him thrown out on the street — though it's not simply out of spite, as her conversation with Mordo demonstrates (Strange reminds her strongly of Kaecilius). Zig-zagged when she eventually relents, and in Avengers Endgame it's outright confirmed that she intended to do so from the start, having foreseen Strange's great potential since the events of The Avengers.

Dr. Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange

See his own page

Wong

See his own page

Sanctum Masters

Daniel Drumm

Master Daniel Drumm

"If Wong has any trepidation to proceed on this matter, then it serves you more to heed his instincts rather than insult him."

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): Masters of the Mystic Arts

Portrayed By: Mark Anthony Brighton

Appearances: Doctor Strange

Kaecilius: Daniel, I see they made you the Master of this Sanctum.
Daniel Drumm: And you know what that means?
Kaecilius: That you will die protecting it.

The Master of New York's Sanctum Santorum.

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• All There in the Manual: While he doesn't have much screen time in the film, he gets more characterization in the Doctor Strange Prelude comics.
• Alliterative Name: Daniel Drumm.
• Bald Mystic: He has a bald head and is a Master of the Mystic Arts.
• Bald of Authority: He's a bald black man and was the Master of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum before Stephen Strange.
• Death by Adaptation: Averted. He lived to become the successor to Brother Voodoo (who was actually his literal brother) in the comics, then died in the comics too, but remained a recurring character after becoming a ghost.
• Death by Origin Story: His death allows Stephen to become a Master of the Mystic Arts, as well as the Master of the Sanctum Sanctorum.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Kaecilius runs him through with a spear right in front of Strange.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: His stance on the Ancient One (and where he differs from Kaecilius), namely that her methods shouldn't be questioned if they're for the greater good of Earth.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: We get to know very little about him before he is stabbed to death by Kaecilius.
• We Used to Be Friends: Kaecilius calls Drumm by his first name, and seems impressed that he was appointed Master of the New York Sanctum, implying that they were friendly before Kaecilius deserted. Obviously, that friendship is gone by the time of the film, as Drumm doesn't hesitate to fight Kaecilius, who shows him no mercy.

Sol Rama

Master Sol Rama

Species: Human

Citizenship: British

Affiliation(s): Masters of the Mystic Arts

Portrayed By: Umit Ulgen

Appearances: Doctor Strange

The Master of London's Sanctum Santorum.

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• Canon Foreigner: Notably the only Sanctum Master who has no comics counterpart. One possibility is that he's named after Rama Kaliph.
• In the Back: Kaecillius throws a magic blade in his back while he was attempting to run away.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: We know very little about him before he's killed by Kaecilius in his second on-screen appearance.^note His first is with other Masters (The Ancient One, Daniel Drumm, and Tina Minoru) in Kamar-Taj.

Tina Minoru

Master Tina Minoru

"It's not the Mystic, it's the Dark Scepter itself. It not only feeds off the physical light, it pulls all light from within while also amplifying doubt and fear."

Species: Human

Citizenship: Chinese

Affiliation(s): Masters of the Mystic Arts

Portrayed By: Linda Louise Duan

Appearances: Doctor Strange

The Master of Hong Kong's Sanctum Santorum.

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• Action Girl: She is prepared to protect the Hong Kong Sanctum from the Zealots.
• Adaptational Heroism: As a result of the Runaways Hulu show ignoring the films and using their own version of Tina, this Tina is a steadfast and true master of the mystic arts and is not notably evil.
• Adaptational Nationality: Japanese-American in the comics, Chinese here. The lack of an Adaptational Name Change puts the character in an awkward position of being a Chinese character with a Japanese surname.
• All There in the Manual: Only appears in a very minor role in Doctor Strange, but has a major appearance in the prelude comic alongside Kaecilius, Wong, and Daniel Drumm. It is in the comic in which she's identified as Tina Minoru.
• Decomposite Character: As a result of the creators of Runaways (2017) not acknowledging Tina's role in Doctor Strange there are now two Tina Minorus in the MCU: the Master of the Mystic Arts and the CEO of Wizard and member of PRIDE. It may be that as a result, this one retroactively isn't really named that.
• Demoted to Extra: As a result of most of her scenes being cut from Doctor Strange as well as Runaways disregarding the film as part of their Tina Minoru's background.
• Portal Door: How she arrives on Earth in Avengers: Endgame to fight Thanos's army with the rest of the many unnamed sorcerers.
• Purple Is Powerful: The color of her robe is primarily purple and she is the master of the Hong Kong Sanctum.
• Schrödinger's Canon: Though she technically appears in Doctor Strange, Runaways co-creator Josh Schwartz said the series won't address the events of the film, nor will their Tina be established as being a current or former Master. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness shows that the Hong Kong Sanctum has a new master.
• The Smurfette Principle: She's the only woman among the three Sanctum Masters.
• Sole Survivor: By the end of the film, she's the only Sanctum Master who hasn't been killed by Kaecillius and the Zealots.
• We Used to Be Friends: Along with Wong and Daniel Drumm, she was a friend and ally of Kaecilius in the Doctor Strange prelude comic before his Face–Heel Turn.

Others

Kamar-Taj Librarian

Kamar-Taj Librarian

Species: Human

Affiliation(s): Masters of the Mystic Arts

Portrayed By: Ezra Khan

Appearances: Doctor Strange (2016)

The librarian of Kamar-Taj before Wong.

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• Bloodless Carnage: There isn't a single drop of blood to be seen when Kaecilius cuts off his head.
• Magic Librarian: Although we don't actually see him using magic, he's the librarian of Kamar-Taj so he is probably a sorcerer himself.
• No Name Given: His name is unknown. In the credits, he is only referred to as "Kamar-Taj Librarian".
• Off with His Head!: Kaecilius uses his daggers to decapitate him, and places an urn on the floor to collect his head.
• Oh, Crap!: Understandably, he has a terrified look on his face when he sees the Zealots appearing from all sides and pulling out their weapons.
• Sacrificial Lamb: He is a minor character who exists only to be killed by the Zealots to show how ruthless they can be.
• Shadow Discretion Shot: Kaecilius beheading him is only shown as silhouettes cast on the wall.
• Unwilling Suspension: The Zealots conjure energy whips to catch his limbs and then suspend him above the floor while Kaecilius prepares to decapitate him.
• The Voiceless: He doesn't say a single word, aside from a few screams of pain when he gets suspended by the energy whips of the Zealots.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: He both makes his first appearance and gets killed during the opening scene of the film.

Hamir

Master Hamir

Species: Human

Citizenship: Nepalese

Affiliation(s): Masters of the Mystic Arts

Portrayed By: Topo Wresniwiro

Appearances: Doctor Strange | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

An elderly Master of the Mystic Arts of Kamar-Taj.

