Doctor Strange 2 introduces the concept of incursions to the MCU – here’s what that means, and why it can be a huge plot hole.
Marvel announced Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in late July 2019, and it was immediately clear that it would be pivotal in Phase 4. Now that Doctor Strange 2 is playing in theaters, we know what it brings to the MCU and why it’s so important. The movie gives us a better look at the multiverse than any previous MCU adventures, setting the stage for even bigger crossovers. In particular, Doctor Strange 2 introduces the concept of incursions, something we’d yet to see in the MCU. But this new MCU phenomenon already carries some problems that aren’t immediately clear when you first watch the movie. The more you think about incursions, the more you realize that Marvel has lots of explaining to do. Before we discuss this further, you should make sure you to see Multiverse of Madness, as big spoilers follow below. Doctor Strange 2 advances the arcs of several characters, including Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), and Wong (Benedict Wong), against the backdrop of the multiverse. But the purpose of the movie is also to introduce the elements that Marvel needs to set up stories that can be as ambitious as Avengers: Endgame. That’s where the incursions factor in. An incursion occurs when the boundary between universes erodes, and they collide. Universes on a collision course can lead to the destruction of one or both of them. As a result, the respective superheroes of those universes might have to fight for survival. Marvel comics fans expect the incursions to lead to an adaptation of Secret Wars. Doctor Strange 2 gives us the first Mister Fantastic (John Krasinski) to appear in an MCU movie. It’s not the primary Reed Richards, but it’s the closest we’ve gotten to having the Fantastic Four in the MCU. Richards describes the perils of messing with the multiverse when Doctor Strange meets the Illuminati in the latter half of the movie. Also interesting is the incursions fall in line with a warning from the main universe’s Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) in the first Doctor Strange movie. The bill comes due for the magical actions that mess with the order of things. In this case, those actions include multiverse transgressions from various characters. The Mister Fantastic of Earth-838 explains to Doctor Strange that the latter’s presence in the 838 universe confuses and destabilizes reality. The larger the footprint 616-Strange leaves behind, the greater the risk of an incursion. That’s the first rule of incursions. You can create one by messing with the reality you’re traveling to that’s not your own. But you don’t have to be physically present in that universe.
