So what was going on at the End of Doctor Strange?

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR DOCTOR STRANGE & ALL CURRENT MARVEL FILMS

Now that's better.

Last time I did one of these, I was starting to wonder if Marvel was getting lazy as they didn't really tease or set anything up. Doctor Strange is thankfully a return to form, with both stingers being more traditional sequel teases. Nothing out of the box, but exciting nonetheless.

Last warning for spoilers,


Mid-Credits stinger first: We check back in with the good Doctor in New York, having established himself as Earth's foremost magical defender. He's meeting a guest in his parlor and asks if the guest is enjoying his drink. It cuts to reveal THOR as Strange's guest, complaining about the doctor's choice of tea. Strange magically transforms it into a stein of beer and tells Thor that he keeps a list of extra-dimensional threats to Earth. LOKI is near the top of that list, which Thor agrees is appropriate, so Strange is curious why Thor has brought his brother back to Earth. Thor doesn't go into detail, waving it off as family drama, but explains that the reason he's come to see Strange and brought Loki back is to FIND THEIR FATHER ODIN. More on that in a moment. Strange presses Thor, asking that if he helps the brothers find Odin will the Asgardians leave without a fight. Thor says they will leave promptly, hinting at some more pressing trouble, and is amazed when his beer magically refills itself. Assurance in hand, Strange agrees to help Thor and we cut to black.

You can see what I mean by this being a more traditional Marvel stinger as it sets up at least a plot point for a future film. In this case, Thor: Ragnarok. But why are they looking for Odin? Quick refresher on the end of Thor: The Dark World. If you remember, that film ended with Loki faking his death and disguising himself as Odin to rule Asgard. Loki (as Odin) gave Thor permission to go back to Earth and live with Jane Foster in exchange for abdicating the throne of Asgard. Meaning that Loki (as Odin) would have free reign over the nine realms. But then Age of Ultron happened, Thor had his weird psychic jacuzzi dip, and after that movie decided to go home to learn more about the Infinity Stones. Clearly, something has happened between now and then because Thor has found Loki out.

Sir Anthony Hopkins as
crazy, homeless Odin.

That's something we'll likely see more of in Ragnarok. But that still leaves the question of Odin. It was kind of up in the air what happened to him after The Dark World, whether Loki had killed him or just thrown him in the jail cell Loki himself himself spent most of that film in. Set photos from Ragnarok have since cleared up that mystery. Loki exiled Odin to Earth where he's been living as a homeless bum on the streets of New York. So you can see the logic here. Something bad happened in Asgard (the drama Thor refers to), He & Loki need to find Odin to fix it, the Avengers aren't around anymore to help them (thanks, Civil War) so they go to New York's new expert on magical stuff Dr. Strange. And as the guy who protects Earth from huge magical problems, which Asgardians most certainly are, Strange just wants them to leave as quickly and quietly as possible. Lest they bring whatever trouble brought them to him to the planet's doorstep. What is that trouble though? Quite possibly the end of the world heralded by a goddess of death played by Cate Blanchett. Yep.

Then there's the actual after-credits stinger. This one's much simpler. We open in a machine shop where James Pangborn, a minor character who told Strange about the Ancient One' sanctuary, is at work late at night. A figure in a green hood approaches him from behind. It's Mordo, Strange's ally from the film who disavowed him and the Ancient One's teachings after the climax. Pangborn recognizes Mordo, sensing danger from the renegade magician and asking why he's there, grabbing a crowbar just in case. Mordo explains that he finally understands what's wrong with the world before casting a spell on Pangborn, sucking out the magic that lets him walk and paralyzing the poor guy once more. He asks what Mordo did and the renegade answers, "The world has TOO MANY SORCERERS". Cut to black.

Mordo in the comics.

This is just a classic sequel tease, no more no less. Mordo is established over the course of the film as being rigid and dogmatic. He butts heads with Strange and is devastated when the Ancient One's hypocrisy regarding the Dark Dimension is revealed. The final straw comes at the end when Strange saves the day not by killing the villain Kaecilius, but by tricking him and his patron Dormammu. It's this trickery that makes Mordo finally disavow Strange & The Ancient One. Instead, he's decided to destroy or remove any magician who doesn't follow his methods. It's a setup for him to become the villain in the next Doctor Strange movie, whenever that comes out.

This heel turn isn't really surprising. Baron Mordo is one of Strange's classic enemies from the comics and more than a few eyebrows were raised when it was announced he wouldn't be the villain in this film. But according to an interview with Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, it was all intentional to set this character arc up. Mordo's transition from hero in one film to villain in the next was to address the common Marvel criticism of weak villains. By seeing what drove Mordo from dedicated sorcerer to wiping them all out over the course of this film, it will give his villainy in the next one more dramatic weight and make him a more complex character. With Chiwetel Ejiofor, a great actor, that plan has a good chance of working. I'd like to see a bit more of Mordo's backstory to round him out first, he has a line to the Ancient One about seeking her out to gain power against his enemies that seems like a rich vein of possibilities.

Nothing too out of the ordinary this time. For Marvel anyway. Bits and pieces to keep us tantalized until the next offering. They're giving us three servings next year, so I'm sure we'll meet again.

Oh, and for those keeping score, we're up to 5 Infinity Stones.

Space Stone AKA Tesseract: In Odin's treasure vault in Asgard.
Reality Stone AKA Aether: In the Collector's museum in Knowhere
Power Stone AKA Orb: In the Nova Corps vault on Xandar
Mind Stone AKA Loki's scepter: In the Vision's forehead
Time Stone AKA Eye of Agamotto: In the Ancient One's sanctuary at Kamar-Taj

Once the Soul Stone shows up, Thanos gets a free sub.