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• Actually, That's My Assistant: Strange initially mistakes him as the Ancient One. He seems to have been placed there to intentionally force this since the real Ancient One then thanks him and he walks out.
• An Arm and a Leg: He lost his left hand under unknown circumstances.
• Handicapped Badass: He's missing his left hand, yet is still able to perform the magic the others can. This is used by the Ancient One to motivate Strange when he says he can't use magic because of his hands.
• Mythology Gag: Hamir bears the Ancient One's traditional appearance in the comics, which leads to him being mistaken by Stephen Strange to be the Ancient One.
• Noodle Incident: How he lost his left arm is never explained.
• Old Master: One of the oldest Masters in Kamar-Taj.
• Portal Door: After realizing the Avengers need them, Hamir and Wong, as well as various unnamed sorcerers arrive to fight Thanos's army.
• Uncertain Doom: Hamir is seen getting dragged into the Mirror Dimension by Wanda, but it is never clarified if he escapes it by the end of Multiverse of Madness. The audio commentary reveals that he died.
• Unrelated in the Adaptation: He's Wong's father in the comics, but there's no sign of this relation in the films.
• The Voiceless: He never says anything in any of his appearances.

Sara Wolfe

Master Sara Wolfe

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): Masters of the Mystic Arts

Portrayed By: Sheila Atim

Appearances: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

A Master of the Mystic Arts who is present during Wanda's attack on Kamar-Taj.

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• Action Girl: She is willing to help her fellow sorcerers in protecting Kamar-Taj from the Scarlet Witch.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Slowly and agonisingly reduced to a charred shell by the unleashed power of the Darkhold.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Willingly dies to destroy the Darkhold.
• Implied Love Interest: To Wong in Multiverse of Madness. Sam Raimi confirmed that there was a romance for Wong and Sara originally written, but those scenes were cut. There's still some palpable affection between the two of them in the very brief screentime they have together, such as Sara holding his chin as they share a Held Gaze, but it's all implied and understated.
• More Expendable Than You: Won't allow Wong to destroy the Darkhold, since she knows the consequences, and makes sure to do it herself.
• Race Lift: Sara is a Cheyenne Native American in the comics. Here she is played by a Ugandan-British actress.
• Single Tear: One can be seen streaming down her charred corpse during her final moments.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Despite appearing in a single scene (and some crowd shots), Sara's actions demonstrate that the Darkhold can be destroyed, and rather easily at that. As a result, she derails Wanda's schemes for a bit and forces her to go to Mount Wundagore, setting up the stage for the climax.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: We only get a few scenes with her before she sacrifices herself to destroy the Darkhold.

Rintrah

Rintrah

Species: R'Vaalian

Affiliation(s): Masters of the Mystic Arts

Portrayed By: Adam Hugill

Appearances: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

A minotaur-like being who practices magic at Kamar-Taj.

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• Adaptational Modesty: Rintrah is always depicted as a naked green minotaur in the comics. The film, however, will have him wearing clothes like the other Masters of the Mystic Arts.
• Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: He has green fur.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: He's one of the sorcerers who get tortured by Wanda to force Wong to reveal what he knows about the Darkhold in Multiverse of Madness.
• Our Minotaurs Are Different: Contrary to the classic image of minotaurs as unintelligent, axe-wielding monsters, Rintrah is a civilized being with a talent for the mystic arts.
• Remember the New Guy?: No one seems surprised by the presence of a green minotaur among the Master of the Mystic Arts, even though he was nowhere to be seen seen during their previous appearances in Doctor Strange (2016) and Avengers: Endgame.
• Token Non-Human: As far as we know, he's the only Master of the Mystic Arts not to be human.
• Vocal Dissonance: He has a rather soft voice for a giant minotaur.

America Chavez

America Chavez

"How much experience do you guys have with the Multiverse?"

Species: Enhanced human

Citizenship: Utopian Parallel

Affiliation(s): Utopian Parallel, Masters of the Mystic Arts

Portrayed By: Xochitl Gomez, Aliyah Camacho (young)

Voiced By: Nycolle Gonzalez (Latin American Spanish), Akari Kitou (Japanese), Juliana Cagiano (Brazilian Portuguese)

Appearances: Spider-Man: No Way Home ^note Archive footage from Multiverse of Madness in The Stinger | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

"Rule No. 1 of Multiversal Travel: You don't know anything."

A teenage girl with the power to open star-shaped portals to travel throughout the Multiverse.

