After spending a little time thinking on how to "fix" the Venomverse, I reflected on the idea of reformed villains, and more specifically, on the character arcs that would surely follow Spider-Man: No Way Home. Seeing all of the actors from the previous Spider-Man franchises reprise their roles in the latest entry to the Holland franchise really hit me with a wave of nostalgia that I was utterly unprepared for. Naturally, being a hobbyist writer and professional nerd, the swell of creative energy and the nostalgia married together to form an abomination an idea for the next season of What If....
Let's set the scene, shall we? We open in the dungeon of the MCU Sanctum Sanctorum. I want an animated recreation of the scene from No Way Home in which Dr. Strange is demonstrating the teleporting web-shooter to Peter, but from the perspective of one of the cells. As we hear the line "How did you do that?" the camera will flip to reveal Otto Octavius staring in wide-eyed wonder at this employment of magic. When Dr. Strange replies "Lots of birthday parties" I want the words to echo as we slowly zoom into Octavius' eyes, which blink. As he reopens them, pull back the camera to reveal that he's in a lab, staring at schematics for his extra limbs with "nanotechnology" somewhere on the screen. He takes off his glasses, hands them to a clawed limb, rubs his eyes, then we watch as the tentacle replaces his glasses and we return our focus to the screen. Octavius minimizes the schematic he was working on and searches for "Magic" online. When the expected results of party tricks and the like populate the screen, we see Octavius more emphatically search on "Real Magic", "Sorcery", and finally "Witchcraft". We see him click on a link at the top of the results for a Wikipedia-style "List of Witches Burned in Salem" and then idly read the article, pausing very briefly and staring at an artist's rendition of an actual burning labeled "The Immolation of Agatha Harkness". Absentmindedly, Octavius reads the name of the painting and we smash cut to a close shot of a woman's eyes which flash open.
This, uncharacteristic of the series, will start the episode, and will be immediately followed by a cut to black which leads into the Uatu's monologue on the multiverse. Once we've seen the opening credits sequence, we'll find ourselves following Octavius as his mechanical arms curl around his torso and he dons a trench coat to leave the lab. Remembering his time in the MCU, we'll watch as he travels to 177A Bleecker Street, hoping to see his universe's sanctum sanctorum; however. when he arrives he'll instead find a normal apartment building. Seemingly dejected, he'll turn and walk away. As he departs, behind him we'll see Chiwetel Ejiofor's Baron Mordo step through the illusion which disguises the Sanctum, approach Octavius from behind, and use magic to render him unconscious. The camera fades to black.
When the next scene starts, we start on another close shot of Octavius' eyes as they slowly flicker open. We'll then pan out to reveal that Octavius is again locked inside a cell in the Sanctum dungeon. Mordo will be sitting, meditatively just outside the cell, and without looking up at him will say "How do you know of this place's true nature?". Octavius, realizing that his only explanation literally involves a parallel universe, will waffle on his answer, unsure of how to explain. Mordo will then ask "What are the devices on your back?". This question, for Octavius, will be much easier to answer. I'm thinking something to the effect of "A week ago, these were my greatest curse. Now, they're little more than harmless lab assistants.". At this point, Mordo will stand, pull back his hood, and stare into Octavius' eyes. "I cannot make sense of your words, but the Eye of Agamotto's Knowledge will reveal all". We'll see Mordo open his external robe to reveal an Eye of Agamotto more akin to the Eye of Knowledge from the comics, then he'll perform the somatic hand-signs to open the eye's pupil. A green light will spill out of the eye onto Octavius for a moment, only for Mordo to reseal the eye and balk for a moment, only to say "Well, I can see why you had some trouble with my first question." Then lower the barrier enclosing Octavius. "I see how you know of this place, but why would you seek it out?". To this, Octavius will reply, "Until I saw the man standing right where you are do the things he did, I was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen.", waggling his extra arms around, "...but knowing that there's so much more, so much good I could do... It's eating me up inside.". Mordo will reply, "And you think that you're worthy of these gifts?". To this, Octavius will reply, "I don't know, but I have to find out. Will you teach me?". Mordo will reply, "That's not for me to decide. Follow me." During this conversation, the pair will have been walking through the Sanctum, and will arrive at this moment at the hall of teleporting doors featured in the hallway fight scene of Doctor Strange. Mordo will rotate the dial next to the center window, and reveal Kamar-Taj.
As the duo step through the passage, they will be greeted by The Ancient One. Now, I have a few ideas for this iteration of The Ancient One, I'm not sure what the best action would be, but I'll lay them out here. First, we have a more comic-accurate Ancient One portrayed by an Asian actor. My first thought on this was Ken Watanabe. Another thought was that this Ancient One is just a 1-to-1 variant of the MCU Ancient One, voiced by Tilda Swinton. For the sake of continuity and ease-of-access, this option might be the best one. The next idea, and the one that I used to proceed down this rabbit hole, is that this Ancient One is Stephen Strange, but a considerably older version than we see in the MCU. I want this Ancient One to be pictured always wearing his comics-accurate red gloves.
