In both the comics and the movies, Doctor Strange is one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe. That's an impressive feat for someone who's just an ordinary man, but Strange has been imbued with so many mystical powers and abilities, that few characters can match up against the Sorcerer Supreme.
Like many of the characters who reach this level of power, Doctor Strange has a seemingly endless variety of abilities. Some have been featured in his MCU adventures while others remain only in the comics. All of his powers are extraordinary, but some are more impressive than others.
Updated on May 16, 2022 by Scoot Allan: While comic fans have seen the full scope of Dr. Strange's powers over the years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has only teased the full power of the Sorcerer Supreme. Doctor Strange is a valued member of the Avengers who has also begun to explore other dimensions. The character exhibited new abilities when he appeared in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness which further proved why he's earned the title of Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme.
15 He Used His Extreme Intelligence To Become One Of The Most Gifted Surgeons In His Field
Even before Doctor Strange got involved with the mystic arts, he was already an extraordinary individual. Being one of the most famous and successful surgeons in the world made it quite clear that Strange was an incredibly intelligent man.
Although his role as Sorcerer Supreme didn't increase his intelligence, Doctor Strange has certainly learned a lot since taking the mantel. His intelligence continues to be a vital tool in his role as a superhero, and he remains one of the smartest minds in the Marvel Universe, which is saying a lot.
14 Doctor Strange Gained The Power Of Flight Due To His Cloak Of Levitation
There's no shortage of Marvel heroes who have the ability to fly. While characters like Vision and Scarlet Witch have this ability as part of their powers, Doctor Strange's flying abilities have more in common with Tony Stark's, oddly enough.
Like Stark, it's elements of Doctor Strange's wardrobe that allow him to fly — specifically his Cloak of Levitation. The cloak allows Strange to travel at supersonic speeds which also makes him one of the fastest heroes around. Despite being a common ability among heroes, flight still comes in handy.
13 Doctor Strange Is Capable Of Summoning All Kinds Of Objects In His Sanctum Sanctorum
Imagine being able to summon just about any object that comes to mind in the blink of an eye. There aren't too many people who wouldn't love to have a power like that. Yet as impressive as that would be, for Doctor Strange, that's more like a fun party trick he can do.
Needless to say, this is the kind of power that can be a great problem solver. However, it also makes Doctor Strange's abilities border on being god-like. It's a power that works best within Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, where nearly everything is mystically suited to his specific needs.
12 Doctor Strange Uses A Mystical Sling Ring To Create Instantaneous Teleportation Portals
When supersonic flight isn't fast enough, Strange also has the ability to teleport across incredibly vast distances. It's a different form of teleportation than fans normally see in pop culture and is achieved by Strange's ability to create portals.
This ability has been featured heavily in the MCU, and it has shown just how valuable of an ability it can be. Most famously, Strange used the portals to bring all the heroes to the battlefield to face off against Thanos in the climactic battle of Avengers: Endgame.
11 He Is Capable of Separating His Spirit From His Body Using Meditative Astral Projection
Astral Projection is one of the most unusual and prominent abilities in Doctor Strange's skillset. It allows Strange to separate his spirit and consciousness from his physical body at any time. This might not seem like a super useful trick but it has come in handy on numerous occasions.
The power was used famously in Doctor Strange: The Oath in which Strange oversaw his own life-threatening surgery. This moment was recreated in the first Doctor Strange film. The one downside of the ability is the fact that it leaves Strange's physical body quite vulnerable.
10 Doctor Strange Is Capable Of Using His Mystical Energy To Create Powerful Blasts Of Energy
This is one of the powers Strange possesses that hasn't been shown as clearly in the movies. The MCU's version of Strange has proven himself to be a more than capable fighter with plenty of tricks up his sleeve, but this powerful attack is one of his best offensive weapons from the comics.
Doctor Strange has the ability to shoot energy beams from his fingers which can be very devastating to enemies — but rarely deadly. The energy blasts are magical in nature and are often used when he doesn't have the extra time needed to cast a more powerful spell.
9 He Is Capable Of Conjuring Protective Shields Of Magical Energy For Himself And Others
As important as the offensive attacks are, Doctor Strange also knows the importance of playing good defense. He can summon energy shields to protect himself and others from attacks. Viewers often saw this technique used by Strange as well as the other masters of the mystic arts.
Like Captain America's shield, Doctor Strange's energy shields can also be used in combat, but these energy shields are primarily for protection. As fans saw in Avengers: Endgame, the shields can also be extended in size to offer more protection.
