Ever since Doctor Strange hit the Marvel Universe in Strange Tales #110 (1963), the Sorcerer Supreme has cast a spell over comic book readers. The film, starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the titular role, serves as an origin story to this very complex superhero. Despite its complexity, it’s still very much a Marvel Studio film which means there are Doctor Strange Easter Eggs galore. Let’s get started.

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10. The Inevitable Stan Lee Cameo

Let's get the obvious gag out of the way first. No Marvel film is complete without the Stan Lee cameo easter egg. Over the years Stan's appearance has become largely conspicuous. The Doctor Strange entry is no different as we easily find him riding the city bus and reading something interesting (for us viewers at least)...which leads us to the next easter egg.

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9. The Doors of Perception

Stan Lee looks rather amused reading Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception on that city bus. The book is more or less an essay about Huxley's experimentation with psychotropic drugs. We must assume the mind-bending visuals of Strange's "flight" through the higher plane of existence are inspired by these psychedelics.

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8. The Pink Floyd Connection

Speaking of psychedelics, "Interstellar Overdrive" from Pink Floyd's first album, The Piper at The Gates of Dawn (1967) can be heard during one of the film's highlight fight sequences. Floyd frontman, Syd Barrett succumbed to mental illness exacerbated by his consistent psychedelic drug use.

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7. Avengers Tower

Let's take things back down a notch. It's no secret that Doctor Strange exists within the current Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and therefor eludes to scenes, artifacts and themes presented in past films. The most obvious is Avengers Tower rising beautifully above the New York skyline in one of the film's opening establishing shots. This shot tells us that Doctor Strange takes place some (probably significant) time after the apocalyptic battle of the first Avengers film but before Captain America: Civil War

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6. Mid-credits Stinger with Thor

And speaking of Avengers, the mighty Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) pays a visit to the Sorcerer Supreme in the film's mid-credit stinger. By the way, these miniature sequences serve as connecting points to future MCU events. In the scene, which takes place at Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, Thor is enjoying a magically refilling beverage and appealing to Strange for assistance locating his missing father, Odin. These events are the basis for next year's Thor: Ragnarok of which the good doctor will apparently play some significance.

Articles by
Chris Giroux
Movie Reelist Contributor: Chris Giroux
Chris Giroux is founder and editor-in-charge at Movie Reelist, an entertainment news and review blog serving the most fanatic moviegoers. Chris started his publication in Detroit in 2010 and has since reviewed hundreds of films and interviewed numerous talent across the country. He is an avid film festival attendee and red carpet photographer, having shot the likes of Steven Spielberg, Bill Murray, Mark Hamill, and more. Chris grew up in New Mexico, where he studied mass media writing while working in post-production and multimedia authoring. It is also where he discovered Big Trouble in Little China and Escape from New York, resulting in an unhealthy Kurt Russell obsession.

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