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• Action Girl: Once she has mustered her courage, America is prepared to punch and fight anything that poses a threat to her and those who have cared for her.
• Action Survivor: At first, America survives the dangers of the Multiverse with her wits and her allies. In the climax of Multiverse of Madness, she becomes bolder and slowly transforms into an Action Girl.
• Adaptational Backstory Change: In the comics, America was originally claimed to be born in an alternate dimension, the Utopian Parallel, but a later story retconned that she was actually born on Earth and she largely imagined the Utopian Parallel backstory as a coping mechanism to deal with the trauma of losing her mothers. The film, however, goes with America's original backstory and plays it straight, though it doesn't cover her mothers also being superheroes and leaves out the additional detail that the Utopian Parallel was created by the Demiurge (Wanda Maximoff's son Billy in the future).
• Adaptational Nice Guy: America in the comics tends to be brutally honest and abrasive, though also fairly taciturn. While her MCU counterpart certainly keeps her snarky attitude, she is far less abrasive to others. She's also not as cocky, given that she hasn't learned how to fully control her powers.
• Adaptational Personality Change: She's less self-assured and confident than her comics counterpart, and doesn't have a sure grasp on her powers.
• Adaptational Superpower Change: Like her comic counterpart, she can generate portals to other dimensions. Unlike her comic counterpart, she isn't a Flying Brick, but she does begin to learn magic at the end.
• Adaptational Wimp: Unlike the comics, America has trouble casting star portals to cross the Multiverse, and lacks her Flying Brick powers. As such, she relies on Doctor Strange to protect her from hostile threats until she decides that enough is enough and gains control of her abilities.
• Age Lift: America in the MCU is younger than the comics character, Gomez being 14 during filming while comics Chavez was almost 16 in her first appearance and in Comic-Book Time has settled to old enough to attend college.
• Alternate Self: Discussed and implicitly defied. America claims she has no alternate selves, citing her inability to dream as proof. This is why the demons after her powers pursue only her specifically and don't just try for another America Chavez.
• Ambiguously Gay: She wears a Pride flag pin on her jacket, and was raised by two mothers. In the comics, America Chavez is a lesbian. Whether she's a lesbian in the MCU isn't directly addressed. Of note is that during Disneyland's first official Pride Nite, America was one of two MCU superheroes present along with Phastos, who is confirmed gay.
• Ambiguously Human: Wanda states that America is a "supernatural being" and is an anomaly of the Multiverse itself, implying she merely appears as a human (much like Asgardians).
• Big Eater: America loves to eat pizza, whether as a pie or in ball form. When Strange remarks that she's going to get a stomachache from eating so much, she snarks back that she's from another universe so her stomach might not work the same way as his.
• Blessed with Suck:
  • She inexplicably developed the ability to travel between universes. Unfortunately, she has no real control over any of it, scattering herself and her family to the farthest reaches of Marvel's infinite number of universes. She then had to learn how to survive on her own for the rest of her adolescence, unable to make any long-term connections with anyone. Half the time, she'll end up being hunted down by supervillains, morally-grey superheroes and eldritch horrors who would be more than willing to kill her and take her power for their own purposes.
  • On a lighter note, she Cannot Dream because there are no other "America Chavezes" in the entirety of the Multiverse.
• Blue Is Heroic: America wears a primarily blue jacket and the star-shaped portals she casts are bright blue in color. Her eyes also occasionally glow blue when she uses her powers.
• Brainy Brunette: She has brown hair and she has vast knowledge about the Multiverse after visiting at least 72 different realities.
• Cannot Dream: She cites the fact that she doesn't dream as proof that she's unique in The Multiverse, as dreams of oneself are actually glimpses into the lives of parallel universes.
• Childish Tooth Gap: She had one when she was younger which is seen when she steps on a Memory Lane and it plays back to when her powers first manifested.
• Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Not once is she referred to as "Miss America" in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
• Contrived Coincidence: Despite having no control over her powers, wherever her portals go, they go to universes that have something to help her. The contrived-ness makes Stephen realize that these aren't coincidences at all; America can subconsciously control where she goes, she just lacks the self-confidence to really harness it.
• Cosmic Motifs: She has the power to open star-shaped portals to other dimensions and her jacket has star designs all over it.
• Damsel in Distress: She's a teenage girl who is pursued by a multidimensional evil. Strange stepping in to help her kickstarts the plot of the film, and the Final Battle is about stopping Wanda, who has America captured, from draining the latter's powers. America eventually becomes a subversion of this trope after a pep talk from Strange motivates her to fight Wanda all by herself.
• Deadpan Snarker: Her level of snark is almost as equal to Strange's, which leads to several humorous banters between the two.
• Deuteragonist: Of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, since much of the film's conflict is about Strange protecting her from the villain.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Averted. America is the only character who actually manages to land a good number of blows on the Big Bad in Multiverse of Madness, but she still can't win with brute force alone. It takes America opening a portal to Earth-838 and forcing Wanda to have a Heel Realization to save the day.
• Die or Fly: For most of the movie, she cannot open her portals unless she's really afraid, usually in life-or-death situations. She manages to overcome this and summon them at any time she wants.
• Dimensional Traveler: America has the ability to cast blue glowing star-shaped portals that connect different universes within The Multiverse.
• Foil: To Wanda Maximoff. Both are Unskilled, but Strong enhanced individuals whose lives are defined by loss (Wanda and her sons, America and her mothers). Both of them have powers one cannot help but compare to the Infinity Stones (Wanda having gained her powers from the Mind Stone, with a similar color and power-set to the Reality Stone, America's abilities the same color and portal generating capabilities of the Space Stone) and are in some way intrinsically tied to a Tome of Eldritch Lore (Wanda to the Darkhold, America to the Book of Vishanti), making them The Chosen One in a dualistic sense.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: America's eyes emit a bright blue glow whenever she is about to cast her star-shaped portals.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Averted. During the climax of Multiverse of Madness, America tells Strange that he should kill her and absorb her powers to stop Wanda and save the Multiverse after everything they have experienced together. However, Strange gives America a motivational speech about how she has always been able to control her powers and that she can use them to defeat Wanda, which inspires America to do so.
• Homosexual Reproduction: She has two mothers, both of whom were her biological parents, thanks to the magic of their home dimension, the Utopian Parallel.
• Hypocritical Humor: America tells Strange that the first rule of interdimensional travel is "you don't know anything"... then promptly proceeds to demonstrate this by assuming that food on Earth-838 is free, as it is in her own world and most worlds she's been to, and grabbing some without paying. Right away, a vendor is annoyed with her action of stealing his very much not free food.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: America believes that she is responsible for the deaths of her mothers when she was a child and got scared by a bee, accidentally opening a portal through which her mothers were sucked away. Stephen tries to make her feel better by telling her that he believes they are still alive and that she will be reunited with them someday. She retorts that they could be anywhere in the Multiverse and she can't find them.
