This week saw the launch of one of Marvel’s most anticipated movies: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and while the entire movie was filled with countless multiverses, easter eggs, appearances and versions of Doctor Strange himself, the two post-credits scenes did not disappoint. The post-credit scenes offered some much needed comic relief and a significant glimpse at the future of the Doctor Strange franchise.
Reader beware: This post will talk about both post-credit scenes in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness and explain them. If you haven’t watched the film yet, you might want to bookmark this post and come back later.
First Post-Credits Scene
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness featured a plethora of new character reveals, camos and introductions. However, none of those reveals were as interesting as the one in the first post-credits scene.
As the scene starts, we see Doctor Strange walking through the streets of New York. Suddenly, a strange woman (played by none other than Charlize Theron) donning all purple armour with icy white hair emerges in front of Strange, seemingly out of a hole in the universe. The woman informs Strange that he has caused some severe problems, like causing an Incursion into her universe, and he needs to come with her and fix the mess he has made.
Fans of the first Doctor Strange film might recognise the world the strange woman emerged from as the Dark Dimension where Doctor Strange bargained with Dormammu – an important detail to note.
If the character’s signature look didn’t already give it away, this mysterious woman is none other than Clea. Doctor Strange’s wife from the comics. In the comics, Clea is not only a powerful sorcerer, but she is the Sorcerer Supreme of the Dark Dimension and the niece of Dormammu.
Second Post-Credits Scene
The second and final post-credits scene is also one of the most amusing scenes in the film. During the scene, we once again see actor Bruce Campbell, who had cameoed earlier in the movie as a street vendor named Pizza Poppa. During the movie, Doctor Strange puts a spell on “Pizza Poppa” that causes him to hit himself in the face repeatedly. Over and over again.
During the post-credits scene, when we once more revisit the tragic character. It’s now an undermined time later. It could be hours, days or even weeks that have passed, but as we see “Pizza Poppa”, he suddenly stops hitting himself and stares directly into the camera before yelling out with relief, “It’s over!” and the movie ends for good.
Bruce Campbell is a long-standing collaborator of Sam Raimi, the director of Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness. As amusing as his short cameos throughout were, it would have been great to see the actor in a more significant role or even serve as a hint for what is it come.
While most of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was focused on Wanda or The Scarlet Witch, the direction of future Doctor Strange movies seems to be going in another, much darker direction. If the post-credit scenes were anything to go by, the next film will focus on Strange and the damage caused by him and him alone.