As Marvel fans, we all know that Doctor Strange put up a strong fight against Thanos in Titan. But we also found him very weak at the beginning of the Avengers: Infinity War. But why? We know that the Sorcerer Supreme was elemental in defeating Thanos five years later in Avengers: Endgame. He was responsible for starting the events in Infinity War that led to defeating Thanos in Endgame.
But when he first appeared in Infinity Wars, we find him to be weak. So much so, that Ebony Maw captured him captured in New York
When the fight against Thanos began, Doctor Strange had been a Master of Mystic Arts for just two years. Doctor Strange began his journey as a neurosurgeon but an accident left him incapable of going back to his work. This led him to learn the power of sorcery that was more than just healing his body. He then went ahead and changed his path to learn sorcery and then become the successor of Ancient One after her death. During his two years after learning sorcery, he had already defeated Dormammu and the attach of New York by the Black Order. He had grown powerful in these two years and especially during his second outing in MCU.
Having said that, Doctor Strange had fluctuating powers at the beginning of Infinity War. Maw captured him in New York. And Maw would have killed him if Iron Man and Spider-Man wouldn’t have saved him. However, by the time Doctor Strange faced Thanos, he had regained his grip on his powers. In fact, amongst all the avengers, he was the one who gave a good fight to Thanos. Standing strong with Thor, they made Thanos use the Soul Stone. This gave rise to the glorious moment for Thor, thanks to the Stormbreaker.
So, if we take a look again at Doctor Strange being weak at the beginning of Infinity War, it is not because he had weak powers. It is because he had different circumstances in the beginning and at the end of the war. Initially, Doctor Strange was protecting Time Stone. And that’s why he was using his powers cautiously to avoid swiping the stone off accidentally. In fact, he was willing to die to protect the stone.
However, eventually, he found that giving away the Time Stone would mean defeat but that was the only way to win against Thanos in Titan. Once the responsibility of protecting the Time Stone was lifted, Doctor Strange was free to use his power to full capacity without any hesitation. If he would have known how things would pan out, he might have been open to using all his powers. With no such responsibility, Doctor Strange fought without any pressure.
In retrospect, it can be considered that Doctor Strange was testing out his new abilities while initially fighting Thanos. But we all know that the Master Sorcerer is well-equipped to take on any challenges that come his way in the future Marvel universe in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. And if he needed his primary source of power, Time Stone back, he will be all the more powerful.
