Doctor Strange 2 proves that Tony Stark didn’t have to die in Avengers: Endgame

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness shows a flaw in Stephen Strange’s Endgame plan. 

Avengers: Infinity War was a triumph. Not only did it break a bunch of records, it managed to have an ending that no one saw coming. Thanos completed his goal of erasing half of life in their reality. Before he snapped his fingers, however, Doctor Strange meditated and entered a trance, looking through 14 million possible outcomes in the battle against the Mad Titan. Only one of them leads to the Avengers defeating Thanos. In that one, Stephen Strange gave Thanos the Time Stone which leads to the five year blip.

In Avengers: Infinity War, Strange and Tony Stark shared a moment. Stark looked at Strange and as the Sorcerer Supreme put up one finger. It symbolized the one moment where the heroes win. In the end, Tony Stark steals the Infinity Stones, snaps his fingers, and defeats the Mad Titan. Tony Stark saves the day and dies a hero. A moment that Marvel Cinematic Universe fans will never forget.

However, Iron Man may not have had to die.

How Doctor Strange defeated Thanos

During Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, viewers witnessed a few different versions of Stephen Strange. The one that used to be part of the Illuminati found a way to kill Thanos. The problem was it took him using the power of the Darkhold – a book full of evil spells – to make it happen. Even though Strange saved the universe, the rest of the Illuminati didn’t like how he did.

Stephen Strange was warned about using the Darkhold in this universe but he didn’t listen. In the end, the Illuminati couldn’t allow their teammate to continue using dark magic. Strange understood and was willing to take his penance. His punishment was death. Black Bolt uttered one sentence and that world’s Sorcerer Supreme was killed.

Anyone that can beat the Mad Titan is a being with elite abilities. In Marvel Comics, there’s only a handful of people in his league. Most of them are gods, celestials, and the Hulk. Doctor Strange defeating him says a lot.

The Illuminati may not have liked how it happened, but the alternative could have been worse. There’s no guarantee that this universe’s heroes could have put everything back to normal. For all we know, this could have been the one moment that this Doctor Strange saw. Or, maybe this was an option regardless of the universe.

Did Doctor Strange have options?

Doctor Strange saw 14 million possible outcomes and yet he only saw one of them that had a victory for the heroes. Two questions came to mind when this writer saw Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Was Strange telling the truth and didn’t see the other ways to win. Or was he scared to use dark magic? While Strange has shown he’s willing to sacrifice his life, this option may have scared him too much to do it here. Because if this other universe showed us anything, it’s that Strange could have defeated Thanos using the Darkhold.

There was no Illuminati in this universe that Strange knows of. Perhaps killing Thanos with dark magic could have brought them out of hiding and killed him, maybe even leading to a catastrophic ending worse than the blip. He could have used the magic and destroyed the universe himself. Or, maybe if he used it, it would have killed him. All of these options could have resulted in Thanos’ plan being permanent.

Regardless of the reason, Stephen Strange was wrong. There was another option. We may never know if Strange saw that option. If we do, he’ll have some explaining to do.

What do you think, readers? Did Doctor Strange have another option? Could the Darkhold have stopped Thanos on Earth-616? Let us know in the comments below.