In today's episode of What If...?, we visited a reality where Doctor Strange lost Christine Palmer in the crash that destroyed his hands. While his story initially played out the same way (this Sorcerer Supreme defeated Dormammu, for example), it veered off when he decided to use the Time Stone to bring back the woman he loved.
Unfortunately, Christine's death is an "Absolute Point" in time that cannot be changed in this universe. Doing so would risk the very fabric of reality itself, but that doesn't stop Strange.
Instead, he absorbs the powers of countless dark beings over the course of centuries, with the final one being that massive squid-like creature we first saw Captain Carter battling in the premiere. Strange previously tried to bargain with the monster (which definitely didn't work), and absorbing its power is seemingly what tips him over the edge; again, we have to wonder whether this is Shuma Gorath.
That Multiversal villain is rumoured to be Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' big bad, so perhaps this animated series is setting the stage for that movie?
Time will tell, but What If...? also saw The Watcher become more involved in events than ever before. As Strange's reality collapses around him, he pleads with the mysterious character and describes him as a "God." The Watcher refutes that point and declines to interfere in what's happening. Something tells us that will change during the second half of the season, but he leaves Strange to his fate here.
It's a grim ending to this story, but the trailers have confirmed this Strange is going to return as he's been shown alongside both Captain Carter and the God of Thunder Variant dubbed "Party Thor."
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