So, the good doctor lives in a world where aliens have invaded and destroyed cities TWICE, friggen Thor is flying around with his hammer, there's a giant big green hulk monster stomping around, and the doctor is skeptical about... magic?
Okay, bud. Whatever.
haha good point
shareI thought the same at first.
But the more I think about it, the less trouble I have giving him the benefit of the doubt. Certainly he was aware of The Avengers and the events of the alien invasion in New York, but he didn’t know about these things any more than the general public did. But what he did know along with everyone else that would’ve wanted some answers, is the aliens came from space and Cap and Banner’s abilities were a result of science. So in other words, he believed science was behind all this “strange” stuff going around. As far as Thor is concerned, it’s a fairly tricky one but considering Strange was such a know-it-all, is there any chance he figured this mighty Hammer he had heard of was a Stark creation or something? You never know.
I find his reluctance to believe in the mystics realistic overall. I mean how much of the otherworldly things happening in his world is he actually aware of? And being who he is, would he even care to keep up with the news? Add the fact that Strange never personally encountered something that was out of this world, and he understandably and believably refuses to buy into the idea of magic. What previously gave him the impression that sorcery was a real thing anyway? A genius billionaire with a high-tech suit? A super serum Soldier? A big angry Hulk created from a science experiment gone wrong? Two highly trained SHIELD agents carrying some cool gadgets? There is Thor & Loki who, yes, but again how much did he see or know about their abilities? My guess is very little.
So aliens and superpowered beings? As incredible as this all is, it’s still scientific-based. Bearing that in mind, magic was the last thing he expected to hear and accept— even when he was in a place of complete desperation.
Since movie-Thor is presented as an alien whose powers come from alien technology beyond our understanding, then Strange would not think of him as magical. IF The general population knows this about Thor, of course.
No, the only Avenger whose powers would be considered inexplicable would be Scarlet Witch. But she's new and might not be widely known.
But wasn't Scarlet Witch the creation of Hydra in Avengers: Age of Ultron? So, not really magical.
shareThis cropped up in the recent Defenders series, too. Jessica Jones and Luke Cage found the idea of chi powers and dragons hard to believe despite being superhumans living in the MCU.
It's common in the sci-fi/fantasy/superhero/etc. genres and it always bugs me. TV Tropes calls it Arbitrary Skepticism.
I don't call it arbitrary. It is not at all odd that someone could easily accept one thing (super powers based on science) and not believe that magic or sorcery or chi powers exist. Their own frame of reference may not allow them consider or grasp such a power.
DC has a character called Mr. Terrific. I've never read much with him. However, I have read some. He's an atheist. He doesn't believe in God or any godlike powers. DC also has an angel hero, Zauriel. He is an actual angel who served Heaven for eons. He came to earth and joined the JL. Mr. Terrific does not accept Zauriel as an angel. That is impossible since God and angels do not exist. Zauriel must be an alien of some kind or someone who developed his powers through some type of science.
I found Strange's initial reaction to magic quite believable.
I think Mr Terrific looks like an idiot when he claims he doesn't believe in the supernatural. The comics are even more outlandish than the TV shows and movies. There's no room for skepticism there.
As for Stephen Strange not believing in magic initially, it makes sense if you consider he was just a doctor before turning into a superhero. He hadn't been exposed to the sort of weird things the other MCU heroes have. At that point, I'm sure if you asked him if he believed in aliens, he'd say yes. If you asked if he believed in Thor, he'd say yes and probably just consider Thor some sort of advanced life form. Once he saw magic with his own eyes, he stopped dissbelieving.
As for The Defenders not believing in dragons, that one is hard to swallow if for no other reason than dragon-like aliens were floating over their homes during "The Incident". They were already fighting ninjas they knew could come back form the dead as well. They should be ready to believe anything.
Yeah, but he believes in science and that is cemented in his mind. But he suddenly changes his mind after SM show him a multiverse.
It's interesting to Hydra was aware of Strange and in Captain America 2 was showed to he was on threat list.
I don't think HYDRA knew Strange would be magic
Sitwell named him because he was a public figure, specifically, a prominent and egotistical neurosurgeon who might publicly resist Hydra's new world order.
Keep in mind that the general public in the MCU, of which Dr. Strange was a member before meeting the Ancient One, is not privy to all the backstory and knowledge that we, the audience, are. Strange likely knows that billionaire industrialist Tony Stark is Iron Man, and uses a sophisticated suit of armor that is fully grounded in science. He knows that Captain America became what he is through science, as he knows that science led to Bruce Banner becoming the Hulk. He knows the extraterrestrial life exists, as the invasion proved. He knows nothing about Thor other than that he's another member of the Avengers, and almost certainly assumes his powers are science-based. At most, he might know Thor is a member of an alien race whose biology gives him power beyond that of a human, but it's doubtful he even knows that.
Nothing that he's seen, heard, or read suggests that magical realms exist, or that physical ailments incurable by any known science can be healed by magic. That would be like you or me believing in magic. Think about it-- nothing that Strange knows to have happened is outside the possibilities of the world you and I live in, at least in theoretical form.
A suit of super armor, a steroid that gives someone great strength, another that gives someone great strength but reduces their mind to simple rage-- while we know that the outcomes wouldn't be as outlandish or far-reaching as what we see in the MCU, those are all grounded in real science. Magic is something else entirely. If I read of an athlete able to leap 20 feet in the air after radical surgery and injections, I'd be shocked but believe it once I saw it. If I read of a magician able to levitate using magic, I know that's fake even if I see it.
Good catch. You called out a plot hole
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