• Inexplicably Awesome: America inexplicably developed the power to punch star-shaped portals into other universes, an ability stated to be unique not only to the MCU's magical or scientific capabilities but to the rest of the Multiverse. It's also expressly stated that there are no variants of her throughout the Multiverse, making her the only unique individual to exist. Blink and you'll miss it, but the only page you can see from the Book of Vishanti displays her star symbol, implying either she's the destined Good Counterpart to the Scarlet Witch, or at least the most equipped to handle her.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: America takes Strange to another version of New York and takes some pizza balls, confident that in most universes, food doesn't cost money. Cue the pizza ball vendor telling them that they have to pay for the food.
• Intergenerational Friendship: In Multiverse of Madness, America Chavez is a teenager who teams up with the middle-aged Stephen Strange. They quickly learn to trust each other out of necessity and sympathize over their respective pasts. After America joins the Masters of the Mystic Arts, she tells Strange that she is glad to have met him, and he feels the same way as well.
• It's All My Fault: She's convinced her mothers are dead and that it's her fault because she opened the portal that pulled them from the Utopian Parallel. Strange points out that she doesn't know for sure that her mothers are dead, but it's clear America still feels guilty even though she didn't do it on purpose.
• Just a Kid:
  • Strange and Wong angrily tell Wanda that it is wrong to steal America's powers by killing her because she is still a child.
  • Strange says this exact phrase when Pizza Poppa yells at America for "stealing" his pizza.
    Pizza Poppa: Pizza Poppa always gets paid!.
    Doctor Strange: Alright, Pizza Poppa, relax. She's just a kid and she was hungry—
    Pizza Poppa: Relax yourself, "Doctor Strange".
• Kid Hero: At the time of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, America is 14 years old, making her one of the youngest active heroes in the MCU in her debut movie.
• Leitmotif: Has her own theme as of Multiverse of Madness. It is mostly a somber, melancholic melody that captures both the character's tragic backstory and harrowing situation she's been thrown in. This all culminates in the track Trust Your Power where Danny Elfman turns the tragic motif into a heroic and empowering theme.
• Literal-Minded: America initially assumes that Spider-Man looks more like a spider than a man and can shoot webs out of his butt.
• MacGuffin Super-Person: In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, certain entities from other dimensions are hunting America Chavez so that they can harness her powers and conquer the Multiverse. These entities are summoned by Wanda Maximoff through the use of the Darkhold, for she needs America's powers to find a reality where Tommy and Billy are still alive.
• Non-Protagonist Resolver: Although Doctor Strange is the titular protagonist of Multiverse of Madness, America is the one who triggers Wanda's Heel Realization by sending the latter to the universe that she intended to live in.
• Noodle Incident: What she did in the 72 previous universes she visited, including one where everyone is paint, is left to the viewers' imaginations.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She's only 5'5" due to being a young teenager but is extremely powerful thanks to her Super-Strength and Dimensional Traveller abilities.
• Power Incontinence: Initially, America is unable to control her powers since she can only use them when she is in a state of fear. She finally becomes confident in using them in the climax of Multiverse of Madness; after Stephen remarks that she has always managed to get them to just the right universe in the right time and therefore already can control them.
• Primary-Color Champion: America wears a blue jacket with red accents and a yellow/gold necklace, and her eyes occasionally glow blue when she casts bright blue star-shaped portals.
• Psychoactive Powers: She can only activate her portals between universes when she's afraid. The first time she opened a portal was when she was scared of a bee, which unfortunately led to her and her mothers being sucked out of the Utopian Parallel. It takes until the end of Multiverse of Madness for her to work out how to open a portal at will without the need to be in a state of fear.
• Rule #1: She has a set of rules about traveling the Multiverse. The first rule is "you don't know anything". The second rule is "find food, preferably pizza".
• Self-Made Orphan: Possibly. Her powers manifested when she got scared by a bee, which lead to her opening her first portal that transported her and her mothers into separate alternate universes. She never saw either of them again which lead her to believe that they both died. However, it's never actually confirmed nor revealed if they died and Stephen is skeptical that they did.
• Shipper on Deck: For Strange and Christine, so much so that the mere idea of them ending up together is just mindblowing to her. There's a reason for that...
• Star Power: The aesthetic variety. Her portals are always star-shaped, and whenever she hits something, the impact will always be star-shaped despite the obvious improbability.
• Story-Breaker Power: The innate ability to create portals to any reality in the Multiverse is something not even the Scarlet Witch is capable of without the Darkhold (and even then, she can only Dreamwalk instead of physically being there), and considering the MCU's new saga revolves around the newly-opened Multiverse, America's powers become even more groundbreaking. So of course, she can only activate them in life-or-death situations, at least until the end of Multiverse of Madness.
• Super-Strength: America's power to cast interdimensional star-shaped portals grant her superhuman strength that is tremendous enough to shatter polycarbonate glass.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Even after everything Wanda put her through and nearly killing her, America shows some sympathy for the Scarlet Witch after witnessing her breaking down over the loss of her family and being rejected by the variants of her sons.
• Talk to the Fist: America uses her superhuman strength to punch and temporarily stagger Wanda in the climax of Multiverse of Madness. When Wanda is about to make a comment on such action, America decides to shut her up with even more punches.
• Teasing from Behind the Language Barrier: She and Wong make remarks about Strange's inability to speak Spanish while conversing in said language.
• Thinking Up Portals: She can cast blue star-shaped portals that allow her to travel across The Multiverse. They appear spontaneously when she's afraid, but after gaining the confidence to create them consciously, it looks like she's punching holes into the fabric of reality. She does, however, feel irritated that she is unable to create portals using a Sling Ring after she chooses to train alongside the Masters of the Mystic Arts in Kamar-Taj.
• This Is Gonna Suck: This is America's reaction when she is informed that Karl Mordo dedicated his life to killing Stephen Strange after becoming disillusioned.
• Took a Level in Badass: After spending an entire film trying to flee from Wanda and listening to Strange's motivational speech, America decides to make her stand against the Scarlet Witch and fights back with mixed results.
• Trademark Favorite Food: She loves pizza and makes a point of locating the local version of it whenever she travels to a new universe.
• Unskilled, but Strong: America's powers are not to be trifled with, but she has yet to gain the full discipline of controlling them, which is why she chooses to train with the Masters of the Mystic Arts in Kamar-Taj by the end of Multiverse of Madness. She does kind of find it irritating that she's having difficulty making portals the old-fashioned Mystic Arts way when she's already shown only one punch is what she needs with her powers.
• Unstable Powered Child: She has no control over her power to traverse the Multiverse, which is only made worse when she's hunted across universes to harvest her powers. She actually has subconscious control over her destinations, as Doctor Strange notes that her powers conveniently take them both exactly where they needed to go. She eventually learns to control it at the end of Multiverse of Madness.
• What the Hell, Hero?: America is undeniably shocked and feels betrayed when Defender Strange attempts to kill her by absorbing her powers as a means to protect the Multiverse. Downplayed later when Doctor Strange inadvertently reveals her current whereabouts in Kamar-Taj to Wanda since he initially believed that Wanda could become a potential ally.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: In the climax of Multiverse of Madness, America believes that Strange will take her powers since she can't properly use them, and she seems to be accepting it as an inevitability. Instead, Strange gives her a pep talk about how she has a better grasp of her powers than she thinks, pointing out that in all her previous uses of her multiversal portal ability, she's been able to pick the right universe. This allows America to gain the confidence and the courage she needs to fight the Scarlet Witch.
• You Remind Me of X: America's impatience while training to become a Master of the Mystic Arts reminds Wong of the time when Stephen Strange first arrived in Kamar-Taj.

