MCU What If...? - 10 Biggest Takeaways From Episode 4
4. Strange Supreme
What if Doctor Strange lost his heart instead of his hands? The answer in its simplest form is a descent into desperation and madness at the loss of the love of his life. In this instance he was still driven to the mystic arts, only to save another’s life instead of his own.
Such a change in the story couldn’t have altered Stephen Strange’s character any more. Instead of fighting for the defence of the universe, he began to systematically destroy and absorb the powers of creatures from across the universe as part of some dark magic that would increase his own powers.
This sent him on the path that resulted in him essentially becoming an evil version of himself, willing to sacrifice anything and everything to save Christine Palmer’s life. After an incredible battle with the other half of himself, since the Ancient One split him into two in a reckless act to try and save the universe, he absorbed back the rest of his power and became arguably the strongest version of himself the MCU has ever seen.
He still wasn’t able to save his love, meaning freezing himself in time for centuries and murdering countless beings from across the cosmos resulted in exactly what his mentor told him it would. The end of the world.