Will the New Doctor Strange Costume Stand Out Like the Film?

Marvel

By Shrey Sankalp

I don't think you'd believe me if I told you there was anything even remotely normal about Doctor Strange. And I'm not just talking about the film, I'm talking about the character himself, his cloaked costume and all. Perhaps it's this...strangeness (there's no way we were ever going to go through this without using that term, is there?) to this character that kept him out of the mainstream for so long. Well, no more. With Marvel's Doctor Strange finally out, the character has finally been thrust into the limelight, and with an actor as revered as Benedict Cumberbatch donning the new Doctor Strange costume, there is a lot riding on the character. Does Marvel deliver? Oh, you bet that sweet Cloak of Levitation they do!

Marvel

The Doctor will see you now.

Doctor Stephen Strange wasn't always the costumed sorcerer he's known to be; before he dabbled in the mystic arts, his costume was that of a doctor's - a neurosurgeon's, if we're being precise. A brash and extremely arrogant man, it was a car crash and extensive nerve damage to his hands that pushed Doctor Strange towards the mystic arts as a potential avenue to heal his hands. Of course, when a man of science is introduced to the world of mystic arts in such a dramatic manner (best experienced in 3D, folks!), he tends to stay and learn. This is something the film does extremely well in my opinion - instead of going the Spider-Man route in Captain America: Civil War,  with the character already having his iconic costume, Doctor Strange gives us a proper origin story that helps us trace the journey with Stephen Strange, and makes the moment when Benedict Cumberbatch puts on the new Doctor Strange costume that much more powerful, because my God, what a truly magical costume he has!

When producer Kevin Feige stated he's putting a lot of hard work into the character, he clearly meant it, because everything about the character seems so well thought of, particularly the costume. The new Doctor Strange costume has that rare look which is a mix of believability, practicality and comic book silliness all at once. And believe it or not, when the film was first announced, the thing I was most worried  about was whether they would be able to get the character's look right! That's right, in a movie about alternate dimensions and magic, I was worried the character's costume would stick out negatively on screen! I know you're laughing now, but hear a brother out. As far as source materials go, Doctor Strange is the definition of outre, right? Sure, there's nothing overly mainstream about a guy getting shrapnel in his chest and building a metal costume to get out of captivity either, but it's still somewhat believable. All of Doctor Strange's flourishes aren't. Especially the aesthetic, because my God, the aesthetic! Doctor Strange was devised and drawn up in an era where...questionable substances were rather popular, and the comics were designed to look like what one might experience under the influence of one of these substances; so everything was completely cranked up to eleven, and that aesthetic naturally extended to Doctor Strange's costume too. Doctor Strange's classic outfit was an assault on the senses, with punchy colors, spikes, ascots and of course, the Eye of Agamotto around his neck and his Cloak of Levitation. If you think this costume sounds ridiculous, just take a look at it.

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Yeah, that costume's gonna translate well to screen.

It's pretty obvious the comic costume wouldn't fly in a movie, so Marvel knew they'd need to do some serious redesign for the film and come up with a new Doctor Strange costume. In my opinion, they made the right choice by opting for an organic costume design. The costume is essentially a robe, and the costume feels highly believable as it draws from the designs of actual robes that monks wear. The new Doctor Strange costume thankfully also tones down on the more mystical elements of the costume such as the Eye of Agamotto and the Cloak of Levitation as well, and they really add to the believability factor.

And this is true for all costumes really, not just the new Doctor Strange costume. Whether it's the costume worn by the film's villain Kaecilius (underwritten as usual, but played with aplomb by Mads Mikkelsen) with grey hues (a symbolism for his grey-area interpretation of magic) and world's worst cosmic eyeliner or the Yellow and Green costumes worn by The Ancient One and Mordo (again played with aplomb by Tilda Swinton and Chiwetel Ejiofor), every character in the film has a distinct look that helps sell this part of the Marvel universe as a lived-in corner of the universe, not just a fictitious movie world.

Marvel

This film has some of the best costumes I've seen in a very long while.

I could really go on praising the film's aesthetic endlessly, whether it's the costumes, or the cinematography or some of the best visuals ever seen  in a film (seriously, this film makes Inception look like amateur hour in the visuals department, and that's really saying something) and still not cover a tenth of the film's visual splendor, that's just how good this film is.

And a good film this is, there's no doubt about it. I may have initially been wary of the fact that this seemed like an Iron Man-esque origin story (which has become Marvel's formula by this point, for better or for worse) and this character seemed too weird to put onscreen, but Marvel really did it. As Ant-Man's Luis would say,"Mad props, bro". It never ceases to amaze me how Marvel is almost a decade old, and yet they can put a new spin on a familiar formula and make it entertaining. Last year it was Ant-Man, this year it's Doctor Strange.

Marvel

And just as with Ant-Man, I'm very confident this film has earned an obscure C-list character a well deserved spot on the A-list. I would go so far as to say you can expect Doctor Strange Costume after Doctor Strange Costume on the streets on next Halloween -a private Mirror Dimension, if you will. Of course, this prediction should hardly come as a surprise considering you've got a top tier actor in a top tier movie wearing an oddly appealing costume. And even if not everyone goes for the new Doctor Strange costume (a lot of fans choose to make their own costume or add their personal stylistic flourishes to a costume), the fans will most certainly go for two accessories that the new Doctor Strange costume couldn't possibly be complete without, the Eye of Agamotto and the Cloak of Levitation, because believe me, it were the time turning shenanigans of the Eye of Agamotto and the Mjolnir level sentient goofiness of the Cloak of Levitation that added what they did to the costume. I'm fairly certain the costume companies of the world have already drawn up their blueprints of the new Doctor Strange Costume and are hard at work, and I'd urge the fans to keep an eye out for when the costumes become available. With how well the film is being received and how popular Benedict's Cumberbatch's House-meets-Stark portrayal is being received, the way the new Doctor Strange costume is about to sell out will be nothing short of magic.