Former Masters

Kaecilius

See the Dimensions page

Karl Mordo

Karl Amadeus Mordo

"The true purpose of a sorcerer is to twist things out of their proper shape. Stealing power. Perverting nature."

Species: Human

Citizenship: British

Affiliation(s): Masters of the Mystic Arts (formerly)

Portrayed By: Chiwetel Ejiofor

Voiced By: Ricardo Méndez (Latin-American Spanish dub), Carlos Di Blasi (European Spanish dub), Frantz Confiac (French dub), Marc-André Bélanger (Canadian French dub), Daisuke Ono (Japanese dub), Marcelo Salsicha (Brazilian Portuguese dub)

Appearances: Doctor Strange

"You still think there will be no consequences, Strange? No price to pay? We broke our rules. Just like her. The bill comes due. Always!"

A fellow student of the Ancient One, who helps to train Stephen Strange when he arrives in Kamar-Taj.

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: Karl Mordo is played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, a very handsome actor who has even been included in People Magazine's annual "Sexiest Man Alive" feature. This is in sharp contrast to the comics, where Mordo (especially when drawn by Steve Ditko) was often depicted as an unappealing middle-aged man with a prominent widow's peak.
• Adaptational Badass: In the comics, especially in modern iterations, Mordo is not a very effective villain and is more or less a Butt-Monkey. In the film, Mordo is shown to be a formidable sorcerer.
• Adaptational Heroism: He's an outright villain in the comics but is Stephen's friend, ally, and mentor throughout the first Doctor Strange. Even his Face–Heel Turn is portrayed as understandable, and he becomes a well-intentioned Knight Templar rather than an outright Evil Sorcerer.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: From asshole card-carrying villain and arch-nemesis of Strange in the comics to a charming and kind man who is both a patient mentor and a good friend to Strange, speaking up for him even before Strange becomes a student. This is starting to be played with when he begins to hunt down sorcerers who are (in his opinion) abusing their powers.
• Adaptational Relationship Overhaul:
  • In the comics, Mordo and Stephen Strange have been mortal enemies from day one. In the MCU, Mordo serves as Strange's mentor during his time at Kamar-Taj and the two have a genuine friendship before Mordo discovers the truth about the Ancient One and turns against the Masters of the Mystic Arts.
  • In the comics, Mordo was plotting to assassinate the Ancient One. In the MCU, Mordo is nothing but loyal to the Ancient One until her death, and never tries anything against her.
  • In the comics, Mordo is a servant of Dormammu and the master of Kaecilius. In the MCU, Mordo is an enemy of both of them, and does his best to prevent Kaecilius from summoning Dormammu on Earth.
• Adaptational Sympathy: Him being a bad guy when he undergoes his Face–Heel Turn is much more understandable in this series (being a Well-Intentioned Extremist who's not happy that magic users are abusing their powers against the laws of magic) than his comics iteration, who was content to serve Dormammu the moment he had a chance to seize ultimate power.
• Adaptational Wealth: His comics counterpart was explicitly referred to as a baron, but isn't hinted to be of any nobility or special status in the MCU. That said, this only applies to the Sacred Timeline - his variant on Earth-838 is shown holding the title.
• Affably Evil: Post Face–Heel Turn, Mordo is quite courteous towards Pangborn, calmly explaining his motives and reasoning as he takes away Pangborn's magic and with it, his ability to walk.
• Age Lift: In the comics, Mordo is older than Strange. In the film, Mordo appears to be younger than Strange.
• Alternate Self: Has a Variant on Earth-838, who became the Sorcerer Supreme and a member of the Illuminati.
• Anti-Magical Faction: Mordo becomes this in The Stinger of the first film.
  Mordo: I see, at long last, what is wrong with the world — too many sorcerers.
• Anti-Villain: He becomes this after he is disillusioned by the Ancient One's ways and starts to hunt down sorcerers whom he sees are perverting the natural order with their powers.
• Badass Long Robe: He wears a black one when trailing Strange and dispatching the three thugs attacking him.
• Badass Teacher: One of the teachers at Kamar-Taj, and a badass fighter.
• Bash Brothers: With Strange, until Mordo chooses to leave the Masters of the Mystic Arts.
• Big Damn Hero: In his first scene, Mordo shows up to rescue Stephen Strange as he's getting beaten up by a group of muggers in Nepal.
• Big "NO!": Screams one just before Kaecilius's second attempt to overtake the New York Sanctum fails.
• Black-and-White Insanity: He is very clear on not breaking the Laws of Nature and violating the rules of magic and eventually turns against sorcerers at the end of the film.
• Broken Pedestal: Has a major case of this when he finds out that the Ancient One is drawing on power from the Dark Dimension.
• Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Just like Helmut Zemo^note until The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, at least, he does not have the title of Baron. His 838 counterpart, however, does.
• Composite Character: By the end of Doctor Strange, he's adopted some traits from a comic book character called Silver Dagger. Like him, Mordo wants to hunt sorcerers.
• Cowardice Callout: He accuses Stephen Strange of being a coward when he refuses to participate any further in the conflict against Kaecilius and the Zealots because he doesn't want to have to kill more people.
  Mordo: You're a coward!
• Curb-Stomp Battle: He gives a swift one to the small group of muggers trying to rob Strange in Nepal.
• Dark and Troubled Past: In Doctor Strange, it's frequently hinted that as a student, he suffered from many problems that he had to overcome through years of discipline. What this entailed has yet to be explained. He also remarks that he came to Kamar-Taj seeking the power to defeat his enemies, further implying a troubled past.
• Deadpan Snarker: He has a few moments of this, especially when he interacts with Strange.
  Mordo: No more questions.
  Strange: [about the Staff of the Living Tribunal] What's that?
  Mordo: That's a question.
• Declarative Finger: He does this a few times during a conversation with Strange wherein he laments that the Ancient One broke her own rules by drawing the energy of the Dark Dimension to extand her lifespan, which is what led to Kaecillius and the Zealots to turn to Dormammu.
• Decomposite Character: His villainous persona from the comics and status as Dormammu's follower seems to have been transferred onto Kaecilius in the film.
• Defector from Decadence: From his perspective at least, if the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj are willing to bend their own teachings and play with taboo forces they aren't any better than their enemies in his mind, so he leaves the order after saving the world from Dormammu.
• Deuteragonist: To Doctor Strange, given that he is Strange's mentor. They share screen time. In fact, one could consider Stephen's superhero origin as his supervillain origin.
• Does Not Like Magic: In this case, not anymore. He sees all magic as a violation of the natural order and has sworn to depower or kill any remaining magic user on Earth.
• Energy Absorption / Mana Drain: After leaving Kamar-Taj, Mordo acquires the ability to absorb the magical powers of sorcerers. He first does this to Jonathan Pangborn, who loses the magic he was using to continue to walk as a result.
• Environmental Symbolism: Mordo's crisis of faith in the Ancient One and her teachings begins in the broken ruins of Kamar-Taj.
• Evil Brit: It's less that he has the trappings of a British villian, but rather he is a British man who becomes a villain at the end of Doctor Strange.
