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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is full of twists, turns, and plenty of surprise cameos – though they might not be the ones you'd expect. This one may have left you a little confused, but don't worry: we got you covered.
Warning: Major spoilers for Doctor Strange 2 follow. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, look away now!
Captain Marvel makes an appearance as a prominent member of the Illuminati, but she's not Brie Larson's Carol Danvers. In fact, she's not Carol Danvers at all. Though her powers might be the same, the high-flying hero is very different in this particular universe.
Read on as we dissect Captain Marvel in Doctor Strange 2: the character’s history, the actor who plays her, and how she might have obtained those powers.
Who is Captain Marvel in Doctor Strange 2?
Captain Marvel in Doctor Strange 2 is Earth-838’s Maria Rambeau, played by Lashana Lynch. The MCU (or Earth-616) version of Maria was first introduced in Captain Marvel as Carol Danvers’ friend and former Air Force colleague.
In the MCU, we discover that she founded the Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division (aka SWORD) and later passed away from cancer in the years following Thanos’ Snap. Her daughter, Monica Rambeau, later takes on the mantle of Photon during the events of WandaVision.
In Doctor Strange 2, however, this Maria Rambeau variant is a member of the Illuminati, the superhero group in charge of overseeing key decisions on Earth-838. She appears to have the same powers as her MCU Captain Marvel counterpart.
She meets a grisly end at the hand of Wanda; she ends up crushed by a statue during their encounter and is the last Illuminati member – barring Mordo – to fall in battle with the Scarlet Witch.
How did Maria Rambeau become Captain Marvel?
Doctor Strange 2 never explains how Maria Rambeau became Captain Marvel on this Earth instead of Carol Danvers. Marvel shows such as What… If? and Loki, though, help us fill in some blanks.
They introduced us to ‘Variants’, alternate versions of the characters we know and love from the MCU existing on different universes and realities. In some cases, they can look identical to their MCU counterparts (such is the case here), or can completely different. See: Alligator Loki, and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man (when the Earth-616 version is Tom Holland).
Their paths may be similar, but can veer off in dramatically different directions. For example, What… If? posits a world where Peggy Carter, not Steve Rogers, was injected with the Super Soldier Serum. It’s not a Mr. Fantastic-style stretch to suggest that this Maria could have been the one taken in by the Kree after the light-speed engine experiment went awry instead of Danvers.
Want more on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? Then check out our guides to:
- Doctor Strange 2 ending explained
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- Our guide to Marvel Phase 4
- The rumored Doctor Strange cameos that never came true
- All the Doctor Strange 2 Easter eggs listed
- What does 616 in Doctor Strange 2 mean?
- Where Doctor Strange 2 fits on the Marvel timeline
- Who is Hayley Atwell in Doctor Strange 2?
- Who plays Captain Marvel in Doctor Strange 2?
- Who is Charlize Theron in Doctor Strange 2?
- Who is Black Bolt in Doctor Strange 2?
- Patrick Stewart is Professor X – but not the one you think
- Our full WandaVision recap
- The Marvel movies and shows to watch before Doctor Strange 2
- When is Doctor Strange 2 on Disney Plus?
- How to watch the Marvel movies in order
- Is Doctor Strange 2 too scary for children?
