A new piece of concept art revealed the first full look at Doctor Strange Supreme, a fallen Strange Variant from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness who was once a member of the Illuminati.
Doctor Strange 2 gave the MCU its first true taste of how many Variants of different Marvel characters exist across the Multiverse, mostly with Strange himself as four different versions of the good doctor made their presence felt. This included Supreme Strange from Earth-838, with the plot revealing that he was the first of these Variants to use the Darkhold before the Illuminati's Black Bolt was forced to kill him to protect the Multiverse.
This Variant was teased a few weeks before the movie released through a special Funko Pop! and was even shown in the original trailer via his statue in front of the Sanctum Sanctorum, even though he only got a few minutes of screen time in flashback form.
Now, long after Doctor Strange 2 hit the big screen and took the next big step forward in the Multiverse Saga, fans have their first true look at this powerful Strange Variant thanks to a new image from the movie's production.
Supreme Strange Shown in New MCU Concept Art
Marvel Studios Visual Development Supervisor Ian Joyner shared the first full image of the Supreme Strange Variant from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on Instagram.
His outfit boasts a bold midnight blue color throughout the robes and his Cloak of Levitation, which flows behind his back and boasts a much taller collar than the Prime Strange's red cloak. This take on the hero is also clean-shaven the way the Prime Strange originally was, different from the mustache/goatee combo or the unruly beard that Sinister Strange has.
Joyner shared that this look was the "final approved concept" for the character, reminiscing on how fun it was to convey the differences between each Strange Variant. He also praised the movie's production designer and costume designer for bringing the statue of Supreme Strange to life along with Benedict Cumberbatch's costume:
"Here is something for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: my final approved concept for Supreme Strange. It was really fun exploring the various looks to convey the attitude and history of each Multiversal Strange, We didn’t get to see much of this costume in the film, other Than the awesome Statue Production Designer Charlie Wood and his amazing team created for the memorial, but Costume Designer Graham Churchyard and the incredible costume team brought it to life brilliantly."
This version of Strange only appeared twice in Doctor Strange 2, showing up in statue form and during the flashback in the Illuminati's headquarters that Patrick Stewart's Professor X showed.
Joyner also heaped praise upon concept artist Keith Christensen for developing "a fantastic look for Mordo" that he used for inspiration to keep Supreme Strange in that same world:
"Keith Christensen had already designed a fantastic look for Mordo utilizing Armor Relics and ornate softgoods that I wanted to use as inspiration to try and anchor them to the same world. Really fun seeing all the costumes on display at the Premiere and various other venues."
Supreme Strange Takes the Spotlight for Doctor Strange 2
Although Supreme Strange only had less than a minute of screen time in Doctor Strange 2, he played an important role in driving the Prime Strange to make the decisions he made in stopping Wanda Maximoff from breaking the fabric of reality. The Variant in this image is the one that opened the door to the idea of dreamwalking, and even though he paid for that decision in his own world with his life, Prime Strange followed in his footsteps by putting his mind into Zombie Strange's corpse and showing Wanda the error of her ways.
As is the case with all of the costumes developed in the MCU, Supreme Strange's look provided an exciting visual for the new Marvel introduction, making his suit stand out from the other three Variants that were shown.
Looking forward, Cumberbatch hopes to take on even more Variant challenges in future Multiverse Saga movies, especially with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars only a few years away. And while Supreme Strange may not be seen again, this movie will be far from the last time that Benedict Cumberbatch is seen expanding his character quota in the MCU.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now streaming on Disney+.