8 Doctor Strange Has A Universal Awareness That Allows Him To Keep Tabs On Powerful Beings
Although Strange is concerned with protecting reality itself, he's also assigned to protect Earth specifically. In order to do his job effectively, Strange needs to be able to know what's going on in the world at every moment.
Through meditation, Doctor Strange can locate beings all over the universe. He can see what his fellow heroes are doing at any given moment and monitor threats wherever they might be. Fans see an example of this in Thor: Ragnarok when Strange immediately knows Thor and Loki have arrived on Earth.
7 He Can Access Other Realms Like The Mirror Dimension And The Dark Dimension
As if the MCU couldn't get any bigger, the Doctor Strange films have introduced different dimensions before exploring the multiverse. Strange is one of the greatest defenders as he is one of the few heroes who can travel to other dimensions.
In the comics, this is a pretty regular occurrence as Doctor Strange frequently investigates problems and confronts threats in other dimensions. He showed off this incredible ability in Doctor Strange when he went to the Dark Dimension to face the villain Dormammu.
6 Doctor Strange Can Cast Numerous Magical Spells Due To His Role As A Divine Conduit of The Vishanti
Unlike many of his fellow heroes who gained their powers through accidents or were born with them, Doctor Strange earned his powers by learning the mystic arts and being granted access to them as a Divine Conduit of the Vishanti.
Doctor Strange's abilities to cast spells and summon magic comes from the Vishanti gods who grant him such power. Being a Divine Conduit means Strange can use the Crimson Bands Of Cyttorak, Mists of Munnopor, and other powerful spells.
5 He Can Create Duplicates Of His Body To Distract And Overwhelm His Opponents
Doctor Strange displayed a powerful new ability in Avengers: Infinity War. When the allied members of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy tried to stop Thanos on Titan, Strange didn't pull any punches.
Doctor STrange was able to create powerful duplicates of his body that each summoned unbreakable bands of mystical energy to hold the Mad Titan. He can use this ability to both distract his opponents and overwhelm them. However, it's not one of Doctor Strange's most powerful forms and he can't hold it for an extended period of time.
4 Doctor Strange Can Manipulate Time And View The Future With The Time Stone
One of the responsibilities of the Sorcerer Supreme in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was to protect the Time Stone. It was one of six powerful Infinity Stones Thanos gathered to form the Infinity Gauntlet during Infinity War. The Stone was kept within the Eye of Agamotto and gave Doctor Strange the ability to manipulate time around an object.
Doctor Strange could also view possible futures as he did in Infinity War to find the one future in which they won against Thanos. An alternate version of Doctor Strange even used the power of the Time Stone to alter the past in a number of ways, however, that ultimately destroyed his universe.
3 He Can Magically Force Others To Forget Certain Memories
Young Peter Parker sought out the aid of Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home after his secret identity was exposed to the world. He asked the former Sorcerer Supreme to help make everyone forget his secret identity. Doctor Strange had just the spell for the occasion, but it required a delicate casting.
Peter Parker accidentally tampered with the spell when it was being cast, breaking the multiverse and pulling deadly villains from other universes to the MCU. Doctor Strange was forced to properly cast the spell and make everyone forget Peter Parker even existed in order to prevent the fracturing of the multiverse.
2 Doctor Strange Is Capable Of Dream-Walking In Multiversal Versions Of Himself
It was actually Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch who discovered the ability to "Dream-Walk," which allowed her to possess alternate reality versions of herself. She did this to search the multiverse in order to find a specific reality. After the loss of her twin children in WandaVision, Scarlet Witch traveled the multiverse to find a reality where the children she created had survived.
Doctor Strange was forced to use the chaos magic of the Darkhold in order to dream-walk himself. To regain access to the Earth he came from, he possessed the deceased body of an alternate Doctor Strange in order to take on Scarlet Witch and protect America Chavez.
1 The MCU's Doctor Strange Manifested The Third Eye After Using The Darkhold
Doctor Strange encountered a couple of alternate versions of himself in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which referenced other Marvel series. He learned from Earth-838's Illuminati that his alternate had used the Darkhold to defeat Thanos in that reality. This act ultimately corrupted that version of the Sorcerer Supreme, who was then taken out by the Illuminati.
Doctor Strange encountered a corrupted version of himself and beat him in battle, but he was forced to use the Darkhold himself in order to stop the Scarlet Witch. This ultimately resulted in his manifestation of the Third Eye in the post-credit scene, much like the corrupted version from Earth-838.