‘Doctor Strange 2’ Ending Explained: Who Was at the End of ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’?

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, aka Doctor Strange 2, aka WandaVision: Endgame, is now on Disney+. And if you’ve woken up early, skipped right by the third episode of Ms. Marvel and the finale of Obi-Wan Kenobi to get your Benedict Cumberbatch fix, you might be scratching your head (your forehead, really) about what happens at the end of the movie.

Good news, we’re here to help. Here’s what you need to know about the Doctor Strange 2 ending explained, as well as who that was at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But first, a little recap about the plot that got us to that ending. And obviously, spoilers past this point.

What Is The Plot Of Doctor Strange 2?

In the Doctor Strange sequel, the titular character, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, meets a young girl named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez). America has the power to jump through the multiverse, though she can’t control her powers. Turns out, she’s being chased by Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), aka The Scarlet Witch, who wants her power so that she can reunite with her sons Billy (Julian Hilliard) and Tommy (Jett Klyne).

Part of the reason this former hero has gone bad is because of a magical book called the Darkhold, which has corrupted her. She’s using a forbidden technique called Dreamwalking, which allows her to briefly jump into the body of alternate universe version of herself. But it’s only with America’s power that she can make the jump permanent.

In order to capture America, Wanda jumps into a version of herself that lives in a dimension ruled by a cameo-heavy super-team called The Illuminati. When Strange tries to warn them, they explain that in their dimension, their version of Strange caused an event called an Incursion. By using the Darkhold to help stop Thanos (Josh Brolin) in their version of Avengers: Infinity War, he became corrupted, and an alternate Earth almost crashed into theirs. They stopped it, and as a punishment killed the corrupted Strange.

After a battle leaves Strange stranded in another, nearly destroyed dimension with an evil version of himself who has a third eye in his forehead (remember this detail in a second), Wanda prepares to sacrifice America on Mount Wundagore, the origin place of the Darkhold. In order to stop her, Strange uses the Darkhold and Dreamwalking to jump into a dead version of himself that he had buried back on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Earth, risking corruption himself. This zombie Strange doesn’t quite stop Wanda, but he does give America enough time to make Wanda confront what she’s done. Repentant, Wanda destroys Mount Wundagore, every version of the Darkhold in all the multiverse, and seemingly dies in the process. At the very least, when he’s asked whether Wanda made it out alive, Strange gives a silent nod “no” which settles the matter.

Towards the end, America is training with Wong (Benedict Wong) at the mystical stronghold of Kamar-Taj, Doctor Strange has learned a few lessons about love and life, and Wanda is as flat as a pancake. But, there are a few more twists to come.

Doctor Strange 2 Ending Explained:

At the very end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a victorious Doctor Strange is happily walking through the West Village, when suddenly he feels a terrible pain in his forehead. He falls to the ground, screaming, and reveals a third eye in his forehead, a la the evil Strange he battled in the destroyed dimension.

But what does this mean, with the Darkhold destroyed? How can Strange be still corrupted? It sort of doesn’t matter, because that’s up for the next movie to figure out… It’s just a classic, last second “ha ha, f*ck you, hero” type move that director Sam Raimi pulls in most of his movies. But there is one more twist to come that does mean important things for the future of Marvel movies.

Who Was At The End of Doctor Strange 2?

In a post credits scene, Strange is once again walking happily through the West Village, clearly over his third eye incident, when a woman approaches him. It’s none other than Charlize Theron, playing Clea, the daughter of Dormammu, the big, fiery villain from the first Doctor Strange movie. Or at least, she’s the daughter of Dormammu in the comics. In the movies? TBD.

In the scene, she brandishes an energy knife at the confused Strange, and tells him, “You caused an Incursion. And we’re gonna fix it.” She then uses the blade to slice a hole in reality straight to the Dark Dimension, home of Dormammu. “Unless you’re afraid?” she continues. “Not in the least,” says Strange, changing into his superhero costume. And then together, they jump into the portal.

Though there’s not a specific comics storyline this is playing off of, Clea is the long-time romantic interest of Doctor Strange, and based on Strange’s smirk, and wink of his third eye in the scene, seems like that’s how this will play out with Theron in a potential Doctor Strange 3. There’s also Incursions to talk about, which are a whole thing in the comics… Eventually, the level of Incursions get so bad that only the main Marvel Earth is left… And the heroes lose, ultimately only being saved by a new, patchwork planet called Battleworld ruled by none other than Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom. It all takes place in a crossover called Secret Wars, and there’s a good chance that may be where the MCU is headed. At the very least, Clea and Strange are off to stop an Incursion. Where else that takes us? Only time will tell…