At this point, I have to be a little vague, but I'd like to see a montage inspired by-but slightly dissimilar to the MCU Dr. Strange training sequence. This said, I do have a couple of minor changes I'd like to see in this montage unique to Dr. Octavius. First, during a segment in the library, instead of the Book of Cagliostro being missing, the Ancient One's private books will all be present. I want these to be lined out in an octagonal pattern, each corresponding to a member of the Octessence. I want Octavius to take an immediate interest in this higher-echelon knowledge, as MCU Strange did during his training. The key difference between them is that while MCU Strange used astral projection to read constantly, Dr. Octavius will be reading five of these books at once, reading one with his eyes, and the rest using his claw's "eyes". The second change I'd like to see is that during his first sparring match with Mordo, I want Octavius to instinctively use his claws, lashing out in a moment of desperation. After seeing this, Ancient Strange will say something to the effect of, "As a Doctor, I think I can say that you've used these crutches long enough." at which point he'll wave a hand toward Octavius and we'll see his extra limbs evaporate in a shower of the trademark orange sparks of Strange's magic. Despite this, instead of being dejected at the loss of the extra limbs, I want this to motivate Octavius to redouble his efforts, and over time, I want the montage to show Octavius exhibiting a mastery of magic, even getting to a level of skill which allows him to best Mordo in a duel.
At the end of his training, I want Mordo to recommend to Ancient Strange that with Octavius being such a skilled sorcerer, it may be time for him to return to the Sanctum in Beijing, so that he can resume his duty as it's overseer. Strange could at this point ask who he plans to install as caretaker of the New York Sanctum, and Mordo could nominate Octavius. After a brief conversation bringing Octavius up to speed on this decision, Strange, whom we now see without his gloves for the first time, would offer Octavius a handshake to seal the deal, at which point, eagle-eyed viewers would notice that Ancient Strange's fingertips are blackened. As Octavius used his sling ring to open a portal to the New York Sanctum and stepped through, the camera would linger on Ancient Strange, who would then say something to the effect of, "He has left the protection of Kamar-Taj. Do what you will." as his eyes went black and emitted a black and purple smoke.
We then shift back to the perspective of Octavius, settling into the walls of the Sanctum Sanctorum. That night, we would see Octavius sleeping uneasily. We would see him tossing and turning fitfully, sweating, and intercut the scene with brief glimpses of a witch burning from a distance that would slowly zoom in. What would at first sound like screaming in the fire, would, as the camera slowly grows closer, be revealed to be laughter. The laughter would crescendo at the moment the camera was close enough to the burning woman's face to see her maniacally cackling. At that moment we would see Octavius bolt upright and look frantically around the sleeping chambers. Unable to sleep, he would stand and walk around the Sanctum, examining each of the magical artifacts housed therein. This would be an opportunity to see a few Easter eggs, like the armature which MCU Strange used to trap Kaecilius, the Wand of Watoomb, the Staff of the Living Tribunal, and lastly, the Cloak of Levitation, which Octavius would briefly linger on. As he wanders the halls of the Sanctum, just on the edges of the sceen, I want a shadow to be visible stalking him. Every now and then, I want to see a flash of a pair of glowing purple eyes which will open behind him.
As Octavius lingers at the top of the stairs briefly, I want the shadow to ounce on him from behind, knocking him down the stairs, now revealed to be a wild-looking Agatha Harkness. As the two scramble for superiority, slinging spells at one another, I want it to be clear that Agatha, as the vastly more experienced of the two, has a distinct upper hand. After thoroughly trouncing Octavius in the initial spell-slinging combat Harkness would poise herself over him and begin an incantation. As she performs the spell, we would see a stream of orange sparks siphoning out of Octavius' eyes and mouth and funneling into hers, causing Octavius to grow visibly haggard and gaunt. Just when it seems that all is lost, I want a sling-ring portal to open behind Agatha and Ancient Strange to step through. Seeing that he's made it on time, I want Ancient Strange to try and stop her by saying something to the effect of, "Harkness, stop. I want this one left alive. I believe he could be my successor. I can find you another to sacrifice.". At this point, Harkness would reply with something to the effect of, "You beg me for the secrets of eternal youth, then balk at the means to your requested end? I've given you your longevity, Stephen. I can take it away." then she would snap her fingers and we would see Ancient Strange collapse and begin to rapidly wither.
