Doctor Strange's Actions In Spider-Man: No Way Home Made No Sense

When it comes to Marvel characters and their actions, none have even come remotely close in terms of boneheadedness to that of Doctor Strange in "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Following the events of 2019's "Spider-Man: Far from Home," we find Tom Holland's Peter Parker asking Benedict Cumberbatch's Master of the Mystic Arts for some help in making him just a regular ol' teenager from Queens again after Mysterio's (Jake Gyllenhaal) "Far from Home" revelation about him being Spider-Man. Doctor Strange, being the all-too-curious sorcerer we've come to know and love, offers to carry out a magic spell for Parker that would make people forget that he's New York's famous web-slinger. And it's here, specifically, where things start flying off the rails and making no sense.

"He agreed to wipe everyone's memories without much thought at all, and even kept f***ing with the spell as he's casting it even though he knows that's extremely dangerous," pointed out Redditor u/BWDpodcast in a March 2022 "No Way Home" discussion thread. "This is after the infinity gauntlet battles, so even though he's always been overconfident, he's seen what messing with reality can do and even died, but Parker asks and he's just like, mm ok!" 

Now, we know what you may be thinking, and it's what most people tend to think when Doctor Strange's actions in "No Way Home" are brought up. Yes, Peter is someone that Strange cares about, and the two share a special bond through their shared battles against Thanos. But there's one glaring issue that the legendary Doctor somehow didn't address, which is arguably why his decision-making in the movie makes no sense whatsoever.  

At the end of the day, when all is said and done in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," it's hard for viewers not to ask themselves why on earth Doctor Strange would be willing to put the entire universe at risk over the grumblings of a teenager. 

"He totally f***ed up by forgetting that Peter is a kid," said Redditor u/looktowindward, garnering over 100 upvotes with their comment. "I understand why, but this ended up being a huge error." And that's not where Strange's questionable actions stop. U/carso150 noted, "He should have also [asked] first before jumping to the magical solution," in reference to Peter Parker not filing an appeal with the college he wanted to go to after being rejected for being Spider-Man. "A five minute conversation with the effect would have solved it," wrote u/IAteTheWholeBanana. 

Sure, Strange is super-skilled in casting spells and handling crazy situations should they arise. And deep down, he genuinely feels bad for Parker and trusts his judgment. But it doesn't take a Tony Stark-level IQ to know that some serious consideration should have been had. And if you look back at some of Strange's other cinematic decisions in the past — like researching forbidden knowledge and repeatedly abusing the powers of the Time Stone — this seems to be a repeating problem for him. "He actually hasn't seen the downsides of messing with reality yet, because all his insane risks have paid off," concluded Redditor u/Mikeavelli.

For his part, Benedict Cumberbatch defended Strange's actions in "No Way Home" in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "Peter interrupts the spell so many times, [and] that's what corrupts it," the actor explained. "That's what lets it in ... it's not really Strange's mistake. He's right to want to help Peter, and what kind of superhero would he be if he didn't want to help another superhero?"