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Fans have been raving about the trailer for the newest Spider-man movie, “No Way Home”. While reactions have mostly been positive (or surprising), one significant theory about the movie’s plot has started to emerge. Some Marvel Studios fans are starting to suspect that Doctor Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) is no longer himself in this movie; they think he might actually be Mephisto, an infamous villain from the original comics whose abilities include shapeshifting, and who did make a similar time-altering arrangement with Peter Parker in the Spider-man comic book called “One More Day”. This theory has been considered by several websites, including ScreenGeek and the below Twitter account, but not all fans have found merit in it.
In 'One More Day', Peter seeks out Dr. Strange to travel back in time to save Aunt May and prevent the public from finding out he's Spider-Man
He ends up making a deal with Mephisto, who erases his marriage to MJ from history along with everyone knowing he's #SpiderMan pic.twitter.com/i0UaFkaWFp
— Marvel Facts (@MarveIFacts) August 24, 2021
This ‘Mephisto’ theory was also presented by @straw_hat_goofy, a popular TikTok user, who cites the same reasons for the idea’s credibility as ScreenGeek did. It’s true that both scenarios involve Peter Parker requesting that his secret identity be removed from public knowledge, and it’s also true that both scenarios involve damage to his relationship with MJ (who is played by Zendaya in the films, opposite Tom Holland as Peter).
Photo Credit: Wikipedia / Marvel Studios
Credit: Screenrant.com
@straw_hat_goofy
However, it’s important to note that there is a potential inaccuracy in the case that has been made for Doctor Strange’s (or Mephisto’s) deceit. From the following Tweet, it has been presented that the Marvel comic book storyline is actually from a more recent comic book, “One Moment in Time”, and that “One More Day” is an older comic book that did not actually involve the reveal of Spider-Man’s identity (although it did involve Peter’s relationship with Mary Jane).
— Ten (@_Gol_D_Tom_) August 24, 2021
Although there are certainly fans who doubt this potential plot twist and won’t agree that Doctor Strange could be Mephisto, the fact that the above TikTok video has been liked over 484,000 times suggests that at least some Spider-man fans are interested in the possibility. There have also been several suggestions that Doctor Strange is not acting like himself in the trailer (including the fact that he winks dramatically like Agatha from Wandavision, which is not something Doctor Strange is known for, and that there’s a “devil in disguise” sign within the trailer), so fans still have plenty of opportunities to carefully observe the trailer’s clues and glean their own conclusions from it. There are also theories that the time-altering and multiverse-shifting events from the Disney+ show “Loki” might have affected things, as well, and that this is just a Doctor Strange variant. There’s even a theory that he’s a Skrull! Are you familiar with the theory about Mephisto or any other theories? More importantly, are you excited about the premiere of “Spider-man: No Way Home” on December 17th?
