Warning: The following contains spoilers for Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness.
Once the words, "Dormammu, I've come to bargain," were said by Doctor Strange for the third time, the audience would never forget the line. That's just one of the many memorable lines attributed to Stephen Strange since he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in his solo movie in 2016.
Strange's best lines provide the audience with a quick snapshot of just who he is as a character. Some, however, are also just amazingly memorable, or one of the rare instances of his dry sense of humor coming through to the audience. Regardless of what makes the lines great, Stephen Strange has had some fantastic quotes in the MCU.
Stephen Strange's Confidence Becomes Arrogance
"I could have done better."
One of the first things the MCU audience learns about Stephen Strange, long before he's a superhero, is how confident he is in his own knowledge and abilities. That confidence, however, becomes arrogance, as he believes that no one else can do something as well as he can.
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The perfect example of that is when Christine Palmer and Nic West are present after the surgery on his hands, and Strange claims his hands were ruined by surgery. Christine says that no one could have done better than West, but Strange disagrees.
Strange Insults The Ancient One In Anger
"You're just another tiny, momentary speck within an indifferent universe."
When Strange doesn't get what he wants, his words can be as sharp as the scalpels he uses to perform surgery. The audience sees that time and again when he lashes out after the surgery on his hands in his 2016 movie.
When the Ancient One and Strange disagree on whether or not he should even be able to use sorcery, Strange lashes out again. After all, all he wants is to be able to heal his hands, but the Ancient One knows that sorcery is used for the good of the universe, not one man. That prompts Strange to insult the Ancient One, and then get a lesson in what sorcery can really do.
Strange Can Be A Bit Reckless With Magic
"They really should put the warnings before this spell."
When Strange first begins studying sorcery, he takes to it pretty quickly. He wants to know more, as fast as possible, and so he takes a lot of shortcuts that help him gain more knowledge. He also, however, gets pretty reckless in his pursuit of that knowledge and proving that he has what it takes.
While the audience sees that in Spider-Man: No Way Home, they see it first in his 2016 movie. Mordo and Wong both try to warn him of meddling with magic without taking stock of the risks, but Strange just says that warnings should be placed in texts before the spells then.
Doctor Strange Warns Spider-Man Of Living Two Lives
"The part of the problem is not Mysterio. It's you, trying to live two different lives. The longer you do that, the more dangerous it becomes."
Once Stephen Strange becomes Doctor Strange, he fully embraces the superhero persona. He doesn't split his life as a civilian and a hero like so many others do. It appears, as much as the audience sees of him, that he's even living and working out of the Sanctum Santorum on Bleecker Street.
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That's why he tries to warn Peter Parker that living two lives is only going to become more complicated and more dangerous. It's hard to separate the superhero from the civilian and not have those two worlds bleed into one another. Peter finds that out the hard way.
Doctor Strange Is Not The Sorcerer Supreme
"He got it on a technicality 'cause I Blipped for five years."
For someone as confident in his abilities as Stephen Strange, it certainly bothers him that he's not considered the best sorcerer on Earth. Instead, Wong becomes the Sorcerer Supreme in his five-year absence thanks to Thanos' Snap.
It's clear that he's just as capable as Wong, despite Wong studying for longer, but it's also clear that Wong has a more level head under pressure. Strange and Wong make a good team, and it's kind of a shame that they can't share the title.
Strange Comforts America Chavez
"If your moms are anything like their daughter, they survived. I'm sure you'll meet them again someday."
Though Strange's experience with teenagers in the MCU isn't always the most comforting for them, he tries his best with new character America Chavez. When he discovers that she's been on her own for years and that her first experience with her abilities taking her moms away from her, he certainly takes better care with his words to her.
Though America knows him to be a pretty pragmatic and straightforward person at that point, she still accepts his words of comfort and tells him he did a pretty good job with them.
Strange Doesn't Sugar Coat The Problem For Spider-Man And Friends
"...Get on your phones, scour the internet, and Scooby-Doo this s**t."
When Peter Parker realizes that there are inhabitants of other universes that have crossed over in No Way Home, he brings his friends in for a little assistance, but Doctor Strange isn't impressed when they don't turn up any leads.
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Strange is much harsher with the trio of Peter, Ned, and Michelle in No Way Home than he is with America in Multiverse Of Madness. Perhaps that's because the trio is a little older, or perhaps it's because he knows they've been in similar situations before. Whatever the reason, it makes for a funny line, but it also doesn't impress Michelle, who is quick to counter it, andrequests a "please" from him.
Doctor Strange Titles The Final Chapter Of Phase Three
"We're in the Endgame now."
This particular line might not be as emotional or as much of a snapshot of Strange's character as others, but it's a memorable one because it's one of the last things he says to Tony Stark before the Snap. Strange uses the Time Stone to see a series of possible futures to determine his best course of action. It might seem like the wrong one to Tony at the time, but it eventually pays off.
Strange's line provided a name for the long-building final chapter of Phase Three, Avengers: Endgame, as well.
Strange Admits How He Really Feels
"I love you. I love you in every universe."
Stephen Strange might not be the warmest of MCU characters, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have any feelings. He actually feels things very deeply, especially when Strange makes mistakes, but masks those feelings with his arrogance. That's part of what drives Christine Palmer away from him.
As he meets or learns about his variants in Multiverse of Madness, Strange learns that there is a Christine to his Stephen in every universe, and in every universe, their relationship borders on tragic. He admits how he really feels to the Christine of Earth-838 as the Christine of his universe has just gotten married. It's a big moment for him, even if the two can't be together.
Strange Never Gives Up
"Dormammu, I've come to bargain."
This might actually be Strange's most memorable line in the MCU, and that's mostly because he says it repeatedly as he creates a time loop to try to save the world.
When Strange encounters Dormammu, he repeatedly turns back time to beg the ruler of the Dark Dimension for a chance to let humanity live. It's his persistence, not his sorcery, that wins out, seeing Dormammu want to just be left alone. That exchange is certainly a sign of the type of hero Doctor Strange becomes as he's someone who never turns his back and never gives up on trying to help.
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