The dark and troubled version of Doctor Strange -- known as Strange Supreme -- from Marvel's What If...? animated series has been brought to life by graphic designer Rahal Nejraoui.
Nejraoui posted his own take on Strange Supreme to his online portfolio, using photorealistic imagery of actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the sorcerer in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and in Disney+'s What If...? series. Strange looks more haggard here, matching the animated version's sallow skin and dark circles under his eyes. He's also wearing the darker version of the Cloak of Levitation. Nejraoui capped off the look with the Time Stone glowing faintly from within the Eye of Agamotto around Strange's neck. The image also comes in black and white.
Marvel's What If...? centers around alternate versions of some of the best-known heroes from the MCU. In Season 1, Episode 4, "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?," Strange loses Christine Palmer, leading the character down a dark path in an attempt to find a way to reverse her death. In an effort to become more powerful, Strange ends up absorbing countless magical beings, altering both his body and mind, ultimately becoming Strange Supreme. However, despite multiple attempts, he cannot alter a fixed point in time, ie. Christine's death, no matter how much power he has.
In the fourth episode of the series, Strange ultimately destroys his own dimension and Christine dies again, anyway. However, this doomed version of Strange does get a redemption arc in the finale of Season 1. He is one of many heroes selected by Uatu the Watcher to take down the extremely powerful Ultron/Vision hybrid that gained control of his own Infinity Stones. According to head writer, A.C. Bradley, Strange Supreme's original demise was much darker in his What If...? episode.
"He was actually beaten to death by the Eye of Agamotto," said Bradley in a previous interview of her original ending for Strange Supreme. "Then when the storyboard artist took it over, they were like, 'We're going to make this a little bit more visual and fantastical instead of horrifically violent.' Because I went too dark."
This is not the first time Nejraoui has created a hyper-realistic version of a What If...? character, recently sharing a rendering of Ultron/Vision from Episode 8, "What If... Ultron Won?" and Episode 9, "What If... the Watcher Broke His Oath?" As outlined in Marvel's What If...? series and shown in the film Avengers: Age of Ultron, Vision's synthezoid body was originally intended for Ultron's use, so would have actor Paul Bettany's face in a live-action adaptation. Nejraoui has done other live-action versions of characters like Captain Carter and Gamora from the finale of the Disney+ streaming show.
The first season of What If...? is currently streaming on Disney+.
Source: ArtStation