When Doctor Strange debuted back in 2016 it introduced very new concepts to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Up until that point, magic and mysticism had for the most part been explained away in the Thor films as alien science that was beyond the understanding of mankind. Doctor Strange then flipped everything on its ear by introducing audiences to ancient books of magic, hand waving spells, portals to other dimensions, and demonic entities. One such entity is the Sorcerer Supreme’s archnemesis, the dread Dormammu. Recent posts by a Marvel Studios concept artist have revealed that we almost got a very different version of the ruler of the Dark Dimension in the movies.
In the final film that we saw in theaters, Doctor Strange goes up against Dormammu in the last act of the movie. The god-like being appears as a massive floating head made up of waves of translucent energy. Concept artist Jerad S. Marantz recently dropped some alternate artistic takes on the character that he whipped up for the production but were ultimately left unused. These glimpses behind the curtain show us that Dormammu almost had a more human-like design that was closer to the comics. Check it out below…
Along with the images, Marantz also posted some commentary, saying, “Here’s an old #dormammu option I did for Doctor Strange back in the day. Always liked this version. At this point we were playing around with more human options. Really fun show.”
The Dread Dormammu was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1964’s Strange Tales #126. He looks much different than the omnipotent floating head seen in the movie. Although he has the power to change his appearance as he sees fit, in the comics Dormammu usually appears as a humanoid figure with a head of flames.
He is also one of the most powerful and dangerous supernatural entities in the Marvel Universe. Dormammu is composed of mystical energy and has the powers of energy projection, matter manipulation, shape shifting, teleportation, possession, necromancy, demon creation and the ability to give power to another.
While we haven’t seen too much of Dormammu in the MCU yet, the villain often poses a Thanos-level threat to the Marvel Universe that Doctor Strange and the other Marvel heroes should not take lightly. Hopefully we see more of him in upcoming MCU flicks!