Every Marvel Series That Gets Referenced In Multiverse Of Madness

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness is the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest entry starring the former Sorcerer Supreme himself. It also stars Wong (the current Sorcerer Supreme), Wanda Maximoff aka The Scarlet Witch and debuts teenage superhero America Chavez into the MCU.

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The plot for Multiverse of Madness features the main characters traversing the multiverse, as its title implies. As such, it’s fitting that references towards previous elements of the MCU and those from the wider Marvel Universe would be scattered across the film.

10 The MCU’s First Television Series WandaVision Was Vital For The Character And Motivations Of Wanda Maximoff

A television miniseries made for streaming service Disney + based on Marvel Comics, WandaVision is set in the MCU after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The series follows Wanda Maximoff and Vision as they live an idyllic suburban life in the town of Westview, New Jersey, until their reality starts moving through different decades of sitcom homages and television tropes.

In WandaVisionWanda and Vision have two kids called Billy and Tommy who provide Wanda with her motivation to get them back via the Multiverse in the second Doctor Strange movie. WandaVision is referenced several times through flashbacks, the appearance of The Scarlet Witch, and the presence of the Darkhold which Wanda obtained in WandaVision.

9 The Tragic Backstory Of America Chavez Revealed In The MCU Was A Slight Retelling Of Her Origin In The Comics

In Multiverse of Madness, as Doctor Strange and America Chavez arrive in Earth-838, they cross a memory-lane bank that shows them their memories. For Strange, he sees Christine Palmer (Strange’s ex) giving him the watch he always carries with him. For Chavez, she relives the first time she ever opened a portal into the Multiverse on her home dimension the Utopian Parallel, resulting in the accidental loss of her two Mums.

This scene is a reference and slight retelling of America Chavez’s comic origin from Young Avengers (Vol 2) # 14. The dimension is still the Utopian Parallel and while Chavez does lose both parents, they sacrifice themselves to seal the black holes pulling Utopia into the common Multiverse.

8 Loki’s Universe-Shattering Ending Was The Cause Of The Multiverse’s Unsettling In The Very First Place

The third MCU based television series made for the Disney + streaming service, Loki follows an alternate version of the God of Mischief post Avengers: Endgame set in a new timeline. Season 1’s mindblowing ending shook things up for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, introducing He Who Remains and before Sylvie (another variant of Loki) kills him. Her action results in diverging timelines that risk another multiversal war.

Although no one from Loki made an appearance in the Multiverse of Madnessthe Loki season 1 ending was still important to the grand scheme of things. Loki paved the way for the spell cast by Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which led to the Multiverse of Madness as confirmed by Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige.

7 There Were Plenty Of Recognizable Elements From Marvel’s What If …? Anthology Series

Marvel Studios’ first animated project was the anthology series What If …? Midway through Multiverse of Madness, the Sorcerer Supreme on Earth-838 Karl Mordo presented Strange to the Illuminati of that world. One of the members of the Illuminati was Peggy Carter who donned the Captain Carter persona – a clear reference to the animated series.

The first episode of the What If …? series explored what could have happened if Peggy Carter took the Super Soldier Serum instead of Steve Rodgers, leading to the creation of Captain Carter. There was another reference when Doctor Strange used the Darkhold to dream-walk into the corpse of deceased Defender Strange who was buried earlier in the film. That moment created an eerily similar and haunting live-action version of the Zombie Doctor Strange present in the fifth episode of What If …?

6 Short-lived Marvel Television Series Inhumans Received A Big Reference

Marvel’s Inhumans – a television series based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name – premiered in September 2017 but was canceled. In Multiverse of Madness, Strange was presented to the Illuminati. Blakagar Boltagan, better known as Black Bolt, was a member of that group. Black Bolt was the leader of the Inhumans who also appeared in Marvel’s Inhumans.

RELATED: 10 Reasons Marvel’s Inhumans Flopped

In Multiverse of MadnessBlack Bolt is portrayed by Anson Mount, the same actor who played him in the Inhumans television series. Despite being a different version of the character, Black Bolt’s appearance was a cool reference to the short-lived series.

5 Founder Of The X-Men Charles Xavier Returns With Callbacks To 2000s Film Series As Well As 90s Animated Television Show

The leader of Multiverse of Madness‘s Illuminati was none other than the founder and teacher of the famous X-Men, Charles Xavier. The character was played by Patrick Stewart, who portrayed the exceptionally powerful telepath for 7 films from 2000 to 2022. Despite being a different “Charles Xavier,” using Patrick Stewart was a clear reference to the X-Men films.

The sound motif that plays as Xavier is revealed in Multiverse of Madness and the hover-chair Xavier sits on are further references to the 1992 X-Men Animated Television Series – employing both the iconic opening theme song and Professor X’s hover-chair.

4 Maria Rambeau Is The Captain Marvel In Earth-838 In A Reversal Of The 2019 Film

Another member of the Illuminati is none other than Captain Marvel herself. However, instead of Carol Danvers being the one to don the suit, it was her oldest friend and fellow Air-Force pilot Maria Rambeau. In Earth-616, Maria was the mother of Monica Rambeau and sadly passed away from cancer during the five-year gap of The Blip. Her presence in Multiverse of Madness was meant to be a clear reversal of the Earth-616 version. At the same time, bringing the actress back to the big screen —albeit in a different role – was a clear reference to the 2019 Captain Marvel movie.

3 Leader And Father Figure Of Marvel’s First Family Is Finally Revealed In The MCU Even If Its Earth-838’s Version

The final member of the Illuminati was scientist and inventor Reed Richards, also known as the superhero Mister Fantastic. Richards has an established reputation as the leader and father figure of the superhero team The Fantastic Four.

During Multiverse of Madness, Reed Richards – who’s often a member of the Illuminati in the comics – made his very first MCU appearance. This was an obvious reference to comic book character of the same name as well as the superhero team scheduled to make their formal debut in the MCU soon.

2 Elements Of Avengers Films Age Of Ultron, Infinity War, & Later Endgame Make Their Way Into Multiverse Of Madness

In Multiverse of Madness, when Mordo presents Strange to the Illuminati, Strange is accompanied by Ultron bots in the alternate Earth-838 universe. That detail was a reference to the Ultron sentries present in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

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Concerning Stephen Strange’s arc in the film, his actions during Avengers: Infinity War – giving up the time stone to let the result of Endgame catch up to him – come back to haunt him. He struggles with the consequences of those actions and finds his actions questioned by those who feel his decision may not have been worth it.

1 The Sacrificial Line In Spider-Man: No Way Home Comes Back To Haunt Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

Adding to his arc of being selfless, Doctor Strange’s line about the multiversal villains of Spider-Man in No Way Home is “in the grand calculus of the multiverse, their sacrifice means far more than their deaths.” This statement comes back to haunt him.

The same line is repeated by Defender Strange when he tries to kill America Chavez at the start of Multiverse of Madness and is the antithesis to Doctor Strange’s final stand when he protects America Chavez from Wanda. Strange and Wong also mention their previous multiversal incident with Spider-Man to America Chavez at the start of the film.