Warning: Contains Spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Marvel's Voices: Comunidades #1!Marvel's young MCU and made it better. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had some pretty silly battles in the past. From Star-Lord challenging Ronan the Acc to a dance battle in Guardians of the Galaxy to Ant-Man and Yellow Jacket fighting on a Thomas the Tank Engine train set in the original Ant-Man film, there's been no short supply of funny moments to change up the typical fight scene. However, there's one battle that Marvel fans called out for being a bit too over-the-top.
In Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Strange has the weirdest fight in the movie to get possession of the Darkhold from his more evil self, Sinister Strange. The fight starts out normally as they use magic to attack each other until Strange finds a piano. Using his magic, the two begin to use musical notes to duel each other with accompanying classical music in the background. It's an incredibly goofy moment that fits right in Raimi's wheelhouse as a director with a silly sense of humor...but it's a scene that some Marvel fans weren't too keen about given the sequence's darker tone. In the comics though, one hero has taken this fight and given it an interesting new twist.
In the story "Music to My Ears" by Edgar Delgado and Luis Morocho from this year's Marvel's Voices: Comunidades, a new villain named Ear Worm has taken the stage. His powers allow him to use his music to hypnotize his crowd and make them give him all their money. When Miles Morales notices what's going on, he brings a little music of his own and the two have a full-blown music battle. Just like in the Doctor Strange film, music notes are even shown flying and causing destruction as Morales evades them to get close enough to the villain. This is a clever way to change up the scene from the movie because Miles is using different music to step to a different beat and be one move ahead of the new villain, making him more unpredictable.
Miles' Big Music Battle Has Cultural Significance to Him
What's even better about this fight is the music Miles uses to show love to his Puerto Rican heritage. Since this is an issue that celebrates Hispanic heritage, Miles uses the Salsa from his mother's personal collection to stay one step ahead. This not only gives him a musical advantage but also injects some personality to the fight. Any music just won't do in a battle of the notes. By picking something that's close to him, it allows him to beat Ear Worm because it's a song he already knows how to move to, giving him the upper hand as he dances his way around the villain's ragged notes to get close enough to web him.
A new battleground has officially been opened for the Marvel universe thanks to Miles Morales after a year that saw him dealing with problematic stories. When handled properly, music could be an interesting way to subvert readers' expectations on how a traditional fight between heroes and villains could play out. Doctor Strange introduced the possibility in the MCU, but the overall silliness of it was quickly dismissed by fans. However, thanks to Miles Morales, the chances to explore this new type of battle have opened up as Spider-Man dances his way to victory and makes that movie moment even better.
Marvel's Voices: Comunidades #1 is available now from Marvel Comics!