As Harkness turns her attention back to Octavius, she would see that he is now standing, preparing a spell. While he's weaving his hands through the air casting the spell, he will say "My dear lady, do you know the difference between a witch and a sorcerer? Witches have limits to their magics, only able to use what they have or what they've stolen. Sorcerers? We draw on much older powers. Like the-", at which point he'll be cut off by Agatha conjuring a gag over his mouth, only for her to hear from behind her "...the Images of Ikonn.". As she hears this, she'll glance back at the gagged Octavius who will evaporate into a shower of sparks, and a number of identical, ungagged Octavius illusions will emerge into view, all of them performing somatic spell components. Then one will say, "...or the Vapors of Valtorr..." and a torrent of lightly obscuring fog will erupt from his robes. Agatha will throw a bolt of black magic at this illusion and it will dissipate as the first did. "...or the Fangs of Farallah..." another of the Octavius illusions will say, throwing orange glowing serpents at Agatha, who now on the backfoot, will stumble blocking the spell. She'll counter attack and cause that illusion to dissipate. "... or the Winds of Watoomb..." another illusion will say, causing a localized violent gust to disorient Harkness. Off-balance, Harkness will fire a bolt of black magic at this illusion, which will go-wide, shattering the glass case containing the Cloak of Levitation. She'll fire again, this time striking and dissipating the next illusion. "...or the Bolts of Balthakk..." another illusion will say, conjuring bolts of golden-orange lighting which will be met in the air by a bolt of Agatha's black magic. As the two "beam struggle" to borrow a term from Dragonball-fandom, another illusion will say, "or the Seven Rings of Raggadorr..." Conjuring seven golden semi-solid rings at equidistant points surrounding Agatha. "... or the-" the second to last illusion will begin before being cut off when Agatha overcomes the beam-struggling illusion, dissipating it, then firing a second bolt to dissipate the latest illusion. "...the Chains of Krakkann." the last Octavius will finish, causing glowing heavy chains to spill from the floating rings, wrapping tightly around agatha's limbs, suspending her in midair. "... or the Crimson-" the last Octavius will say, seemingly confidently, before Agatha's growing laughter overpowers his voice. "You forgot a key difference between witches and sorcerers, Octavius. Witches don't need to do yoga to cast spells!" she'll scream before her eyes roll back in her head and she begins muttering an incantation. We'll see, as Octavius is still performing somatic components, his arms snap behind his back painfully, then we'll intercut brief glances at the still-suspended, muttering Agatha, with a view of Octavius as his arms twist and are pulled violently, culminating in an audible snapping of bone.
Just as it seems like Agatha is going to kill Octavius, and he is visibly fading in and out of consciousness, we'll see orange astral tentacles erupt from his back, which will then finish the somatic components to his spell. "the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak." he'll barely manage to eke out, as red ribbon-like conjurations emit from his astral tentacles and cover Harkness' mouth, releasing his arms which fall limp to his sides.
Octavius then falls backwards onto the ground, just as another sling-ring portal opens up nearby. Mordo will step out, see the suspended Agatha Harkness and collapsed Octavius, and say "I felt the presence of the Ancient One waning, when he wasn't at Kamar-Taj, I had hoped he would be here. What has happened here?!" Octavius, will use one of his astral arms to point in the direction of the now withered Strange, and as Mordo begins to walk toward him, the tentacle will grab his arm. Mordo will turn around, looking at Octavius on the ground, and the astral arm will point at the Eye of Agamotto's Knowledge, and then at Octavius. Getting the hint, we'll see Mordo invoke the powers of the eye, and we'll cut away to the shattered glass case containing the Cloak before panning back just in time to see Mordo witness the last moments of the battle. "I see. All those disappearances, I should have known.".
Mordo will approach Ancient Strange, now withered and clearly dead, and close his eyes, then will turn back to Octavius. "I'll see that she's taken back to Kamar-Taj. She'll be permanently silenced and imprisoned." Mordo will say. "I'll also send a few sorcerers back here to help treat your injuries and repair your sanctum." He'll say, replacing the Crimson gag over Harness' mouth with a real, material one, then dispelling the invocations suspending her. I think this would be a good opportunity to go one of two ways. This could be the feature of Mordo which separates him from the main-MCU Mordo, in that he could remain loyal to Kamar-Taj despite the Ancient One abusing his status. Alternatively, this could be an opportunity to align this Mordo with the MCU Mordo, now seeing that power corrupts, he may choose to turn his back on the Sorcerers. I would like to think that this version of Mordo, like the MCU version, would be honorable enough to follow through with cleaning up the mess made during the fracas, but that will likely be the splitting point. With the slimmer runtime of an episode of What If..., we may not even have the time to spend on Mordo's arc, but the opportunity exists.
At the end of the episode, we'll see a council of Sorcerers, which may or may not include Mordo, elect Octavius the new Sorcerer Supreme, and we'll cut to cut to a shot of Octavius, now wearing the Cloak of Levitation and a green version of Doctor Strange's classic costume, before the camera pans upwards toward the sky and we hear Uatu's outro monologue waxing philosophical about the ramifications of abusing power or some such poppycock.
You know, for a simple case of Oct/Oct word association, this one really grew legs on me, I wasn't expecting this to take nearly as long as it did. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed dreaming it up. With that said, if you're hankerin' for more NKP content and don't want to wait the week until my next update here, maybe check out my TikTok profile, Instagram profile, or Twitter profile. My sincerest thanks for reading. Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment