Doctor Strange: 9 Reasons It's The Weirdest Marvel Movie Ever
4. It Essentially Negates The Big Future Threat
It's become tired by now to say Marvel movies often fall down when it comes to the villain, but that's because it's so often true. Kaecilius, played by Mads Mikkelsen, is another example of one of their common villain tropes: the stock bad guy acting as the main nemesis, while really working for a higher power.
That higher power is Dormammu, a major villain of the Sorcerer Supreme from the comics. An incredibly powerful mystical being and Strange's greatest foe, he poses a threat to the entire universe. It seemed like they were introducing him now as setup for bigger things to come.
That's fairly standard Marvel operation, and then they appear to completely subvert that setup. Strange defeats him in such a manner the effectively negates any threat he may pose to Earth in the future, which is a rather un-Marvel development.