10 Doctor Strange Fates Worse Than Death
Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme has dealt with some terrifying villains in the past...
One of the best aspects of Doctor Strange and his related characters is that he doesn’t have to follow many of the same rules other comic book characters are bound by. He can escape his corporeal form whenever he wants and open portals across dimensions, or damn an enemy to Hell, should he choose to do so.
The guy has the ability to answer any question with “magic,” and that’s good enough for the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth. This is the one man who stands in the way of some of the most dangerous entities in the Marvel Universe, including Mephisto, Dormammu, and more.
He has so much power at his disposal, but despite being able to erase people from existence with the wave of a hand, he’s not really into killing his enemies — he’s more interested in stopping them in their tracks.
For this reason, there are tons of fates far worse than death concerning Doctor Strange and his associated characters. Whether that’s being trapped without a body or damned to Hell while still alive, there’s plenty on this list that people would happily trade for a comfy coffin.
10. Being Stuck In An Unending Time Loop
Imagine being an all-powerful extra-dimensional being capable of bringing the apocalypse from the Dark Dimension to other realms with ease. You there? Good. Now imagine that a tiny creature called Doctor Strange uses a little green stone to trap you in an endless time loop, and you're unable to do anything about it.
That level of forced impotence is exactly what Dr. Strange cast upon Dormammu at the end of the good doctor's eponymous movie in the MCU, and it's definitely a fate far worse than death. Strange was killed in all sorts of interesting ways during the time loop, but he shrugged each death off like they were minor inconveniences.
The true hell of a time loop you can't escape on your own is being subjected to the will of another person, and Strange's will was indomitable. It's likely he could have continued to live, die, repeat indefinitely to keep Dormammu from destroying the universe.
When Dormammu realized this, he finally accepted Strange at his word and bargained for his release. Time loops can certainly be fun for a while, but if Groundhog Day taught the world anything, it's that they can wear on the soul before long, and Dormammu clearly understood this.