• Evil Counterpart: Karl Mordo becomes Strange's main evil counterpart, being another former pupil of the Ancient One, but over the course of the first movie Mordo becomes disillusioned with magic while Strange becomes enlightened.
• Face–Heel Turn: After being Stephen's closest ally throughout the whole film, he becomes disillusioned by how Strange (his student and friend) and the Ancient One (his mentor) are willing to break the rules they're meant to uphold. As the stinger shows, he renounces magic and plots to deprive all sorcerers of their power.
• Facepalm Of Doom: When Mordo comes to the rescue of Doctor Strange against a group of muggers in Nepal, he defeats the first one by grabbing his face with his hand and putting him down.
• Fallen Hero: He becomes one after being disillusioned by Strange and the Ancient One's willingness to break the rules, deciding that the world has too many sorcerers willing to abuse their powers.
• Fatal Flaw: His complete unflinching certainty. While the Ancient One refers to this as a "strength", this is left him with a case of Black-and-White Morality, him willing to kill with an almost religious dedication to protecting the world with Kamar-Taj's sorcery and unflinching loyalty to his master. Much like diamonds are hard but also brittle, when a sliver of doubt enters his mind when he sees that both the Ancient One and Stephen break the rules Kamar-Taj had established the Ancient One who he had dedicated his life to had made a deal with Dormammu and his own student Stephen violating natural law twice, he Jumps Off the Slippery Slope and immediately devolves into Black-and-White Insanity, turning his zeal for cosmic justice against his fellow sorcerers under the belief that they are the real problem.
• Foil: To Stephen Strange. They both came to Kamar-Taj for selfish reasons (Strange wanted to heal his hands, while Mordo wanted power to defeat his enemies), only to discover a new purpose through their training there. While Mordo has, at the time of the film's beginning, been at Kamar-Taj for years, Strange is only just arriving. Strange questions his teachers, proves willing to adapt to somewhat looser moral codes, and thinks outside the box to solve his problems, while Mordo is almost blindly loyal, extremely rigid in his morals, and tends toward more direct solutions. Their attitudes toward killing (Strange avoids it whenever he can, while Mordo doesn't hesitate), response to learning the Ancient One's secret to immortality (Strange adjusts to the knowledge, but Mordo is disillusioned), and final paths in the film (Strange becomes dedicated to protecting Earth, while Mordo abandons Kamar-Taj to pursue a well-intentioned, but villainous role).
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has the straight across one cheek variation of this trope, which is usually a "good" scar.
• Green and Mean: The color of Mordo's robe is primarily green and by the end of Doctor Strange, he has grown disillusioned by the Ancient One's hypocrisy, which drives him to turn his back on his colleagues and start hunting down sorcerers who are misusing their powers.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Averted. Canonically, Stephen Strange's budding skill as a sorcerer turns him into one of these, which makes his choice in clothing rather appropriate. Here, however, he's encouraging of Stephen and remains the far more skilled sorcerer.
• Headlock of Dominance: During a combat training session, Mordo place Stephen Strange in a headlock while telling him who Kaecillius is. Strange eventually manages to free himself by elbowing him, but his neck seems to hurt because of it.
• Hunter of His Own Kind: Becomes this at the end of the first Doctor Strange, after growing disillusioned with sorcerers as a whole, he starts killing them.
• In the Hood: Mordo is introduced as a mysterious figure hiding his face under a hood. He only reveals his face after saving Stephen Strange from a gang of muggers.
  • During the second post-credits scene, Mordo wears a hood obscuring his face once again when he goes to confront Jonathan Pangborn, who doesn't recognize him at first.
• It's the Only Way: Mordo is convinced that killing the Zealots is the only option, despite Doctor Strange's attempts to convince him otherwise. By the end of the film, Strange proves him wrong by defeating the Zealots without actually killing them.
  Mordo: [To Strange] There is no other way!
• Kick the Dog: His first act of villainy is taking away Pangborn's ability to walk, reducing a friendly man to the state of full-body paralysis.
• Knight Templar: Drifts towards a more extreme dogmatism throughout the film, ultimately settling on it after becoming disillusioned by Strange and the Ancient One's willingness to break the rules that they are supposed to keep. By The Stinger, he decides that all sorcerers are violating the natural order and starts using his advanced sorcery skills to hunt down all the other sorcerers regardless of who they are and the consequences to them, like paralysis.
• Lack of Imagination: Strange accuses him of this because Mordo believes that the only way to stop the Zealots is to kill them. Given how Strange manages to stop the Zealots without killing them while Mordo still clings to his principles in the end, the accusation may not be that far off the mark.
• Large Ham: He has his moments - see Big "NO!".
• Last-Name Basis: Everyone calls him Mordo. The trope is so prevalent that Stephen is surprised to learn that his first name is Karl in Multiverse of Madness.
• Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Doctor Strange, but his alternate self appears in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
• Martial Arts Staff: Mordo uses the Staff of the Living Tribunal, which he uses to (as most mystical artifacts do) channel excess magic into attacks.
• Master-Apprentice Chain: Mordo was formerly trained by the Ancient One, and he went on to become Stephen Strange's mentor.
• The Mentor: At first. He is the first to introduce Strange to Kamar-Taj and his main teacher during his time there — Strange actually spends little time learning directly from the Ancient One, who is more of an "unapproachable old master" figure (though what he does learn is extremely impactful), so the main role of "mentor" goes to Mordo. The role eventually lessens as they go on to fight alongside each other against Kaecilius. Unfortunately, Strange doesn't lose Mordo to death, but to differences in ideology, which ultimately lead Mordo to a Face–Heel Turn.
• Merlin and Nimue: A Genderinverted example with the Ancient One.
• Mr. Exposition: Much of his role in the first film is to explain how magic works to Strange.
• Mysterious Protector: How Mordo is introduced to Strange; noticing him from a distance, following him with his hood down and he takes on the three thugs attacking him and dispatches them in a few seconds.
• Nice Guy: Humble and polite, he helps Stephen train in the mystic arts, speaking up for him to the Ancient One and becoming his friend. Even after his Face–Heel Turn at the end, after discovering the Ancient One and Stephen breaking the rules of Kamar-Taj, which results in his becoming a Knight Templar, he's still Affably Evil at worst.
• Noodle Incident: Strange tells America Chavez that he and Mordo had a bit of a throwdown sometime after the battle against the Zealots.
• Not Quite Flight: His Vaulting Boots of Valtorr allow him to create magical steps and platforms of energy underneath his feet in mid-air, allowing him to achieve semi-flight, make superhuman leaps, boost his attacks by vaulting around them, and slow long falls.
