Although major upcoming projects like Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars (and, arguably, even VisionQuest) remain in the Multiverse Saga, on the whole, this era of the MCU has proven to be quite a bit more confusing than the Infinity Saga was. There were certainly plot details that didn’t totally make sense or narrative threads that didn’t quite add up in the movies within that saga as well, but the Multiverse era has felt more confusing—and it’s not just because the concept of a multiverse is an inherently complicated one, although that’s likely part of it.
Thus far, there have been a few specific shows and movies that have done some heavy lifting in terms of addressing the Multiverse. The Loki show is among the most obvious examples, as that series ended with Loki as the God of Stories, holding the different timelines together. However, Spider-Man: No Way Home presented its own multiversal issues, particularly when it came to the concept of incursions—something that is presumably going to become pivotal in Doomsday, based on the added scenes in Avengers: Endgame Encore.
Of all the movies and shows in the Multiverse Saga, though, perhaps none has been as explicit in confronting the Multiverse as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, considering that the Multiverse is directly in the name. That focus of the movie didn’t exactly make matters easier or more simplistic, however. In fact, several ideas introduced in that movie made the universe and how it works so much more confusing, including with one specific idea that now might prove to be a problem in the future.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Revealed Dreams Are Windows To Other Universes
The underlying issue in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is that Wanda Maximoff/the Scarlet Witch, fresh off the devastating events of WandaVision, is desperately searching for her two sons, Billy and Tommy, who seemingly died when Wanda destroyed the Hex at the end of the series. Although she doesn’t know that her sons actually lived and simply entered different bodies, as revealed in Agatha All Along, she does realize that there are other versions of her sons in different universes. Nothing about that premise is all that surprising or new in the MCU.
What did feel new, however, was the explanation that dreams are windows into other universes. Ultimately, that is how Wanda learns of the other versions of her sons and identifies the specific versions that she wants to try and become the mother of. While this might have worked for the movie’s specific narrative, though, this creates a number of other issues. Namely, this doesn’t seem like an explanation of the Multiverse or even, frankly, of dreams that can be sustained long-term in the MCU, which raises questions about how this could work moving forward.
This Explanation Of The Multiverse Is So Confusing And Can’t Work Long-Term
Dreamwalking as a concept exists far outside the stories of the MCU, so that alone wasn’t all that confusing. However, the way that Multiverse of Madness describes this phenomenon suggests that every single dream a character has is a direct peek into a different universe, and that’s just illogical. In fact, as just one example, Bucky Barnes is shown to have nightmares not of an alternate version of himself but very specifically about the things he had done in his past when he was brainwashed.
Based on that alone, not to mention the countless other logical issues that arise when looking at this plot detail any closer, it’s clear that the MCU cannot maintain this concept, at least not in the same way it was presented in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and that in turn raises questions. Will the MCU simply ignore this concept entirely? Maybe, but that might be a bit complicated considering how directly Doomsday will be dealing with the Multiverse. Perhaps some explanation will arise, but for now, this seems like a misstep for the MCU.
- Release Date
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May 6, 2022
- Runtime
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126 minutes
- Director
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Sam Raimi
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
