As a recent Doctor Strange piece shows, fan art can run the gamut of styles from the goofy to the serious and everything in-between. The cool thing about this quality is that it lends itself particularly well as a medium to franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This series spanning 13 years and counting has ranged everywhere from the uplifting hero's tale from Captain Marvel to the hilarious take on the God of Thunder in Thor: Ragnarok, and it seems as though fan artists themselves have kept up with Marvel every step of the way.
So it may come as little surprise to see absolutely incredible works of art inspired by Doctor Strange and other MCU works, not only portraying fresh takes on the insanely popular heroes and their stories, but also matching the amount of artistic vision put into the projects themselves. Some of it is so expertly done that international markets mistake it for official art, as was the case with certain Spider-Man: No Way Home promos. That's not to say that all the best fan artists copy the styles seen in the works they intend to honor, though plenty of those exist and are impressive in their own right. But as much work as is put into the average Marvel movie, it seems as though the fan art community is perfectly willing to put the same amount of effort into creating their own visions.
Perhaps one of the most apt recent examples is a work from artist Aitesam Farooq, who goes by the alter ego SPDRMNKYXXIII in a move that's sure to be the bane of text to speech programs everywhere. Farooq created a piece inspired by the upcoming MCU film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, depicting Benedict Cumberbatch's Dr. Stephen Strange and Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. But rather than simply putting together likenesses of the 2 stars and calling it a day, this artist decided to take things a step in a more fantastic direction.
Utilizing a theme reminiscent of the surreal magic that drives both Doctor Strange and Wanda as characters, Farooq combined the 2 into a frankly breathtaking piece that could easily pass as an official poster. The face of Strange breaking away to reveal Wanda, the image of Wanda as the Scarlet Witch silhouetted against the Sanctum Sanctorum's iconic window, it all comes together to tell a story that hasn't even been revealed yet. That's certainly one way to drum up some hype.
Another interesting aspect is how the cracks in Doctor Strange's face seem to make him resemble both his regular form and the "evil" version seen in What If...? as well as the upcoming Multiverse of Madness. Whether that aspect is intentional or not (and whether or not that's actually the same character in both stories), it's a remarkably evocative piece overall. Just slap a logo on and it's some shiny new marketing material. (Just make sure to pay Farooq first, OK Disney?)
Works like this prove that anticipation for the Cumberbatch and Olsen-led film is as high as ever. Ideally, it would be nice if this leads to a cushy deal between Marvel and Farooq in a similar way to how a popular deepfake YouTuber joined the ranks of Lucasfilm. But either way, it's nice to know that artists like this are out there making the world a little more fun.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will release on May 6th, 2022.
Source: SPDRMNKYXXIII/Instagram