• No, You: During their argument about the need to kill the Zealots, Doctor Strange accuses Mordo of not having enough imagination to find a better solution, but Mordo retorts that it's Strange who is the problem because he doesn't have what it takes to do what's necessary.
  Doctor Strange: You lack imagination.
  Mordo: No, Stephen. You lack a spine.
• Number Two: He's clearly the Ancient One's second-in-command until her death.
• Offscreen Villainy: According to Strange in Multiverse of Madness, he and Mordo have clashed since the latter's departure from Kamar-Taj, to the point that Strange considers Mordo to be obsessed with killing him.
• Oh, No... Not Again!: This is Mordo's exact reaction when he realizes the Ancient One is putting Strange through a Die or Fly scenario with the sling ring. Apparently, she's done this, or something very similar, at least once before.
  Mordo: How is our latest student doing?
  Ancient One: We shall see... any second now.
  Mordo: Oh, No... Not Again!
• One-Steve Limit: Karl Mordo has a similar first name to Karl Malus from Jessica Jones (2015), as well as Carl Creel from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., an incidental Carl who was the male hostage in the season 1 finale of The Punisher (2017), and also Luke Cage, since his real name is Carl Lucas.
• Out of Focus: Entirely absent from Multiverse of Madness, despite being mentioned by Strange himself a few times. In an interesting twist of the trope, it's rather his own multiversal counterpart, Supreme Mordo, that faces off against Strange himself.
• Pride: Just like Strange, albeit in a different way. Mordo's pride comes from the knowledge that his time in Kamar-Taj has given him the strength to conquer his demons. The Ancient One warns him no man can escape his demons, merely be able to resist the temptation to succumb to them, and aside from briefly looking troubled, he seems to dismiss it - and going by his hunting down sorcerers at the end of the film, he's given in.
• Principles Zealot: He has an extremely black-and-white view of the world. His inability to see any grey leads him to abandon his colleagues since they've come to recognize that bending reality is necessary when the situation calls for it. He then turns against them by hunting down sorcerers since he's come to see the very existence of magic as a violation of how the world works.
• Put on a Bus: As seen in The Stinger of the first Doctor Strange movie, he was intended to return as a villain trying to kill Strange and all other magic users. That storyline was never picked up, and only exists now as a Noodle Incident in Multiverse of Madness.
• Race Lift: From a white Romanian man in the comics to a Black man of unrevealed nationality here.
• Quit Your Whining: He has zero sympathy for Strange's sorrow over having to kill one of the Zealots.
  Mordo: These Zealots will snuff us all out, and you can't muster the strength to snuff them out first?
  Doctor Strange: What do you think I just did?
  Mordo: You saved your own life! And then whined about it like a wounded dog!
• Rugged Scar: Has several scars across his face, and in the novelization it's revealed that he has several scars on his chest as well.
• Run or Die: After Doctor Strange tries to confine the Zealots within the Mirror Dimension, Mordo shouts at him to run as the Zealots are even more dangerous there.
  Mordo: RUN!
• Scary Black Man: Averted. He is level-headed, charismatic, friendly, and reasonable to Strange, being a supportive (if sometimes strict) mentor. Played straight in the second stinger, when he's gone into full-blown Knight Templar mode. Pangborn is intimidated by him.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He takes Strange's use of forbidden magic and the Ancient One's drawing from the Dark Dimension as a grave insult and leaves the order of mages.
• Sequel Adaptation Iconic Villain: Typically the Arch-Enemy of Doctor Strange, he spends the first film as an ally while Kaecilius, a very minor villain in the comics, is the Big Bad. Mordo's Face–Heel Turn sets the stage for him to be the villain of a future film.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: Mordo goes without sleeves during his sparring session with Strange, showing large arms usually kept beneath his robes.
• Super-Reflexes: When he fights the three thugs who were mugging Stephen Strange in Nepal, Mordo manages to dodge and parry all of their blows of with extreme ease, and later he also dodges Jonathan Pangborn's attempts to strike him with a crowbar just as easily during The Stinger.
• Tom the Dark Lord: An Evil Sorcerer who kills other sorcerers after stripping them of their powers whose name is… Karl. Stephen is utterly dumbfounded to find that fact out from his Earth-838 counterpart.
• Took a Level in Cynic: After he learns that the Ancient One drew powers from the Dark Dimension which is against the rules of Kamar-Taj. He immediately loses his respect for his mentor and Kamar-Taj which gets worse when Stephen also breaks the rules by manipulating time with the Eye of Agamotto to save the world from Dormammu. He left the Sect to rid of all the sorcerers who also left Kamar-Taj starting with disabling Pangborn's mobility which is cruel.
• Trying Not to Cry: Mordo is seen holding back tears as Strange flies away to the Dark Dimension, which Mordo interprets as a betrayal.
• Unnecessary Combat Roll: Mordo can be seen doing a roll to avoid a moving car when he and Strange get trapped inside the Mirror Dimension in New York.
• Van Helsing Hate Crimes: Mordo does this to the sorcerers after his Face–Heel Turn, some of whom like Pangborn only use sorcery to avoid being disabled and otherwise don't actually practise magic.
• Villain Has a Point: His crusade against sorcerers for daring to violate the natural law (including taking away Jonathan Pangborn's powers because he tried to heal himself with them) may seem excessive, but his view is validated with the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home when Strange accidentally endangers the Multiverse in an effort to undo Peter Parker being exposed as Spider-Man, which has long-term consequences.
• Villain of Another Story: According to Strange in Multiverse of Madness, Mordo tried to kill him at some point since his last appearance. The entire conflict between Mordo and Strange played out offscreen.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: He enjoys bantering with Strange, but they're good friends until Mordo decides to leave the Masters of the Mystic Arts.
• We Used to Be Friends: What Strange tells America Chavez when they encounter the Mordo of Earth-838.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He is willing to kill to protect the world from sorcerers who toy with natural laws and go against the Ancient One's teachings because those actions can have great consequences. When he found out his mentor and friend were willing to risk those consequences, he left Kamar-Taj and now hunts down sorcerers to protect the world instead.
• What the Hell Is That Accent?: Appears to have some sort of accent that is certainly not Chiwetel Ejiofor's natural British accent.
• The Witch Hunter: Mordo ends up taking this position at the end of the movie as the events convince him that there are too many sorcerers out there breaking the natural laws. As a sorcerer himself, this overlaps with Hunter of His Own Kind.
• Would Hit a Girl: He doesn't have any hesitation to fight the female followers of Kaecillius.
• You Are Not Ready: When a still-novice Doctor Strange asks when he'll get his own relic, Mordo tells him that he's not ready until the relic decides that he is.
• Younger Mentor, Older Disciple: Downplayed, but Mordo is one year younger than Stephen Strange (assuming the characters share the same age as their actors), and yet he serves as one of his main mentors during his time in Kamar-Taj, alongside the Ancient One.

