Doctor Strange Wears Iron Man Armor In Must-See Infinity War Concept Art

Of all the team-ups that flourished during "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame," one of the best pairings was between a pair of smug heroes who both sport carefully crafted facial hair, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Getting them on screen together in the first half of the battle against Thanos (Josh Brolin) was brilliant, and there's nothing that could've improved their time together. Well, unless we had seen Doctor Strange try Tony's suit on for size

As revealed in some stunning concept art, the master of the mystic arts was nearly granted a technological boost thanks to Tony Stark's threads, while his cloak covered his new ally. The scene itself was even shot but never made it to the final cut, which is a real shame, particularly given all the hard work that concept artist Phil Saunders put into what could've been one of the coolest moments in the MCU.

Named "Iron Strange" by Saunders, a post of the design on Instagram revealed that it was "an idea cut from 'Avengers: Infinity War.' On the Q-ship, Tony Stark was going to transfer his armor to Strange to protect him from Ebony Maw's torture needles." So not only was it a super cool clash of powers, it was also a sensible tactic from the armor-plated Avenger — and one that even Cumberbatch himself was disappointed the world didn't get to see.

In an interview with Ali Plumb for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," Benedict Cumberbatch lamented over the legendary crossover that never came to pass while sharing his thoughts on what we might have called Tony Stark's potential caped look. "It was an amazing moment, and I think I definitely came out of it better than 'Iron Strange' or 'Doctor Man,' the other guy, 'Strange Man.' I definitely came out of it better," said Cumberbatch. "I mean, having a bit of that outerwear on you, it's like, it's very, very, very cool. I would love to have seen what that combination of wizardry and that tech would do as well. Bring it on."

While we might have missed our chance to see Stephen Strange make an armored-up superhero landing in "Avengers: Infinity War," at least we have a gorgeous, clear look at what might have been thanks to Saunders' work. And who knows? Maybe there are still potential avenues where he could pop up elsewhere. "What If...? Stephen Strange Wore Tony Stark's Armor" would certainly be an episode worth tuning in for, and if not, well, he might need to borrow it for whenever "Avengers: Secret Wars" arrives. After all, stranger things have happened.