Avengers: Endgame explored the mysteries of Time Travel. The Avengers were able to pull off time travel successfully, which no one had ever done previously in the MCU. Doctor Strange obviously wasn’t a part of their time heist, but we bet that he still would be able to travel through time on his own. Don’t get confused, he won’t be using the time stone. Thanos atomized all Infinity Stones in Endgame, and we believe that the stones won’t be brought back for the foreseeable future. But still, Doctor Strange might actually be able to do travel through time without the Time Stone.
In the first Doctor Strange movie, the Ancient One sent Strange for a Multiverse Tour. We saw him fly through various dimensions of the multiverse. It felt like a crazy dream ride, but it happened for real. One of the dimensions that Strange traveled through was the Quantum Realm. So, we know that the Masters of the Mystic Arts are aware of the Quantum Realm. Since Strange was in it without any special suit, and even Janet Van Dyne & Hank removed their masks in there, we can conclude that Strange would be able to survive within the Quantum Realm.
Also, we’ve discovered that Strange & the Ancient One know the most about time. Strange learned a lot about it through the Book of Cagliostro, while the Ancient One became the time professor for Bruce in Endgame. So, if Strange or any powerful Sorcerer wanted to, they could enter the Quantum Realm. And who knows, they could even access a time vortex. That means, in theory, they could actually exit at any other point in time and space.
Now, how would Strange enter the Quantum Realm? Well, he may not have Tony Stark’s special time-space GPS device but he’s got a Sling Ring. As we’ve seen already, these Sling Rings aren’t just used to travel to the North Pole. They can also be used to open up a portal anywhere in space. Strange actually brought the Avengers and the Guardians from Titan to Earth. So, the range on the Sling Rings is limitless if you know where your destination is.
But the one crazy thing that Karl Mordo explained is that these rings “allow us to travel throughout the Multiverse.” So, Doctor Strange, or any other sorcerer with a sling ring, could become a living breathing time machine. Strange never used the Time Stone for time travel. He only used it to reverse time, create time loops, and check out multiple (14 Million 605) possibilities of the future. So, technically the Time Stone was never used for Time Travel, & it never will be because time travel in the MCU is only possible through the Quantum Realm.
Strange really is the most powerful Avenger. Remember that he used to have trouble opening just one portal. In Endgame, he opened dozens throughout the Universe! In Infinity War, he held his own against the Mad Titan. He displayed powers of the entire Infinity Gauntlet. Apart using the Time Stone to see alternate futures, he made an energy blast which expresses the Power Stone. His ability to use the Sling Ring can be compared to the Space Stone. His astral form could be linked to the power of the Soul Stone. He changed the reality by turning Thanos’ attack into butterflies (that’s Reality Stone), and in a deleted concept, he would have tormented Thanos’ brain (that’s the Mind Stone). Doctor Strange might just prove to be the strongest of all in his next film.
According to our theory, he might actually be able to travel through time or the entire Multiverse using a mere Sling Ring. Now, that’s some crazy power to hold for one particular being. No wonder Doctor Strange 2 is titled Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The film is going to be full of Multiversal travels. Besides Strange and his sling ring, America Chavez is also stepping into the film. Even she can open portals throughout the multiverse. So let’s see what the story of the film is going to hold for us. Will we just be seeing some multiverse hopping, or will Doctor Strange actually show us that he could also travel through time? Only time will tell!
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives on March 25, 2022.
