Last weekend, and probably for the next few weekends, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness will dominate the box office, but despite all the people that watched it, we still need to be respectful of spoilers. Like the internet Gremlin I am, I’ve been bookmarking them rather than even “liking,” let alone sharing the best jokes from the movie. This is because most significant social media companies will show people I know whatever I interact with just to drive engagement. Then there’s the trending feature on Twitter, too. Enough is enough. I’m trying to avoid algorithmically spoiling anyone!
Unlike Spider-Man: No Way Home, which had such a big rumor mill that even many casual viewers expected/hoped to see the trio of Spider-Men onscreen, MoM is very different. I feel like I’m about to act like [redacted] and start [redacted] people like [redacted.] So here, instead, are some of the funniest posts I’ve seen on Twitter alone about THAT ONE SCENE from MoM.
Spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness!
So we know I’m talking about the scene on Earth-838 where Stephen is on trial at the Illuminati headquarters, and Wanda is on an uncharismatic murder rampage, right? This scene is one of the coolest and more frustrating parts of the movie. We got to see John Krasinki as Mr. Fantastic, Hayley Atwell as Captain Carter (again), Anson Mount as Black Bolt (technically again), and Lashana Lynch as Captain Marvel. While we might see Lynch as her Earth-616 counterpart (Maria Rambeau), only her daughter Monica Rambeau (played by Teyonah Parris) will appear for the 2021 film The Marvels.
On top of Wanda’s scene is supposed to be a narrative shorthand on how bad the Darkhold is taking over her sense of morality and reality, it felt like a big “sike” as these cameos were crushed, blown up, shredded, and sliced before our eyes. Other than the visual horror feast, we got some excellent memes out of it. Until now, I couldn’t share because I don’t want to spoil the movie for people—a courtesy you waived by reading this far.
This weird death situation also applies to Captain Carter, too. She is fully trained in using her shield, but Wanda will throw it back so well that Carter can’t catch it? Okay. Anyways, Mr. Fantastic, a.k.a. Reed Richards, and Black Bolt, a.k.a. Blackagar Boltagon, got the best jokes because they got the most creative deaths.
Black Bolt originally appeared in the universally panned 2017 show Inhumans (I’m talking 11% from critics and 44% on audience score on Rotten Tomatoes). The show is disliked for various reasons, but most of the reactions from people who watched Black Bolt alive for a few minutes onscreen were intrigued. Because his power is a deadly sonic blast with his voice, there’s been so many jokes since MoM released imagining his character during allergy season, hearing funny jokes, or having sex, but since they’re what we’re here for, let’s get to the spoilery ones:
Can anyone win in a 1v1?
In addition to all the jokes about the deaths, people began to speculate whether anyone we’ve seen onscreen could defeat Wanda Maximoff in a battle. These were not so much jokes but were so ridiculous sounding that they became funny. For example, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman have been floated around the most. I’m not sure in what universe people really think any Spider-Man or Wonder Woman would defeat a murderous Omega-level mutant, even as nerfed as she is in MoM. However, it’s not 616 Wanda. I can tell you that right now.
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
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