The MCU gave Doctor Strange a potential power problem in future MCU Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange has been the most hard-working student of the Mystic Arts that the Kamar Taj and the Sanctum Sanctorums have seen in a long time.
Still, Stephen Strange's progress from 2016's Doctor Strange to 2018's Avengers: Infinity War is ludicrous, even for him. In the span of only two full MCU appearances (not counting his brief role in Thor: Ragnarok), Doctor Strange went from being a complete skeptic to dominating the fight against Thanos at Titan. Avengers: Infinity War made Doctor Strange seem almost untouchable. Had this trend continued, the stakes for all his future stories could have easily vanished. Fortunately, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has clarified Doctor Strange's power levels, as several of Doctor Strange's multiversal variants met their deaths in rather simple ways. Defender Strange succumbed to his wounds after an attack from one of Scarlet Witch's Darkhold demons, Sinister Strange was impaled through a fence, and many offscreen variants died when Sinister Strange pushed them to their deaths. These variants proved that 616's Doctor Strange needs to keep his guard up in order to avoid dying by any magic or regular means.
The MCU’s Doctor Strange Is Not As Powerful As You Think
Doctor Strange is tasked with protecting not only his home universe but also the multiverse. He can go toe to toe with Thanos and Dormammu, and he could easily defeat most of the Avengers. However, Doctor Strange is not invincible by any means, and he continues to struggle every time a new villain appears. Doctor Strange only defeated Dormammu by annoying him to exhaustion, beat Kaecilius by bargaining with his master, lost to Thanos for the greater good, and resorted to America Chavez to defeat the Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In fact, Doctor Strange has only defeated one major villain directly: Gargantos. While he possesses an immense gallery of powerful spells and a vast knowledge of the Mystic Arts, Doctor Strange still needs to rely on his wits to win his fights.
Can Doctor Strange Ever Die In The MCU?
Although Doctor Strange has plenty of tricks to avoid death, he's the MCU character who has died the most. Dormammu kept killing Doctor Strange in countless different ways for an unknown number of years, and Strange couldn't do anything but get stabbed, smashed, or blown to pieces. It's more than clear that Doctor Strange is as fragile as Avengers like Hawkeye and Black Widow.
Marvel's 2021 Death of Doctor Strange comic book storyline even sees a mysterious character kill Doctor Strange with a knife. However, Strange, as always, was smart enough to make a backup of his own life in the form of a time-displaced Strange. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness did a good job at showcasing how Doctor Strange can die as easily as any other human. It's his intelligence and experience that make death an unlikely scenario for him.
