Doctor Strange is the origin story of a renowned Neurosurgeon, showing how he becomes the Sorcerer Supreme after losing everything important to him. Doctor Stephen Strange has a perfect record in the surgery room and for his achievements is invited to speak at a conference. He asks his love interest Dr. Christine Palmer to attend the conference. Driving to the conference Strange, while speaking to his assistant, mentions a case report detailing Rhodey’s injuries from Captain America: Civil War. After he hangs up, Strange is in a car accident that destroys his hands beyond repair. He undergoes multiple experimental surgeries, does much research, and attempts an array of therapies to make his hands like they were before the accident. He spends all of his money, goes into massive debt, and loses Palmert because of his arrogance; he becomes massively depressed about his situation and falls into despair.
Strange finds out about a man who overcame an injury that Strange stated was medically impossible to overcome. Strange finds the man, who states that he overcame the injury with his mind through training from the Ancient One in Kamar-Taj. Although skeptical, he flies to Nepal and meets Mordo, who tells him to forget everything he knows before leading him to the Ancient One. The Ancient One explains that Strange does not know that there are multiple dimensions, like the Mirror Dimension, and that the soul is different from the mind and body. She asks him, “Who are you in the vast universe?”
(Photo Credit from Marvel Studios)
Although the accident only affected his hands, Strange’s response to it caused him to lose his financial stability and relationships. As a result, Strange has to find out who he is without all of the things that previously defined his life.
At times we might feel like we have lost everything and there is no reason to continue on. However, things like a job, money, car, or cellphone can be replaced, even if we do not think it is possible. At this time we need to take a step back and remember our purpose in that moment. We may ask ourselves questions like, “What is my purpose at this given moment?” or “What is a reason for me to start over again?” The answers to these questions can only come from deep within a person, and we need to work on figuring them out in order to press forward.
The Ancient One gives Strange his first lesson. She states the only way to overcome his issues is by learning, studying, meditating, and practicing. He starts studying and training in the mystic arts, but he is stuck because he is not surrendering to it. The Ancient One tells him, “Your intellect has taken you far in life. But it will take you no further. Surrender, Stephen. Silence your ego and your power will rise.” He is closed-minded, where he needs to be open-minded. He is not learning to understand the lessons, but merely focusing on the facts. Over time, he begins to surrender, which allows him to understand. He learns martial arts and how to use his powers to defend himself. Strange becomes advanced in his studies and secretly learns about the power to change time and using the eye of Agamotto, also known as the Infinity Time Stone. He attempts to use the power of the eye of Agamotto, but is stopped by Wong and Mordo. They warn Strange that altering time could allow for dark forces to enter their dimension.
Furthering our knowledge of how things work or how to solve problems is great. There are many ways to pursue this information and understand various subjects, including reading, watching, and doing the act yourself. We need to decide what ways work best for us to learn and pursue that type of learning so that we can understand.
Strange is used to being the best, so he is frustrated when he is not immediately excelling in his lessons. However, when he does start to improve, he ignores the advice of those teaching him and begins messing with forces he doesn’t fully understand.
Kaecilius, a former student of the Ancient One, steals a page from the Book of Cagliostro and contacts Dormammu, the leader of the dark dimension. Dormammu wants to devour the Earth in darkness; in support of this mission, Kaecilius and his zealots become the heralds of Dormammu. Wong and Mordo explain to Strange that they protect the Earth from interdimensional threats by protecting three Sanctums that cover the Earth in a shield. Kaecilius and his zealots attack the three Sanctums, first attacking and easily overtaking the London Sanctum. Strange goes to New York Sanctum to protect it and obtains the Cloak of Levitation. He succeeds in holding them off but is nearly killed but is saved after receiving medical attention from Dr. Palmer.
Strange returns to the New York Sanctum and becomes it’s new guardian. Kaecilius and his zealots regroup and attack the New York Sanctum. Strange brings everyone into the Mirror Dimension, and the Ancient One shows up to stop Kaecilius. The Ancient One is killed by Kaecilius, and Strang takes over the New York Sanctum. Dr. Strange and the Ancient One have a conversation with their souls in Astral Projection. Strange says that he is not ready to take on this responsibility, and the Ancient One tells him, “No one ever is. We don’t get to choose our time.” Strange becomes the new Sorcerer Supreme.
We chose what to do with the time we have each day. There are 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week for us to make decisions. In life, it may seem as though we do not have enough hours in a day or a week to accomplish everything we want to. When this happens, we can help ourselves by focusing on the activities that bring us the most fulfillment or further progress towards our individual goals.
Wong and the other sorcerers from Kamar-Taj go to defend the last Sanctum standing in Hong Kong. By the time the Sorcerer Supreme (Strange) and Mordo show up, the Sanctum is already lost, and Dormammu is on Earth. Strange uses the time spell he learned earlier alone with the Time Stone to reverse the damage done by Kaecilius and his zealots. During the time reversal, Kaecilius is able to rerelease Dormammu. The Sorcerer Supreme decides to relinquish his soul to Dormammu’s presence in order to speak with him.
Strange asks Dormammu to release Earth from his grasp and leave Earth forever. Dormammu doesn’t take him seriously and kills Strange, but Strange casts a spell causing an endless time loop and keeps reappearing in front of Dormammu. Strange is killed by Dormammu over and over until he is infuriated by his inability to escape Strange’s time loop. Dormammu agrees to leave Earth with his zealots and never come again. Mordo leaves the Kamar-Taj as a result of his disagreement with Strange’s use of reality-altering spells, and the movie ends with Strange in charge of guarding the New York Sanctum.
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