In 2016’s Doctor Strange movie, the eponymous sorcerer – played so brilliantly by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch – faced off against the powerful mystical entity Dormammu. Strange headed to Dormammu’s home realm, the Dark Dimension, to prevent the malevolent being from coming to Earth and conquering it. He defeated his evil opponent using the Time Stone to trap him in an endless temporal loop. “Dormammu, I’ve come to bargain” is a legendary moment in comic book movie history.
A recent Marvel Cinematic Universe fan theory posits that Dormammu may have been an alternate version of Doctor Strange himself. So, how could that be? How could a nefarious mystical entity – the embodiment of the realm in which it resides – be an alternate version of a human sorcerer? Delving into the nitty-gritty details of this intriguing MCU theory reveals a reasonably convincing argument (up to a point, at least).
How Could Dormammu Be an Alternate Version of Doctor Strange?
Think about 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and seasons one and two of What If…? Both productions introduced alternate versions of Strange, who’d been corrupted by evil magic and could destroy universes. Dormammu could be an alternate version of Strange, who’d been corrupted to the point of undergoing a drastic transformation.
Imagine this alternate version of Strange had obtained the Darkhold and various other dark artifacts, desperately attempting to save someone he loved. Overusing these evil objects may have changed the character’s moral alignment and drastically altered his appearance and the universe in which he lived, turning it into the Dark Dimension.
The theory even suggests the name “Dormammu” is some modified phrase, like how Hodor’s name in Game of Thrones is a mangled form of the words “hold the door.”
It could then be justified that the Ancient One took power from the Dark Dimension to give her a longer life. She knew what all versions of Strange were capable of and wanted to ensure she lived long enough to guide her universe’s strange on the right path. Moreover, it allowed her to prepare him to fight his evil counterpart when their showdown inevitably occurred.
The theory is further backed up by the fact Benedict Cumberbatch voiced Dormammu in Doctor Strange. Was that a hint from Marvel Studios and the team behind the movie that he and Doctor Strange are the same character? It may have intended to foreshadow that they are alternate versions of the same character.
Why Doesn’t This Theory Work?
The main problem with this theory is that the Dark Dimension isn’t an alternate timeline; it’s an entirely different realm. Every universe has its version of the dimension. Granted, that could be retconned into something the Ancient One wanted people to believe, but it’s more than likely a nailed-on fact like it is in the comic books.
Moreover, Dormammu is such an integral part of Marvel’s history and Doctor Strange’s story that it would be sinful to make him a mere transformed version of the hero he so often opposes.
The MCU’s depiction of Dormammu is controversial, to begin with. His appearance was so far removed from the established comic book version of the character that it enraged many fans. Dormammu is an imposing, flaming humanoid, not a giant head that emerges from the domain he rules. Therefore, to make more changes – especially one as huge as making him an alternate version of his nemesis, Doctor Strange – would cause a riot.
It’s a fun idea, but this is one theory that most fans will hope isn’t accurate. Doctor Strange is Doctor Strange, and Dormammu is Dormammu. It’s that simple. Maybe fans will get confirmation if Dormammu returns in Doctor Strange 3.
