Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is here, and the world has a brand-new character to fall in love with. Xochitl Gomez made her debut as America Chavez in the Multiversal sequel, as she sought help from across realities from Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange. The character had been one of the most anticipated elements of the film for many, with America having been a fan favorite on the comic page for years.
And Chavez made her presence felt in her first MCU adventure. Her powers to traverse the Multiverse will surely be useful as Marvel Studios enters this Multiversal era.
But this was only Chavez's first at-bat. She will surely be back, and Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron has addressed what might be coming next for the character.
More America Chavez On-Deck
In talking with Screen Rant, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness screenwriter Michael Waldron broke down where he sees America Chavez going after her debut in Marvel Studios' latest.
Waldron referenced the fact that Chavez is the only version of herself across the Multiverse, mentioning that "she's a very significant being in the universe" and that her potential Nexus Being status would be touched upon "as [Marvel continues] to explore her story:"
"That's a good question. And I think that's the sort of thing that that I'd like to see explored in the next chapter of America's story. Clearly, she's a very significant being in the universe. Whether you want to call her a Nexus Being or whatever. I think that's all stuff that's up for grabs as we continue to explore her story."
In the same interview, he also addressed the challenges of writing with the Multiverse at play. He said that they had to make traveling the Multiverse "hard...such that only America can do it," so when in the final act of the film, when Strange was stranded without young Miss Chavez, "he really was stuck for a while:"
"Just trying to figure out how we would get Strange into the third act to fight Wanda on Mount Wundagore was pretty tough. Ultimately, the solution was he would possess his own corpse. When we came up with that, it was a real eureka moment. But that was like, geez, multiversal travel is so hard. It has to be hard - it has to be an impossible thing to do, such that only America can do it. That meant when Stephen got stranded in a multiverse, in another universe without America, he really was stuck for a while. And so was I."
The Challenges of the Multiverse
It is exciting to already be getting small hints as to where the America Chavez story could go from here. She made such a big impression on fans in her debut that so many of the MCU faithful are itching to see what is next for the young hero.
And it seems like she is going to be a crucial tool in the toolbox going forward in the MCU. As the franchise transitions toward this new journey into Multiversal storytelling, a hero whose main power is to easily traverse it will be invaluable.
As for addressing her being the only America across the Multiverse, that could make for some fascinating story possibilities. Teenage superhero narratives usually come back to one word: identity. Think about Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, and many of the X-Men. These stories are all based on finding a place in the world and figuring out just what makes each of these heroes special.
So, with a teenage hero who has realized she is the only version of her across the vast Multiverse, that can only make for interesting questions of self-realization and asking 'what makes me so special?'
And at least so far, they have done a great job of addressing that question on a surface level, with America working through her powers in Multiverse of Madness and learning to be a hero just like Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters now.
