The arrival of Jon Watt’s Spider-man: No Way Home pushed the Marvel fans towards the edge of excitement with all the villainous comebacks! Would it just be the despicable rebounds? The trailer filled the fans with humongous excitement and with a lot of controversial inquiries. Ever wondered why Doctor Strange is continually being a piece of crucial moments in Marvel’s recent movies? Strange is becoming more mysterious than ever since the comics
One of the most prevalent theories is the conjecture of Marvel’s demon, Mephisto.
Did you know? – Mephisto is one of the arch-nemesis of Doctor Strange!. Such controversial theories were vitalized by the arrival of Spider-man: No Way Home. It is either Mephisto, who ought to be controlling Strange or Mephisto could be the dissociative identity of Stephen Strange, ergo Strange is the Mephisto. The Evil Twin!
The comic Spider-Man; One More Day adds up to the controversies. There are certain agitating similarities between the OMD comic and the upcoming Spiderman movie. The plot of the comic is a crossover story that interfaces three spider-man storylines which spin around Peter’s relationship with MJ. The protagonist (ie Parker) compiles a deal with the devil Mephisto by abandoning his marriage with MJ (which he regrets later) so that Aunt May could live. Parker is much concerned about MJ failing to remember him because of Mephisto’s spell.
The plot of the movie is much similar to the comic as well. Of course, the movie interlinks three spiderman storylines. It deals with Parker’s love bond with MJ. However, it was Doctor Strange who cast the spell in the movie, not Mephisto. This nourishes the suspicion of evil Strange.
Spider-Man: No Way Home’s trailer affirms such controversial theories through the typical Marvel’s Easter egg techniques.
First of the hints is the poster in the trailer with the phrase ‘Devil in disguise’, which symbolizes something more than exposed Peter Parker. Deciphering the phrase with the theory leads to the conclusion that it is a resemblance to Demon Strange.
Again the Sanctorum; as highlighted as the snow-shrouded Sanctum Sanctorum, is an unpretentious gesture towards frozen hell. The purgatory in Buddhism is referred to as the frozen hell or the Narakas. Similar terrain for Hell is in Chinese mythology as well, called the Diyu.
The subsequent hint is the most famous quote used by the fictional demon characters.
“Be careful what you wish for“- a phrase to represent the Devil itself during its pact with humans.
The same phrase said by Stephen Strange, – “ be careful what you wish for Parker”, to Peter Parker in Spider-man: No Way Home when Peter wished to conceal his secret identity as it was before the death of Mysterio. The phrase followed by a wink by Stephen Strange theorizes a serious amiss.
One more similarity is from another Marvel movie The Ghost Rider, where Satan – Mephisto / Mephistopheles made his pact with Johnny Blaze (the Ghost Rider), using similar terms as implications about the consequences.
For instance, in the movie Doctor Strange 2016, the character ‘Mysterious Ancient One’ was the former Sorceress Supreme who possessed the ability to knock one’s soul out of their body (a unique ability that required an abundance of power). She drew such power from the dark source provided by the demonic energy.
In addition to the soul punch, Strange has the ability to command time with the time stone. Strange had his advantages in the mirror dimensions which only the dark ones possessed. Strange was also eager to learn the forbidden spells and dark secrets. Hence, it is possible that as the young Sorceress Supreme, Stephen Strange has unlocked the ability to use dark power. The dissociative identity of Strange as Mephisto could be the result of the consumption of dark power. Evil Strange could be born out of Strange’s consciousness as Mephisto with all Strange’s abilities. That sums up Mephisto’s ability to manipulate the timeline with parallel reality.
Did you Notice- Doctor Strange was able to create various realistic illusions during his battle with Thanos in the movie Avengers: Infinity War. These illusions are none other than Strange himself from the various timelines.
Strange had always been portrayed as an intellectual character. His wisdom is a part of his unique ability. Due to the possession of the Time stone, Strange often had prior knowledge of things throughout the timeline. Strange knew Stark had to sacrifice himself in Avengers; End Game to snap things back. He knew about the existence of parallel universes since Multi-verse has always been a meta-narrative of Marvel. He also knew that Parker’s decision would bring Dr. Octopus, SandMan, Green Goblin, Electro, back to life through multiverse law.
Yet, there is always a strange silence in Stephen Strange.
Is it because he could revive all his dead legends back alive? Or is it because he could resuscitate the villains back? Can Mephisto be a figment character of Doctor Strange? Or is Evil Strange stowed under the shadow of Mephisto? All such questions lead to more excitement towards the upcoming MCU sequels.
