The Gospel According to Doctor Strange
There is a post-evangelical message at the heart of the Multiverse of Madness.
[A note on spoilers: there are some in this article. I’m writing this piece both for those who have seen the latest Doctor Strange film and those who will never see it (but who are interested in messages and meaning in media). If you haven’t seen it and definitely want to see it spoiler-free, turn back now.]
The latest Marvel movie—when it’s not terrifying you with zombies, witches, ghosts, and eyeball monsters—tells the story of Doctor Strange and his new pal America Chavez trying to defeat a demon. (America is a cool universe-hopping young adult with a rainbow flag pin, lesbian moms, and an uncontrollable magic power.) Early in the film we learn that the demon is just a puppet for their real enemy, Wanda a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch. Wanda was already powerful, but now she has access to the full magic of some evil super-book, so she’s basically unstoppable.
Except . . . legend has it that there is an antithesis to this evil book, a book of pure good: the Book of Vishanti. We catch glimpses of this sacred tome throughout the movie, and it always radiates a shining blue light. We’re never told much about the contents of the book, except that “it will give a sorcerer exactly what they need to defeat their enemy.”
Do you see some of the religious themes emerging? Facing nearly insurmountable evil, there is only one hope for victory—what’s written in a book, one specific Book that will always deliver the perfect answer in a time of need.
And here’s the point: when the movie subverts this trope, as I’ll describe in a moment, it is also subverting the “idolatry of the Bible” practiced by many Christians.
* * *
Doctor Strange and America Chavez finally get their hands on the Book of Vishanti. Just as they’re about to gain its wisdom, it is seemingly destroyed by the Scarlet Witch. All hope would appear to be lost.
But after some more action-packed and horror-packed plot points, we arrive at the film’s climax. Doctor Strange is basically out of the fight, but he has the chance to give one final speech to America Chavez. The gist of his message is this: “You don’t need the Book. You need to trust yourself and your power.”
“But I can’t control my power,” she laments.
“Yes you can,” Strange replies. “Whenever you’ve used it, it has always brought you exactly where you needed to be.”
This was the moment when the post-evangelical message clicked for me. His language about her power was so similar to the rhetoric about the Book of Vishanti: “will always give you what you need” . . . “has always brought you where you needed to be.” Then I realized I had missed a major visual clue all along: America’s powers create a glowing blue light—just like the light always radiating from the Book.
Then when America uses her power to defeat the Scarlet Witch, it’s not to destroy her. Without giving away every detail, I’ll just say that America uses her power to humanize both Wanda and Wanda’s victims. By creating empathic connections for the villain (i.e. by loving her enemy), America saves the day . . . and Wanda even makes some reparation for the harm she has caused.
* * *
I’m sure you can connect these dots on your own without much more rambling from me. I’ll just put a very small bow on this reflection with a few thoughts. The contents of the Book of Vishanti weren’t bad. Surely the spells within would have helped the heroes; and some people online have even noted that just before the book is destroyed, it flashes an image of America using her power—so maybe the book knew all this stuff all along.
But at the end of the day, America Chavez didn’t need to memorize words in a book or believe a certain creed. She didn’t need to recite a magic spell or a holy verse. She needed to act, to move toward “the Other,” even her enemy, in love and empathy.
That reminds me of a figure I once read about in a sacred Book . . .
