WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If...? Season 1, Episode 4, "What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?," streaming now on Disney+.
Following the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer, fans were left questioning just how competent Doctor Strange was. In the trailer he's seen tampering with reality to erase the world's knowledge of Peter Parker as Spider-Man, which draws back to other instances where he's made questionable decisions. After all, the way he used the Time Stone to fix Kaecilius' damage in New York during the first Doctor Strange movie left Baron Mordo wanting to keep the Sorcerer Supreme and other mages in check, so they couldn't abuse their power. However, as Strange takes a dark turn in "What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?", we get confirmation that for all his mistakes, Strange isn't the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most ineffective sorcerer.
The title goes to none other than Wong, Strange's comrade at the Big Apple Sanctum Sanctorum and the chief librarian in Kamar Taj. In this What If...? alternate reality, Wong doesn't detect that Strange is broken and willing to tamper with the Time Stone to bring Christine Palmer back to life. He also doesn't track dark Strange -- who has spent eons powering up -- despite the fact that he should have known from their chats, Strange would seek Cagliostro out, as he desperately wants to rewrite history.
In addition, when the Ancient One splits the universe, Wong doesn't even sense that light-sided Strange tried to manipulate the past and just gave up. He's totally oblivious, which again, shouldn't be the case, as he knows time was warped in the Kaecilius war. Wong's role is to be a watchdog and gatekeeper not just of relics, but personnel too. He should be taking a hands-on approach and setting boundaries, not asking Strange to fall in line to maintain order.
This is also apparent in the No Way Home trailer as Wong is seen warning Strange about messing with space and time before leaving through a portal. Considering just what happened in the prime MCU before, it's a little baffling that he just ignores all the signs his buddy is going to cause trouble. He should act on the red flags, because when he doesn't it diminishes his role, which is presumably babysitting how magic runs in the MCU.
The fact What If...? proceeds to tear reality asunder is proof Wong is incapable of being that guardian, despite his years of experience as a veteran mage. As he fades into obscurity, you can't help but think Wong doesn't do his job as a partner for someone like Strange, who he knows has been reckless time and time again.
The thing is, this goofy attitude is translated to the mainstream Wong as well, because when he's not complaining about being broke, he's being a criminal and breaking Abomination out jail to hustle and deceive in a fight club. And to top it off, when he should be decoding the truth about Shang-Chi's rings, he's doing karaoke and getting wasted with him and Katy. Ultimately, this makes it feel like Wong's the one who needs supervision, as he seems to forget with great power comes great responsibility.
The fourth episode of What If...? is streaming now on Disney+, while Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is currently in theaters.