Marvel Cinematic Universe is now a massive giant in the entertainment industry. It is what movie franchises aspire to be. It expanses over 23 movies (with more in production), innumerable comic books, print media, merchandise, and a loyal cult fan following. It has the kind of fans that not only continue to watch and appreciate new movies but also love to explore the old ones. And the more times they watch these movies the better they understand the universe. That is the beauty of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is built on decades of ethos established by Marvel comics; there are so many subtle hints at this beautiful world when one watches these movies. It is quite extraordinary how a comic world transpires into real life.
Take Dr. Strange, for example, a concept and origin story that is definitely north of wacky but when you look at it through the larger lens of the Marvel Cinematic you come to see how the pieces fir. Dr. Strange was an essential addition to the team and to the universe. Not only did they introduce an incredibly overpowered character with a heavy-handed origin story for appropriate emphasis but they also increased the scope of writing for the world creators.
Suddenly the audience had a new view on the MCU with the introduction of magic, and this was utterly amazing. Dr. Strange in itself is a magnificent film, and it uses the subtle technique of making the protagonist exceptional yet relatable. We all found ourselves in the shoes of Dr. Steven Strange when he begged the ancient one in both parts desperation and awe, for the answer to the recovery of his hands. The movie was a sheer stroke of genius, and even more so than we previously realized as unearthed in a recent theory by u/Japjer on r/fantheories. The movie introduces us to magic and to those who learn magic by adhering and deciphering ancient texts.
There is a bit where Wong and Strange try to understand the usage of the time stone and Strange is cautioned by Wong about the time stone and repercussions of changing the timeline (cue THE BILL ALWAYS COMES DUE). Strange remarks how inconvenient it is to receive the warning after the spell. Any normal watcher would dismiss this as a quip in a Marvel movie, but an enthusiastic fan and suck out lore even from the blandest corners of the script. Read this theory and then the analysis below:-
The time stone is called the eye of Cagliostro and the book enumerating the spell and usage of the time stone is the Book of Cagliostro. It is written by an ancient wizard (most likely named Cagliostro) who experimented on the stone in the ancient world. Perhaps he was the precursor to a sorcerer supreme or he belonged to a time when no such post was necessary because everything defaulted to chaos.
Regardless of the man’s designation or his place in the cosmos, it seems he was a scientist first and an explorer second for he seems to have conducted numerous tests with the time stone and recorded his findings in his book. The user u/Japjer opines this as the reason for why the spells come before the warnings. Because if we are to treat the problem presented by the quip of Dr. Strange logically we come to the conclusion that the activation key was located before the consequences of use, evidencing a successful use and the subsequent record of the same.
But as Mordo has said before, The bill always comes due, and so it did even for the ancient wizard. Whatever changes he made to his own timeline during his experimentation must have has some or rather many side effects. This must-have resulted in Cagliostro recording a warning annexed to his spell in his documentation vis-à-vis the Book of Cagliostro. Dr. Strange was a brilliant movie and to think that the props and script department went this far in creating an effective world that could fool the audience into submission is really admirable. However, this entire theory could also just be nit-picking of a quip included purely for comedic reasons. Rest assured it was funny as hell and now with this theory, it has become awesome as all hell. Keep watching this space for everything Marvel.
