There are a lot of powerful individuals in the Marvel universe, but few call upon the unique forces that Doctor Strange does. As the Master of the Mystic Arts, Stephen Strange wields magic against otherworldly threats that endanger our realm, and the Sorcerer Supreme will harness these same forces next year in his solo movie. We’ve already seen a photo of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Strange conjuring unusual energy, and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige provided an overview what powers we’ll see him harness in the 2016 blockbuster.
As longtime fans of Doctor Strange know, the former neurosurgeon uses both through his own natural abilities and the artifacts in his arsenal to combat evil, and while chatting with EW, Feige explained what a few of these powers will allow be on the big screen. He said:
He does cast spells, which in the comics have very sort of tongue-twisty fun names. We don’t want to shy away from that, because that’s what makes Doctor Strange Doctor Strange. He has a Cloak of Levitation that allows him to fly, but he doesn’t fly like Superman or like Thor. It’s almost got a consciousness of its own, this cloak, which, again, gives us a superhero with a red cape — which we’ve seen a few times — but allows us to do it in a wholly unique and wholly original way.
Feige went on to describe Strange being able to create "mandalas of light," which can be used as shields and sometimes weapons, as well as portals that he can step through and travel to other places around the world. Feige also mentioned that the movie will "only touch on what a lot of his powers are," so if there’s a Doctor Strange sequel (and let’s be real, there’s a good chance that will happen), we’ll see new abilities being harnessed, further showing viewers just how talented Strange is in the mystic arts.
In addition to the Cloak of Levitation, Strange will also be using the amulet known as Eye of Agamotto, which was seen around Cumberbatch’s neck in the first look at him in costume. Feige elaborated:
The Cloak of Levitation [and] the Eye of Agamotto are his two signature pieces. In this film, the Eye is a very important relic that can be quite dangerous if used in the wrong hands, because it has the ability to do any number of things, the most dangerous of which is, it can sort of manipulate probabilities. Which is also another way of saying, ‘screw around with time’ — which is part of our story.
Although it hasn’t been directly addressed whether the magic in Doctor Strange is actually unexplainable phenomena or based in some kind of cosmic force, Feige’s description of the Eye of Agamotto does sound like one of the Infinity Stones that has yet to be seen in the MCU: the Time Stone. On the off chance the Eye isn’t inherently "mystical," what if the Time Stone is encased in the Eye? Remember, the Mind Stone was encased in the jewel on Loki’s scepter before being transferred to The Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron, so Strange may be channeling the amulet’s temporal power without knowing its true origins.
Doctor Strange will cast its spell on moviegoers November 4, 2016.
