Ever since that car crash cut short his surgical career and he discovered the existence of Kamar-Taj, Doctor Strange has dedicated his life to magic and using his sorcerous abilities to protect humanity, like when Thanos’ minions came calling in Avengers: Infinity War. That movie saw Strange teaming up with Iron Man, among other heroes, and some concept art has emerged showing the Master of the Mystic Arts relying on Tony Stark’s technology during the tale.
Yes, it turns out a scenario was envisioned where Doctor Strange would don the Iron Man armor, and the artwork on the left side shows Strange combining his sorcery with the armor’s capabilities to protect himself against an attack from Ebony Maw, a member of Thanos’ Black Order. Presumably this moment would have taken place when Maw was torturing Strange aboard his ship. In the actual movie, there wasn’t an epic battle on the ship, as Spider-Man and Iron Man merely blasted a hole and Maw was sucked into the vacuum of space.
As you can see, along with envisioning Benedict Cumberbatch in Iron Man armor, it was also sketched out what Robert Downey Jr. would look like wearing Doctor Strange’s Cloak of Levitation. These pieces of artwork are among the many on display in the recently-released book Marvel's Avengers: Endgame - The Art of the Movie (via MCUDirect); evidently Marvel felt it was better to show these images many months after _Endgame came out rather than immediately after Avengers: Infinity War’s release.
While Doctor Strange wearing Iron Man’s armor never came to pass, it wouldn’t have been the first time that Tony Stark lent one of his suits to someone on the spring of the moment. In Iron Man 3, when The Mandarin’s goons attacked Tony’s mansion, he sent his Mark XLII armor to protect Pepper Potts, and she in turn used it to save him.
Doctor Strange is already one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so having him wear Iron Man’s armor while casting spells would have propelled him to even higher levels of might. That said, it’s unlikely a scenario like this will ever present itself to Strange in the MCU again due to how Avengers: Endgame ended.
After witnessing the one future where he and the other heroes would emerge victorious against Thanos, Doctor Strange allowed the Mad Titan to take the Time Stone so that Tony Stark would live, and Strange turned to dust soon after. Five years later, he and everyone else snapped away were brought back to life, and during Avengers: Endgame’s climactic battle, he indirectly informed Tony that for them to win, he would need to die. So Tony sacrificed himself to channel the power of the six Infinity Stones and wipe out 2014 Thanos and his forces.
Iron Man’s MCU journey is over (although Robert Downey Jr. is reportedly reprising the character for the animated series Marvel’s What If… ?), but Stephen Strange will return when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is released on May 7, 2021. Scott Derrickson is returning to direct the sequel, Jade Bartlett is writing the screenplay and Elizabeth Olsen will reprise Scarlet Witch.
Don’t forget to look through our Marvel movies guide to learn what else is coming out in Phase 4 and beyond.
