'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' has 2 end-credit scenes. Here's what they mean for future Marvel movies.
- Warning: There are spoilers ahead for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."
- There are two extra scenes after the movie ends, the first of which introduces a new character.
If you head out to see "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" this weekend, don't head home as soon as the movie ends.
The film contains two end-credits scenes after the movie's over. While you won't miss anything if you skip the second bonus scene, the first end-credits sequence introduces a new character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
If you ducked out early or weren't sure who that mysterious new character was, we have you covered.
What happens in the first end-credits scene: Doctor Strange meets a mysterious woman.
The scene opens on Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) walking down a New York City street wearing the Cloak of Levitation as a stylish scarf.
A portal opens behind him and a woman played by Charlize Theron is facing him.
"You caused an incursion and we're gonna fix it, unless you're afraid," Theron's character tells Strange.
"Not in the least," Strange responds.
As he follows her, he activates his third, all-seeing eye of Agamotto which he received at the film's end after using the Darkhold, and follows her into the portal. It looks like they're heading into the Dark Dimension.
Who is Charlize Theron's character? Meet Clea.
Theron is playing Clea, a sorceress from the Dark Dimension. If that location sounds familiar, the Dark Dimension was previously featured in 2016's "Doctor Strange" when Strange bargained with Dormammu to save Earth.
As fate would have it, Clea happens to be Dormammu's niece.
In the comics, Clea is half Faltine (a being of pure magic) and half mortal. She's been the Sorcerer Supreme of both the Dark Dimension and of Earth. Eventually, she and Strange get married.
It's kind of fitting for her to come around now after Strange has seemed to come to terms with the fact that he and his former flame Christine will never be together in any universe despite him having an endless love for her. Clea's entrance into the MCU gives hope that Strange can yet find happiness.
Where are Clea and Strange going? It looks like they're heading to the Dark Dimension.
Clea mentions that Strange has caused an incursion. Earlier in "Multiverse of Madness," Reed Richards (John Krasinski) explained the concept of an incursion, which takes place when the boundary between two universes collides and one or both of them are destroyed.
It's not clear whether or not Clea is referencing a possible incursion that took place when Strange decided to used the Darkhold near the end of "Multiverse of Madness" and dreamwalk in order to put a stop to Wanda/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Dreamwalking, as explained in the sequel, is when magic is used so a person can briefly control their variant in another universe.
When Strange used this ability, he took over a version of himself that was dead. At the time, Strange was told that was forbidden, and it seemed like he just did it anyway without facing any consequences.
Clea could also be referencing Wanda's dreamwalking throughout "Multiverse of Madness." Wanda used the body of an alternate, innocent Wanda to brutally kill off another universe's beloved superheroes (Mr. Fantastic, Black Bolt, Captain Carter, Captain Marvel, and Professor X).
Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) was left alive, and it's tough to believe he or any of the other hero's loved ones wouldn't seek out vengeance against Strange's universe for the horrific deaths that happened. If so, perhaps this is something that will help set up the events for Marvel's future "Secret Wars" series on Disney+.
Then again, perhaps Clea is speaking about a different incursion all together that we're not even aware of yet.
What happens in the second end-credits scene: Pizza Poppa returns to tell us the movie's over.
If you stay until the film's very end, Bruce Campbell's character from an alternate universe, a pizza man named Pizza Poppa, returns.
He's still punching himself in the face after Strange cast a spell on him that he said would last about three weeks.
We return to Pizza Poppa just as the spell has run its course.
Pizza Poppa, relieved the spell has ended, cries out, "It's over!", simultaneously signaling the movie's end.
The second end-credits scene is a fun quip similar to some other MCU end tags which has no bearing on the rest of the MCU.
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