In Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange peers into the future using the Time Stone to survey possible futures and see what it will take to defeat the Mad Titan, Thanos. In doing so, Strange searches through fourteen million six hundred and five possible futures. He informs the Avengers and Guardians on Titan that he just saw one timeline where they defeated Thanos.
Fast forward to Avengers: Endgame. Tony comes to Strange mid-battle, asking the sorcerer if this is indeed the timeline where Thanos could be defeated. Strange tells him that if he says what needs to happen, it won’t happen. And thus, Strange prompts Stark one more time, leading Iron Man to snatch the stones from Thanos and destroy his army.
Except, this doesn’t seem to be the only way Thanos has faced defeat in the MCU.
Doctor Strange died instead of Iron Man on Earth 838
While Iron Man’s death after using the Infinity Stones seemed like a satisfying end to the character, later instalments in the MCU (one in particular) have dampened it. In the sequel to Doctor Strange, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Strange sees himself tried in front of the Illuminati, which served as the premier team of heroes on Earth 838.
This universe’s version of Strange was successful in killing Thanos, with the aid of the Illuminati, and surprisingly, no Iron Man. When seeing how his 838 counterpart decided to be eradicated to negate the effects of the Darkhold, we see Thanos, impaled on his sword, dead on Titan. This has gotten fans to question how Strange found just one way to defeat Thanos when the Illuminati managed to slay the Mad Titan, that too without having to time travel.
Well, the answer to the question is a little more complicated than expected.
Earth 838 is very different from Earth 199999
For starters, it is important to realise that the history of Earth 838 is vastly different from Earth 199999. Characters and concepts exist in this Universe that are absent from Earth 199999. The shot of Strange and the Illuminati after fighting Thanos on Titian itself can give us a lot of information on what might have been the situation in this universe. To begin with, Thanos still seemed to be wielding his blade, a weapon he gave up in Infinity War. This is the weapon that has impaled the mad Titan, implying that it had a part to play in the battle.
Further, the lineup of heroes in this universe puts them leagues above the Avengers of the main timeline in terms of raw power. Captain Marvel, Black Bolt and Doctor Strange are powerhouses in themselves, and when they are aided by the genius of Reed Richards and Professor X, it makes a team that can stand against Thanos and then some. Seeing how, individually, Captain Marvel and Doctor Strange posed a tough time for the Mad Titan, their combined might, with all the assistance at hand, would surely have overwhelmed Thanos.
Essentially, it was the presence of an entirely separate set of entities that tipped the balance in the favour of the Illuminati, opening up an entire world of possibilities for them that were just not possible for the Avengers on Earth 19999.
