How Doctor Strange 2 Sets Up Mutants in the MCU? The X-Men Are Coming

One of the things that we did see in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the MCU debut of Professor Charles Xavier, the founder and leader of the X-Men. While he didn’t have the biggest moment for Professor X in that movie, there could’ve been a subtle hint that a lot of us may have missed. Yes, we are talking about the mutants. So, in that regard, we are here to look at how Doctor Strange 2 sets up the mutants in the MCU.

How Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness Sets Up Mutants In The MCU

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the latest Marvel Studios movie to contribute to the greater story of the MCU. Of course, because this is a movie that explores the multiverse, it only follows that it includes cameo appearances from different Marvel personalities that we’ve seen in the past.

One of the biggest and most expected cameo appearances in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was that of Professor Charles Xavier, or Professor X, the leader of the X-Men and is one of the most prominent mutants of all time. And we do know that the mutants don’t exist in the MCU, considering that Fox, before the Disney acquisition. had the theatrical rights to the X-Men.

In the movie, Professor X didn’t have a big role but he was still impactful nonetheless. When Doctor Strange was captured by the Mordo of universe-838, he was put on trial in front of the Illuminati, a group of superpowered heroes that were represented by the different leaders of the hero groups of that universe. Professor X was one of the leaders of the Illuminati.

While Professor X ended up dying in the hands of the 838 version of Wanda Maximoff when he invaded her mind to release her from the grasp of the Scarlet Witch, his impact could be something bigger than a simple cameo appearance. And it could also be possible that he could have a bigger impact on the future of the MCU compared to the cameo appearances of the other Illuminati leaders.

That’s because Disney has acquired a majority stake in Fox, which owns the theatrical rights to the X-Men. As such, Disney is now free to include the mutants in the MCU. But the problem is that considering that no mutants existed in the MCU universe (616) from the very start, they needed to find a way to explain the introduction of the mutants. That is where the multiverse comes in.

The fact that Professor X exists in the multiverse means that there could be another version of the character in another universe, and that could be the very same universe to which the Fox X-Men belong. It could still be universe-838, but it could also be another one. But the fact is that we know that the mutants could be somewhere out there in the multiverse.

Going back to the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the post-credit scene introduced Clea the Sorceress, who told Strange that he had caused an incursion. In the Illuminati scene with Professor X, the mutant prompted the Illuminati to tell him the truth about their version of Doctor Strange, who used the Darkhold and accidentally caused an incursion that destroyed two universes. An incursion is basically an event when two universes collide as a result of someone meddling with the multiverse.

Clea told Strange that he had caused an incursion and that it was now up to them to stop it. This incursion could be an event that involves a collision between 616 and 838 or whichever universe the mutants belong to. As such, it could be possible that this is where the mutants will be introduced to the MCU, as the incursion might be an event where the two universes collide and combine so that the mutants will now be a regular part of the MCU.

Is The MCU Going To Adapt The House Of M?

While the incursion that Doctor Strange caused could be something that’s connected to the possibility of the mutants making their way to the MCU, we also can’t forget about the fact that Scarlet Witch could also contribute to that.

One of the most successful comics involving the Scarlet Witch is called House of M, which is a comic book series that is quite similar to WandaVision in the sense that she changed reality to give all of the heroes the ideal lives they deserve. This caused the universe to flip because there were now more superpowered people, as the normal people themselves also dreamt of becoming heroes.

Meanwhile, when Wolverine got his original memories back, he helped the other superheroes in helping them get their own memories back as they united against Wanda. They initially thought that it was Magneto, Wanda’s father, who was manipulating his daughter into meddling with reality. But it was actually Quicksilver who pushed his sister into doing this because he wanted Wanda to be happy.

Still, Wanda ended up blaming Magneto for what had happened to her as she ended up hating the mutants as well due to the trauma that came with being a mutant. She eventually returned the world to its normal state but with a caveat—she uttered the words “no more mutants,” which decimated mutant-kind and reduced the population of mutants to a few hundred.

The state that Wanda was in during the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is similar to the state that she was during the events of House of M. And this is where it becomes interesting because the MCU could use something that’s similar to the plot of the House of M in explaining the introduction of mutants into the MCU.

Then again, the problem is that Wanda’s current state after the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is unknown. At the end of the movie, she sacrificed herself to bring the Darkhold tower down so that she could effectively destroy the Darkhold in all universes. That means that there is a chance that she could be dead. But it could also be possible that she is still alive, considering that there are rumors that Elizabeth Olsen’s contract with Marvel Studios has been extended.

Even if Scarlet Witch is still alive in the MCU, a House of M storyline might not fit with the overall narrative of the MCU because mutants never existed until now, when the multiverse was introduced.

As such, we are looking at the possibility of a reverse House of M in the sense that the Scarlet Witch might alter reality to the point that mutants will be introduced to the MCU due to her reality-altering prowess.

But it might not be a good look if the MCU would still portray her as an antagonist if she indeed is still alive. In that regard, the chances of the MCU adapting the House of M storyline might be slim, but it could still be possible.

There is still the possibility of Scarlet Witch appearing in future Doctor Strange storylines, especially if she’s still alive and is somewhere out there. She might even play a role in preventing the incursion that Doctor Strange had caused during the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. If that’s the case, it would be interesting to see how she could help usher in the introduction of mutants into the MCU.