Doctor Strange has risen to rank among the most crucial characters in the new stage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The future of the franchise seems to be resting significantly on his shoulders. Starting his journey as a novice wizard, he is now one of the most powerful sorcerers in the universe.
Like any other MCU character, Doctor Strange has gone through his fair share of adversities. It will be fun to see what else the future has in store for him in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But, for now, these things are the worst things that have happened to him.
Disintegrating And Losing 5 Years Of His Life
Doctor Strange was disintegrated at the end of their victory against Thanos.
Still, it couldn't have been easy for him. Coming back and knowing that he lost five years of his life and how the world changed and moved on since he was last here must have been difficult. Even though he is expected to handle it a lot better than other people, he is still a human with magical powers and therefore, not immune to negative human emotions.
Getting Stabbed And Almost Dying
In his solo movie, Strange was stabbed by one of Kaecilius' men near the heart. He had to open a portal to the hospital where he worked and went into intense surgery. Even while going through the surgery, he had to fight the man in his astral spirit, who was still out to kill him.
This was definitely a challenging task for Stephen, considering he didn't have much experience fighting bad guys who were experts in dark arts. Thus, this near-death experience is certainly one of the worst experiences of his life.
The Car Accident
Stephen went through a horrible car accident at the beginning of Doctor Strange. His car was completely destroyed and he went through a large number of surgical procedures to remain alive. Not to mention, he had a long, arduous, and difficult recovery period.
The worst thing was that lost proper control of his hands. He was an acclaimed surgeon and for a surgeon to have their hands become crippled is an awful thing. He couldn't hold his hand still, let alone perform surgery. One could say that this eventually led to him becoming a sorcerer and saving the world but, for him, it is nevertheless one of the worst experiences of his life.
Performing The Spell For Peter
Peter Parker came to Doctor Strange for help in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Strange performed a spell to make people forget that Peter is Spider-Man. However, due to Peter repeatedly demanding to change it, the spell backfired and resulted in havoc at the multiverse level.
This led to a chain of events that Strange had to handle and this will likely have much larger repercussions than seen in No Way Home. The responsibility for cleaning the mess will fall on Strange's shoulders since he performed the spell in the first place.
Losing Christine And His Former Life
Stephen's life was turned upside down when he entered the Kamar-Taj for the first time. He learned the art of magic and became a powerful sorcerer. However, he also ended up losing his old life.
Stephen used to be a renowned neurosurgeon and had a caring friend in Christine. He can probably never go back to that life now. So, if there was ever a chance for Stephen and Christine to get back together and have a happy life, that possibility is now bleak as is hinted in the Multiverse of Madness teaser.
Mordo Abandoning Him
Mordo was a companion of Strange at Kamar-Taj and they became friends. However, at the end of Doctor Strange, Mordo abandoned Stephen because he felt that his moral codes were violated and he was disillusioned with the ways of the sorcerers.
This happened at a time when Stephen was in dire need of Mordo because the responsibility of the magical world had fallen on their shoulders. Strange needed his friend to share the responsibility, but Mordo leaving him made him feel alone.
Getting Stuck In The Mirror Dimension
In No Way Home, Peter Parker bested Strange in the mirror dimension using geometry. After defeating him, Peter left him there for 12 hours dangling by spider webs.
It must have been an extremely uncomfortable situation for Strange to be left like that for so long. Additionally, being outsmarted by a teenager on his own turf wouldn't have been pleasant for his ego.
Tortured By Ebony Maw
Thanos' right-hand man Ebony Maw, tortured Doctor Strange painstakingly with needles piercing his entire body because he wanted Strange to relinquish the Time Stone.
Even after such agonizing torture, Stephen didn't break, which is a testament to his strength. The torture was painful to watch for the viewers too so, it is hard to imagine what Stephen must be going through at the moment.
The Ancient One's Demise
When the Ancient One died at the hands of Kaecilius, Strange was heartbroken. When she was dying, their astral spirits had a heartfelt interaction, which is one of the most beautiful scenes of Doctor Strange.
Stephen urged her to get back to her body, so she can be saved but the Ancient One told him that her time has come. She also revealed that the universe has plans for Stephen and she is leaving the fate of the world in his hands. It was a moment that pushed Strange to become what he is today, though he was in tears after her death.
Murdered Infinitely By Dormammu
Dormammu was a mystical being who wanted to conquer the earth. Strange went to bargain with him on his own and trapped Dormammu in a time loop in order to stall him from destroying the earth.
However, the catch in this was that Dormammu kept killing Strange and he came back alive every time until Dormammu had to give up and leave along with his zealots. Undoubtedly this was a brilliant plan of Doctor Strange, but it doesn't change the fact that he had to die an infinite number of times in a brutal manner. Thus, while the experience was tedious and frustrating for Dormammu, for Strange it must have been excruciatingly painful.
