Superhero Media: Doctor Strange (2016)

After re-watching Doctor Strange, I kind of didn't have a lot to say about it, so I went to my shelf and pulled out some Silver Age Strange Tales comics and got to reading. First up, yes, Doctor Strange has never had too many major runs of comics under his own name, most often being part of a double-feature or team rather than a solo hero. Created by none other than Steve Ditko (and Stan Lee, but Ditko-stans will have my head for mentioning it), Doctor Strange follows his style of self-made, naturally talented, superior specimens like Mr A and The Question. Stephen Strange is not only a brain surgeon, he is the best brain surgeon and how dare you question his raw, natural ability. When fate ruined his chances to heal, he was called to something even higher, the mystical defender of the multiverse and the greatest sorcerer of all time. Of course, only the masterful snark and superiority of Benedict Cumberbatch could bring this character to life. 

I can't remember if I've covered it before, but I'm not a fan of the casting for Strange, as it leans more on the superiority of the character from the Ditko era than the heroism that the Sorcerer Supreme would become known for in the 2000s. Is it next level meta fandom to complain that an adaptation is too close to the comics for my tastes? Anyway, let's talk about racism and Tilda Swynton. The "whitewashing" of the Ancient One is probably not the best look Marvel Studios has ever had, but simply blaming it on needing to court the Chinese box office isn't great either. The casting has "compromise" written all over it, and whilst Swynton is a brilliant actor and does great with the role, it does drag down an, otherwise, very competent film. Aside from the Ancient One controversy and not being a Cumberbatch fan, pretty much anything else I have against Doctor Strange is a nit-pick, like using Dormamu and the Dark Dimension too soon or overusing the mirror universe, but as discussed above, there's only so much Doctor Strange to draw upon. 

Naturally, I'm a big fan of the post-credit scene with Thor, though it does play into one of the broader issues with Doctor Strange as a character, in that he works better in an ensemble. In a world where magic exists alongside superheroes, there is a need for something like the Sorcerer Supreme to help out the more popular heroes, but his own adventures are a little too esoteric to have mass appeal. I'm hoping the MCU Doctor Strange series does well and is able to branch out from the comics and the Ditko roots, there is so much potential for the character and the worlds he can go to that it seems a shame to be shackled to where he's already been. I'm not a huge fan of the idea of a branching "multiverse" for the MCU, but given how well the whole enterprise has run up to this point, I have hope that it would work well even if it isn't to my specific tastes.