The Marvel Cinematic Universe still has an endless font of source material from which to draw. It's hard to even imagine the MCU finding new directions, but with its elaborate canon and decades of classic ideas, it may really go on forever.

Doctor Strange in Multiverse of Madness is quickly shaping up to be a beautiful window into the strangest parts of the Marvel Comics catalog. Between bringing Strange back after his role in No Way Home, reintroducing Scarlet Witch for the first time since WandaVision, and the possible return of Charles Xavier, the film is also introducing some new fixtures.

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Among the many spellbinding visuals that filled the first real look at Sam Raimi's Multiverse of Madness, was a couple of brief shots of a group of magical practitioners. Dressed in the robes of Kamar-Taj, the group seems to be in the midst of combat with an unclear force. The area is wracked with explosions and the people in the area seem to struggle to defend themselves. These moments last around six seconds total and are buried within bizarre absurdism, powerful dialogue, and exciting character reveals. These brief clips could fly by or go unnoticed, but they subtly introduce a character to the MCU who could turn out to be both beloved and important. That character's name is Rintrah.

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Rintrah is an eight-foot-tall Minotaur alien from a planet called R'Vaal, which is located in an alternate dimension. He was created by Peter Gillis in 1986. He's hyper-intelligent and immensely physically capable. He isn't nearly as talented as Stephen Strange, but he is skilled in magic. Though he isn't a particularly well-known character in the Marvel Comics tapestry, he is deeply fascinating and heavily tied in with Doctor Strange. He served as something like a sidekick for the Sorcerer Supreme for many years, and he fought with and alongside big Marvel teams like The Defenders. Rintrah was even briefly named Strange's true successor, making him essentially a new Sorcerer Supreme.

Born on R'Vaal, Rintrah was at some point discovered and mentored by a figure known as Enitharmon the Weaver. Enitharmon was a seemingly eternal being who has met countless ancient figures and learned their unique patterns. Enitharmon picked up Rintrah and taught him some of his ways. Stephen Strange first met Rintrah when he approached Enitharmon to fix his Cloak of Levitation. The weaver sent Rintrah to return the repaired cape, whereupon he found Strange in the midst of a losing battle with a demon. Rintrah helpfully brought Strange's injured body to a hospital, while the Sorcerer's spiritual astral self occupied other bodies. Despite only just having met the man, Rintrah allowed him to share the spiritual occupation of his massive Minotaur body. After some time and a couple of big battles, Rintrah was allowed to study magic at Kamar-Taj.

The funny thing about Rintrah's history in the Marvel canon is that he's kind of accident-prone. Given his appearance, he needs to use magic to disguise himself when he goes out in public, but he regularly forgets to do so. Other heroes and random bystanders often confuse him for some kind of monster, but his polite nature swiftly calms them. He makes a lot of mistakes in his magic education. Early on, he accidentally used magic to bring a pile of trash to life and had to combat his creation with the help of his classmates. He moved in with Strange in his New York apartment for a time. The character's role in the story is simultaneously comic relief and helpful sidekick. When it came time to face Thanos in the comics' version of Infinity War, Rintrah was left behind and disallowed from participating. Despite his sillier moments, Rintrah has also been a powerful ally.

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Rintrah once knocked out The Incredible Hulk in a single blow. His greatest asset might be raw physical strength, as he occasionally beats better magic users by simply overpowering them. Eventually, despite his educational misadventures, he did graduate as a sorcerer from Strange's teachings. Once he and Strange fought an enemy who intended to summon the powerful demon Tartessus, and failed to stop her from doing so. Rintrah was able to defeat Tartessus with a bolt of magic, then simply crushed the summoning talisman in his bare hand. Strange later made Rintrah a professor at his Strange Academy. Rintrah taught hundreds of students the mathematical and scientific knowledge behind crafting disguise, a subject he'd been training his whole life to master.

Rintrah's inclusion in Multiverse of Madness is very interesting. He harkens back to a distant time in the character's history that is full of fun minor characters. Rintrah could be a substantial figure in this film, especially now that Wong has given up the sidekick role in favor of a cage fighting career. He could also just be a fun cameo for fans who've been waiting to see more classic characters on-screen. Fans will have to wait and see what the MCU has planned for this magical Minotaur.

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