Note: Post spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Doctor Strange 2) is the latest movie blockbuster of Marvel Studios, which was just released on May 4. This film takes the audience to follow Stephen Strange into a multiverse adventure and a reluctant confrontation with Wanda Maximoff – who has been completely manipulated by the Scarlet Witch and the Darkhold magic book after the events. in WandaVision.
Like other MCU works, Doctor Strange 2 also offers two ending credits, with one meaning “carpeting” for the future of this cinematic universe, and the other being a joke. humor to “troll” the audience who took the time to stay in the theater until the last moment.
Doctor Strange 2: Charlize Theron’s mid-credits scene joins the MCU as Clea
In the first credits, when Stephen Strange was suddenly blocked by a mysterious figure while walking on the streets of New York. This character is dressed in purple, sci-fi design and seems to be from another world. She said that Strange accidentally created the phenomenon of encroachment (when two universes collide, causing at least one universe to be destroyed). This is probably the result of his use of the Darkhold book to defeat the Scarlet Witch.
And yet, after announcing the encroachment situation, this character immediately cut a way into space, opened a portal connecting to the Dark Dimension and proposed to join Strange to overcome the consequences. . Without hesitation, Strange immediately “dressed up”, opened the third eye on his forehead and entered that portal. According to information at the end of the movie, this mysterious character is named Clea, played by Charlize Theron.
Explaining Clea’s Origin in Marvel Comics
Created by legendary Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko in 1964, Clea is one of the characters closely related to Doctor Strange in the Marvel universe. Clea’s father is Orini, a native of the Dark Dimension; and his mother is Umar, the twin sister of Dormammu – the biggest rival Strange has ever faced, and also the villain in the first solo movie of this superhero. Umar is a member of the Faltine, beings made up of pure magic.
Because of this background, Clea had a natural aptitude for the use of magic, and was very proficient in many different types of secret arts. In the original, she was raised to obey Dormammu. However, after a fateful meeting with Doctor Strange, Clea decided to betray her uncle.
Clea became Strange’s lover for quite some time, and the pair were even married. In the recently launched series, Death of Doctor Strange, Clea took over the title of Ultimate Witch after her husband’s death, thereby becoming Earth’s new protector.
It makes perfect sense to include Clea in the MCU at this point in time, especially after what happened in Doctor Strange 2. First, this movie put an end to Strange’s relationship with Christine Palmer at the time. the main MCU timeline as well as many other universes. So Marvel Studios can comfortably exploit Strange’s other lovers, and Clea is the most prominent face. In addition, this can also be considered a preparation for replacing Strange in the future – which is inevitable for any superhero who has been attached to the MCU for too long.
The story between Stephen Strange and Clea will probably be explored more closely in Doctor Strange 3, before we can be more certain about this character’s role in future projects.
Clea’s relationship with the Dark Dimension
The mid-credits scene of Doctor Strange 2 does not clearly explain the connection between Clea and the dark dimension, but it can be seen that she possesses the ability to open a portal connecting to this dimension. It is possible that Marvel Studios will still be faithful to the original comic book, building the image of Clea as Dormammu’s niece (or even a daughter, if they want to change it up a bit).
Dormammu last appeared in Doctor Strange (2016), when he had to succumb to Stephen Strange after a muddy “time hack”, forcing him to give up his ambition to invade Earth. Strange then sealed the portal connecting the Dark Dimension with his planet. It should be emphasized, however, that this dimension is separate from the universes in the MCU’s multiverse. So, the invasive phenomenon Clea is referring to here probably won’t affect the Dark Dimension, but it’s unclear which universes she’s referring to.
The post-credits scene of Doctor Strange 2: “Trick” for the audience, but a particularly meaningful detail for director Sam Raimi
When Doctor Strange and America Chavez visited universe 838, they were both bullied by a pizza vendor (Pizza Poppa, played by Bruce Campbell) for eating cakes but not paying. Feeling too annoying and wasting time, Strange immediately used magic to make him punch himself within… 3 weeks. The film’s post-credits scene, which lasted only a few seconds, captures the moment Pizza Poppa is released from Strange’s spell. Then he looked directly into the camera and said: “It’s over!”, referring to the fact that he no longer punches himself, and also to announce the end of the film in a humorous way.
This is clearly a “troll” that Marvel Studios has deliberately created to tease the audience, who took the time to stay until the last moment. However, for director Sam Raimi, this is considered an act of gratitude for his close friend.
Sam and Bruce used to be classmates in high school, and have collaborated many times in the field of film and television. The duo worked very well on the Evil Dead franchise, which includes both standalone films and series. After that, Bruce has also appeared many times as a guest in a series of Sam’s projects, including the Spider-Man or Darkman trilogy. After being “held” Doctor Strange 2 instead of director Scott Derrickson, Sam Raimi continued the tradition and let his best friend participate in his latest blockbuster.
According to ScreenRant