Dr Strange

What If did justice to Dr. Strange's romance with Christine Palmer while Multiverse of Madness faltered.

Whereas Multiverse of Madness followed Wanda’s search for power in order to be with her children, What If? gave Dr. Strange a proper solo story that delved into his ultimate love for Christine Palmer. In many ways, the What If? episode was more of a direct sequel to Doctor Strange than the live-action one, which was more concerned with the Scarlet Witch’s emotional arc than Strange’s own. Rather than spending the rest of his life studying the mystical arts to save his hands, he instead searches for a way to save Christine. It isn’t Strange’s arrogance or pride that leads to his search for power, which is what set him off on his journey to Kamar-Taj in Doctor Strange, but his love. That Christine’s death is an absolute point is significant to this Dr. Strange and every Dr. Strange in other universes — Christine is his absolute love. On the other hand, “What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?” puts Strange’s love for Christine at the center of its story. His appearances in the MCU since then — Infinity War, Endgame, and No Way Home — never explored what had happened to Christine. And while he gets to spend some more time with an alternate Christine in Multiverse of Madness, in a universe where he also comes across Marvel’s Illuminati, she is merely a plot device to help Strange and Chavez get to the Book of Vishanti. Even when Christine sticks around to help keep Strange’s body stable while he takes control of a zombie Strange in 616, the scene echoes her role in the first Doctor Strange in which she also keeps Strange’s body stable as he fights in the astroplane. While there were a number of rumors surrounding how director Sam Raimi would approach the Doctor Strange sequel — especially since Multiverse of Madness was his return to Marvel since the original Spider-Man trilogy with Tobey McGuire — there were still a number of surprises for fans. Of course, Stephen’s love for Christine still plays a part in the film, albeit a comparatively minor one. But love is a more human motivation, one that grounds the Scarlet Witch in a more sympathetic light, even as a villain. But for more dedicated fans of the MCU, the multiverse was already being teased in the multiple Disney+ series on streaming, from Wandavision, Loki, and more explicitly in What If? The Watcher, played by Jeffrey Wright, explores the various tangential paths across the universe, one of which is titled “What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?” In it, Strange loses the love of his life Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) in the car accident rather than suffering hand injuries. In many ways, part of why Multiverse of Madness does a disservice to Strange and Christine’s relationship is that it doesn’t focus on Strange at all. And it’s Strange’s heart that was surprisingly missing in Multiverse of Madness, a film that continued to underserve Adams’ performance as Christine Palmer and pushed her romance with Strange to the sidelines. For many audiences, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was everything they were waiting for since Spider-Man: No Way Home opened up the Marvel Cinematic Universe to other universes.