Professor X & Iron Man Are Doctor Strange 2 Villains: Theory Explained

Patrick Stewart’s Professor X and the Superior Iron Man could actually be villains in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. “The multiverse is a concept about which we know frighteningly little,” Doctor Strange admitted in Spider-Man: No Way Home. That’s because he’s never watched Loki, which explained how the MCU’s multiverse works – with branching timelines and different iterations, or “variants,” of heroes. Every previous Marvel movie appears to be being woven into the same multiverse, and already it’s resulted in a spectacular team-up between Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire as three different versions of Spider-Man.

But that’s just the beginning, with the multiverse lying at the heart of Doctor Strange 2. The Super Bowl trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness featured a delightful voice cameo, with Patrick Stewart addressing a captive Strange, who seems to have been arrested for crimes against the multiverse. Many also believe there’s a glimpse of the Superior Iron Man, with speculation Tom Cruise will play the part; he was Marvel’s favorite for the original Iron Man, but Jon Favreau persuaded the studio to go with Robert Downey, Jr., instead, so such a casting decision would be very appropriate indeed.

The general view is that Xavier and potentially Tom Cruise’s Superior Iron Man are members of some sort of Illuminati group, who police the MCU’s multiverse. But there’s another possibility that rather than appear as heroes, the variants of Xavier and Iron Man are part of a group of villains. Doctor Strange 2 is being very careful indeed when it comes to admitting who the bad guys really are, and these two shouldn’t be discounted.

Professor X Isn’t Always A Hero In The Comics

It’s important to remember that Charles Xavier isn’t always portrayed as a hero. This is true even in the comics, where Xavier’s Dream may be just – but Professor X often crosses the line, proving to be a flawed prophet unworthy of the dream of the Promised Land of mutant-human coexistence he points towards. Telepaths like Charles Xavier are particularly vulnerable to ego, because their ability to see into the minds of others means they can develop something of a God Complex. They view others as lesser, malleable, and easy to manipulate, and they often assume it is their right and responsibility to “fix” others as though they were problems. Xavier has constantly abused his position of trust as leader of the X-Men and founder of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, manipulating his students’ minds and erasing memories, even restricting the development of their powers on occasion – without their consent. Professor X is a very flawed hero.

One comic book series went a step further, however. An interdimensional team known as the Exiles were put together to police the greatest threat to the multiverse – and it turned out to be a number of evil variants of Charles Xavier. In fact, as they investigated the Exiles were shocked to learn evil Xaviers were the norm across the multiverse rather than the exception. Xavier’s vast psychic power means every version of the Professor develops the same God Complex, and it tends to turn him towards evil rather than good in most timelines. Thus Doctor Strange isn’t necessarily meeting a hero when he comes before a variant of Charles Xavier.

And it’s worth noting this is probably a new variant of Doctor Strange, rather than the one seen in Fox’s original X-Men timeline. The Doctor Strange 2 trailer features Patrick Stewart’s recognizable voice, but it notably avoids showing the face of Professor X, implying Marvel is still concealing a major twist. Supporting this theory, leaked concept art for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has shown a version of Professor X in the hoverchair he used in the ’90s comics and the classic X-Men: The Animated Series. The very fact this is a new version of Xavier means he likely has a very different backstory – and Marvel could well have chosen to make him a surprise antagonist rather than an ally to the Masters of the Mystic Arts.

Superior Iron Man Could Be A Villain Too

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could easily feature an evil version of Iron Man as well. Certainly the Doctor Strange 2 trailer hints at an Iron Man, with Stephen Strange brought before this mysterious multiversal group as a prisoner who’s been captured by Ultrons – the creations of Tony Stark, presumably originating from a timeline where Ultron never went rogue. That perhaps explains why some viewers have pointed to a glowing figure in the trailer and suggested he bears a distinct resemblance to the Superior Iron Man, although in truth that’s difficult to confirm. Still, this fits with long-standing rumors of just that version of Iron Man jumping from the comics to the MCU.

The Superior Iron Man is one of the most curious versions, though, in that he isn’t actually a hero. In the comics, the Superior Iron Man was created when a spell woven by Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch backfired, “inverting” heroes and villains. Tony Stark’s ego was dialed up to 11, the morality that constrained his intellect abandoned, and although he still protected the Earth his motives were as far from altruistic as it is possible to imagine. It is striking, then, that rumors (and this questionable shot from the trailer) suggest that the Superior Iron Man is entering the MCU – whether Tom Cruise is playing Iron Man or not. This is just the version of Iron Man who’d be introduced as a villain, rather than as a hero.

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Loki cautioned that the creation of the multiverse would inevitably result in a multiversal war. Most viewers have assumed the antagonists will be simply more variants of the time traveling Kang the Conqueror, but there’s no reason there couldn’t be many villains who wage war across the dimensions. If Doctor Strange has indeed stepped into the MCU’s multiverse, he could just as easily meet evil variants of classic heroes as the heroic ones. Like all the best trailers, Marvel’s trailer for Doctor Strange 2 is clearly designed to conceal as much as it does reveal – meaning nothing can be ruled out. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may yet have a lot more surprises in store.

About The Author

Thomas Bacon
(4899 Articles Published)

Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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