Jonathan Pangborn

See the Citizens – New York City page

Donny Blaze

Donny Blaze

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): Masters of the Mystic Arts (formerly), The Mystic Castle

Portrayed By: Rhys Coiro

Appearances: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

A former student and now amateur magician who was kicked out of Kamar-Taj for hosting a frat party.

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• All Part of the Show: During one performance he accidentally summons an egg that hatches into a demon. When trying to send it back he opens a portal to the demon's dimension, unleashing a whole flock of the creatures on his audience. The entire time he attempts to claim that it's all just a part of the act, even though he's clearly lost control of the situation.
• Canon Foreigner: While Donny's full-name sounds oddly similar to Johnny Blaze (who is established as existing in the MCU in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), he is otherwise an original character.
• Enemy Mine: He ends up calling Wong for help to deal with the demons he unleashes even though the two are bitter enemies with legal proceedings pending.
• Epic Fail: He ended up getting kicked out of Kamar-Taj within a week of joining, due to trying to host a frat party on its grounds. Wong also notes that he didn't take its teachings all that seriously, and only wanted to use wizardy to benefit himself.
• Flipping the Bird: Does this towards Jennifer and Wong after the judge grants him permission to continue doing stage work.
• Frat Bro: He was kicked out of Kamar-Taj for using his Sling Ring to summon a keg and his fraternity brothers for a party.
• Incompletely Trained: He was kicked out a week into his training, but he had at least learned enough to summon a portal into another dimension with a sling-ring.
• Lethally Stupid: He shows a shocking lack of concern for where he's sending the girls who volunteer to be part of his "portal trick", and then there's his failing to seal the portal that allowed a flock of demons through.
• Magicians Are Wizards: He became a Stage Magician after getting kicked out of Kamar-Taj. Most of his act is typical sleight-of-hand tricks but he's not above using his Sling Ring in the show.
• Mr. Fanservice: His stage outfits have him wearing an unbuttoned shirt to show off his chest.
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: To Wong who's sick of him abusing his limited sorcery abilities in his stage show.
• Smoke Out: Sets off so many smoke bombs during his hearing that the judge tells him off and wonders how he got them past security.

Relics

In General

• Ancient Artifact: Most of the Relics housed in Kamar-Taj are old, especially the Eye of Agamotto.
• Artifact of Power: Mordo's description of the Relics is even the Page Quote.
• Empathic Weapon: It is implied that most, if not all, of the Relics work this way, with Mordo mentioning that a Relic decides when its wielder is ready to use it
• The X of Y: Most of them have names along the lines of "The [Object] of [Magic Entity]".

The Staff of the Living Tribunal

The Staff of the Living Tribunal

Appearances: Doctor Strange

Karl Mordo: This is the Staff of the Living Tribunal.

A magical staff used by Mordo in combat.

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• Adaptational Name Change: In the comics, the Staff owned by the Living Tribunal is called the "Staff of Polar Power". It is never referred to as such in the MCU.
• Adaptation Deviation: In the comics, the Staff has only ever been used by the Living Tribunal himself, and has never ended up in the hands of Baron Mordo. In the MCU, it serves as Mordo's main weapon.
• Chain Pain: It is able to separate into a whip-like chain of magical energy.
• Magic Staff: The Staff of the Living Tribunal is a magical Relic able to split into a chain of magic energy.
• Power Glows: This Relic glows whenever Mordo is using its magical powers.
• Telescoping Staff: The Staff is able to extend into a chain of magical energy.

The Vaulting Boots of Valtorr

The Vaulting Boots of Valtorr

Appearances: Doctor Strange | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

A magical pair of boots that allow its user to move freely in the air.

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• Alliterative Name: The Vaulting Boots of Valtorr. Lampshaded by Stephen Strange at one point.
  Karl Mordo: There are many relics. The Wand of Watoomb. The Vaulting Boots of Valtorr.
  Doctor Strange: Really just roll off the tongue, don't they?
• Canon Foreigner: While Valtorr is a deity that does exist in the Marvel comics, the Vaulting Boots of Valtorr are an original creation of the MCU.
• In a Single Bound: They have the power to increase the wearer's leaping ability.
• Tricked-Out Shoes: The Vaulting Boots of Valtorr allow Mordo to step and bounce on air.

The Cloak of Levitation

See the Stephen Strange page

The Brazier of Bom'Galiath

The Brazier of Bom'Galiath

Appearances: Doctor Strange | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

A powerful Relic kept in the New York Sanctum.

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• Adaptational Superpower Change: In the comics, the Brazier of Bom'Galiath is only shown having the power to enhance one of Doctor Strange's spells to enter Mephisto's Realm undetected, not the power to shoot flames.
• Alliterative Name: The Brazier of Bom'Galiath
• Break Out the Museum Piece: In Multiverse of Madness, Earth-838 Christine Palmer breaks the Brazier of Bom'Galiath out of its glass case in order to use it against the Souls of the Damned.
• The Dreaded: Even Kaecilius himself is afraid of its powers and has a Oh, Crap! reaction when Doctor Strange grabs the Brazier to defend himself during their fight. However, he calms down as soon as he realizes that Strange has no idea how to use it.
• Fire-Breathing Weapon: Putting the flame of a candle in the Brazier makes it shoot powerful flames.
• Magic Fire: This Relic has the power to shoot magical flames that are powerful enough to destroy the Souls of the Damned.
• The Unreveal: Although this Relic is implied to have formidable powers in Doctor Strange, we don't get to see any of it as Strange doesn't know how to use it. Thankfully, Earth-838 Christine Palmer does use an alternate version of the Brazier in the sequel, and it doesn't disappoint.

The Wand of Watoomb

See the Wong page

The Cauldron of the Cosmos

The Cauldron of the Cosmos

Appearances: Avengers: Infinity War

A precious Relic stored in the New York Sanctum.

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• Alliterative Name: The Cauldron of the Cosmos.
• Don't Touch It, You Idiot!: Doctor Strange angrily warns Tony Stark not to lean on it and has his Cloak slaps him for doing this.
• Leaning on the Furniture: Tony Stark leans on it when he is brought to the New York Sanctum in Infinity War, much to the annoyance of Doctor Strange.
• The Unreveal: What its magical powers are is unknown.

Macchina di Kadavus

Macchina di Kadavus

Appearances: Spider-Man: No Way Home

An ancient Relic used by Doctor Strange to reverse the botched Runes of Kof-Kol spell and send the multiversal supervillains back to their own universes.

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• Anti-Magic: Its function is to contain certain spells and nullify their effects, such as the Runes of Kof-Kol spell.
• Canon Foreigner: The Macchina di Kadavus doesn't exist in the comics, though it might be based on the Crystal of Kadavus, an enchanted skull-shaped crystal owned by Doctor Strange.
• Dead Man Switch: In No Way Home, Peter hands the Macchina di Kadavus to MJ and tells the villains that she would push the button and send them back to their home dimensions if anything happened to him.
• Grenade Tag: When the Green Goblin gets his hands on the Macchina di Kadavus in the climax of No Way Home, Doctor Strange manages to take it back from him, only to find out that he has sneakily hidden a pumpkin bomb inside.
• MacGuffin: Of No Way Home, as all the villains want to get it in order to destroy it (or activate it, in the case of Sandman) so they won't be sent back to die in their own universe.
• Ominous Cube: It's a box-shaped magical artifact that plays a crucial role in the plot of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

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