Benedict Cumberbatch made Doctor Strange one of the most beloved characters in the MCU back in 2016 when he introduced him late in the game with a solo movie. Since then, he’s rapidly become integral to the long-running storylines of the franchise.
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He found Odin for Thor, he gave the Time Stone to Thanos, and he’s the only one who knows how the Avengers can win in Endgame. His future in the MCU – after that whole mess with the Mad Titan gets taken care of – looks very bright. So, here are 9 Powerful Doctor Strange Villains We Hope To See In The MCU.
9 Yandroth
The faith versus science debate is one that has raged for centuries, and if this character made it into the MCU, that debate could be brought to the screen in a very cinematic way. Whereas Stephen Strange holds the title of the Sorcerer Supreme – i.e. man of faith, spirituality, and magic – Yandroth, who comes from another planet in another dimension, holds the title of the Scientist Supreme.
So, they’re counterparts to one another from across the universe; two sides of the same coin. This could tie back nicely to when Jane Foster quoted Arthur C. Clarke to Erik Selvig in Thor: “Magic is just science we don’t understand yet.”
8 Mister Rasputin
Mister Rasputin is said to be a descendant of Rasputin and, just like that infamous tyrant, he is bent on world domination. Just like Stephen Strange, he is a mystic, so he has pretty much all the same powers that he does: teleportation, manipulating energy, creating force-fields etc. This makes him a great match for the Sorcerer Supreme. It’s like how Doctor Octopus takes away Spider-Man’s greatest asset – the ability to crawl up walls – by having extra robotic arms that do that for him.
Plus, the links to real-world history would tie this character into the MCU’s ethos to bring superheroes into our world as realistically as possible (although they generally only do this by depicting the Avengers as celebrities).
7 Mephisto
If we can imagine Ultron as a comic book version of Frankenstein’s monster, then we can imagine Mephisto as a comic book version of Mephistopheles, the demon character from the classical Faust legend – except he was conceived much more overtly that way, even taking his nickname. He has red skin, sharp claws, and a raggedy cape – suffice to say, the conceptual artists and costume designers would have a field day with translating this character to the silver screen.
His greatest power is tempting people to abandon their morals in order to get what they want, which would make him a villain with both physical and psychological advantages – the Joker and the Juggernaut rolled into one.
6 Umar
Bringing Umar into the MCU would be pretty easy, because she is the sister of Dormammu, the villain from Doctor Strange’s 2016 solo movie. So, the sequel could easily follow her quest for revenge against the Sorcerer Supreme for defeating her brother in the first movie.
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This would take Strange out of the wider world of the MCU and into a more personal and intimate conflict, which is what’s needed for an MCU solo movie – otherwise snippy fans start to jokingly ask why they don’t just call the Avengers for backup in movies like Iron Man 3 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Plus, there’s a serious lack of female villains in the MCU, so this would go partway towards fixing that. (Umar is also the mother of his wife in the comics, but he doesn’t have a wife in the movies...yet.)
5 The Mindless Ones
The Mindless Ones are the perfect army for a diabolical overlord, because they can’t think for themselves. They’re tall humanoid creatures who tower over people, can be summoned by magic, and look like they’re made of some kind of rock-like substance. The Mindless Ones are frightening.
Since they have no allegiances to anyone and do the bidding of whatever sorcerer has control of them, it would be fun to see Stephen Strange and another sorcerer pitting the Mindless Ones against one another. It would be a great magical duel with an army of brainless chumps caught in the middle of it.
4 Satannish
This demon comes from another dimension and grants mystical powers to mortal humans in exchange for their souls. From this bargain has grown the cult “the Sons of Satannish,” another villainous group that Stephen Strange has had to contend with over the years.
While Disney wouldn’t be so hot on the pretty flagrant Satanic overtones of this character, no one can deny that a giant, green, flaming demon with eyes and sharp, gnashing teeth on his chest as well as on his face would look incredible up on the big screen. Satannish has been described as the embodiment of evil. What better villain is there than the embodiment of evil?
3 Shuma-Gorath
This Lovecraftian beast would look really great in slick, gorgeously realized CGI. Shuma-Gorath is an ancient force of anarchy and evil, with the abilities to shapeshift and teleport and project energy and live forever and rule entire alternate universes (almost a hundred and counting). It’s a very impressive character with a very impressive list of powers that are pretty much infinite.
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Shuma-Gorath is so powerful that it’s categorized as an entity, not a monster or a villain – an entity. It can take the form of anything, including a gigantic space squid with one eye that’s a thousand times the size of Earth. Stephen Strange would really have his work cut out for him, tackling this thing in a movie.
2 Death
While Death is an abstract concept, the character’s Marvel iteration is female. She’s sometimes called Lady Death or Mistress Death and she’s a love interest of Thanos. Her appearance in the MCU has been expected for a long time, with some fans hoping Cate Blanchett’s villainous character Hela in Thor: Ragnarok would be revealed to be Death.
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In the comics, Death is not only a villain of Doctor Strange; she also battles Captain Marvel, Drax, Adam Warlock – in other words, all the most powerful characters in the MCU. She might even make a surprise appearance in Avengers: Endgame. After all, we still don’t know the identity of Katherine Langford’s mysterious character.
1 Nightmare
Nightmare is the evil ruler of the Dream Dimension, which is where disturbed humans are brought when they go to sleep. He rides around on Dreamstalker, his black horned demon horse, and terrorizes people. Nightmare can even enter people’s waking minds through the concept of their dreams (as in goals and aspirations). Suffice to say, he would make quite a frightening villain in one of Benedict Cumberbatch’s movies.
Director Scott Derrickson has revealed he originally wanted to use Nightmare in the 2016 movie, and he’s signed on to helm the sequel, so maybe this one could become a reality when the sequel is eventually released.