By ignoring Spider-Man: No Way Home mistake. For a brief period in Strange’s career, the world thought him dead, which he planned to use to his advantage–until a newsmagazine revealed otherwise. With his long-term plans derailed, Strange sought options–and in 1989’s Doctor Strange #9, Wong suggested a course of action, one that finds echoes in Strange’s actions in Spider-Man: No Way Home; yet here it plays out much differently.
2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home continued the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s exploration of the multiverse, and also featured one of Doctor Strange’s most ambitious spells. After his secret identity was exposed to the world, Spider-Man came to Doctor Strange, asking him to cast a spell to make everyone forget who he really was. Strange was reluctant, warning Spider-Man of the spell’s potential to backfire. Sure enough, the spell went awry, and before long, the MCU was invaded by Spider-Man’s biggest foes from across the multiverse. Fortunately, two other Spider-Man variants came to his aid. At the end, Spider-Man and his variants were victorious, but it was an empty victory for the MCU Spider-Man, as he not only lost his beloved Aunt May during the fighting but his friends no longer him.
It was a dire situation, and in Doctor Strange #9, Strange avoided making this huge mistake–by ignoring his best friend. The story, titled “The Vampire Strikes Back,” was written by Roy and Dann Thomas and illustrated by Jackson Guice. Investigative journalist Morgana Blessing has revealed to the rest of the world that Doctor Strange is still alive. Strange had been lying low, content to let the Foundation established in his memory to continue his work. Now a spanner has been thrown into Doctor Strange’s works, and he and his associates brainstorm solutions. Wong suggests casting a spell that would cause the rest of the world to forget Blessing’s expose. Strange refuses, saying spells of the such drain him, and goes on to say: “there’s a real danger in playing fast and loose with reality that way.” With no other options in front of him, Doctor Strange reluctantly concludes “for better or for worse, Dr. Strange is back.”
Doctor Strange Was Right to Ignore Wong
The events of No Way Home justified Doctor Strange’s decision here to ignore Wong’s advice to cast a spell of forgetfulness. Here, Doctor Strange exercises restraint, forgoing the spell in favor of other solutions. Strange was also reluctant to cast the spell in the film, but Spider-Man convinced him to do otherwise. The spell went awry, thanks to Spider-Man continually asking Strange to alter the spell’s parameters. The ensuing chaos and death that resulted further justify Strange ignoring Wong’s suggestion in this story. Readers never got to see what such a spell might look like in the comics, but the results would have been just as catastrophic, if not more so.
Tampering with reality, and people’s minds, can carry dire consequences, and Doctor Strange would know this perhaps more than anyone else. In No Way Home, he tried to tell Spider-Man this, who ignored the advice and paid dearly for it later. Wong once suggested a similar course of action, but Doctor Strange wisely chose to ignore it.
